ORIGINS

ARCANA ARCANORUM came about on one summer's day when I was lazily
pondering (as I oIten do) about the Universe. Surely, there must be some truth to the
Tarot and similar methods Divination: they have been around Ior millennia; this proves
that there must be something to them. I am a mathematician by trade, and it occurred to
me that the divining power lies not in the Cards themselves, but in the Iabric oI space-
time.
Statistical laws imply that a deck, properly shuIIled, will yield the same chance oI a
given Card being drawn. But the key to this axiom is that this is true -- but it is a law oI
averages; iI you draw a Card Irom a deck ten thousand times, you'll Iind that each Card
has roughly the same chances oI being drawn. Equilibrium is the key; the key to
Equilibrium is number. The key to Divination, I Iound, is in the Cards that are chosen at
Iirst. The Universe is Iorced to average the selection oI a Card out with large numbers
oI drawings; but Ior small numbers, the Universe has a method to communicate with us,
the sentient beings inside Her womb, waiting to be born.
It dawned on me then that the deck oI Cards (Tarot, Thoth, etc.) -- nay, even the method
oI Divination -- is irrelevant. Whether you are throwing sticks on the ground, picking
Cards Irom an ornately- decorated deck, or casting rune-inscribed dried clay markers,
the eIIects are the same. The power to divine is in the person, not in the divining
instrument.
Thus came my Illumination: Why use a deck oI Tarot Cards? Why cast runes? Why
throw sticks and consult a chart? II it is true that the Diviner is important and not the
medium, then it is unimportant which medium actually is used, and all things will return
to Equilibrium, as they always have and always will.
Hence ARCANA ARCANORUM, the Playing-Card Tarot, was born. II medium is not
the message aIter all, then why not use a very simple, easy-to-understand, easily-
obtained, inexpensive one? That is, the average deck oI playing Cards that can be
bought in any store.
THE DECK
The deck oI the ARCANA ARCANORUM, like any other Divination method, has
peculiarities that warrant Iurther discussion.
The deck is divided into Iour suits: the Spades, the Diamonds, the Clubs, and Hearts.
HereaIter, the Spades will be known as Power; the Diamonds as Materiality; the Clubs
as Spirituality; and the Hearts as Love.
Also, each suit is divided into thirteen ranks: Ace through King. Each Card has a
diIIerent meaning in ARCANA ARCANORUM. The Ace oI a suit has the meaning oI
that suit -- Ior instance, the Ace oI Diamonds means materiality. In general, the Two
through the Ten indicate the concept oI that suit to a lessening degree: That is, the Two
oI Spades has the meaning gain, while the Ten oI Spades has the meaning deIeat. The
ace Cards (that is, the Jack, the Queen, and the King) each have meanings unrelated to
this simple chain oI degree (as oIten does liIe).
Optionally one may insert two Jokers into the deck; these will be called Trumps. They
should be distinguishable Irom each other. One Trump will be reIerred to as LiIe; the
other as Death.
THE CARDS
Here Iollows individual meanings oI each Card.
ACE O SPADES POWER
The energy that is within us all; the essential
Iorce oI being. It cannot be denied.
TWO O SPADES GAIN
Physical and mental betterment; one's work
is succeeding.
THREE O
SPADES
HEALTH Stability; disappearance oI illness or decay.
OUR O SPADES REEDOM
LiIting oI oppression; the inner power oI the
individual stands unchained.
IVE O SPADES COMPETITION
Healthy conIlict, bringing about the better
oI all parties involved.
SIX O SPADES MEDIOCRITY Lack oI progress; mundanity.
SEVEN O
SPADES
HUMILIATION Embarrassment; a waste oI human eIIort.
EIGHT O
SPADES
LOSS The loss oI something physical or mental.
NINE O SPADES ARROGANCE
Taking one's position too seriously;
overconIidence.
TEN O SPADES DEEAT
Destruction oI one's accomplishments or
attempts; physical or mental reduction.
JACK O SPADES CHANGE
The essential Iorce in all things. Change can
be Ior the better or Ior the worse; only the
individual can decide which he or she
wants.
QUEEN O
SPADES
VULNERABILITY Opening up oneselI to injury or to downIall.
KING O SPADES VICTORY Triumph; physical or mental release.
ACE O
DIAMONDS
MATERIALITY The physical; the temptations.
TWO O
DIAMONDS
LOYALTY
Staying besides oneselI or one's
responsibilities.
THREE O
DIAMONDS
HONESTY Being true to oneselI and those around one.
OUR O
DIAMONDS
CHARITY
Giving to the needy, not necessarily in
physical considerations.
IVE O CONUSION Material unrest; one is unsure oI oneselI.
DIAMONDS
SIX O
DIAMONDS
ANXIETY
urther material unrest; one is starting to
lose control oI that which is in and around
one.
SEVEN O
DIAMONDS
UTILITY Work Ior nothing.
EIGHT O
DIAMONDS
EAR
That which will end us all iI not put into its
proper place.
NINE O
DIAMONDS
BIAS Unneeded prejudice; blindness.
TEN O
DIAMONDS
RAUD Lies, deceit, sin.
JACK O
DIAMONDS
PATIENCE
One oI the greater things in liIe; one must
learn to wait Ior what is coming to one. All
things happen, given the right place and the
right opportunity.
QUEEN O
DIAMONDS
VANITY
Pettiness; personal materiality taken to the
negative extreme.
KING O
DIAMONDS
CONTENTMENT
Happiness and solemnness with one's
position in the world.
ACE O CLUBS SPIRITUALITY
That which is without, and yet within. All
oI us have the energy inside oI ourselves, iI
we wish to let it out.
TWO O CLUBS
(or THE CIRCLE)
SIMPLICITY
The perIection oI spirituality. The oneness
and beauty oI the circle; the solidarity and
singularity oI a point. Nothing is better.
THREE O CLUBS COMPREHENSION
Understanding, cognition, positive thought
energy.
OUR O CLUBS RESPONSIBILITY Taking care oI one's commitments.
IVE O CLUBS RELECTION
Looking at one's own accomplishments and
Iailures and Ieelings. The importance oI this
is not known to the nonspiritual.
SIX O CLUBS INNOCENCE
Naivete; Iailure to attempt to understand the
world around one.
SEVEN O CLUBS DISAPPOINTMENT
Disappointment in oneselI; unwarranted
unhappiness in the world around one.
EIGHT O CLUBS INSTABILITY
Internal striIe; the Ioundations within are
crumbling.
NINE O CLUBS STAGNATION ermentation; worthlessness.
TEN O CLUBS IMMATURITY
ailing to understand one's place in the
world; taking Ior granted.
JACK O CLUBS SHAME
Shame is dangerous. One need not be
ashamed oI oneselI; there are many other
things in this Universe that demand
attention, and warrant more.
QUEEN O EQUILIBRIUM The essential balance oI the Universe. All
CLUBS was once in Equilibrium; one day, all will
return.
KING O CLUBS ORESIGHT
The ability to predict what is coming; an
important attribute in any person.
ACE O HEARTS LOVE
That communion between two souls, with a
beauty that can never be Iorgotten or
ignored.
TWO O HEARTS
(or THE LOVERS)
INVOLVEMENT The meeting and joining oI two souls.
THREE O
HEARTS
OPPORTUNITY
The chance Ior betterment that one should
never miss or overlook.
OUR O
HEARTS
INSPIRATION
That spark oI genius that arises when one is
touched by love.
IVE O HEARTS APATHY
Disinterest. One oI the more dangerous oI
the evils.
SIX O HEARTS REGRET
Disappointment in oneselI or one's actions
Irom a previous time. What is past is past.
What is Iuture is another thing.
SEVEN O
HEARTS
ANTASY
Dangerous selI-involvement. It is healthy to
wonder and wander among oneselI -- but it
is dangerous to take this too Iar.
EIGHT O
HEARTS
OBSESSION
Love taken Ior itselI; love Ior another in
spite oI the other. Love is the sharing oI two
souls, not the stealing oI one.
NINE O HEARTS HATRED
Antipathy, oIten caused oI Iailed or Iailing
love.
TEN O HEARTS ISOLATION Loneliness; desperation; unending sadness.
JACK O HEARTS JEALOUSY
Obsession turned around; the stealing oI a
soul that is not one's to steal.
QUEEN O
HEARTS
COMPASSION Oh, the beauty oI love!
KING O HEARTS
(or THE SUICIDE
KING)
SEL-
DESTRUCTION
The taking oI oneselI, literally or
Iiguratively, Ior selIish and worthless
causes.
IRST TRUMP LIE Evolution, beauty, and harmony. InIinity.
SECOND TRUMP DEATH Stagnation, ugliness, and chaos. Zero.
THE DIVINATION
The Divination is the manner in which meaning and context are brought to a set oI
Cards. There are many diIIerent types oI Divination with ARCANA ARCANORUM --
no method is "better" than any other (however, some are better at answering certain
questions than others). A Iew diIIerent types are detailed below.
It is probably best to use a Iresh deck oI Cards with each new subject.
Divinations usually revolve around a question asked by the subject. "What will be the
outcome oI this situation?" is a common thread.
A given Divination usually involves laying down the Cards in a certain array,
attributing meaning to each position which holds a Card. Thus, one position might
signiIy oneselI; another might signiIy the Iuture oI oneselI. The meaning oI each Card is
applied to the position it Ialls in.
Divination is more oI an art than anything else. The Diviner must key in on kinesic
clues that would normally be invisible to anyone else. The meaning a Card might be
positive or negative: it might reIer to an abundance or a dearth oI something. The
Diviner must decide what, and draw everything together into a coherent whole.
The method oI Divination is incidental; any method will work. The one chosen should
reIlect what the question is dealing with, and the subject.
THE SIGNIFICATOR
Most Divinations involve choosing a SigniIicator, a Card to symbolize the subject oI a
Divination. That card is usually placed, Iace-up, somewhere important in the Divination
array. A Iew methods oI Divination, usually those where a question is asked about
someone else, require two SigniIicators: one Ior the subject, and one Ior the object.
The suit oI the SigniIicator is chosen quite simply. The concept that the Divining
question deals with becomes the suit oI the SigniIicator. Questions about power,
position, etc., are Spades; those concerning wealth, material gain, etc., are Diamonds;
those concerning mental capacity, religion, etc., are Clubs; and those concerning
emotional issues are Hearts.
The rank oI the SigniIicator is chosen by simple rules: II the subject is a mature male,
the King. II a mature Iemale, the Queen. II a young man, a Jack; iI a young woman, the
Ten. A child would use an Ace.
Thus iI a young man is asking about his relationship with an amour, his SigniIicator
would be the Jack oI Hearts.
THE METHODS OF DIVINATION
Here Iollow some methods oI DIVINATION.
THE ANCIENT CELTIC METHOD OF DIVINATION
Place the SigniIicator Iace up on the table. Concentrating on the question he wishes to
ask, the subject now shuIIles the pack thoroughly three times, the Iaces always
downward. AIter shuIIling, he cuts the pack into three piles and places them Iace
downward to his leIt.
The Diviner now picks up the pack Irom his leIt, still keeping the Cards Iace downward.
And now begins the Divination.
1. Turn up the irst Card and cover the SigniIicator and say: This covers one. This Card
represents the general atmosphere relevant to the question asked.
2. Turn up the Second Card and lay it across the Iirst, saying: This crosses one. This
card indicates the nature oI the Iorces opposing one, Ior good or Ior evil.
3. Turn up the Third Card and place it above the SigniIicator, saying: This crowns one.
It represents what the subject hopes Ior in relation to the question and has not yet been
realized but may be in the Iuture.
4. Turn up the ourth Card and place it below the SigniIicator, saying: This is beneath
one. This Card shows the Ioundation oI the matter, that which the subject has already
experience relevant to it.
5. Turn up the iIth Card and place it to the leIt oI the SigniIicator and say: This is
behind one. This card shows the inIluence that has just passed or is now passing away.
6. Turn up the Sixth Card and place it to the right oI the SigniIicator and say: This is
beIore one. It shows the inIluence that will operate in the near Iuture.
Now turn up the Seventh, Eights, Ninth, and Tenth Cards and place one above the other
in a line on the right side oI the cross.
7. The Seventh Card represents the attitude oI the subject toward the matter.
8. The Eighth Card represents the subject's environment and those tendencies or
inIluences in Iamily and Iriends which may have a bearing on the matter.
9. The Ninth Card indicates the hopes and Iears oI the subject concerning the matter.
10. The Tenth Card indicates the outcome oI the matter, the culmination oI all the
inIluences at work in the preceding cards.
The operation is now completed; however, should the Tenth Card indicate an uncertain
nature Irom which no conclusions can be drawn, one can repeat the process using the
Tenth Card as SigniIicator. The pack should be shuIIled again, cut three times and the
Iirst ten cards taken as beIore. By this method, a more thorough account oI the outcome
may be procured.
Should the Tenth Card be a ace Card, the outcome oI the matter may lie in the hand oI
the person suggested by the card. or Iurther inIormation as to the outcome, one may
take the ace Card in question and use it as SigniIicator and repeat the process again.
DIAGRAM OF THE ANCIENT CELTIC METHOD OF DIJINATION
+----+
| |
| 10 |
+----+ | |
| | +----+
| 3. |
| | Significator +----+
+----+ / and 1. | |
/ | 9. |
+----+ +----+ +----+ | |
| | +------+ | | +----+
| 5. | | 2. | | 6. |
| | +------+ | | +----+
+----+ +----+ +----+ | |
| 8. |
+----+ | |
| | +----+
| 4. |
| | +----+
+----+ | |
| 7. |
| |
+----+
1. This covers one.
2. This crosses one.
3. This crowns one.
4. This is beneath one.
5. This is behind one.
6. This is beIore one.
7. OneselI.
8. One's environment -- Iamily, Iriends.
9. One's hopes and Iears.
10.The culmination oI all preceding inIluences; the outcome.
THE PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE METHOD OF DIVINATION
This method is particularly useIul when asking general questions concerning the
atmosphere surrounding the subject.
The Diviner should shuIIle the deck thoroughly and have the subject cut the deck.
Take the SigniIicator and place it Iace-up on the table. Then lay nine Cards around and
on it, Iace down, to make a square.
Then take two more Cards and place them at the right end oI the square, one halI-way
between the Iirst row and second row and the other halI-way between the second and
third rows.
The top row indicates the past; the middle row signiIies the present; and the third
bottom row indicates the Iuture. The leIt column signiIies the Iorces opposing one; the
middle column signiIies one himselI or herselI; and the right column indicates the
Iorces helping one.
The two extra Cards (called the Hanging Cards) indicate transitions Irom the past to the
present, and Irom the present the Iuture, respectively.
The Cards are liIted Iace-up one at a time. It really does not matter which order; usually
leIt to right and top to bottom suIIice.
DIAGRAM OF THE PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE METHOD OF DIJINATION
+----+ +----+ +----+
| | | | | |
| 1. | | 2. | | 3. |
| | | | | | +----+
+----+ +----+ +----+ | |
| 4. |
+----+ +----+ +----+ | |
| | |Sig.| | | +----+
| 5. | | & | | 7. |
| | | 6. | | | +----+
+----+ +----+ +----+ | |
| 8. |
+----+ +----+ +----+ | |
| | | | | | +----+
| 9. | | 10 | | 11 |
| | | | | |
+----+ +----+ +----+
1. That which is opposing one and in the past.
2. That which is aIIecting one and in the past.
3. That which is assisting one and in the past.
4. The transition Irom the past to the present.
5. That which is opposing one and in the present.
6. That which is aIIecting one and in the present.
7. That which is assisting one and in the present.
8. The transition Irom the present to the Iuture.
9. That which is opposing one and in the Iuture.
10.That which is aIIecting one and in the Iuture.
11.That which is assisting one and in the Iuture.
THE CONFLICTION METHOD OF DIVINATION
This method is particularly useIul Ior asking questions involving two people. There are
two SigniIicators: one Ior the subject, and one Ior the object. The typical question to be
solved with this is "What will happen between this person and I?"
Pick two SigniIicators, one Ior the subject and one Ior the object. Put them on the table,
Iace-up.
Next draw six Cards, and put the Iace down in the Iollowing pattern: three Cards to the
upper-right, the right, and the lower- right oI the subject's SigniIicator; and three cards
to the upper- leIt, the leIt, and the lower-leIt oI the object's SigniIicator.
Drawn one Iinal Card and put it in between the two groupings described above.
The drawn Cards to the leIt aIIect the subject; those on the right aIIect the object. The
top row deals with the past; the middle row the present; and the bottom row the Iuture.
The center Card (called the Resolution Card) represents the outcome oI the question.
II the Resolution Card is ambiguous, simply reverse the subject and object cards and
begin again (without reshuIIling). II it happens again, then the question itselI is too
ambiguous (or encompassing) to be answered in one Divination and should be
rephrased.
DIAGRAM FOR THE CONFLICTION METHOD OF DIJINATION
+----+ +----+
| | | |
| 1. | | 4. |
Subject's | | | |
Significator +----+ +----+
\
+----+ +----+ +----+ +----+ +----+
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | 2. | | 7. | | 5. | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
+----+ +----+ +----+ +----+ +----+
\
+----+ +----+ Jbject's
| | | | Significator
| 3. | | 6. |
| | | |
+----+ +----+
1. That which has aIIected the subject.
2. That which is aIIecting the subject.
3. That which will aIIect the subject.
4. That which has aIIected the object.
5. That which is aIIecting the object.
6. That which will aIIect the object.
7. The Resolution Card.
THE FINAL WORD
ARCANA ARCANORUM, like any other Divination method, takes a little while to
master; but it, like any other, is equally valid iI one believes in it. It is considerably
simpler and easier to understand than some other Divination methods; and it is easy to
remember the meanings oI the Cards with only a little practice (you'll Iind that the same
ones tend to show up over and over). (In Iact, one might even consider writing the
meanings on the Cards themselves!)
ARCANA ARCANORUM is not Ior the unbeliever. II you don't believe in the
Divination, it will not work -- plain and simple. The Universe only wishes to give
inIormation to those who believe in Her.
II you think all oI this was a lot oI hogwash, then read it again.
And iI you never intended to believe in the Iirst place, then it really is a pity that you
read down to
the Iinal word.