Cartomancy is the art of divination that is performed with a normal deck of cards. The most common form of reading in Cartomancy is the design of seven packages or seven triplets. Learn how this spread is handled and what it says about future customers.
Roots of cartomancy in the Tarot
Just as Tarot reading predates Cartomancy, the Tarot deck with its ornate Major Arcana and beautiful illustrations came long before the common deck of cards. Tarot decks were usually lovingly crafted by hand, the works of a skilled artist. Playing cards were crude and simple, designed for common use and to be mass-produced for everyone to own. With the Major Arcana discarded and the court cards reduced from four per suit to three, playing cards simply churned out and became a common household pastime. But, people still wanted the ability to perform divination and fortune-telling with these new cards. Readers developed a suit-based system, derived from their Tarot readings. These traditions were passed down orally until early printers collected them and printed simple meaning charts to sell with their new decks.
The design of the seven packages
This spread, also known as the triple seven layout, is dealt as follows. First, a client card is chosen for the topic of the reading; either a King or Queen card, and is placed in the center before the reader. The customer then shuffles and cuts the remaining cards, minus the jokers. The first (21) cards are then dealt in a fan fashion, making seven hands or piles of three cards each. Hands are dealt one card at a time from left to right, with three hands to the left of the customer’s card, one hand just above the card, and the last three hands fanned out to the right of the customer’s card. Then each stack of three cards is flipped over and examined as a group from left to right. The three groups of cards are considered individually and also in combination with each other to determine the reading of that particular stack.
Pack Positions and their Meaning
Each of the seven hands or packets speaks to a particular facet of the client’s reading. They are read from left to right in front of the customer’s card, as it was dealt. The first packet describes the personality and mood of the client. These cards should be interpreted in terms of current influences that are shaping the client’s general thoughts. The second packet gives us information about the client’s home and family life, or lack thereof. This describes the effects on those around the customer and how they interact with them. The third hand refers to the present desires and aspirations of the clients; this tells us what your immediate goals are. The fourth hand, dealt immediately above the client’s card, predicts the client’s hopes and expectations. This tells us what they want and what they think will happen. The fifth hand, just to the right of center, represents the unexpected in reading clients. They can be people, events, money or problems. The only certainty is that this deck describes things not sought by the client. The sixth hand predicts the immediate future of clients. This deck will forecast events that will happen in a matter of days; certainly within the next month or so. The seventh and final deck foretells customers of a more distant future. This triple will reveal something that will happen within the next year or so. It frequently predicts some resolution of the predicted unexpected factors in deck five.
conclusion
Cartomancy allows us to take an ordinary deck of cards and perform divination for our friends and ourselves. It’s easy to learn and can be done almost anywhere with great results.