Fifty-four Devils

by Cory Thomas Hutcheson

“Ye are twenty-five cards.Become twenty-five devilsEnter 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.-From the back cover

Genres: Divination, Occult, Witchcraft, Spirituality, Nonfiction

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 3, 2013

Reviews

[Georgina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may not entirely agree with his system, but it is much better than others I've read about and superior to some I've seen online. I absolutely adore the appendixes -- there are historical techniques there that you won't find anywhere else. Buy this book, grab a Sharpie, and start marking up a playing deck!

[Edric Unsane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique take on fortune-telling with playing cards. I really like the methodology and the spreads, and the writing was pretty good too. This is one to check out if you're interested in divining with playing cards.

[Grayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful, but Hutcheson's explanation of the 5-card draw is really confusing and difficult to follow.

[Jean-Pierre Vidrine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author writes in a refreshing conversational style and throughout does a better job of delivering the individual cards' meanings than some other texts I've read.
I do have some qualms, though. The author insists on using specific cards as representing the client and their possible love interests. Using the King and Queen in such a way comes off as hetero-centric and cis-normative to an eyeroll-worthy degree. His insistence that these cards can be used even for same sex couples comes off as an afterthought at best.
The segment of the book about rhyming divination (reprinted from a 1915 text) is almost charmingly stupid with its anachronistic sexism, reading cards one way for men and another for women. Yet the author praises the method, never questioning but happily upholding the idea that the cards work differently for people based on gender.
Despite these issues (and a couple of other smaller ones) I have with it, this is still a fine introduction to the idea of using playing cards in divination; and it has likely put me on the trail of other books on the subject. Whether or not this volume will be the go-to reference remains to be seen.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm, it was fine but not quite what I was looking for, and the ultimately kind of redundant among the other books on my cartomancy shelf. Very bare bones basics. If you have access to the Hedgewytch stuff (it's back on the Internet apparently), which the author cites as a strong influence, probably not much here will be of interest. I found the instructions for the basic 5-card spread kind of confusing?? I'll have to sit down and see if I can actually follow them step-by-step. There are also instructions for a tableau with a full deck, but I can't see myself ever actually doing that.

If you are brand new, it's a perfectly serviceable place to start. The chart of all the abbreviated card meanings is kinda neat, I did print out a copy to keep at my reading table for quick reference/inspiration.

I am an Ana Cortez gal, and I do love her system, no plans to set it aside, but found myself wanting something a little more witchy, or folky, or whatever. Did not exactly scratch the itch! YMMV depending on what you're looking for.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

In all transparency, I did skim parts of this book that dealt with topics I was familiar with through reading tarot. However, I did skim those sections for differing perspectives (such as reading a three card pull as morning, midday, and evening rather than the more general past, present, and future).

I enjoyed the folklore in this book immensely. I wish there was more but I understand it’s meant to be more of a reference guide and a starting point than an in depth look at folklore. However, I do find that systems work better for me when I know why things are the way they are. Why are the spades seen as so negative when the swords of the tarot are similar but have the positive side of potentially representing truth and logic?

Devils advocates aside, very helpful starting point and lots of great references for further reading in the bibliography. Would definitely recommend!

[Kelly Cronin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read this guide, I am ready for experiential lessons. My tarot decks may get squirmy, but I suspect Cory’s guidance will also enhance my work with them.

Rumor has it that Cory plans to sweep the corners of this edition. What will be added? What will be critiqued? Will race and gender be addressed for a 2022 audience?

Fans of Cory’s will hear his voice and smile. I’m glad this book is on my shelf.