Category: Q&A

Tarot Spread Testing Lab

10/17/2015

How Do You Test New Tarot Spreads?

I recently wrote a blog post where I tested a tarot spread my friend sent me. I also started a new series, Tea&Tarot where I review a tea I'm drinking and show a tarot spread that I use or have tried out. This has caused a couple of people to ask me about trying out new spreads, how I choose a new spread, and what is my method.

How Do You Choose Tarot Spreads to Test?

In the case of Down the Rabbit Hole Spread, I was asked to test that spread by a dear friend of mine. I love sharing my love of tarot with others and find that sharing and testing spreads created by others is a great way to do that. If you have a spread that you've created that you would like to see if it is readable and beneficial to others than just yourself, please feel free to Contact me and we will see if it is a spread I'd be interested in trying.

When it comes to choosing spreads from various resources, as I do with my Tea&Tarot posts, then I try and use spreads the correspond with my editorial calendar's theme for the blog. For example, in September, we focused on education and harvest so our tarot spread was one that expanded on a traditional tarot spread and was one I had learned a great deal from and wanted to share as an educational resource. In October, our focus is on Ancestor Work, Witchcraft and Halloween so our tarot spread is one that focuses on Samhain and the Ancestors.

In other cases, I try out tarot spreads that associate with my situation at hand. When I was healing from my miscarriage and had questions about my own womanhood and fertility, I chose tarot spreads that uncovered emotional turmoil, discussed other forms of fertility and nurturing, and revealed aspects of shadow work that I needed to practice. I found tarot spreads for this online and in tarot books, keeping an open mind to different ways the tarot could help me in my time of need.

What Test Deck Do You Use?

When testing out a new tarot spread I usually stick with 2 options.

If the tarot spread I want to test is in a companion book to a specific tarot deck, then I will use the companion tarot deck. The spreads with companion decks are usually created with those cards in mind. While many, I have found, work with any deck, the working and language usually corresponds with the images in the companion deck itself rather than a similar tarot deck.
If the tarot spread is not connected to a specific deck or is one that a friend asks me to test, then I will use the Rider-Waite deck. The Rider-Waite is my go-to deck for new spreads, tarot practices, and teaching because the symbols in it are vivid, obvious, and familiar to me. I have no issues with reading the individual cards or deciphering their meaning. When testing out a new deck, just like testing out anything, you want to keep the other variables of your reading as low as possible. By using the Rider-Waite, I am not experimenting with the variables of a deck that I haven't acquainted myself with fully yet, so my focus can be on the spread and not the cards.

Will You/Can I Use New, Tested Tarot Spreads for Professional Readings?

This can be a tricky question when it comes to a person's creative property. ALWAYS ask the person who created the spread about their licenses, copyrights, and if they are ok with you using their layouts in readings that you make money from. Always give credit to the creator of that spread.
I tend to stick to spreads I've created or some very basic spreads such as the Past, Present, Future; Body, Mind, Spirit; or Celtic Cross spread when reading for others. This prevents copyright hassle and allows me to give consistent readings to return clients.
That being said, I won't say never and there may come a time in the future that I work something out with a spread creator and offer readings with that lay out to my customers.

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Q&A Divination with Smoke

9/14/2015

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Today's Magickal Question is from Gem:
Is it possible for someone, a spirit, deity, someone to communicate through the smoke of incense? Is that possible?

Messages in Smoke

Yes, it is certainly possible. Some might even say that spirits or deities will use any means to get their message across so anything is possible. Incense smoke, however, is a highly possible medium through which the divine would communicate because it is often used for that very purpose by magickal practitioners. People of many faiths use incense to send prayers, requests, thanks, and messages to the spirit world. This is often done because of the aetheric nature of both fire (the burning of the herbs and resins) and air. Neither can be held in our hands and both have a shifting nature, making them fantastic conduits for spirit.
2 forms of using smoke for this form of spirit communication are called Libanomancy and Capnomancy.

Libanomancy

Libanomancy is divination through incense smoke, usually frankincense. Ancient Babylonians, Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and later Europeans used libanomancy though its popularity has declined over the centuries. This form of divination is different from regular smoke divination in that is is specific to smoke from incense and that the omens can also come from ashes of the incense as well as the smoke.
Interpretations of incense smoke will vary from person to person, as it does in many forms of divination, however most of the reading comes from the direction the smoke sways towards, how it clusters, and if any images can be seen in the smoke. It is recommended to read these signs when conditions include calm wind (or when the air condition or fan aren't blowing) and to use loose incense on coals rather than stick or cone incense due to variances in manufacturers and elements used in their creation.

Capnomancy

Capnomancy differs from Libanomancy in that it is divination of smoke after a fire has been made - not necessarily smoke just from incense. Readings can be done with any smoke-causing fire but were traditionally done over the fires were sacrifices were made to see if the sacrifice was pleasing to the gods.
Like Libanomancy, reading the smoke is often a matter of deciding the meaning behind which direction it is going, if there are any breaks or clusters in the plume, etc.
Yet another form of smoke divination that falls under the umbrella of Capnomancy is Dendromancy which is a Druidic practic using specifically oak wood and mistletoe.

Practical Use & Recommendations

If you tend to burn incense when doing other forms of divination such as tarot reading, make a practice of recording the smoke's signs and reactions during the reading in your tarot journal or book of shadows. See if there are any patterns to the smoke depending on the type of reading, person you are reading for, or even depending on your mood or which tarot deck you use.

I recommend capnomancy after any spell or ritual that involves fire, especially when a spell is burned or disposed of in the flames. This can give signs as to how long and how well the spell or ritual will turn out in the days or weeks to come.

You can also practice capnomancy when smudging a home. Rather than guiding the smoke with a fan, allow the smoke to guide you to where it is most needed and use it to see where in the home needs focused cleansing or banishing.

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Hi! I'm December, the more talkative half of the Seer&Sundry team. Along with reading Tarot, my passion is helping people live a magickal life every day & writing about all things witchy. You'll find all three topics that I love here!

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