Random Reading - #47

This wasn’t the deck I’d intended to use this week, but I wanted to try out a new spread. New to me that is, as it’s allegedly the oldest recorded Tarot spread*. As such, I thought it more appropriate to use an “ancient” deck.



This is someone in charge of a business, a project, a family.


It’s their responsibility to ensure a fair distribution of resources…


And restore harmony!…



Before moving forward with a new project.







*The “Comte de Mellet Spread”, based on an essay in the 8th volume of “Monde Primitif” by Antoine Court de Gébelin, published in 1781. CdM has been identified as Louis Raphaël Lucrèce de Fayolle, the Comte de Mellet (1727-1804).

Separate the trumps from the pips, and shuffle each pile well. Place both piles face down in front of you.

Now it get interesting, because you’ll be doing two different things at the same time - a bit like patting your head and rubbing your belly.

With one hand, turn over one pip card at a time while counting up from Ace to King. So as you turn the 1st card say “ace”, as you turn the 2nd card say “two”, and so on through the pack. Each time the number of the card you’ve just turned matches the number you’ve said, put that card off to the side. Then continue where you left off - once reaching King, starting again at Ace. Proceed in this way until the pip pile is exhausted.

With the other hand and at the same time as you turn each pip card, take one trump card and place it, still face down, in another pile. Whenever you have a pip that has matched the count, take the corresponding trump you’ve just picked up and place it to the side with that pip. These cards together will form a pair for your reading.

As there are more pips that trumps, once you reach the end of the trump pile, simply move the remainder of that pile over and continue as before until the pip pile is exhausted.

At the end of this process you may end up with no pairs, or a surprising number. If I ended up with no pairs I’d probably take that as a sign that I should reconsider my question. No fixed manner was given for interpreting the pairs, so interpret them as you wish.


Spanish Tarot, published by Fournier - a reproduction of an 18th century Liguria-Piedmontese deck.