Tarot and Medici Solitaire. Fortune-telling Practice.

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Chapter From the Author.

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—What is that?

—An oak.

—We can see it’s not a linden. You’re being asked, who are these Kostya plus Lucy?

—I couldn’t say; it was delivered with them.

—Find out who these individuals were and strictly demand restitution for the… wood damage.

—Apollon Mitrofanovich, that tree is heavens only know how many years old. Perhaps that Kostya and Lucy are no longer among the living.

—Demand restitution posthumously.

(The Strugatsky Brothers. Monday Begins on Saturday)

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Fig. And the course of Fate is inevitable—to write, to write in every conceivable manner.2

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This book ought, logically, to conclude the trilogy of foundational information on the Medici Solitaire.

As the topic of Medici Solitaire is far too vast and multifaceted, the author has found it impossible to contain within a single book.

Therefore, for those discovering this for the first time, the author wishes to remind you:3

1) 

The theory of Stalking with Tarot cards, along with practical exercises for its mastery, is set forth by the author in the book 'Tarot and Medici Solitaire.

Stalking Self-Study Guide.'

2) 

An idiosyncratic primer of the basic archetypal figures of the Tarot can be found in the book 'Tarot and Medici Solitaire: Gallery of Examples.'

This book serves as a peculiar manual, aimed at the educated and already practicing Tarot readers who have chosen to expand their repertoire of tools. Including, notably, when working with clients.

Within, it details the practice involving one of the most mythical and rarely illuminated Tarot Solitaire traditions. It bears many names, and its traces flicker through the annals of History and Literature for at least several centuries.

Catherine de' Medici, Mary Stuart, John Dee, Molière, Catherine the Great, Alexander Pushkin, the Decembrists, Dream Hackers—this is but a brief roster of those acquainted with the PM, and about whom the 'author' of this book has managed to learn.4

This practice is a secret treasure of Hermeticism and a legacy of Tarot. At the time of writing, the author is not affiliated with the Brotherhood. His current Patron has permitted him to share information concerning the PM. 5

In accordance with the spirit of Aquarian openness, he describes the practice of the Medici Solitaire in this book.

That is, this book is written, as Hermeticism would classify it, 'by a profane for the profane.'

This book is written as concisely as possible—eschewing intermediate logical chains, references, and proofs. Otherwise, its length would swell to rival a doctoral dissertation.

Yet, even then, the only real proof of its Truth can be its effectiveness in the hands of Tarot practitioners.

The author is nonetheless obliged to offer, at minimum, some brief clarifications, since it is not the knowledge of Truths that makes a layman into a specialist, but at least a rudimentary grasp of them.

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Chapter What is the Medici Solitaire?

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My preferred form of wit is simply telling the truth.

There is nothing in this world more amusing.

(Bernard Shaw)

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Fig. Faceless are the Principles of Fate. Yet we persistently obey them…6

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The Medici Solitaire is but one of the myriad disguises of the Universal Law of Conservation of Energy, shown here in a figurative-modular guise.

In this context, the module-images are visualized as Tarot cards.

The very structure and rules of PM ensure a balance among the Forces involved. Which, in practice, translates into its stability and surprising capacity for realization in Reality.

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One of the practical avenues for applying PM can take the form of a peculiar prophecy, cunningly disguised as fortune-telling. Even though prophecy is but one possible variant of the future, the balance of Forces in PM makes it entirely possible to realize it in Reality.

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Chapter Why Use the Medici Solitaire?

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– Don’t try to bend the spoon. That’s impossible. To begin with, you must grasp the main point.

– And what is the main point?

– There is no spoon.

(The Matrix: Neo’s conversation with Indigo, at the Oracle’s, in the hallway.)

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Fig. And the Word—weighty—of the Prophet shapes Destiny… …by the Will of Fate… 7

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Practicing Tarot readers, whom the profane generally call 'fortune-tellers,' are faced with the following situations in their dealings with clients:

1) 

The client wishes to be assured that the 'fortune-teller' is not a charlatan. To this end, the Tarot reader tells the client’s past, employing this or that form of vision. In doing so, the cards usually serve merely as a tool for the Tarot reader to attune to the informational channel. And, more often than not, they serve merely as a smokescreen for his extrasensory talents and, in truth, he needs them about as much as a fish needs an umbrella.

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2) 

Once the Tarot reader has conquered the client's trust, he proceeds to an analysis of the current state of affairs. In such cases, as a rule, he employs the ritual of having the client draw or toss 'random' cards. Which, in one way or another, the Tarot reader interprets in relation to the client. Since the client's life is a multifaceted structure, the current situation is typically considered from a particular angle. The usual suspects: career, love, money, enemies, and the like.

3) 

And then, as a rule, the treacherous fog of the Future begins to roll in. The Future itself—though a peculiar reflection of the Past—contains, at its pivotal moments, certain 'forks' in the road. From these, in due course, the Tree of Future Variants for the particular client quietly takes root. At this stage, the Tarot reader’s professional mission is to locate these Key Events and analyze how the client might employ them to their own advantage.

4) 

At the same time, most clients, to put it delicately, are hardly interested in the causes and consequences underlying such a particular configuration of the Future. Tarot readers themselves rarely possess a complete Vision of the client's Karma and, more often than not, fail to discern the causal chains of Past Incarnations or the current imprint of the client’s Future in the Mirror of the World. And explaining to the average client the link between their Past Lives and their present circumstances—and further, the unfolding of events in the Future—can prove rather complicated.

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5) 

Thus, the typical scenario when working with a client, for the average Tarot reader, generally unfolds as follows: the Tarot reader, in one way or another, 'sees' scattered fragments of the client’s Future and a small zone of 'branching' in the Future, clustered around these Key Events. But he perceives only fragments of the

current

imprint of the Future. Which, more often than not, possesses rather serious limitations along the borders of possible outcomes.

6) 

A good and honest Tarot reader will candidly tell the client what may come to pass for them—and what simply cannot occur, under any spread whatsoever. And a reasonably balanced client soberly recognizes the limitations of their Fate. Yet such a pairing of Tarot reader and client is a rare occurrence indeed. The very premise—a diagnosis without radiant prospects—can hardly be considered commercially viable. No one is inclined to pay for the obvious statement of fact: that their Life resembles that of a 'grey mouse,' with no chance of finding themselves 'swimming in chocolate,' no matter how the cards are spread.

7) 

The ordinary client, by and large, isn’t all that interested in the particular Fate life has allotted them.

He wants a specific Fate, tailor-made to his desires. And all that truly concerns him is how to achieve such a Destiny with the least possible effort.

Meanwhile, the majority of clients are willing, at best, to exercise their initiative solely in the form of a weighty 'no' to various proposals. And thus, their engagement in shaping their own future generally comes to an end. Those who, in fact, live by different principles typically do not seek out the Tarot reader.

8) 

Thus, the average client wishes to get from the Tarot reader, in exchange for their money, precisely the version of the Future they want—regardless of any objective preconditions for it. A host of Tarot readers and charlatans, eager to maximize their profits, merely pander to the client, telling them exactly what they wish to hear. Naturally, if the client is not especially given to self-critique, the portrayal of the so-called ‘predicted’ Future is often nothing but exquisite nonsense—inevitably crowned, as surely as the sunrise, with a resplendent Hollywood-style Happy Ending. Yet in reality, such tactics can hardly serve as a winning strategy for a 'parlor' Tarot reader, for he will swiftly acquire the reputation of a charlatan and the flow of clients will dry up. It can be used only by ‘itinerant performers’ of various stripes, forever fleeing their own reputation as a ‘soap bubble’ and the wrath of disillusioned clients.

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Fig. And however much one may yearn, in a flash, to have it all swiftly and easily, experience—unfashionably—remains the only loyal friend. Everything else is mere phantasm…10

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Those Tarot readers who are reliably effective and successful in their dealings with clients typically employ direct seeing at the Vishuddha level. For such Tarot readers, the Tarot cards are no more than a curious screen—a convenient cover for their extrasensory talents. Meanwhile, true Tarot readers of such calibre are rare indeed, and the price of their services is simply astronomical. They have no need for advertising, nor any desire to expand their roster of clients. Most potential clients will never hear their names, for they bend every effort to evade the unwelcome attentions of the general public. Readers of this level typically accept clients only upon the recommendation of their most trusted patrons.

As for the reputation of Tarot readers of a rather lower-frequency Assembly Point, it is under bоооооооооооооa rather significant question. They can 'snatch' or pick up isolated fragments of the client’s life, their past and present, and thereby impress the uninitiated. However, to genuinely and deeply 'see' the Future may be beyond their Forces.11

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So how, then, does one reconcile the irreconcilable?

How does one remain an honest Tarot practitioner, train one’s powers—which are often far from ideal or all-encompassing—and at the same time be useful to Society? How does one earn their 'bread and butter' and remain an in-demand practitioner with a durable, positive reputation?

In the author’s view, within the bounds of the 'usual' ‘divinatory’ practice, there is not, and cannot be, any intelligible answer to this question.

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However, an affirmative answer does exist, but it lies outside the domain of divination.

Tarot cards are a practical tool, founded on the principles now known as Hermeticism. And one of the central Universal Principles of Hermeticism, as everyone knows, states: 12

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‘That which is below is analogous to that which is above.’

…

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It is precisely thanks to this Principle that divining with Tarot cards becomes possible, and may reflect what has already been inscribed in the Higher Spheres.

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Yet many forget the second part of this Principle:

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‘And that which is above is analogous to that which is below, in order to accomplish the wonders of the One World.’

…

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The second part of the principle allows us to construct the Future ‘below’ and bring it into being, so that it is, as a matter of fact, already mirrored in the Higher Spheres.

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In other words, the Hermetic Principles make it possible not only to divine with the Tarot cards, but to construct the Future with their help.

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So why is it that this part of the principle is still not embraced by Tarot readers?

Fig. And since the prognosis was not composed, it crumbled… it crumbled…13

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In the author's view, the following is taking place here:

Quite often, novice Tarot readers, having seized upon isolated bits of the Future, attempt to offer this prognosis to their clients. And they really can 'see' individual elements of the Future. But since they do not perceive the whole picture—in its entirety—they do not convey it to the client in their prognosis.

An incomplete prognosis, in turn, is no more stable than, say, a table with two legs in place of four. Accordingly, what happens is usually much the same as with such a table: the Future predicted to the client collapses the moment they set about trying to realize it.

When the Tarot reader perceives only a fragment of the Future, countless Forces are left out of the equation—and these are precisely what begin to sow Disharmony and Chaos in any attempt to enact the half-seen scenario.

Thus, for example, a Queen bereft of Mercy becomes a Tyrant, and instead of winning the people's affection, transforms into their waking nightmare.

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The main reason for the fiasco of beginner Tarot readers’ prognoses is their incomplete vision of the Future.

An overreliance on too few ‘points of support.’

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Medici Solitaire, however, deploys ALL possible variants of the Forces.

All Forces involved within it are balanced by the very rules of the Solitaire itself. 14

Such equilibrium of Forces within the solitaire allows for the projection of event scenarios that have a fair chance of materialization.

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Moreover, constructing, rather than divining, makes it possible to shape precisely the Future the client themselves desire.

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Of course, such an approach cannot make every Tarot reader’s client the CEO of Gazprom overnight. But it can help them realize their karmic potential to the fullest, without the destructive effects of disharmonized Forces.15

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Thus, the main reason to use the Medici Solitaire is the chance to achieve ANY final scenario outcome that the client themselves genuinely desires.

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The upshot of this approach is that the Tarot reader becomes a Conductor of Fate, rather than a mere fortune-teller, and the client in turn becomes a Stalker.

In practical use of the Medici Solitaire, the Tarot reader is by no means obliged to explain in detail the Principles of its workings—or how they differ so radically from those of your average Tarot reader.

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Fig. And no matter how much he resisted, he was transforming… transforming…16

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Bonus: For a sense of what’s actually being discussed, it’s recommended to watch the film 'Horoscope for Luck' (2015).17

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Below, the author—as a true slacker and perpetual student—will be drawing upon excerpts from his already written books.

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Chapter The Deck for PM.

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A client comes to a lawyer and spends an eternity tediously recounting every detail of his case.

The lawyer, having finally lost his patience, interrupts him:

"Kindly, sir, tell me briefly and clearly what this is about, and how it really happened ."

As for the court and jury, I can muddle them splendidly all by myself.

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Fig. No one even noticed the shackles. Ignorance—that is our chain…18

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The Medici Solitaire deck differs rather profoundly and in principle from the standard Tarot reader’s deck.

In the author’s firm conviction, several cards have been removed from popular versions of the Tarot deck.

Their removal was plainly deliberate, reducing the Tarot deck to an innocuous plaything.

The author grasps the rationale behind this decision, but in time the maimed Tarot deck has become so canonical that something simply must be done about it.19

Here, in the author’s opinion, the Hermeticists seem to have erred a touch on the side of caution.20

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Thus, for the Medici Solitaire, the deck comprises the following cards:

1) 

The denominations of the cards follow one another consecutively from ‘zero’ to ten.

That is, there are 11 minor denominations.

2) 

Page (Jack), Queen, Rider, King, Ace.

That is, 5 major denominations.

3) 

And, well,

ннннннн

oh yes, all of this is repeated across the four suits.

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Denarii, Diamonds – Earth, Muladhara, Workers. 22 23 24

Cups, Hearts – Water, Svadhisthana, Merchants.

Swords, Spades – Fire, Manipura, Kshatriyas.

Staves, Clubs – Air, Anahata, Priests.

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Thus, the deck for Stalking in the Medici Solitaire consists of 64 cards.

Four suits, running from ‘zero’ to Ace.

The Major Arcana of the Tarot deck are not employed in Stalking Medici Solitaire (a practice thinly veiled as ‘divination’).

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This sort of deck can be assembled from the Minor Arcana of two identical Tarot decks, ingeniously repurposing the most suitable cards to stand in for the missing ones.

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For the sake of convenience in laying out the Medici Solitaire, it is wisest to pre-ruled the table in advance.

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Chapter The Rules and Structure of the Medici Solitaire.

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The Fool is confident enough.

The unknowing need rules.

The intelligent are content with a hint.

The wise need only to see.

The genius requires Inspiration.

The creator needs only the canvas of Infinity.

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Fig. And the Chukchi, in orderly ranks, danced with us for hours.

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And so, at last, we have arrived at the very heart of our narrative.

All else was merely a prelude, intended to shed light upon what is presented here.

Hermeticists are fond of encrypting their knowledge from outsiders, employing an array of decidedly Hermetic keys. The author, without a doubt, could have devised a similar charade.26

But the modern reader already boasts a suite of talents and is quite capable of rendering even the most crystalline idea thoroughly muddled, unaided. Therefore, the author will neither obfuscate nor conceal anything.

On the contrary, the author will make every effort to present the matter with maximum clarity and intelligibility. Equipped with a set of keys—including Hermetic ones—both manifest and concealed.27

Various theorizing and footnotes will, whenever possible, be omitted for the sake of narrative simplicity. Explanations regarding the finer points of theory will be provided in other chapters.

In other words, the matter will be presented closer to a Grimoire than to a dissertation on symbol-object programming for consciousness resonance with the space-time continuum.

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So then…

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The basic principles of constructing and laying out the Medici Solitaire

1. The Solitaire is laid out with the full—and only the full—deck of the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.

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That is, a deck that includes, among other things, such cards as the Raiders (Riders), Zeroes, and Ones. We're not talking about 'Aces' here, but specifically about the suit's 'units.'

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In short, the Ace card is not a 'unit' in the tabulation of human consciousness; it is, in fact, a 'Super-Unit.' So, the 'Ace' is, of course, a 'Unit,' but one of an immeasurably higher order than a mere 'unit' as humans understand it. The 'Ace' card embodies the Divine Logos—the Absolute—that Pythagorean 'Unit' from which all other numbers and objects proceed.

Yet for the working mechanics of the Medici Solitaire algorithm, what is required is a 'unit' in its most straightforward, human sense.

The author's speculations on why the 'unit' and 'zero' vanished from the modern deck are recounted in chapters 13 and 13 bis of this very book.

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With all additions complete, the deck should comprise four suits: 64 cards, with 16 cards to each suit.

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The Minor Arcana consist of four suits—Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles. Each suit contains Zero, One, Two, Three, and so on up to Ten.

Then come the 'court cards' or 'picture cards'—Page (Jack), Knight (Rider), Queen, King, and Ace.

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Important!

When preparing the PM spread by hand, a complete deck can be assembled from two poker decks. To do this, the most suitable cards from the second deck are converted into the missing ones from the first, until the full set is complete.

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For the ordinary poker deck, one must add four 'Zeroes', four 'Ones', and four 'Raiders'.

'Zeroes' are conveniently fashioned from the twos. 'Ones' are best improvised from the threes or fives. 'Raiders'—from the 'Kings' or 'Jacks'. To obliterate the previous illustration, employ a white marker or the so-called correction fluid.

Jokers, too, are to be removed from the deck.

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2. In the modern playing deck, Denarii—or Coins—have become the suit of Diamonds; Cups, the suit of Hearts; Swords, the suit of Spades; Staves, the suit of Clubs.

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1. Any problem may be approached by various methods and means. Accordingly, the Medici Solitaire may be constructed through different algorithms and techniques.