Eighteen Century Card Divination: Hooper’s Deck

LIST OF MEANINGS

Bottle-in a well-to-do eighteenth-century home, two bottles, both corked, sit on a table. One is a large dark bottle whose contents are impossible to see, the other bottle is clear and is half-full of some dark liquid. Between the two bottles sit two goblets. The table appears set for two people to enjoy themselves over a drink. Upright Meanings: being offered a choice-‘pick your poison’; a cure; meeting over a drink to discuss things; ‘if I could bottle this feeling and sell it, I’d be a millionaire’; bottled-up feelings; a mystery-the stage is set, now where are the players?; being presented with a bottle of beverage as a gift. An opportunity to show off one’s wealth under the guise of extending hospitality. Drinking establishments. Reversed Meanings: the bottles are drained and the party is over; the meeting over a drink has come to an end and hopefully a decision has been made, an understanding reached, or enlightenment has set-in. ‘Drinking the Kood-Aid.’ One or both the bottles may actually contain poison. Hospitality with a not-so-innocent motive.

Charity-this card depicts a fully-clothed woman, but her breasts are exposed and she is nursing two naked infants at them. She is sitting under a tree and it appears to be a day during the warm season of the year. Upright Meanings: generosity; the milk of human kindness; sharing what one has with others; giving others the benefit of the doubt, and not judging them for their lack. Giving at a cost to oneself. Reversed Meanings: parsimony; cruelty; keeping it all for oneself; the tap has run dry and there is none for you; ‘charity begins at home, so go home. Oh, the larder’s bare? Well, that’s too bad.’ Giving grudgingly, if at all. A distinct lack of charity.

Church-a straightforward depiction of a church. Upright Meanings: a place of worship; an established religion; a religiously-observant person; any institution of society, such as a school, a university, a foundation, government or government agency, the field house at your local park; any ‘third place’- a place which is neither work/school nor home, and which forms a regular part of peoples’ lives. Reversed Meanings: a scandal which turns the church upside down; the church used for a bad or criminal purpose; some surprise which turns, what you thought you knew about a certain societal institution, on its head; rebellion against the structures and strictures of society; the overthrow of the established order.

Contemplation-a bearded, robed hermit, holding a skull in his lap and contemplating it. He is in what looks like a cave, but could be a hut. There is a cross before him, protruding out of a tree trunk. Vines overhang the entrance. Upright Meanings: deep thought; reflection; reconsidering one’s life choices; retreating from the world in order to gain a more objective view of it; taking a rest; recognition that life is fleeting; calmness, peace; satisfaction with the simple things. Reversed Meanings: a return to the world of action; consternation; chaos; too much happening to have time for calm, objective thought; no opportunity to reflect, only to react; a readiness to face the world again.

Cottage-a straightforward depiction of a thatch-roofed cottage. Upright Meanings: a humble dwelling; someone who comes from humble beginnings, or dwells in humble circumstances; the working poor or lower-middle-class; reduced circumstances; a sufficiency, but nothing more; a vacation home. Reversed Meanings: someone who may’ve lived in humble circumstances but doesn’t now; hostility to the poor, the less-well-off and the middle class; lacking some materials needs, such as food and clothing; possible domestic violence, or a broken home, or both. Someone who may’ve lost even humble digs, and is now homeless.

Courage-a lion, standing in front of a tree. He is alert, looking off to the right, his tail curved up and over his back. A cockatrice with a lush tail is sitting on a tree branch above the lion’s head, probably to avoid becoming the lion’s meal! Upright Meanings: bravery; vigilance; battle-ready; prepared to take on all comers; on the look-out for any opportunity. An attitude of courage can change the situation for the better. Reversed Meanings: cowardice; fear; reticence; retreat; submission; no appetite for the fight, and no willingness to do what is necessary to improve the situation.

Courtship-a lady is sitting by a path and spinning wool. A shepherd is chatting her up as she spins, and is pointing to himself. Upright Meanings: soliciting the friendship of another; seeking after similarities; ‘going steady’; seduction; courtship; presenting one’s case, either in a court of law, business, or personal involvements; persuading someone to enter into a long-term relationship; trying to make the sale; one business seeking to merge with or acquire another. Reversed Meanings: a failed courtship; a broken-off engagement; after doing one’s best to present to present one’s case, the petitionee was not persuaded; an alliance sought for less-than-honorable purposes; a hostile takeover; discovering one was deceived about another’s true character; someone who has dispensed with the niceties and gone straight to rape.

Crimes-two men in eighteenth-century garb, one of them better-dressed than the other, are standing on a country road. One of them is robbing the other at gun-point. In the distance, a body is hanging from a gibbet. Upright Meanings: a crime which has already been committed, or being the victim of a crime; a crime in progress or series of crimes currently on-going; feeling robbed or mugged, and the outrage being a crime victim engenders; a criminal without fear of being caught and made to pay for his crime. A feeling of ‘this is a crime.’ A hardened criminal. A crime is committed and the criminal does indeed get away with it. Reversed Meanings: a crime thwarted; a crime is interrupted and the victim is saved; an incompetent criminal; a crime is exposed; the criminal is caught and punished for the crime; restitution in some form may be made to the victim (these latter-two meanings are especially likely to be true if accompanied by the Law or Security card).

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