Welcome to The
Divination Nation blog!
We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf,
a duo of divination divas,
“spiritual sisters from another mister”. Both
of us are life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and
paranormal. We met and bonded in 2009 on a paranormal investigation onboard The
Queen Mary. We’ve created this blog to
share our knowledge and to connect with the vibrant worldwide metaphysical
community. Aside from Tarot, we practice many other forms of divination and
metaphysical disciplines, including Reiki and energy healing, pendulum
divining, dousing, crystal work, soul retrieval, mediumship, house cleansings,
and more. We read for clients, write, lecture and teach together as well as
working solo. For years, we’ve worked as professional belly dancers, and after
our gigs we go on ghost hunts, exploring public and private sites that are reputed
to be haunted. Currently, we’re working
on our book walking The Tarot Path.
Since we’d love for this blog to be
relevant for metaphysically-inclined peeps at every stage of development from
absolute beginners to seasoned professionals, our posts will range from basic
concepts and info that many of you are undoubtedly familiar with, to stuff that
just might make your head explode!
We hope this blog is as fun for you to
read as it is for us to write…Enjoy!
We get a lot of questions from our clients and curious
friends asking what the difference is between the various types of cards used
in divination. Quite often, students attending one of our Tarot workshops will
come in with an Oracle card deck, not realizing that they have little in common
with Tarot…aside from the fact that they’re both printed on card stock! While
it’s true that the many forms of divination cards have some similarities, they each have their own systems and traditions.
And nowadays, there are so many different types of cards-and so many imaginative
artists creating them- it almost adds to the confusion. Perhaps the following will help you to
comprehend the differences- and in some cases, consistencies-in each type of
cards.
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| Rider Waite Smith Tarot Cards |
Undoubtedly the
most well-known card divination system, Tarot is probably the oldest, too. Many
believe that Tarot has its origins in Egypt, but the oldest remaining Tarot cards
were hand painted, commissioned by the Visconti-Sforza family, nobility from
Milan, Italy. Though there are many different types of Tarot cards and divinatory systems followed for cards to be
considered a “true” Tarot deck, certain elements must be present.
A classic Tarot
deck is made up of 78 cards, broken down into the Major Arcana and the Minor
Arcana. Composed of 22 cards, the Major Arcana usually signifies larger life events
during readings. It also tells the
universal story of the Fool (the first card in a Tarot deck, or number zero)
and his journey. The Minor Arcana, like regular playing cards, has four distinct
suits: Pentacles, Cups, Swords and Wands. Although some artists get creative
and assign different names to the suits,
(such as coins, discs, batons, rods, chalices, etc.) each suit correlates
to a different element. Pentacles represent earth, Cups correspond to water,
Swords are linked to air, and Wands to fire. Within each suit there are always
16 Court (or Pip) cards- Kings, Queens, Knights and Pages, as well as the Ace and the numbered cards which follow
it.
Tarot cards can
be read in both the upright and reversed positions, though some readers prefer
not to interpret the meanings of
reversed cards. This seems to be more of stylistic debate, depending on the preference of the card reader and/or the
way they learned.
Also worth noting: with the popularity of Tarot and the vast amount of cards on the
market today, some deck creators rename certain cards. For example: Knights and
Pages might appear as Princes and Princesses…but the meaning of the card still remains the same. Regardless of any artistic
liberties, the structure of the Tarot deck remains unchanged. There are
countless brands and variations of Tarot cards available these days, from
beautiful reproductions of historical decks to wild, post-modern creations and
even kitschy decks and limited edition collectable
decks.
LENORMAND CARDS
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| German Lenormand card, The Scythe |
Lenormand cards are
named after the celebrated cartomancer Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand. Perhaps
one of the most storied fortunetellers of all time, she practiced divination
through reading playing cards. Born in 1772 in Alencon, France, Madame Lenormand
gained recognition by advising Napoleon Bonaparte, among many prominent people,
and also wrote a number of literary texts.
Like Tarot, traditional Lenormand decks also
have a certain structure, consisting of 36 cards, each with an allegorical
image. Many Lenormand decks are imprinted with the pictures of regular playing
cards in addition to their symbolic
images, which are completely different than Tarot cards. In Lenormand, unlike
Tarot, the cards are divided into positive, negative and neutral associations. Also, in a
Lenormand spread, divinatory interpretations
are not assigned to the positions; instead, each card sort of adds onto other
cards, to enhance one another and create a the full reading.
ORACLE CARDS
In the past two decades or so, Oracle cards
have become extremely popular, making them the newest or latest form of
divination through cards. Oracle cards are unique beside their structured
cousins Tarot and Lenormand in that there is no regulated form or number of
cards to any deck- that all depends on the artist who created it. Oracle spreads
can be laid out in any way that suits the individual card reader. As a matter
of fact, it’s safe to say that Oracle cards pretty much don’t have any rules at
all! They come in many themes that resonate with a number of disciplines, traditions
and metaphysical practices. For
instance, some of the popular Oracle
decks include themes such angels, fairies, crystals and animal spirits. Many decks also have the meaning of each card
written on the face, making them easy for beginners to read in tandem or as a
stand-alone single card pulls.
PLAYING CARDS
Cartomancy is the practice of reading regular playing
cards. Though it’s believed that playing cards were first used in
Central Asia, today’s standard four-suit apparently originates from Egypt, when
the Mamluk Turks ruled it. The cards were imported to Europe in the 1400’s. The
52 card deck, including suits of hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades (and Pip
cards, the royal or “face cards” within each suit) originated in France,
eventually becoming standard in Europe, England and America. Aside from the
standard 52 card deck, the 32-card French Piquet deck is also commonly used for
cartomancy. Reading playing cards is similar
divination-wise to both to Tarot and
Lenormand, in that each card has a meaning or correlation, but the readings are not done in exactly the same
manner.
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| Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Cards |
GYPSY CARDS
There are a few types of Gypsy cards on the
market today. Some, like Svetlana Touchkoff’s Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards, are their own entity. These
beautifully reproduced cards, which the author says were passed down through
her family, actually form a puzzle when laid out, and have their own distinct
set of images and meanings. There are also a number of Eastern European Gypsy
card decks, some with the divinatory meanings printed on the face of the card,
often in a few different languages. The traditional Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Cards were first printed in America in
1903, and became so popular they’ve been through dozens of printings. These cards
seem to be based pretty closely upon a combination of Lenormand and playing
cards, though they do not use all of the same imagery as Lenormand cards- some pictures
seem to be added while others have been left off. An often-heard comment about
these cards is that the meanings are kind of macabre…but that goes hand in hand
with the sentiments of the post-Victorian Edwardian period, the time these
cards were first manufactured. In spite of this (or maybe because of it!) these
cards are still in frequent use today.
Some card readers practice just one type of
card divination, while others dabble in – and master- reading a variety of
different disciplines. In Leonormand and
Tarot decks, the numbers assigned to the
cards and their meanings are considered
important; in Oracle cards, they usually are not. Though everyone has their own
personal preference, it should be noted
that no one type of card reading is superior to the others, they’re just different.
Remember- no matter
what type of cards you select to use or choose to read, they are all valid
forms of divination, and can help you connect to your inner psyche and
intuition.
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To find out more about Pleasant click here: http://www.pleasantgehman.com/
For more on Crystal, click here http://www.crystalravenwolf.com
Send an email here: divinationnation@yahoo.com
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