Folks, I’m really and truly happy to announce I’ve finished the expansion of the old cartomancy guide and it is officially released for your purchase and perusal!
The book is called Fifty-Four Devils: The Art & Folklore of Fortune-telling with Playing Cards. It contains all of the basics found in the old PDF booklet, plus some significant expansions. From the back cover:
“Ye are twenty-five cards.
Become twenty-five devils
Enter into the body, into the blood, into the soul .”So begins a nineteenth century Italian charm making use of a small deck of playing cards. This brief-but-richly drawn book explores the practice of divination by playing cards—known as cartomancy. It reveals the “secrets in plain sight” which hide within the pips, kings, queens, and jokers of a standard deck. Explore one method of divination in-depth as you meet the “fifty-four devils”—the symbolic spirits of each card—and learn about invoking ancestral blessings for card readings, the folklore of playing cards, and how to relate fairy tales to a spread along the way.
How is it different from its previous incarnation? For starters, it’s longer, coming in around 108 printed pages. It also has loads of new sections and subjects to cover, including:
- Preparing your cards for divination
- The use and inclusion of the Jokers in readings
- An easy-to-use table which puts keywords related to each card on a single page
- A widely expanded set of sample readings
- An entirely new type of spread, the Grand Tableau or Full Deck Spread, which uses all 54 devi…er, cards
Two of my favorite new elements—and I am obviously a bit biased—are the section about how to relate fairy and folk tales to card readings to enhance divination and the 20-page appendix which contains a wide variety of folklore on card reading (including short commentaries and even a little historical fiction by yours truly). I also really love the cover, which was designed by my lovely wife!
If you’re a fan of cartomancy or divination, I think you’ll like this book. And if you’re a fan of this show/site, I think the same will be true for you. This also gives you an opportunity to support the show as well, and at $6 or less a pop, you can’t go wrong, right?
I’ve made it available in print and e-book format, and you can get a copy at any of the sites below:
Available from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
CreateSpace Storefront
Smashwords (for all e-readers)
Kindle
On a related note, the sidebar of the blog/website now contains a button showing the cover of Fifty-Four Devils which will take you to our digital Book Shop, where you can currently find all the purchase information on this book. Over time I’ll be adding other books there as well. Hopefully some will be more of my own books, but I’ll also link to works I cite frequently and to books by authors who have appeared on the show or contributed to the blog. Any purchase you make helps us out just a little bit, so it’s a great way to support us while getting great books!
I’m very happy to be able to share this book with you all! Please let me know what you think of it, and happy reading!
With gratitude and blessings,
-Cory
New World Witchery - The Search for American Traditional Witchcraft 
Reblogged this on PPW and commented:
Here’s a little something for those of you who like cards for divination. Rather than traditional Tarot or Oracle cards, “Fifty-Four Devils” is a guide to cartomancy – divination with a deck of playing cards.
“Ye are twenty-five cards.
Become twenty-five devils
Enter into the body, into the blood, into the soul .”
Looks very intersting Cory. I ordered two. One for me and one for a gift at next years initiations.
BB,
Bear
I love it! I ordered two, one for myself and one for a friend of mine who I know is interested in American folk magic and lore. I’ve been reading it and your voice, really comes through it, Cory! Your sense of humor and good nature is palpable in the text. I really appreciate the work and heart you put into this.
I also love the cover design! It’s a great book. I’m happy to have ordered it, and am giving one to a friend.