“We have self-care”: bones, runes, tarot and coffee
In previous articles (“Forces and signs of fate. Prophets, politicians and generals ” и “On doomsday scenarios, false prophecies, and the benefits of sanity”) we have already given five, I hope, very useful advice to future prophets and seers. Soon we will continue the work of educating them, but in this article we will talk a little about "lovers."
"Do it yourself"
The services of professional astrologers, fortunetellers and magicians were always expensive, and in this area, with a high degree of probability, one could run into not a "graduate specialist", but a charlatan who only pretends to be a "learned husband." But even if there was money and a desire to turn to some seer, this was not always possible: for example, on a campaign or during a sea expedition. Therefore, various objects and artifacts appeared and became widely used, using which a person could independently make a “request” on any matter of interest to him. These included, for example, beans, which soon replaced the familiar bones (grains) and carved on bone sticks or pebbles runes.
"On the beans one fortune-teller would have guessed, but sorry, she died." Frame from the cartoon "Golden Cockerel"
Fortune telling beans
Dice, Ancient Rome
Rune Pebbles
Recall the "Word of Igor’s Regiment":
"On the seventh vjat Trojan at once Vseslav lots ..."
I like the arrangement of N. Zabolotsky:
“It was the seventh century of the Troyans.
Prince the mighty Polotsk Vseslav
Threw the lot, looking into the future ... "
Prince the mighty Polotsk Vseslav
Threw the lot, looking into the future ... "
"Threw" Vseslav, most likely, it is the bones.
Vseslav Bryachislavich, miniature from the Radziwill Chronicle
Despite the apparent simplicity of this method of divination, there were pitfalls. First of all, it was necessary to be able to ask the question correctly: the answer to it had to be unequivocal: either "yes" or "no." And therefore it was pointless to try to question beans or bones: “Who is to blame?” And “What should I do?”
Working with runes is more difficult. First, decide what it is. Initially, the word meant “all knowledge”, later it was used in the meaning of “writing”, “letters”.
In the translation of the Bible into the Gothic language (Ulfil, IV century), the word rune is found in the meaning of mystery and secret meeting. In the Old Germanic language, the verb runen meant “speak secretly,” and in the Anglo-Saxon language the word run (rune) was used in two meanings - “letter” and “secret”.
Runestones, with the first written mention of Denmark as a state, are kept in the city of Elling
In magic, as a rule, the so-called older runes were used (futark - according to the name of the first six runes). There were 24 of them in all - a series of signs divided into three “families”: Freyja, Hagel, and Thure. Each rune had its own name, and inner magical meaning. Later, the futark was modified into younger runes (Scandinavian - Danish and Swedish-Norwegian versions), of which there are only 16. Germanic and Anglo-Saxon ones were created on the basis of the Scandinavian ones.
According to the Elder Edda, in order to gain knowledge of the runes, Odin sacrificed himself to himself, 9 nights sag pierced by a spear on a tree, and since then the “Father of the Hanged” has become one of his names.
The runes obtained in this way were written by Odin on the shield in front of him, on the teeth of his horse Sleipnir and on the traces of the sleigh, on the paws of a bear and the claws of a wolf, on the beak of the eagle and its wings, in the language of the god of poetry Braga, on the hand of the liberator and on the tracks of the doctor and etc. Then these runes were scraped off, immersed in sacred honey and sent to different parts.
The oldest runic inscription found is the inscription on the tip of a spear from Evre Stabu (Norway) - about 200 g, but Tacitus notes the use of runes already in the XNUMXst century. n e.
By the way, note that some Scandinavian female names end in “runes”: Gudrun, Oddrun. This ending means that this woman can keep a secret entrusted to her - the Normans considered this quality of their wives and daughters to be very valuable (and many would probably agree with them).
Each of the runes has its own meaning, in addition, the meaning of the symbol changes depending on the position - (direct or inverted).
The ancient Icelandic inscription explains the meaning of some runes in this way.
f (fehu) - wealth, good property:
“Fe is a friend’s hatred,
River fire
And the snake trail "
River fire
And the snake trail "
(One by one, three keningas meaning gold.)
u (uruR) - fine rain or scrap iron:
"Ur is a crying cloud,
And ice is powerless
And the hatred of the shepherd. "
And ice is powerless
And the hatred of the shepherd. "
th (thurisaR) - tours, giant:
“Tours are women longing,
Mountain peaks cloister
And the husband of the runic milestone. "
Mountain peaks cloister
And the husband of the runic milestone. "
Already without any fortune-telling it seems complicated, doesn't it? But still continue.
The easiest way to do such a fortune-telling is according to one rune: it should have given an answer like “yes” - “no” to a short and clearly formulated question. Much more complex - according to three runes, the first of which described the situation at present, the second - indicated the direction of development of a particular event, the third - answered the question of how it would all end and “where the heart will calm down”. In the first case, fortune telling was limited to one attempt, in the second, the answer could raise additional questions, and then the already dropped stones or sticks with runes were again placed in the bag, a new question was asked and the fortune telling continued. Here, of course, it was already required to be a true expert on runes.
With the spread of Christianity, fortunetelling in the Bible became popular: after praying, they opened it at random and read a line that was supposed to be the answer to the asked question. It was such a method that Saint Francis chose to learn the fate (of his and his two comrades).
Coffee grounds
In 1615, coffee was brought to Europe through Venice, which was soon replaced by another overseas drink - cocoa (chocolate). The next step was taken in 1683, when the Turkish army, retreating from Vienna, left many bags of coffee in its camp: the fact that one of the reasons for the defeat was officially declared "excessive consumption of the shaitan drink", and coffee in the Ottoman Empire for a while was even banned. And the crowns of coffee were then "tasted."
But the way of this drink in Europe was still thorny, because the Church opposed its use, the hierarchs of which called coffee "black blood of Muslims", which adversely affects Christian souls. The Capuchin monks found a way out: in order to purify the “sinful drink”, they began to add milk to coffee - this is how the “cappuccino” appeared.
And people who did not like the taste of coffee contemptuously called it “Turkish soup”, “soot syrup” and “decoction of old boots”.
Some doctors claimed that drinking a newfangled drink was extremely unhealthy, however, they also doubted the benefits of tea.
At the end of the XVIII century, the Swedish king Gustav III conducted an interesting medical experiment.
Lawrence Pash the Younger. King of Sweden Gustav III
On his orders, the twin brothers, sentenced to death, were replaced with a life sentence under the condition that one of them will drink a large amount of tea every day, the other - no less than coffee. At first, two professors who monitored the health of the participants in this experiment died, then the king (March 29, 1792), and only then, at the age of 83, the first of the experimental subjects died. Do you think he drank tea or coffee? The correct answer is tea.
In general, as the unforgettable Kozma Prutkov said, "and the wise Voltaire doubted the toxicity of coffee."
In 1672, the first coffee house was opened in Paris. And in the XNUMXth century, London cafes were called "penniless universities", since sitting in them you could learn a lot of new and interesting things during a conversation.
English coffee shop, engraving of the XNUMXth century
And after such pleasant and informative conversations it turned out that at the bottom of the cup with ground coffee there was a precipitate, sometimes taking very bizarre forms. People with a rich imagination could see in it the faces of people, and figures of animals, and astrological symbols - anything. The Italians were the first to guess fortune-telling on coffee grounds in the XNUMXth century, then the weather spread all over Europe. The trouble was that not every person has a developed imagination, allowing you to see at the bottom of the cup "amphora" or "constellation Bootes". And then there were enterprising people ready to do it for them - for the appropriate payment, of course. It was proposed to slowly drink a cup of freshly brewed coffee, thinking about what worries most, and then, taking the cup in his left hand, make three circular movements clockwise and turn it over, placing it on the saucer so that one edge of it appears at the bottom, the other - on the edge.
Do you see anything here?
The method was, in general, not new, because before they tried to do similar things with molten wax or tin. But the process itself was more enjoyable and refined.
The legend claims that some gypsy, fortunetelling over the coffee grounds, predicted to Paul I the term of his death, but personally I relate to this stories skeptical.
Another legend says that Charlotte Kirchhoff prophesied to the young A.S. Pushkin’s service, receiving money and two links, and in 1837 she advised to beware of the “white head, white horse and white man”. But at the same time, it is known that Pushkin was not in the least afraid of a quarrel with Dantes, who was blond, and was not afraid of himself. So, it is quite possible that this legend arose after the death of the poet.
And then cards appeared, fortune-telling on them pushed to the second and even third plan all the other methods available to "amateurs". But professional fortunetellers and fortune-tellers on cards appeared almost immediately, especially gypsies who were previously fortunate enough to guess mostly on the palm of their hand, were especially happy about their appearance.
Otolia Kraszewska. Fortune teller
It is curious that gypsies, as a rule, do not use the Tarot deck, but the most ordinary playing cards.
John Scott Cavell. Gypsy with cards
"To take, perhaps, cards in hand ..."
There are many myths associated with the Tarot deck, it’s enough to say that some “researchers” found their traces in Ancient Egypt, whose priests supposedly encrypted secret knowledge in the symbols of the Major Arcana cards.
Proponents of another version claim that the tarot cards come from 22 letters and 10 Sephiroth of Kabbalah and appeared around the III-IV centuries. BC.
The Sephiroth Tree Scroll - the image of our Universe in terms of Enoch magic (Angels magic)
Modern Papyrus Tree of Life Sephiroth
Still others are trying to prove the connection of the Tarot deck with the Vedas.
In fact, for the first time, a game similar to modern card games appeared in China in 1120, when a court officer (his name didn’t keep his name) got the idea to put four groups of symbols on 32 records dedicated to heaven, earth, man and the laws of harmony . Soon this game came to India, the Arabs borrowed it from the Indians. And the first Europeans who got acquainted with the maps were the inhabitants of Spain - they learned about them from the Moors no later than the XIV century. And already in the second half of the XIV century, the Italian artist Nicolo Cavelutstso wrote about the card game "Naib" brought "from the land of Saracens."
The first documented mention of cards in Europe was connected with an attempt to ban them: it was in Bern in 1367.
Starting from 1377, already throughout Europe, playing cards begins to be equated with other gambling, is prohibited in monasteries and is condemned as sinful. In Bologna, at the request of Franciscan preacher Bernardino from Siena, all card decks were burned in 1423. On February 7, 1497, cards, among other “vain” objects, were burned in Florence on the orders of another monk - Dominican Girolamo Savonarola.
All this resembled the notorious “struggle with the mills”, and the prohibitions only sparked interest in the new fun. An example was given by those in power who were not going to deny themselves entertainment for the sake of the "holy fathers" and fanatical monks.
In 1392, Jacqumien Gringonier painted three decks of cards for the French king Charles VI - some of these cards have survived, they are currently considered the oldest in the world.
The "Sun" card from the deck of Tarot Jacquien Gringonier
Some educators have attempted to use maps to educate pupils and students. Thus, Thomas Merner, bachelor of the Krakow Theological Faculty, suggested using them to teach logic - sharing its main provisions by suit (essay “Chartiludium logicae”, 1507).
At the beginning of the 1428th century, the first symbolic cards appeared in Milan and Ferrara - the predecessors of the Tarot. The oldest of those that have come down to our time is the Visconti Sforza deck, which was commissioned by Bonifacio Bembo in XNUMX on the occasion of Bianca Maria Visconti's wedding with Francesco Sforza. These cards did not yet have numbers, letters of the Hebrew alphabet, astronomical symbols, or even familiar names.
Major Arcana Decks of the Tarot Visconti Sforza
The name "Tarot" comes from the Italian word tarocchi (trump card). It appeared about 100 years later than the cards themselves and meant not only a deck of cards, but also a game similar to the modern bridge, which in Italy was called “Taroki”, in Germany - “Tarok”, in France - “TarO”. The cards of this deck are called "lassos" - from the Latin word "mystery" - in alchemy and in homeopathy, so-called compound substances whose ingredients were kept secret. There are 78 cards in total: 56 numerical and court cards of four suits (they are called the Small Arcana and practically do not differ from ordinary playing cards) and 22 symbolic cards are the Senior Arcana, which play the role of "trump cards". The elders are divided into three series of 7 cards: the first corresponds with the intellectual sphere of human life, the second with the moral sphere, the third with material life. Their modern names appeared in the manuscript “Sermones de Ludo cum Alis” - in 1500.
In the XVI century, poets began to use symbolic cards for a poetic description of the character traits of their patron or lady of the heart - this genre was called tarocchi appropriati.
“Facial expressions without changing, noble kings lie”
Frame from the film “Ah, vaudeville, vaudeville”
And finally, in 1540, Francesco Marcolino da Forlì, in his book “Fortune-telling” (“Le Sorti”), for the first time proposed to find out fate with the help of cards, and two methods were indicated: the more complex, using the Tarot deck, and the simpler, using ordinary cards.
And in 1589, Tarot cards first appeared in the case of witchcraft, which was considered in Venice.
In 1612, the author of the anonymous treatise “Glory and Confession of the Rosicrucians” gave new descriptions of fortune-telling using the Tarot deck - “to obtain advice and information about the past, present and future.”
However, the real popularity of the Tarot cards was received after the publication in France of the books dedicated to them by Jebelin and Mellet (both were aristocrats - had the title of count). It happened in 1781. Fortune telling on the Tarot cards became the "calling card" of the famous Alessandro Cagliostro (Giuseppe Balsamo).
Session of “Egyptian Magic” by Alessandro Cagliostro, engraving
Later, the semantic vocabulary of the Tarot Ettailles, “Predictive Tarot” and “Gypsy Tarot” by Papus appeared. In addition to the traditional version of the Tarot deck, many “alternative” ones were created: the Marseille Tarot (card numbering appeared in it), the Egyptian, Ryder-Waite, and even the Salvador Dali deck.
But what “recommendation to clients” I read on one site: “You need to believe in what you predicted, otherwise it will not come true” (!).
I will not comment: I already wrote about this in a previous article: About doomsday scenarios, fake prophecies and the benefits of sanity): the chapter "Life is bad without a sucker."
Take off the mask
Interestingly, many drawings of cards of the classic Tarot deck have “prototypes”. So, for example, the image on the Hanged Man (Traitor) card was copied from an Italian caricature of the XNUMXth century: it, hanging by one leg, depicted condottier Mutsio Attendolo, better known under the nickname Sforza - “Strong” (it became family ) Having been hired by Pope John XXIII for the war with Naples, he sided with the enemy. On the caricature, by order of the pope, it was written: "I am Sforza, a bumpkin from Cotignola"
Cartoon drawing
Card of the Visconti Sforza Taro deck “The Hanged Man”
In the life of Muzio Attendolo there was also an episode related to fortune telling. At the age of 15, thinking about whether he should join the detachment of Condotier Boldrino da Penikale, he decided to throw an ax: if he sticks into a tree, he becomes a soldier, no, he stays at home. The ax, you probably guessed, did not fall to the ground after this throw.
Muzio Attendolo Sforza
The son of this condottiere married the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Milan, Bianca Maria Visconti, and became the founder of a new dynasty of rulers of this city.
Francesco Sforza
Ironically, he was the customer of the famous Tarot Visconti-Sforza deck, among which was a card with a caricature of his father, which, otherwise, might have been forgotten forever.
No less interesting is the card “Papessa” (Elder Arkan II): on the map of the classic Tarot deck there is a woman in a monastic cassock, in a crown, with a cross and a book in her hands. This picture is an echo of numerous rumors about Pope Pope John - it was described in the article Papess John. The biggest secret of the Vatican (V. Ryzhov).
Papessa card from the deck of Tarot Visconti Sforza
In the picture of the map “Justice” we see the traditional image of the ancient Greek goddess Themis.
On the map "Strength" usually depicted Heracles, or Samson (in this case, there is a broken column next to him).
Strength card from the Visconti Sforza Tarot deck - Hercules killing a lion
Strength card from the deck of Tarot Jacquien Gringonier - Samson
On the map "Hermit" (sometimes - "Time") you can recognize the god Kronos.
The card "Jester" ("Fool") is currently equal in value to 56 cards of the Small Arcana and symbolizes the soul of a person. The drawing on it resembles the depiction of the vice of Stupidity on Giotto's fresco.
Vice Stupidity. Giotto, fresco from Capella del Arena, Padova
The Fool card from the Visconti Sforza Tarot deck
By the way, outwardly similar to the "Jester" Tarot, the "joker" in a regular deck appeared in the United States around 1857 and was originally called "The Best Trump Jack", then - "Imperial Bower". It was used as the highest trump card in the popular game “yukker” in those years, and in poker it became the so-called “wild card”.
Varieties of the Joker card in American decks of the 2nd half of the XNUMXth century
The joker has nothing to do with Tarot cards, he was supplied with a similar pattern later.
Recall again that both the regular deck of cards and the Tarot deck were created for entertainment (games), the function of the tool for predictions appeared later and has no mystical basis.
Luke Leiden. Card game
A variety of fortune-telling on cards are all kinds of solitaire games (from the French word “patience” - “patience”). According to one version, the first solitaire was invented by the French mathematician Pelisson for Louis XIV. On the other, for the first time, the Bastille prisoners began to lay out cards by suits from boredom. Already in 1826, a book “Collection of card layouts known as Grand Solitaire” was published in Russia.
Solitaire Collection, 1882
In the book of the Englishwoman Adelaide Cadogan “Illustrated games - solitaire” 25 solitaire games were described. In total, there are currently 225 of their varieties, and the most popular solitaire is probably the notorious “Scarf”, which can be played on any computer.
But the cards, nevertheless, can be used to predict the future - if you follow the example of Napoleon Bonaparte, who often sat down to play with his generals on the eve of the battle, and, in the manner of their game, made conclusions about the psychological state of the partners. Those who were inclined to take risks, making high stakes, were sent on the offensive, cautious - to defend themselves or to the reserve.
Napoleon had another story related specifically to fortune telling on maps. The notorious Maria-Anna-Adelaide Lenormand supposedly predicted a quick marriage, a brilliant career and the setbacks that would haunt him in the event of a divorce. There really are two versions of the method of fortune telling Lenormand: some claim that she divined to Napoleon on the tarot cards, others - that on the coffee grounds. There is no documentary evidence of this legend, but, in any case, it is hardly possible to recognize this prediction as “brilliant”. After a divorce from Josephine (December 16, 1809), Napoleon bathed in glory for another three years and entered into an extremely advantageous and prestigious marriage with the princess of the Habsburg imperial house.
Georges Rouget. “The marriage of Napoleon I and Mary-Louise. April 2, 1810. " Versailles, Palace Museum
And the defeat in the next war against the whole of Europe (if not in a year, then in five or ten years) and the betrayal of his comrades-in-arms tired of his endless adventures could have been predicted by many other, more serious people. Provided that he would one day have a desire to listen to them.
Gaetano Ferry. "Napoleon signs the surrender at the Fontainebleau Palace, April 4, 1814"
In the next article, we will talk about the “prophetic” dreams of kings and commanders and talk about witty and not very attempts to decipher them.
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