Quint card - calculations ?

loquitaaphrodite said:

thank you Sulis!

Last question, I promise! hehehe...

when using the quint card as energy, if the spread leans towards negative (for example a three card spread w/ the present and future cards Rx), would i used the energy of the card to mean possibly the negative energy of the card?

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Because i always use the quint card, and because i always read with reversals, my way of calculating the quint is a lil different than most, but it works really well for me, and perhaps you could try this as a way of narrowing down the possibilities re: which way the energy is flowing.

My method is to add up all the upright cards that are drawn, and then subtract the total for any reversed cards. For example: upright cards total 16, less: total of negative cards -6, would equal = 10. So in this instance, i would read the upright meaning of the Wheel.

However, in instances when the total value of the negative cards exceeds the total value of the upright cards, then the sum would be a negative #. For example: total for negative cards is -26, then i'd subtract: the total value of upright cards 20, which would equal -6, in which case I would read the reversed meaning for the Lovers.

I also assign a meaning to the Courts and include them when i'm totalling the values of the cards. (Page has a value of 11; Knight has a value of 12; Queen has a value of 13; and King has a value of 14). However, some readers don't assign a value to the Courts. Each to their own LOL,, tho i feel its important to consider all the cards that are thrown. Especially considering that @ times the Courts can represent qualities that apply to the situation or issue @ hand. {tho i do make the odd exception, when i feel strongly that the court is representing a person, in which case i don't assign it a value}

Also when i first started reading, i was taught to use the quint as a "control card", in the sense that its meaning could be considered as a way of "testing your interpretation". Or in otherwords, when you consider the meaning of the Quint, ask yourself: if it's meaning ties-in with the way you've interpretated the rest of the cards? &/or: does it seem to summarize the reading?

I also interpret the cards drawn first, then i calculate & consider the meaning of the quint. & In my experience, i've found it really helpful to think of the quint in terms of it's being a control card. For instance, if the meaning of the quint has nothing to do with the way in which you've chosen to interpret the cards, ask yourself: whether it's meaning could tie-in with one of the cards thrown if you viewed the card drawn within this additional context?

Not to mention, that there are a many ways to read a card, in the sense that there can be subtle differences to its interpretation depending on context, so the quint can help you arrive @ the correct interpretation for a card that you may have been unsure of, and as such the quint can be used as a clarifier of sorts &/or to help you establish the correct context in which to read the card(s).

I also just total the cards and only reduce the total when it exceeds 22. So for me its not about reducing it to a single digit, but rather the total value is reduced so that it corresponds to the major arcana cards, which range from 1-21, with the Fool having a value of 22.

jenessa said:

I also interpret the cards drawn first, then i calculate & consider the meaning of the quint. & In my experience, i've found it really helpful to think of the quint in terms of it's being a control card. For instance, if the meaning of the quint has nothing to do with the way in which you've chosen to interpret the cards, ask yourself: whether it's meaning could tie-in with one of the cards thrown if you viewed the card drawn within this additional context?

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Hi jenessa, someone in the forum just taught me about the quint card so I googled and found this thread. I have a question about using the quint card as the control card. I just did a reading for a friend who asked what is the development of his business after his competitor going for insolvency. Here is the result:

Deck: RWS, no reversal
Spread: 3 card spread without position meaning
The World - Knight of Wands - Empress

Reading the face of the cards, I found the energy very positive, flowing from right to left. He may be able to find a funding source or investment (Empress) and growing fast (Knight of Wands) with his worldwide business (The World). However, if I calculate the quint card, it becomes the Hermit, which has a very different energy from the face of the cards. If the quint card serves as a control card, how should I reconcile the difference in this example?

Many thanks. I'm still learning so any comment is deeply appreciate.

One can very easily over-analyze something that should be very, very simple (read: 'How to turn a one-card reading into 2 hours of analyzation').

jenessa said:

Because i always use the quint card, and because i always read with reversals, my way of calculating the quint is a lil different than most, but it works really well for me, and perhaps you could try this as a way of narrowing down the possibilities re: which way the energy is flowing.

My method is to add up all the upright cards that are drawn, and then subtract the total for any reversed cards. For example: upright cards total 16, less: total of negative cards -6, would equal = 10. So in this instance, i would read the upright meaning of the Wheel.

However, in instances when the total value of the negative cards exceeds the total value of the upright cards, then the sum would be a negative #. For example: total for negative cards is -26, then i'd subtract: the total value of upright cards 20, which would equal -6, in which case I would read the reversed meaning for the Lovers.

I also assign a meaning to the Courts and include them when i'm totalling the values of the cards. (Page has a value of 11; Knight has a value of 12; Queen has a value of 13; and King has a value of 14). However, some readers don't assign a value to the Courts. Each to their own LOL,, tho i feel its important to consider all the cards that are thrown. Especially considering that @ times the Courts can represent qualities that apply to the situation or issue @ hand. {tho i do make the odd exception, when i feel strongly that the court is representing a person, in which case i don't assign it a value}

I also just total the cards and only reduce the total when it exceeds 22. So for me its not about reducing it to a single digit, but rather the total value is reduced so that it corresponds to the major arcana cards, which range from 1-21, with the Fool having a value of 22.

Click to expand...

I was going to start a new thread on this very topic but found this old one instead. Back when I returned to tarot in 2011 after a long hiatus and joined AT, I found the concept of a summary card (quintessence) being widely used. It was nowhere to be seen back in the ealy '90s when I "semi-retired." At the time (2011) it seemed people were drawing an extra card off the top of the deck (without reshuffling) as the quint and using that to expand upon an uncertain outcome; I didn't see anyone deriving it numerologically in any of the posts I read at the time.

Since this didn't seem to make any sense and just looked like a "clarifier," I created my own way to bring all of the cards in the spread into the equation. Turns out it's very similar to the above, except that I didn't learn until very recently that reversals can be subtracted to allow the calculation to reach zero and produce the Fool as quint, and also to obtain reversed quint cards. Back then I just ignored the Fool on the basis that it's "outside" the Trump sequence, but this way is better.

I added up the numerical values of the Trumps, minors and court cards (using 11, 12, 13 and 14 for the latter since I couldn't see leaving any card unaccounted-for in what is basically a numerical exercise; I also considered using the qabalisitc 2, 3, 6 and 10 for them), then reduced numerologically unil I arrived at a number below 21, selecting the associated Trump card as the quint. (My own justification for using only the Trumps was that, if you're asking the "gods of tarot" for the favor of more information when your own skill falters, you'll probably get an archetypal answer.) However, I did the calculation by direct addition, not by "casting out nines" one at a time, so 23 immediately came out 5, not 14. I also considered whether to do it the other way and then further reduce 14 to 5, but decided instead to take a broader view and look at both cards to see which made the most sense in the context of the reading. In some cases, both can be revealing and it also helps me to find useful associations between the Trumps (which, after all, are a well-integrated philosophical progression - the "Fool's Journey"). So 19 can be the Sun, the Wheel of Fortune (1+9=10) and the Magician (1+0=1) all at the same time, and I can certainly see a "story" in those three.

I agree with LRichad that there are many permutations which can be examined, any of which can provide insight. To be honest, though, I only use the quint card when the outcome is open-ended. If the answer is clear as it stands, I don't bother with any further digging for meaning.

For me the quint is handy when there are too many mix messages in the reading.. like mix of positive and negative cards.. and after i do the reading using the cards and my feelings relating to them, I calculate the quit and this tells me whether I was on the right track with the reading.. also I do elemental dignities (again when there are too many negative cards) .. but when I calculate the quint it reassures me that I was doing the elemental dignities correctly and just for the sake of doing them.

The quint also gives the general energy surrounding the situation, puts more light on which way the outcome will be inclined to go towards.. I use it all the time and find it mega helpful with the readings... sometimes I get the shadow to be the same as the quint.. thats when I just mainly focus on the quint.. there is no message louder than that..

I also often get the exact quint for the different readings surrounding the same situation between the same people, and this is amazing when it happens.. there is no bigger confirmation that the cards you have picked resonate with the situation..