Learning the Sibilla is equivalent to learning a new card language in this regard, and so I advise caution against falling into the trap of thinking, or indeed being told by others, that there is any similarity with other decks like to Tarot or Lenormand decks for example. Although there are some superficial similarities with other decks, like the names of the cards and some of the imagery on them, this is simply not the case. To embrace such a belief would encourage assumptions and errors that would provide poor readings that lack true connection with the cards themselves and any authentic knowledge of them, their tradition, cultural significance and meaning, and their true essence. In this regard, it is my opinion and experience to be wary of anyone who gives tarot equivalents to the Italian Sibilla, for in so doing they betray their lack of knowledge and understanding of the Sibilla cards. Some people have called the Sibilla the poor mans Tarot. In my opinion this is simply not the case as the Sibilla has merits in its own right. Indeed , many people are unaware of the fact that the Tarot was not originally designed as a divination tool, but was adopted as such later on in history. Its original purpose and design was for the passing of secret messages and esoteric knowledge that as hidden in its symbolism. By contrast, the Vera Sibilla was specifically created for divination purposes. If you are interested in finding out more about the esoteric use of the Tarot I would recommend the book below.
To that end, and whilst I am comfortable to provide sufficient information for existing card readers to uncover the meaning, significance and nature of the cards and their use, I am honour bound to use my unique knowledge and experience of La Vera Sibilla Italia, as handed down to me in the true esoteric tradition of word of mouth. Inasmuch and honouring that tradition, I shall over time select a few who show themselves to have earned such a right of passage. For those individuals I am developing my own apprenticeship course to teach them the secrets and techniques that I hope they will in turn pass on to others such as themselves.very grateful if you see my work published or shared elsewhere (outside of this web site and my Facebook page) I would be extremely grateful if you would let me know.
For something to be truly esoteric in its original essence, practice and processes, it will remain outside of the wider public domain. Once such information is released to a wider audience, it is my experience that such esoteric practices have the propensity to be copied, watered down, simplified and generally commercialised to satisfy the appetite of a generally curious and well intentioned, yet often misguided public, who sometimes lack a broader spiritually esoteric knowledge and background to use it wisely.
The accomplishment of esoteric skills can take an entire lifetime, with the knowledge and experience being built upon over many decades of learning, failing, understanding and learning all over again. The 20thCentury saw a disregard for such traditions of time honoured learning through the expansion of a new spiritual movement that, instead of wanting to study, learn and understand the esoteric, became obsessed with the doing and experiencing first. This has led to a generalisation, deletion and distortion of information that has been almost watered down to satisfy the hunger of a new era of spiritual interests and needs.
It is also no coincidence that the La Vera Sibilla Italiana is not currently widely available outside of its native language, for these cards come from a heritage of true esoteric practise in the real sense of the word – handed down by word of mouth and even today well-practised by a relatively small number of people. I have no doubt that with the release of my own work, there will be other non-Italian card readers who will suddenly come out of the woodwork and profess their own hitherto unspoken knowledge of this deck, bless their commercially minded souls and almost certainly already well-known names.
For example, the Death card in the Tarot and the Death card in the Sibilla deck mean two completely different things, as do the Wheel of Fortune in the Tarot and the Fortune card in the Vera Sibilla.
It is now not uncommon for some card readers to use the Tarot as a sort of blueprint or foundation for understanding other cartomancy decks. It is not unlike the belief that once one learns to play the piano, one can play any instrument. Although most accomplished pianists are indeed able to get a tune out of many other instruments, they rarely do so as well as they would perform on the piano. Perhaps a better example would be learning Portuguese when you speak Spanish fluently and your native tongue is English. There may be similarities in certain words, although their meaning is completely different. With a superficial knowledge mistakes will, therefore, be more common than correct translations. In language, these words are referred to as false friends. In cartomancy you will find many similar card images and symbolisms across several decks that actually have different meanings.