Prophetical, Educational and Playing Cards

by Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer

CHAPTER XIX

READING THE BOOK OF THOTH

To consult the Tarots, the Initiate must invite the Inquirer to designate what the cards are to be asked to reveal, and, as has been mentioned, this calls for the selection of one of the four suits that in this case must be separated from the other leaves. The suit selected must be shuffled thoroughly and cut by the Initiate, who then passes them to the Inquirer, with the request that they be shuffled and cut three times. The cards are then ranged or spread out on a table, after which the Atouts are shuffled and cut according to the above directions, to be dealt according to the rules of the game, remembering that the first card to the left indicates commencement or childhood, the second one to the right and above it is youth or apogee, the third on the right signifies decline or maturity, while the fourth position means old age or fall; in short, past, present, and future.

A simple way of reading the cards is as follows: With the pip and Atout cards shuffled and cut separately, the Juggler, or first card of the Atouts, must be taken from the pack and laid in the middle of the table, so that the other cards may be dealt around it; for it represents the Inquirer, and the cards that fall close to it reveal the events in life most nearly connected with him.

After the cards are cut, the Inquirer may select seven cards from the Atouts without looking at them. The Bagatleur represents the Inquirer. Deal four of them one by one, beginning at the left side, so as to fill the following diagram:

		II
I				III
		IV

Then take three Atouts, selected without looking at them, and place them in the centre, as follows:

				II
I		V		VII		VI		III
				IV

The last three show past, present, and future; the other four indicate the character of the person or the events about which the cards are being consulted. The diagram demands seven Atouts besides the Bagatleur or Inquirer.