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Cartomancy | Divination with Regular Playing Cards

How Cartomancy Keeps Your Spiritual Connection Alive in Difficult Times

Gem Blackthorn
Thorn Path Lit
Published in
7 min readFeb 9, 2025

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Listen, things are weird, to put it mildly. The separation between church and state went from a standard to wishful thinking. We have to prepare for the possible announcement that alternative forms of spirituality will be outlawed, including divination.

This would not be the first time people of different faiths have moved underground.

Practitioners of the past had limited access to spiritual tools, books, or mentors. They relied solely on oral history and the wisdom embedded in superstitions about everyday objects and their environment.

The ability to practice divination discreetly is a survival skill — not just for personal safety, but for the preservation of an entire culture.

Enter cartomancy with regular playing cards.

Unlike tarot or oracle decks, which can be easily recognized, a simple deck of playing cards blends into everyday life, allowing practitioners to maintain their spiritual connection in secret.

A deck of playing cards can be found in nearly every household, carried anywhere, and used without drawing suspicion. I mean, who doesn’t like a game of solitaire when they’re…

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Thorn Path Lit
Thorn Path Lit

Published in Thorn Path Lit

Home for Prickly Literature. We drive into poetry, fiction, reviews and essays about the occult and other dark topics.

Gem Blackthorn
Gem Blackthorn

Written by Gem Blackthorn

📚 Marketing & Content Strategist 🌙 Occasional Poet

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