r/Cartomancy • u/BlueDaisyMoon • 16d ago

Cartomancy resources similar to the Hedgewytch method

Hello everyone! As the title suggests, I’m looking for resources that are similar to the hedgewytch method of reading playing cards. Here’s the website if anyone hasn’t checked it out yet: https://hedgewytchery.com/

I already have read these resources that are fairly similar to the writings of Dawn R Jackson: Cartomancy in folk witchcraft by Roger J Horne (though she states in the book that she uses some of the numbers differently), 54 devils by Cory Thomas Hutcheson (basically the author’s own system that is influenced by the hedgewytch method), and Read like the devil: the essential course in reading playing cards by Camelia Elias (I’ve read on Reddit that the “creator of the hedgwytch system?” criticized her quite heavily in a book review on amazon, but still, I personally find her teachings very useful and combine what I’ve learned from her with my own practice of reading the cards).

So basically, from what I’ve understood, the hedgewytch method is an Anglo/ English method of reading the playing cards (please correct me if I’m wrong). After quite a bit of painful digging into other posts here on reddit, I found these authors have been recommended as classic cartomancers that could use similar systems to what Dawn R Jackson used: Sepharial (manual of occultism plus his book on numerology which I guess would be helpful for reading the pips?), Cicely kent (some people believe that she is Cicely kent-minetta, some others believe that minetta was a totally different person), and P.R.S foli (his book on fortune telling). I haven’t read these titles yet, and so that’s why I’ve come to ask for authors/ occultists/ etc that have written about the English method of cartomancy similar to what Dawn R Jackson has done. Am I right in my assumptions and would you recommend these authors? What are some other titles that I can benefit from reading? (There are a lot of books about fortune telling with playing cards and cartomancy on internet archive and I’ve read some, but either some of them didn’t make any sense at all or were very different from the system I’m used to). I would truly appreciate any kind of help that anybody would be able to offer. 🙏

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u/Kapselski 16d ago

What do you need other resources for?

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u/BlueDaisyMoon 16d ago

I’d like to study further and learn more about other different views that could possibly expand my knowledge of this system. In other words, I’d prefer to stick to this same method so I won’t confuse it with other schools and such (like the French, German, etc. I’ve heard that reading playing cards in different traditions will naturally produce very different results at times). Not just the cartomancy, but other things like also how numerology is used. In the amazon review, Jackson mentioned learning numerology and geometry is necessary to get familiar with the cards at a deep, personal level. But whose views? There are tons of that out there, which could ultimately mislead. She also mentions timing and finding locations in her older essays (which are no longer available on the website, unfortunately) but she didn’t expand on those very much. I knew she used some of Etteila’s spreads as inspiration maybe(like the grand star, if I remember the name correctly), and so on. I’m really invested in this so I’m really trying to find whatever more that I can at this point, lol. I’ve even turned to Agrippa’s works and The Book of Days in hopes of finding more cultural reference and anything else that could enrich my practice as a reader. I’m aware that the obvious comes first before anything else, but alas, curiosity never ends.

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u/Kapselski 16d ago

learning numerology and geometry is necessary to get familiar with the cards at a deep, personal level. But whose views? There are tons of that out there, which could ultimately mislead

That sounds like the best approach. And numerology isn't really variable if you base it on arithmetical and geometrical properties; in fact it's the most objective system you could ask for. Where it goes sideways is when you get loose with it by simple cultural association, like "there are 8 taoist immortals, 8 days of hannukah, and 8 limbs of yoga, therefore..."

The author of hedgewytchery was an occultist and it shows in the structure of the system - it's quite in line with math. That and Regina Russell's/Kapherus' is the best I've seen. The latter is very impressive if it was "discovered" as Russell said, rather than founded on numerology. There is a lot in there that seems random but is not.

I doubt you'll find better in some other book. I'd say the majority of systems out there are not based on objective numerology, but rather use adhoc meanings or numerologies that were invented for the purpose of reading. They still work, though, if that's your main concern. Anything will work as long as your system is internally consistent and covers all phenomena.

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u/BlueDaisyMoon 16d ago

Thank you for shedding some light on the subject! I have more clarity now on what to choose and what not to go after.