Fortune...he who laughs last, laughs best

 FORTUNA

One of the most difficult skill to perfect as cartomancers is the ability to interpret nuances. This becomes apparent when the Fortuna card, the five of Clubs, is present in your spread. There a re two schools of thought; one that teaches that the Fortune card trumps everything, the other that it doesn't. Ultimately, it is up to the cartomancer and their personal relationship with the deck, as well as feedback from clients that will reveal which theory is true.

For the most part, I found that the Fortune card, when upright, is able to lessen any negative import that other cards may have, sometimes even trump them, but in a spread full of negative cards it will not prevent the unfolding of the negative events, merely offer the resolution of negativity, which is in itself good fortune during a run of bad luck.

I found that luck unfolds quickly when this card is upright, and when faced with negative events, good luck will come all in one go at the very end.

The general theory is, in spreads without a fixed card position, that the closer to the end the better it is. Even better when coupled with the two of Clubs, Haughtiness, which is a powerful good luck combo. The card's effect is weakened when in positions that represent the past, or at the beginning of the spread. In those cases its function is that of indicating the hand of fate, that which is beyond the querent's control.

How about reverse? The Italian translation of the keywords in the Masenghini deck is "success and triumph when upright". There is in fact a school of thought that interprets this card as nefarious when reverse. Again, subtlety is everything. Usually this card will only lose its potency when reverse, indicating a slow success, however it is possible that it will lose its positivity all together in particular card combinations. This, I found is rare, but nonetheless true. Its function becomes that of altering, or changing the final prediction, by acting as an indicator that either the querent is not allowed to know a particular outcome, or that events are still in flux, with delay as a very likely occurrence.

Nevertheless, when reverse,  the five of Clubs is not able to prevent negative occurrences, even when at the end of a spread.

www.italiancartomancy.com

La Vera Sibilla Oracle Cards - History and Cultural Heritage

Cartomancy is entrenched in the Italian culture, with every region having developed its own individual deck. Whilst the general population refuses to admit it publicly, due to the stigma attached to cartomancy by the Catholic Church, the national fortune-telling deck, the Vera Sibilla, is as much a part of the culture as wine, food and fine art.

The Vera Sibilla Italiana, which translates as "True Italian Sybil" is an  Italian  fortune-telling  deck  of  cards  that  has  been  modelled over a standard 52 playing-card deck, thus offering a wealth of information and possibilities to predict every nuance of the future ahead. This deck is usually read both upright and reverse, which gives a further 104 possibilities, plus all the countless card combinations that the Vera Sibilla cards can provide when read together. Because of this, the Church sees this deck as a ‘being from the Devil’.   As an unfortunate  consequence  the Sibilla has been referred to by bigoted and superstitious people, and rather unjustly  so,  as  the  "Devil's  Bible";  primarily  because  of  the accuracy of its predictions, which according to them, gives it a certain…. smell of "sulphur". Luckily we all know that oracle cards don't work that way, they work thanks to a connection with our Higher Self, Spirit Guides, Ancestors and Angels. The Sibilla is merely another way for such spiritual forces to express themselves…by giving them the opportunity to help us financially as well, thanks to a deck that has been designed exactly for this purpose!

The Vera Sibilla oracle cards have also acquired another nickname in Italy, that of "the chatty ones" ("le chiaccherine") because of the loquacity  with which they talk about what they see, spilling  the beans on everything and everyone (if you know how to get them talking, that is!)

Throughout the whole of Italy, the Vera Sibilla deck can be found in any local newsagent or tobacco shop where you can acquire a pack after buying your morning espresso or daily newspaper   (in the UK they can be easily found online i.e. amazon.co.uk).

The Vera Sibilla can even be used for the lottery, as each card contains its own individual lottery numbers, as well as specific spreads that are used to predict the lottery. But there is more. If you decide to give yourself a reading with these cards, its combinations are the keys that unlock your future potential. For example,   the  combination:   Fortune   +  Letter   +  Comforting Surprise is the classic combination that indicates a winning lottery ticket.

Should  you get Fortune+  Happiness  + The Lunatics,  the Vera Sibilla cards are warning you that you have chosen the winning lottery numbers, but you have played them on the wrong lottery!!

There  are  countless  combinations  that  the  Vera  Sibilla  uses  to gives us advice, warnings and even lucky breaks.

    

These are just a few indicates that this wonderful little deck can assist you with when reading for the lottery. For this purpose, I have written the book "Mystic Pick: Predicting  the Lottery with the Vera Sibilla" by Alessandra Venturi, which can be found on my website at  www.ItalianCartomancy.com

Arguably, due to the influence of the Catholic Church, the original artist who has drawn this deck has remained anonymous. The first deck was commissioned around 1850 in Northern Italy, the final version being produced in around 1880. The images that you see here  (below)  come  from  one  of  the  scarce  copies  of  the  first edition deck ever published in the 19th   century. This is my own deck, which was handed down to me, and the drawings were influenced  by the Austrian  fortune-telling  tradition;  as Northern Italy and Austria were part of the same realm at that time - the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In Europe there are two main fortune-telling  traditions, the first one is French (and has become the most popular in recent times) the  other   is  Italo-Austrian.   The  purely   Italian   tradition   has remained even more hidden than the Germanic one (i.e. the Kipperkarten),  due  to the  unwillingness  of Italian  cartomancers (until now) to stick their neck out for fear of ridicule and ostracism in Italy.

I have learned my art from the oral tradition of word of mouth, for it has been passed  down to me through  the generations  of Italian cartomancers  in my family. It is with great delight that I make this information available for the first time in the English language in the book "Italian Cartomancy: Learn the Vera Sibilla Italiana" as, in my opinion, the Sibilla needs to be known as well as the Lenormand for the accuracy of Her predictions.  It is my hope to make this book and this deck of oracle cards known to those discerning cartomancers who are able to appreciate the wealth of information that these cards provide to those who approach them with respect and with genuine interest in learning their different meanings and unique wisdom.

It is my hope to have sparked your interest in a deck that hitherto has been unavailable to the wider English speaking audience, and one that has a wealth of new and exciting information to offer to those  earnest  students  who  want  to  learn  how  to  unlock  its mysteries.

www.ItalianCartomancy.com