Six to Ten

Going higher up the pip scale. Continued from Ace to Five. Starts in How to Read Cards. Where we continue to explore the Mighty Pips via plain observation and a refresh of the Hedgewytch method of cartomancy popularized by Dawn Jackson.

Suits Quick Reference 
For more, see Mighty Pips. 
♥️ HEART Red. Inside the body. Summer, water, love & emotion, warm, slow. Pleasant.  Tarot Cups
♦️ DIAMOND Brightest Red. On your hand. Spring, fire, money & mind, communication, hot, faster but erratic, so less slow. Pleasant but unstable.  Tarot Coins
♣️ CLUB Black. Extends. Autumn, air, work & craft, cool, fast and swift. Less pleasant. Tarot Wands
♠️ SPADE Darkest Black. Cuts. Winter, earth, troubles, limits, death & hardship, cold, fast but heavy. Unpleasant. Malefic. Tarot Swords

Quick visual recap. We begin at the Ace a single point, seed or root. Add a second and a line forms, a channel opens, with Two there’s exchange. Now a third drops in, something new emerges, forms a triangle like an arrow pointing up or a coin dropping into a purse Three shows increase, gain (loss/removal with the Spades, which are malefic and tend to flip the function). While the Four is a square & stable, like four legs or walls, the Five shows the body, which then inevitably goes for a walk…

Six is a road or a path, the ways. Travel & journeys as well as progress and flow. See how the two suit lines form a straight road.

6 ♥️ A pleasant journey, trip. Vacation or holiday with family and friends. A relationship which is on track or advancing, positive progress in general. Blood flow. Moving forward. Good things on the way, road ahead. A river. 6 ♦ A financial or mental path. A car or moving vehicle (as a machine which moves on a road). A well-lit highway. Investments (financial ventures down the road). Money, thoughts or ideas flowing. A gambling trip. An electrical conduit. 6 ♣️ Career goals, roadmap. Business trip. Education, learning, teaching (as constructive paths). Reading books (see notes). A road in the woods or a windy road. A hiking trail. Progress. 6 ♠️ An escape route, exhaust pipe, drain. Walking away. A bad trip, dangerous road. Going in the wrong direction. Cleaning, clearing and getting rid of things (as the decision to take that path, like a vacuum sweep, the physical work is in the 5 of Clubs, the beautifying/cleaning/polishing in the 3 of Diamonds and the joy in the Hearts).

Notes: Dawn Jackson in the Hedgweytch materials adds ‘running with the wrong crowd’ to the 6 of Spades. I suppose I can see that, especially if I picture the Hell’s Angels riding down the road. But a bad crowd is more 8 (gatherings) of Spades for me (although also a witch coven eh) and a bad place is in the 4, but if you’re ‘running with them’ then sure. Going the wrong way kinda covers it though. She also has ‘reading books’ for the 6 of Clubs, I suppose because books are educational, and learning tools that take you on journeys, perhaps books as the craft of journey makes sense, books do have ‘leaves’ and are made from trees. I would still more likely see reading in combination with the diamonds as something done with the eyes, and brain, then paper and craft in the clubs. Comment your thoughts!

Folk tradition: 6 of Diamonds is seen as ‘distance’ or something distant. This is not mighty, well- clear, I would probably prefer to see the 6 of Clubs as ‘distance’ as these are the batons, long and expansive, but perhaps this is in the sense of ‘distant’ like the stars (diamonds).

Suddenly Seven gets in the way and brings difficulties & trouble. Like a stone in your path. Also fate, religion and magic*.

*Note: In the Hedgewytch materials, the 7s are attributed Magic & Religion because these are “things used to cope with the problems that Fate has assigned for us” Ms. Jackson reasons that the qualities of 7 are due to its in-between position (6 cards behind, 6 cards ahead) which I would say is the ‘crossroads’ of the cards, where magic takes place. I would also say the 7s are where fate interferes, religious people pray and witches stab a nail through a petition paper and spit on the earth. Either way 7s are traditionally magical & religious and it is not hard to see why as there are 7 musical notes, colors in the rainbow, visible luminaries/planets in the sky etc. I have chosen to separate these significations in my notes, those relating to trouble are in regular type and religion/magic in italics.

7 ♥️ Love troubles. Family bad blood. A troubled heart, emotional problem. Emotions bottled up. A drinking problem. Flooding or a flood. Circulatory problems. Religion in general (as a fuzzy warm motivational kind of coping with trouble?). Love spells, magic involving water or in the home. Religious or magical work used to dissipate trouble (like prayers). Potions (because, liquid. Crafty magic in general is in the clubs though). Blood magic. 7 ♦ Financial woes. Writer’s block. An idea stuck. Energy not flowing. A power outage or fire. Lost objects. Mental or nervous ailments. Clairvoyance, psychic work and divination. Magic involving seeing, clarity and truth. Astrology (literally the seven Diamonds/Stars). Mind magic, visualization, meditation. Candle or light magic and fire rituals. Working with Crystals. 7 ♣️ Practical problems, troubles at work. Obstacles and delays. Fitness/workout slump. Hurricane, tornado or wind storm. Clumsiness, lack of dexterity. Muscle ailments. Making of charms, talismans and spells. Crafty magic, rituals. Breath work. Mending. Herbal, wind and natural magic. 7 ♠️ Trouble meets trouble. Tears.* An accidental cut, slash or wound. (Though by now you should know where the blood would be found, not here) Broken bones or ailments. A snow storm or earthquake. A hidden thing or problem (troubles underground/earth) hiding something. Magic of cutting away, cleansing, riddance. Protection and self-defense work. Earth, root, and bone magic. Digging. Ancestor/death/graveyard stuff.

Note: Ms. Jackson adds “power of chance, happenstance in general” and “the power to makes things happen ‘by magic’ ” to the 7 of Clubs. I sort of understand that ‘making things happen’ can relate to the clubs, don’t quite get the chance/happenstance, anyone?

*Folk tradition: The 7 of Spades is referred to as ‘the tears’.

The Eight shows ideas, thoughts & gatherings, so also the mind and communication. See how the symbols in the cards appear to gather and communicate (and also strangely form an eight!)

8 ♥️ Thoughts about love, family, or emotions. A festive event, party or celebration. A night out at the pub or club. Speed dating. Sweet talking and flirting. Pleasant thoughts or ideas. Fan convention. Sweet dreams. 8 ♦ Money on the mind. Financial plans and budgeting. Electronic (fire) media used for communication, smartphones and computers. Electronics in general. A finance firm. Creative group, think tank. Collector convention. 8 ♣️ Thoughts on work. Practical plans, building. Work and careers. Business meetings. Companies. Sports Teams. Labor Unions. Educational groups. Workshops, knitting clubs, book clubs. 8 ♠️ Negative thinking. bad attitude. Dangerous or harmful ideas . Gossip, rumours. War. Organized crime. Oppression. Nightmares. Also a witch coven.

Folk tradition: The eights represent farm animals (all gathered up).

Nine brings changes. Meet the devil at the crossroads and nothing is the same after. The outcome of your wish.*

9 ♥️ Positive change, good outcome. Improvement. A change in the family or friend circle. Change of heart. Wish fulfilled.* 9 ♦ Change in finances. Fineries and luxuries. Visible as well as visual changes. Changing your mind. Change in visibility or status (such as fame, which is rare). 9 ♣️ Work or career changes. Changing methods, goals, or priorities. Change of routine. Change of plans. Change of air. Wind changing. 9 ♠️  Change for the worse, negative outcome. Disappointment. Depression. Sad turn of events. Wish unfulfilled.

*Folk tradition: The 9 of Hearts is seen as the ‘wish fulfilled’ card and the 9 of Spades as ‘wish unfulfilled’ this inevitably grants these two cards an almost ‘too good’ or best and ‘too bad’ or worst quality that I would advice against falling trap to as quick fixes. The question is still the question and a wish fulfilled or denied may point towards expectation rather than outcome. Still a 9 of Hearts in good company is very nice indeed.

What’s the Weather? An example. If divining for weather, a change could be seen in the nines, Hearts for rain, Diamonds for clearing up, sunny (or changes in the sky/astro-weather) Clubs for changes in the wind, and Spades for dryness or darkness. Nearby cards and combinations are key to interpretation. Weather itself can be represented by the 4s for a place, the 6s for a journey and 10s for a travel destination. Red 3s could show improvement and black 3s the opposite. Hearts pleasant to Spades unpleasant. Context! Diamonds would be the hottest, Hearts the most humid and Spades the coldest/driest. You could also judge intensity by the number (10 of Clubs, mighty windy) and progression. Fun eh?

Ten you’ve reached the destination, the end of the road. An ending, success, (or failure) as well as a lot or frankly too much of something. Travel.*

*Note: 10s represent travel as an ‘end point’ or ‘destination,’ Dawn Jackson notes a single 10 does not represent travel but together with a 6, or two or more, can be good indicators. See also note on Folk Tradition below on 10s representing qualities.

10 ♥️ Happiness, bliss. Pleasant family life, marriage. Emotional security. A lot of love or too much love. Too much of a good thing. Journey by water, a ship, lake or ocean. 10 ♦ Success. Financial security or independence. Enough money, a lot of money or too much money. Realizing an idea, sealing a money deal. A virtual journey, or journey to the stars (in all our dreams). 10 ♣️ Achievement. Completion of a project, or job. Graduation. A lot or too much work, being busy. Reaching your fitness goals. Journey by air. 10 ♠️ Failure. A lot or too much trouble, being worried, grief. Evil and violence. Too much of a bad thing. Journey by land. Too much witchcraft.

Folk Tradition: Remember the 3s are little and the 10s are a lot. The 10s are also connected to the Aces, one begins one ends, and therefore both can represent the qualities of something. Think ‘end use’ with the 10s, such as an appliance (5 Diamonds) together with a 10 Hearts (Water) can be a washing machine.

That’s it for the numbers! Once again, instead of seeing this as a list of meanings I encourage you try and see how these concepts relate and how they can be shaped by context. For example, a 10 of Diamonds in a question of earning money might be a positive indicator unless it is followed by the 2 of Diamonds (a large decrease) or worse the 3 of Spades (loss). In a question of love the 10 of Hearts might be a bit too much altogether and a 3 of Hearts just enough. Clear vision.

I’ve used the Hedgewytch materials (folk tradition) together with my own notes and observations to illustrate how to go about when working with the pip cards. So far I hope I have made it as clear as possible. Any confusion or doubts please let me know!

This is in no way a complete work, nor does it attempt to be. There are many things I have yet to encounter, think about or find. A true fortune-teller’s work is never done!

Have a go at your own pairings of the quality of a suit together with number to come out with cool new ideas (ideas can also be cool! Take that Diamonds) and do share on the comments below!

Coming up next. Party with the Queens. Continues here.