✳ Oracolotto
He who dreams of drinking wine may weep when morning comes; he who dreams of weeping may in the morning go off to hunt. While he is dreaming he does not know it is a dream, and in his dream he may even try to interpret a dream. Only after he wakes does he know it was a dream. And someday there will be a great awakening when we know that this is all a great dream.
And when I say you are dreaming, I am dreaming, too.
Zhuàngzi
Have you ever woken up feeling like there is a word, at the tip of your tongue, in a language you don’t quite understand?
It’s the same feeling you may have felt when a dream has left too quickly once you woke up, like a regretful lover. You grasped and reached but it was gone and you have forgotten something so fundamentally important that your stomach has caved into itself.
This deck of oracle cards invites you to go back into that cave, that pit, to the start of that word. Tarot and oracle cards are always tools for self-exploration, but the Oracolotto will guide you to explore deeper, into the subconscious realm of your dreams.
You may chose to use these cards in the two ways I have imagined, or create your own.
The first, and the one I recommend, asks your soul to sit with the cards, ask them a question, read the answer in the following pages and find a language for new or old feelings.
The other way I have imagined requires you to keep the deck next to your bed, or wherever you sleep. Once you wake up, while the dream is still supple and alive, reach for the Oracolotto and try and find the cards that resemble the dream most closely. This way you may give a language to the unformed and find on the cards apparent truths.
You may also choose your own path, disregard what I said and make your own game, read old or future dreams. The tools are now in your hands.
Oracolotto includes twenty-one cards and one guidebook. The cards follow the paved journey of Tarot’s major arcana, but do not be fooled by the numbers, as they will not give you insight into the path. You do not need any previous knowledge to use these cards, only the ability to dream and a soul, yours or other.
Oracolotto’s cards present illustrations of collective dream archetypes, as delineated by Neapolitan tradition. While the cards symbolically follow the traditional Tarot journey from the fool to the world(minus the Emperor), they are based on the Neapolitan art form of the Smorfia, intended not as the grimace but the dream interpretation method.
The Smorfia is an ancient art form in which symbols and archetypes from a person's dreams are analysed and converted into numbers. To use the Smorfia, one would thus recall every event, person and object that appeared in their dream, and then use the extensive list of dream archetypes to find the associated numbers. This may be used to find out the meaning of your dreams or, most commonly, to find numbers to play the lottery (Ricciardone, 1987; Zezza, 1835).
In this case however, the archetypes were used as a story telling device, an exploration tool for imagination and self-discovery. You may choose to use them for playing the lottery, as tradition intended, but at your own risk.
Bibliography
- Paola De Sanctis Ricciardone, Il tipografo celeste. Il gioco del lotto tra letteratura e demologia nell'Italia dell'Ottocento e oltre, Bari, Dedalo, 1987. ISBN 88-220-6066-0
- Michele Zezza, La smorfia ossia Il nuovo metodo per perdere denaro, e cervello con maggior sicurezza al gioco del lotto, Napoli, Torchi della Società filomatica, 1835.
- 莊子, 齊物論, 12. Zhuàngzi, "Discussion on making all things equal," 12. from Zhuàngzi, Burton Watson trans., Chuang Tzu (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), 43. ISBN 978-0-231-10595-8 [1]
Many people complain that they don't dream or that they can't recall any of the content. In reality, everyone dreams nightly. However, people may not consciously recall their dreams. Dream recollection is a habit requiring patience and persistence to develop, and the Angel Dreams Oracle Cards can be an important tool of assistance.
Connecting with these cards on a daily basis will help your dreams become more vivid and easier to decode. Taking time to understand the symbols through study and meditation each day will allow your unconscious mind to bring forward the ones in your dreams. The more you connect to the symbols in these cards, the more you will begin to remember and understand your dreams.
Intended to be used as an oracle, this deck will familiarize you with some basic dream symbols. For example, if you see green in your dream, you can learn what this color symbolizes by looking at the "Green" oracle card and then referring to the explanation in this guidebook.
How to Prepare Your Cards
Caring for Your Cards
Store the cards in a lovely pouch, on your altar, or in a container that feels appropriate. You may want to set a clear quartz crystal atop the deck to keep the energy clean. If you feel your readings have become hazy, you can always clear your cards by visualizing them bathed in white light. You should also do white-light visualizations if someone else touches the cards, because that person's energy will alter how they respond to you. These are sensitive instruments, and you want them to be filled with your own high-vibrating, clean energy whenever you do a reading.
How to Do a Reading
Say a prayer or blessing to begin. Ask a question out loud or in your mind as you shuffle the cards. Spread them out or fan them, and choose one card at a time with your dominant hand. Lay it in front of you (see the "How to Lay Out the Cards" section to follow). Turn the card over and feel, hear, see, and intuit its meaning in relation to your question. You may refer to this guidebook for basic interpretations.
If you're reading for someone else, say your prayer or blessing first. You may do so out loud, before the person arrives, or silently. Then you may want to state: "This readings is for[name]."
Have the person ask a question out loud. Pull the cards for him or her, or use the spreads listed in the next section. It is always a good idea to keep a journal of your readings, as messages for others do usually weave together with those for you.
Sometimes cards "jump" out of the deck while you’re shuffling. These cards are trying to get your attention. They're part of your reading, or perhaps the entire reading. In any case, know that they're important messages to be heeded.
Upon awakening in the morning, you may want to refer to some of the symbols in the deck if you need a reference for the images from your dreams during the night. This deck comprises basic dream symbols that can help you interpret and understand the content of your personal dreams.
The herb and crystal cards can also be a tool to focus your mind before sleep. By meditating on these cards, you can manifest the topic you dream about. For example, if you focus on the hawthorn card before bedtime, you can dream about a future situation, because you are connecting to the qualities and energies of hawthorn. This connection acts as a key that brings forward prophetic dreams. And the selenite card, for instance, can help you recall your dreams. Meditate or focus on it before bedtime. When you tune in to this card, the crystal's qualities and energies will help you remember your dreams upon awakening.
Get to know the cards by pulling a daily, weekly, or monthly card. Sit with its energy or meditate upon the picture on the front.
Place a card on your altar. You might even want to put one under your pillow at night to bring in deeper understanding.
How to Lay Out the Cards
One Card
A single card can be used for several purposes:
- Draw a card in the morning for guidance about what you need to know that day.
- Draw a card after you ask a question. The one you pick is your answer.
- Draw a card to help further explain your dream.
Three-Card. Spread
A three-card spread can also be used in a couple of different ways:
- Draw three cards representing what you need to know in general terms.
- Ask any question, then draw three cards: card one represents the past, card two represents the present, and card three represents the future—like this:
mega table
| o.g. major arcana | english oracolotto | neapolitan oracolotto | symbols | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | the fool | the cofffee | 42 | 'o ccafè |
|
| 1 | the magician | the two old unmarried women | 66 | 'e ddoje zetelle |
|
| 2 | the high priestess | the bride | 63 | 'a sposa |
|
| 3 | the empress | the mother | 52 | 'a mamma |
|
| 4 | the hierophant | the church | 84 | 'a chiesa |
|
| 5 | the lovers | the upside down | 69 | sott'e 'ncoppa |
|
| 6 | the chariot | the bird | 35 | l’aucelluzzo |
|
| 7 | strenght | the breasts | 28 | 'e zzizze |
|
| 8 | the hermit | the crying | 65 | 'o chianto |
|
| 9 | the wheel of fortune | the set table | 82 | 'a tavula 'mbandita | In traditional decks, this card bears a whole heap of mythical symbols, representing the four elements of earth, air, fire and water, and the four ‘fixed’ signs of the zodiac (and thus the entire zodiac). For an exploration of these, I recommend Rachel Pollack’s Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom.
The most important symbol here is of course a wheel – or other rotary symbol – representing the ever-turning nature of life. |
| 10 | justice | the lament | 60 | 'o lamiento |
|
| 11 | the hanged man | purgatory's souls | 85 | ll'aneme 'o priatorio |
|
| 12 | death | the speaking dead | 48 | 'o muorto che pparla |
|
| 13 | temperance | the warm soup | 68 | 'a zuppa cotta |
|
| 14 | the devil | the little devils | 77 | 'e riavulille |
|
| 15 | the tower | the stormy weather | 83 | 'o maltiempo |
|
| 16 | the star | christmas | 25 | natale |
|
| 17 | the moon | blood | 18 | 'o ssanghe |
|
| 18 | the sun | laughter | 19 | 'a resata |
|
| 19 | judgement | the gossiping woman | 43 | onna pereta fore 'o barcone |
|
| 20 | the world | the good wine | 45 | 'o vino bbuono |
|
✳ 42. the coffee
- A blank canvas, unformed potential
- A fresh start
- Taking a risk
- Not caring what the world thinks
- Surrender
- Answering a ‘call’
- Trusting in the universe
- Overcoming self-doubt
- Embracing uncertainty
✳ tarot correspondence: 0. the fool
a card before numbers, an un-hatched egg and undrunk cup of coffee. The card shows it still sitting on the counter, almost spilling. Are you ready to drink it? There is a familiar, a pet urging you to begin the journey and drink your coffee. A spiritual guide urges you forward. Like the Archangel Gabriel gave Muhammad(pbuh) Allah's invention of coffee(قهوة), you are also urged to begin.
As card zero, the number before numbers, this is all about unformed potential. It is nothing, a blank canvas, awaiting action, awaiting projection.
✳ 66. the two old unmarried women
- Setting intentions / being intentional / declaring your intent
- Directing energy consciously
- Willpower
- Being dynamic
- Putting thoughts into action
- Making something tangible
- Getting started
- Having all the resources you need
- Being powerful
- Leadership
- Success
✳ tarot correspondence: 1. the magician
The number 66 in the Neapolitan grimace is represented by the spinsters. The spinster is a single woman of advanced age; mostly with an idea of withered femininity and a bitchy mood. This term was used in the past, but today the much more politically correct term single is used.
In the past, not finding a husband and therefore becoming a spinster was a real calamity. For some, not getting married was due to particular causes such as raising a brother or looking after a sick parent, while for others it was their own will or the fact of not finding the right man.
In current usage the term spinster refers only, and mostly in a joking or derogatory tone, to unmarried women a little advanced in years.
Let's see what it means to dream 'e ddoie zetelle. Dreaming of a spinster can have multiple meanings and consequently gives rise to different interpretations.
Dreaming of being a spinster represents one of the greatest fears for women, in fact, the atavistic sense of shame arising from the social conventions of the past remains and, if she is not accompanied by a man in real life, it is very probable that seeing herself in the shoes of a spinster fears a life of emotional solitude.
If the dreamer sees herself as a spinster but on the altar, then this negative vision will soon be denied and the course of daily existence will undergo a sudden, usually positive turn.
As we know, the spinsters in the Neapolitan grimace are represented by the number 66, but if, in a dream, they appear naked, the corresponding number will be 7.
Old maids and old age make 50, in church 1 and if they are knitting we have 10.
In the tarot
In cartomancy we don't find any card that can be associated with the figure of a spinster. The number 66 is associated with the figure of a spinster.
She is a woman who according to popular tradition is advanced in years but has no husband.
Rude attitudes are often associated with this woman. To be more precise, the double number 66 does not indicate one, but 2 spinsters.
At this point it is legitimate to ask where this association was born and how it was fueled.
In general 6 is considered the number of woman, of femininity and also of female sexual pleasure.
However, the association of 2 digits 6 distorts this meaning and indicates two women who, having not found a husband, appear bitter and grumpy, even from a sexual point of view.
The acidity of these women would be connected to the fact that, having never been loved, these women are vicious, also because they have not been able to experience the joy of motherhood.
In a broad sense, 66 can be used to indicate two women intent on talking or gossiping.
At this point we understand in which cases it is possible to bet on the number 66.
It is certainly the right number to rely on if a couple of spinsters appears in our dreams, but it is also the number to rely on if you dream that someone judges our behavior or our relationship in an acid and bad way.
Other interpretations of the number 66
The grimace is not the only one that can help us read and interpret the number 66.
According to a symbolic approach, for example, the number 66 indicates an important diminution of the divine plan, closely connected to the fact that man often tends to rely exclusively on intelligence and reason, neglecting or betraying the religious or spiritual inclinations that could somehow give different nuances to one's life, thoughts and actions.
Then there are a series of situations that refer to this issue in a more or less intentional way.
On Easter Island, for example, there are 600 giant stone states, which measure 66 feet each (66 feet correspond to about 20 meters). Sixty-six were also the years that Hezekiah had when she, in the company of Ptolemy, had left Egypt.
On the purely numerological front, however, it may be interesting to note how by adding the numbers from 1 to 66, the number 2,211 is obtained, a divine number which, according to some esoteric texts, would represent the image of God in the temple.
There are also 66 geostationary satellite orbits that allow you to identify any point on the surface of our planet.
66 can also be an angelic number. It frequently occurs in situations of tiredness, whether physical or mental.
Through this number, our angel wants to invite us to recover our strength by leaving aside unnecessary worries and dedicating more time to spirituality.
In this way, in fact, you have the opportunity to get back in touch with your essence and to better perceive the message that our angel wants to leave us.
✳ 63. the bride
- The answer is within you
- Listening to / trusting your intuition and feelings
- Looking beneath the surface / exploring your subconscious
- Getting therapy or accessing self-help resources
- Exploring or studying spirituality
- Taking a non-rational approach
- Knowing something you can’t explain
- Stillness, quiet, passivity, meditation
- A witch, shaman, psychic, or ‘wise woman’ figure
- Lunar cycles
- Spellwork and ritual
- Mystery
✳ 52. the mother
- Self-love and love for/from others
- Creativity and self-expression in all forms
- Abundance, richness
- Nature, cycles, feeling in tune with the seasons and the natural world
- Being in the flow
- Sexuality, sensuality, enjoying your physicality
- Fertility
- Life force
- A maternal figure in your life
✳ 84. the church
- Ancestry
- Connecting to your past
- Honouring your ancestors
- Family history research (where family can be genetic or chosen)
- Talking with elders
- Initiation into a religious or spiritual community or path
- A new start, spiritually
- Spiritual wisdom or teachings
- Religious or spiritual study
- Becoming a teacher or mentor
- Reaching a milestone in any kind of study
✳ 69. the upside down
- Love (of all kinds)
- Making heart-centred choices
- Doing the right thing
- Compassion
- Partnerships and relationships
- Self-love
- Being your ‘best self’
✳ 35. the bird
- Focus
- Focused action
- Self-belief and confidence
- Commitment, drive and determination
- Getting super-clear about your goals
- Fighting for what you believe in
- Activism
- Overcoming obstacles
- Hard, passionate work
- Courage
✳ 28. the breasts
- Inner strength and courage
- Loving activism, fighting fear and hate with compassion
- Dignified resistance
- Emotional labour (and its value)
- Forgiveness
- Love in the face of anger or fear
- Checking in with your emotions and overriding those that will burn you out
- Accepting and loving the ‘shadow self’
- Self-love
- Making positive, compassionate choices
✳ 65. the crying
- Solitide, retreat
- Peace and quiet
- Giving your mind space
- Working things through on your own
- Claiming space and time for you
- Mentoring / teaching
- Finding a mentor / teacher
- Self-guided or guided study
✳ 82. the set table
- Change is happening
- A change in luck, especially good
- Predictions and prophesies
- Feeling like something is ‘destined’ to happen
- A shift in power dynamics
- Taking responsibility
- Focusing on what you can do (rather than being frustrated by what you can’t change)
- All things are interconnected
- Seeing the bigger picture
✳ 60. the lament
- Rational, logical thought, objectivity (is this helpful or harmful?)
- Binary, ‘right/wrong’ thinking (ditto)
- Knowing what is ‘right’
- Justice, fairness, balance
- Accountability
- Social justice principles
- Intersectionality
- Cause and effect
- Cutting through bullshit
- Legal affairs (whether ‘just’ or not)
✳ 85. purgatory's souls
- Passivity
- Holding back
- Patience
- Acknowledging that you do not know everything
- Allowing events to unfold
- Meditation and mindful practice
- Inner peace
- Independent thinking, taking a different perspective
- Self-acceptance
- Overcoming ego
- Not being afraid of what’s inside you
✳ 48. the speaking dead
- Personal transformation
- Starting over, moving on
- The ending of a cycle
- Letting go, saying goodbye
- Preparing to begin a new cycle
- Ritual to honour change
- Being in the flow of change, not resisting
- Letting go of an old identity, accepting that you have changed
- Honouring the seasons of life
✳ 48. the warm soup
- Balance, harmony
- A blending of dualities
- Alchemy
- Seeking the middle path
- Not making extreme decisions
- Taking a nonbinary attitude
- Testing the waters
- Self-care, grace, gentleness
- Integration into something you were resisting
✳ 77. the devils
- Bondage
- Addiction
- Materialism
- Destructive behaviours
- Getting trapped in harmful cycles
- Choosing to get free, or choosing not to get free
- Losing sight of what is important in life
- Confronting fear
- Accountability to yourself
- Delusion…and self-awareness
- Committing to your own freedom
✳ 83. the storm
- Revolution
- Disaster
- Shock
- Mourning
- Blowing apart old structures, demolition of the status quo
- Toppling systems of power (on small or large scales)
- Potential
- Making way for the new
- Finding a new way
- Rebuilding after disaster
- A blessing in disguise as a disaster
- Rehabilitation. Regeneration
✳ 25. christmas
- Hope
- Love and support
- Coming home to yourself
- Self-care
- Healing
- Being true to yourself
- Being guided by your intuition
- Integrity, honesty
- A positive new start or new vision
✳ 48. blood
- Shadow work
- Getting in touch with your wild nature
- ‘Letting you wolf howl’
- Listening deeply to your intuition
- Secret messages, signs and symbols
- Being totally non-rational
- Witchcraft, magic and spellwork
- Lies and deception
- Deceiving yourself
- Wearing a mask
✳ 19. laughter
- Positivity
- Saying yes
- Joy
- Practicing gratitude
- Success, things coming together
- Life’s simple pleasures
- Allowing yourself to simply be
- Starting an exciting project
- Connecting to a dynamic life force
✳ 18. the gossiping woman
- Liberation, freedom, casting off shackles
- Laying down of old baggage
- Self-acceptance
- Total accountability for self
- Integrity, honesty
- Forgiveness of self
- Forgiveness of others
- Self-love
- Letting go
- Allowing yourself to move forwards
✳ 45. the good wine
- Completion
- A sense of wholeness
- Knowing who you are in the world, having a sense of place
- Feeling deeply connected to all things
- Reaching your goal
- Bringing things to their end, wrapping up projects
- Focusing on your goal
- Celebration
- Preparing to start over