Foresight by Earth

Ana Cortez's system of card reading with the Playing Card Oracles incorporates geomancy to elaborate and explore further the material offered by the cards. In my experience it has added depth and detail to a reading that might not have been so obvious at first. It gives a different perspective. Geomancy is an ancient form of divination that is translated from the Greek as 'foresight by earth' and the Arabic as 'science of the sand'. It is thought to have established its roots in the Middle East when Arabic merchants brought with them esoteric teachings from East Asia through the Silk Road.

Along the way various influences were brought to bear and we arrived at the system we have today of sixteen geomantic figures that correspond to various astrological energies. It uses the random generation of marks or dots to create a four-line figure, one line for each of the four elements. The divinatory meaning of the figure depends on the number and arrangement of the dots. Ana's system does three geomantic calculations for a spread, by number called The First Witness, by color called The Second Witness and then the result of adding those together called The Judge. So here we go with the geomantic analysis by number, The First Witness for yesterday's draw...

Playing Card Oracles by Ana Cortez

To calculate the geomancy by number... an odd number gets one dot, an even number gets two. Looking at yesterday's draw we have...

9 ------>   *
12 -----> * *
5 ------ >  *
6 ------ > * *

I'm using Astrogem Geomancy Cards by Les Cross to depict the traditional geomantic figures for this reading. There are several different types of cards available out there but I liked the aesthetic of these as well as the addition of the gem correlation. I'm not knowledgeable about crystals and the skeptic in me finds a lot of the claims dubious but the magpie in me likes the pretty, sparkly factor and I'm slowly building a small collection that gives me a lot of pleasure.

Using the math described above to calculate the first geomantic figure by number I arrived at Amissio. Ruled by Venus, Amissio is a figure of change, desire and loss. It is the card of diminishment, emptying out, a release or shedding of skin. It indicates a potential loss of something though that loss could be positive if it's desired, negative if not. Central to its meaning are the basic teachings of impermanence.

It is ruled by Venus with Taurus as its astrological association. And elementally it is associated with Fire and Water though I'm unclear how that's arrived at. Nevertheless I'm intrigued by the elemental pairing as that is the combination that appeared in the first card drawn, a Water suit in a Fire placement. As such I'm drawing a conclusion that there is a direct relationship between the first card and this geomantic figure.

The first card, Gilles de Rais ~ Nine of Hearts, with its dripping hearts traditionally suggests excess but at the same time those droplets falling from the hearts convey a sense of loss. For this week in relation to the intensity of my driving commitments I definitely sense a feeling of, if not loss then at the very least limit, which is perhaps a more muted form of loss. Anxiety is perhaps more present than usual as this is no country road drive but eight-lane freeway driving. So a sense of both loss and excess, I suppose.

Looking at the figure itself can be helpful in finding a way in to the meaning of the card. If you look closely at the two triangles they form two inverted cups stacked one on top of the other which conveys a theme of emptying and diminishment.

Amissio ~ Astrogem Cards

The backs of these cards contain a bit of information on the qualities of the figure, its astrological associations and imagery that conveys its meaning. And here we see more clearly the image of the overturned cup with droplets of water falling from it to indicate the theme of loss this card presents.

The card also contains a crystal association, in this case malachite. The properties of malachite have primarily to do with protection but it is also said to enhance creativity and imagination though I have no experience with this aspect and can't speak to its verity. I do like look of the gems and would like to work towards collecting each stone in this deck. It would be nice to have some malachite to carry with me this week as a literal 'touchstone'. The depth and variegation of the green is visually very soothing.




 I'll stop here for now and tomorrow will explore the geomancy by color for this draw aka, The Second Witness. I'm part way into my week and so far it has felt about as I thought, pretty darn exhausting on the physical front but very satisfying to see the joy my son is reaping from the experience. And we're having some great connection time with all those hours spent in the car.