A Manual of Cartomancy, Fortune-Telling and Occult Divination (c. 1909) - Grand Orient

A Manual of Cartomancy, Fortune-Telling and Occult Divination (1909)

Grand Orient (Arthur Edward Waite) · William Rider & Son, London · 1909

Discover the curious world of Edwardian divination: fortune-telling by cards, the Golden Wheel of Fortune, planetary hours, crystal visions, dream omens and hundreds of answers supposedly hidden in numbers and stars.

Published under the pseudonym Grand Orient, this extraordinary compendium was written by Arthur Edward Waite, the influential scholar of Western esotericism associated with the Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot. Its 1909 title page identifies it as the fourth edition, revised and enlarged, with plates.

Far more than a manual of card reading, the work assembles an astonishing variety of historical oracles, astrological calculations, symbolic systems and ceremonial practices. Waite approaches his subject with a mixture of fascination and scepticism, preserving strange methods of fortune-telling while warning readers against credulity and exaggerated claims.

Inside this historical manual

• The Oracle of Human Destiny: a numerical system offering 900 possible answers to 30 questions attributed to Pythagoras, with the illustrated Wheel of Destiny.
• Cagliostro's Mystic Alphabet of the Magi: a short account of an alphabetic divination system.
• The Golden Wheel of Fortune: a striking illustrated wheel combining numbers and zodiacal symbols, associated in the text with the legendary occultist Cagliostro.
• Crystal-gazing and spirit invocation: historical instructions and illustrations relating to ceremonial work with the crystal.
• Cartomancy: an English method of fortune-telling with playing cards, alongside other question-and-answer oracles.
• Numerology and Kabbalistic calculations: methods for interpreting character, discovering lucky numbers with dice and answering questions through numerical correspondences.
• Astrology and planetary lore: interpretations of rising zodiac signs, the age of the Moon, planetary hours, colours and traditional influences attributed to precious stones.
• Lucky and unlucky days: old rules concerning auspicious dates, ominous seasons and supposed fatal presages.
• Dream divination: a substantial collection of dream symbols and their traditional interpretations.

Among its most memorable illustrations are the Golden Wheel, reproduced as the frontispiece, and the Wheel of Destiny. Together with the original tables, diagrams and elaborate calculations, they offer an unusual window into the popular occult imagination of the early twentieth century.

About this digital edition

This 305-page scanned PDF facsimile preserves the original red-and-gold cover, title page, preface, illustrations, tables and historical typography of the 1909 edition. The PDF page count includes cover, preliminary and other scanned pages and differs from the book's printed pagination.

Hearthwise Historical Library · Digital historical facsimile
Author: Grand Orient (Arthur Edward Waite)
Publisher: William Rider & Son, London
Publication year: 1909
Edition: Fourth edition, revised and enlarged (as stated on the title page)
Format: Downloadable scanned PDF · 305 pages · English