#student's research

[student-of-clow]

[student-of-clow]

Cartomancy with the Clow Cards (Part 3)

The “Cartomancy with the Clow Cards” Series:

Part 1: HERE

Part 2: HERE

Part 3: HERE

This is Part 3 of a series of posts that I am writing, which can be found under my #cartomancy and #student’s research tag. Today, I’d like to compare Rune S. Emerson’s “Spirit Families” versus the Fortunetelling Book’s “Color Groups” and how these categories may alter your relationship with the Clow cards.

Why it Matters: The Suits

The standard Clow Card deck has at least 52 cards, if you exclude The Nothing card. Playing cards happen to have the same number of cards in their deck, if you exclude the Jokers.

Playing card associations with Clow Card exist but they’re varied amongst people. The Fortunetelling Book has its own associations; the Clow Book by Rune S. Emerson also exists, in addition to other created associations. It can be difficult to find associations that match you and your deck’s needs!

The associations you decide on will likely impact your relationship with the cards. It creates a passive yet subtle layer of magick that reflects your magickal worldview. The card spirits will work within this worldview for your benefit. This can also create a new hierarchy amongst your card spirits.

Having these choices isn’t so bad, but deciding on the right choice can be tricky. This is especially true if you’re starting out and you’re not sure what the differences are.

For some, these associations are only useful to have in certain readings. For others, these suits hold secrets about the Clow Cards and how they work together.

 

Spirit Families

The idea of Spirit Families originated from S. Rune Emerson’s “Clow Book”.

While this book doesn’t provide us with a working definition of what they are, he does categorize Spirit Families by playing card associations.  Each of the suits is categorized by the subtle forces of reality which he talks about in his book.

These subtle forces are inspired by a Japanese youkai ranking system:

Aces = Tsukumogami

2-10 = Shikegami

Jacks = Bakemono

Queens = Yousei

Kings = Youkai

The Jacks, Queens, and Kings are part of an inner court known as The Floating Court.

Without giving away too much about the book, certain cards such as the Four Elements and Two Attributes are granted higher authority in The Floating Court. This hierarchy is determined by how much influence they have on their reality. The remaining cards are placed underneath them.

Spirit Families are best suited for sorcery-based ideologies. For those who focus on the cosmology and placement of the Clow Cards’ powers in our universe, this method is preferable. This method is the most popular when it comes to playing card associations.

Color Groups

The official Fortunetelling Book introduces the concept of “Color Groups” with the Compatibility Reading. There are four color classifications: Red, Green, Blue, and Purple. Each group has 13 cards with each suit. (Note: Please refer back to Part 2 for a better breakdown.)

The Color Groups are organized in two ways: by alphabetical order and by their utility. They were designed to outline the cards’ practical use rather than by an ideology. I'll post them in hierarchical order:

Red Group = Spades; They deal with your troubles.

Green Group = Hearts; They represent feelings and emotions.

Purple Group  = Diamonds; They handle all things material.

Blue Group = Clubs; They work movements, actions, and intuition.

A lesser known fact is that each suit represents one of the four cardinal directions. In a Chinese modality, Red is South, Green is East, Purple is West, and Blue is North. However, these directions are might vary depending on your beliefs and traditions.

Personal Opinion: The Winner

In my opinion, the best playing card associations to use is the Color Groups. While Spirit Families are unique, they are niche and are not suited for everyone’s needs. Not all Clow Card users are sorcerers nor do all sorcerers want to work with the cards in a limited Japanese modality. Ideologies are also prone to change overtime with new information. The biggest take away was that the author did not give any in-depth reason as to why those cards were categorized that way within the “Clow Book” in the first place.

At the end of the day, the associations are entirely up to you. These two systems that you see here are the most common in the Clow Sorcerer community. It doesn’t account for what you create yourself with your cards, but it does provide insight into how their classification can make a difference in how you work with them.

[student-of-clow]

Discrete Clow Card Altars

Not all witches or sorcerers are open about their practice to others. There are a number of reasons why a person may choose to keep their magick a secret. Fortunately, there are a number of ways a person can discretely use their Clow Cards that doesn't involve a physical altar.

I will share my discrete altar I have hidden in the depths of a popular video game as an example...

Methods of creating a discrete altar:

Allow me to start with a disclaimer: you are not required to have an altar! Not everyone feels called to create one or use it. I've felt that way until recently. I wanted a place where my imagination can run wild and I can feel more magickal for a little bit. While I have a designated space for my Clow Cards and tools in reality, I went ahead and had some fun in the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. You can see my virtual altar for the Clow Cards below.

This leads into my first method: you can create one inside of a video game. You can try anything from Minecraft, Animal Crossing, Skyrim, VR Chat, etc.. Preferably a game with customizable elements with plenty of items to choose from.

Another method would be to hide items in plain sight. This can range from a shelf, a drawer, or a box in your room. If you're in a situation where you cannot have an altar, but don't like the idea of a virtual altar, you can make do with this. Make sure that your Clow Cards are in a place that is not so obvious. Closets are popular for that reason.

You can also create a portable travel altar. This can be anything from an Altoid tin or an actual box, but it should be a place where you can access the Clow Cards' energy when you're on the move. I do not recommend this method for long term use. Travel altars are prone to the elements and may not fit all your card vessels.

[student-of-clow]

The Price of Negligence

Sometimes reality hits you with curve balls. You may find it difficult to spend time with your Clow Cards for a period of time. And this is completely okay. We are human beings and we need to take breaks on occasion. However, intentional negligence is the quickest way to lose the trust you've built with the Clow Cards. There may be a price to pay in your magick for ignoring them when you both need each other. Unfortunately, I've discovered this fact through personal experience. Various cards, such as The Time, The Voice, and my Servant, warned me to manage my time more efficiently and to spend more time with them. I was too busy with real life in the past few months to ask for their help. Yet I had the energy to think about them often despite doing nothing. When my health declined and I begged the cards to help me—they didn't. They watched and did nothing. They told me that my price was to figure this problem out on my own for neglecting them when they needed me the most.

Not all decks will act in the same way that mine has, but consider my experience a warning nonetheless. It's one thing to be called to take care of other matters and projects, and it's another to blatantly ignore working with your cards when you feel called to them. Work with your deck, and they shall work with you in return.

[student-of-clow]

How to Start Using the Clow Cards

Hello and welcome! If you’re thinking about using the Clow Cards for the first time in your divination and magick – then you’ve come to the right post. I’ll be offering some suggestions and advice on how to begin using them in your craft. These are lovely spirits to work with and I can’t recommend them enough!

Necessary Tools:

To get started, all you’ll need is a deck of Clow Cards. If you don’t own them, a playing card deck will do. Buying a tarot bag or card box to hold them in is optional but highly recommended.

Before Using your Cards:

This deck will become a vessel for the Clow spirits going forward, so treat these cards well! Playing cards can handle riffle shuffling and bridging, but most divination decks cannot. Try to keep this in mind to preserve the condition of your Clow Cards.

If your cards were previously used by another person, then cleansing your tools of old energies is recommended before first time use. I tend to burn my favorite incense stick and then some sage to clear away the old energies. If you have a preferred energy cleansing method, you may substitute my suggestion for that.

How to Connect with Them:

There are various ways to use and connect with Clow Cards. You are encouraged to experiment and to try different things, since each person will have a different experience with the Clow spirits. Here are some methods to help get started:

· Divination & Fortunetelling: bring your questions to ask the Clow Cards and do readings with them. Allow your intuition to give meanings to each card you draw. Each of their names and powers holds the key to your answers as well. If you’re new to interpreting tarot or oracle cards in general, I would suggest looking up tarot spreads and apply those spreads to the Clow Cards.

· Talking to the Clow Cards: they hear you, even if you can’t hear them. Talk to them! Be sincere and tell them your innermost thoughts and feelings on personal matters. If you can’t speak out loud, then say it in your mind. They will learn more about you if you open up to them, so don’t be afraid to ask them for help – you can even build trust and rapport with the spirits this way!

· Touching & Shuffling: just holding and touching the deck brings you closer to the cards. Before a reading, you may place your left hand (or your Receptive Hand) on the deck to feel their energy. Shuffling is also a form of meditation – your troubles will seemingly melt away when you move the power of the Clow Cards in your hands over and over again.

Important Advice:

The most important piece of advice I can give is to use your Clow Cards daily! Spending a few minutes with them each day will yield greater results than using them for only an hour a week. Don’t feel bad if you can’t use the Clow Cards all the time – the point I’m trying to make is to use them frequently so that you’re creating a habit of including them in your daily practice. For example, you can perform a Daily Reading and ask that card to offer you guidance and protection for the day. Perhaps you call upon The Earthy daily to ground and to build an affinity with the earth element. As long as you approach them sincerely and state your intentions, they will be eager to work with you seriously. So do some magick instead of thinking about it!

[student-of-clow]

NOTE: You need at least four Clow Cards from your Quest to use this spread. Remember to take notes afterwards! OPTIONAL: You may also choose to have the Clow Card you are Questing for above this spread, as a way of telling them that you have accepted the conditions of their Test to challenge them.

[student-of-clow]

Empowering the Book

"When the magic of this book is released, a great disaster will befall the world."

 As seen in the above quote, great care and reverence is needed to unlock the powers of the Clow Cards. To open the Book of Clow is a sacred act, and should be held in higher importance in the Clow Sorcery tradition. The cover and clasp, often referred to as “the Seal”, houses the Clow Cards, its two Guardians, their symbols, and the collective magickal power between these forces. What isn’t explained openly in canon, however, is that the book’s power can be enhanced prior to opening, or in between uses, while the Clow Cards are idle or resting.

 Facing North

The official Clow Card Fortune Book offers this one-point advice:

When the cards are not being used, place them in a quiet area located on the north side of the room. This will increase their power.

There is no clear explanation behind this, but in Feng Shui the north direction often represents development, business, wisdom, and intellectual endeavors. This placement increases the abilities of the mental sphere and one’s ability to work with them.

 The Key of the Seal

Also known as “The Sealing Wand”, “The Staff”, “Wand”, “The Key”, etc.. Traditionally, this tool is a wand, sword, fan, or key that facilitates the connection between the Cardcaptor—or Sorcerer—and the Clow Cards.

Prior to opening the cover, hold the key and cite an incantation which calls forth power into the book. To finalize the ritual, have the Key of the Seal touch the cover to bridge this energy into them.

Alternatively, you may simply ask the Clow Cards to work with you at that given moment. Your intentions never go unnoticed with the spirits of the Clow and the Guardians.

 Personalizing your Book

As the idea suggests: get creative! This is a lesser known fact, but personalization of the cover is a brilliant way to stir the Clow Cards into power.

One possible method is to make a new home for your cards. Adding your name, Guardian’s sigils, magickal circle, and meaningful symbols into a new book or box will make the Book of Clow your own. This method is best performed after questing for the Clow Cards, but you may explore such options if you are called to do it earlier.

The drawback is that not every person knows which symbols best connects their energies to their practice at first. If you are uncertain, sketch and plan out your cover in a way that is most meaningful for you and the spirits.