In order to practise card-reading with success, the Book of Thoth must be mastered in every detail, and every significance of each of the seventy-eight leaves must be committed to memory. After this the laying out of the cards and the reading of their meaning would become mechanical, were it not that the position of each one, as well as of the surrounding cards, is capable of such subtle and illusive connections that only those well versed in cartomancy, or, perhaps, inspired by the dominating genius of Mercury, can translate their import.
First, then, the direct meaning of each card must be remembered, and then its significance when it is reversed; thirdly, its value owing to its position on the table and when in contact with other cards must be known. The card is read in one way when it is required to reveal the character, and in another when the social position or the thoughts of the inquirer are to be revealed. The same card signifies, under other circumstances, past or future events according to its position. A malignant card may be entirely changed if surrounded by benign cards. Thus each condition must be given due weight when the cards are being consulted.
“Human life,” says Papus, “passes through four great periods, namely: childhood, youth, maturity, and old age; so, when the Tarots are being read with regard to the past, present, or future, this is the first thing to be dwelt upon to the exclusion of every other significance that may be seen in the cards. If, however, they are being read regarding events, it will be seen that commencement, apogee, decline, and fall are represented.”
If a business transaction is the subject of inquiry, the suit of Rods must be the one selected, since it indicates creation, enterprise, agriculture, art, and the element of fire.
If a love affair is being inquired about, Cups must represent it. The Cup indicates instruction, preservation, the earth, and affection.
A lawsuit, quarrel, or trouble has Swords for an emblem, as they denote transformation, hatred, war, trouble, and the air.
Business calls for the Money suit; that typifies development, trade, commerce, and water, with ships, travelling, and all that is connected with movement. The Money suit is sometimes named Pentacles.
The Cups and Staves denote the house or the home, the family or near relatives and friends. Money typifies outsiders, or the world in general, or unknown persons. Swords may be either close relations or the public, whichever is indicated by the surrounding cards.
The Atout cards may be divided so that the first seven cards refer to the intellectual life of man. The next seven cards point to his moral condition, and the last seven of the Atouts declare the various events of his life. Taken with the pip cards, a fair narrative of all concerning the ordinary events of life may be read in the cards, that is at least curious and amusing, even if no credence is placed in the revelations, and this is supposed to be what the ancients meant when they declared that Mercury had invented “speech, letters, and books.”