People have tried to predict the future since the beginning of time, and they have used some very strange things and rituals to do it.

Hieromancy is one of the ancient ways they used, which is divination using entrails of animals or humans using them as a sacrifice. Sometimes the animals were alive, and they studied the entrails as they dropped. This gory practice was also known by other names, and it was popular in Greece and gradually spread throughout the world. In a ritual an animal would be sacrificed and their internal organs with especial attention to the liver which would be inspected carefully. A healthy liver was a good sign for the future but if the liver was not healthy or lacked a lobe then it was believed that doom was imminent. A defect in the animal’s heart was also very bad news, but a healthy heart was very good news.    

Using the blood and bodily fluids however had a category of its own and was called Dririmancy. This practice was usually performed in conjunction with Hieromancy, but it could be used on its own, as it was considered a different practice.  

Human sacrifices that were offered would crackle as they burnt, and these crackling sounds would be used to make predictions for the future.

Everyone knows the one about Friday the thirteen being very dodgy and people worry that something nasty will happen to them.

It is commonly thought that it originates from the fact that Judas Iscariot was the 13^th guest at the last supper. Also that Jesus was crucified on a Friday. However there are other believes from where this superstition came from.

Breaking a mirror was thought to bring bad luck for 7 years apparently because it takes seven years to replace the cells in the body.

Some thought that your soul was reflected in a mirror and to break the mirror meant then that your soul was harmed.

Opening an umbrella was considered bad luck apart from the obvious fact that you could knock something over; it was thought to offend the Sun God by blocking the suns rays by opening the umbrella inside.

Some also thought that umbrellas were magical as they blocked the sun.

Others even thought that opening an umbrella inside would bring death and misfortune to the people who lived there.

Knocking on wood for good fortune derived from when they thought that Gods actually lived in trees.

A person would knock lightly on the wood for a favour then knock lightly again to thank them when the favour was granted, but on the same tree.

This superstition might also be derived from the fact that Jesus died on a cross made from wood.

 

It does seem strange that an innocent pack of playing cards can be traced back hundreds of years.

It does need considerable skill to use the cards to do a reading and it does require that the person having a reading chooses a variety of the cards in order to get a good all round reading too.

There is a ritual that needs to be done before the reading commences.

 Does the client want a general reading or to go into a particular aspect of their life?

If for instance the client wanted a reading on love and romance then a particular spread of the cards would be used.

They can ask several questions from the same spread.

It is important that the client handles the spread and puts their vibrations on them and to also shuffle and cut them thoroughly.

It is also important to have a relaxed atmosphere whilst doing the reading.

You need a warm room rather than a cold room and sometimes burning candles, or a burning joss stick can achieve a lovely atmosphere.

After the reading is completed it is important to thoroughly shuffle the cards and return them to a secluded place of safety, ready for the next reading.

A learner of Cartomancy must first use the literal meaning of the cards to do a reading.

It is an advantage to have a sensitive nature and empathy for people, but not absolutely necessary to be a good reader, however this can develop over time with working with the cards.

However it may take longer to grasp the psychic side, which will kick in and override of the cards eventually.