The system of reading a life, and its cycles, through regular playing cards is a very old and ancient art. This system has been called many names and it is said to be traced back as far as Altlantis and before ancient Egypt.
The Magi Priests and oracles of 2000 years ago hid this very accurate system of knowledge in a form that could be passed down through generations. A form which would transcend the boundaries of language and shifting cultural landscapes through time.
They hid this information in a small book of symbols for humanity to discover when the time was right.
This little book is what we typically see as an everyday set of playing cards. But ancient seers referred to this small book as, The Book of Knowledge, or, The Book of Life. It is a book of wisdom told through symbols and colors. It holds the code for some of the most ancient and most accurate forms of astrology, numerology, and symbology.
If we tune into the synchronicities of the numberings of playing cards we can see quite quickly that there is something going on far beyond a mere card game. The deck is actually a mystic calendar: 52 cards and 52 weeks. 13 Moons in a Calendar year and 13 cards in a suit and in a birth spread. 7 days in a week and 7 cards in a year spread. 4 suits and 4 seasons. 12 months and 12 court cards. When we add up the solar values of all the cards, we get exactly 365 1/4; the same amount of days inside one year.
How did the wisdom of the cards come to be known again by Cardology experts today?
Well firstly this old esoteric science was preserved by mystical orders, passed on by word of mouth, and often carefully kept secret for many ages. We can see aspects of it pop up in many different cultures and civilizations throughout time. Here, I will focus on the history of how it appeared in the Western world since that is where I began to study it.
1890 - Olney H. Richmond made the system public when he released the, “Mystic Test Book”, which was the first known published book that began to reveal this system. Richmond was the self-appointed Grand Master of the Order of the Magi. He created a secret society charged with preserving, studying, and protecting the system. Richmond reported that the science of the cards went all the way back to Atlantis. He said that he had received the instructions to create the Order, by word of mouth, from an unnamed French Magea (there were always between two and seven active, since the destruction of Atlantis), while Richmond (a private in the 14th Michigan Infantry) was standing sentry duty, in the vicinity of Nashville, Tennessee.
After Richmond made the information public several more books were published over the years. In 1947 - Edith L. Randall and Florence Evylinn Campbell wrote the book, “Sacred Symbols of the Ancients, In the 1970s - Arn Lien taught the science of the cards in his book, “Whats Your Card?”. In the 1990’s Robert Camp wrote many books on his version of card divination system.
Present day - Today one can find many branches of Cardology online. Card readers call the cards by different names and use different variations of the system. Therefore, a “Destiny Card” reading can be very different than say a "Cards of Life” reading as different practitioners read the cards differently. Some of the various names for the cards today are: Cards of Life, the Mystic Cards, 52 Secrets, Cards of Illumination, Egyptian Tarot, Little Book of Destiny, Little Book of the Seven Thunders, Love Cards, Magi Cardology, Magi Cards, Mystic Card Science, ect.
The Cosmic Cycles of the Cards
When I began to study the cards it became clear to me that what was flowing through my own channel (we all have our own unique perception of the cards and what they activate within us), was a focus on the energetic cycles of the cards. It was a very feminine approach that centered ideas of spiralic healing. I felt the cards needed this approach as everyone I had studied Cardology under were men, and there was a masculine and very heteronormative approach in their teachings.
My vision is to bring the cards to a larger audience through a queer inclusive, anti-colonial, and social justice lens that honors the experiences of historically marginalized BIPOC and LGBTQ folks. I often felt alienated in my time studying the cards as a Queer woman as the teachings, and astrology communities I encountered in my studies, were very heteronormative, and often problematic in their lack of inclusive language on all fronts.
My intention and hope is that I can bring the wisdom of the cards to more people by creating more inclusive environment in which to share their magic