Coming Up: "Six Main Themes" With The Vera Sibilla Italiana
Week commencing Monday 11th August 2025
With such a lot going on, I thought I’d do a slightly longer spread today—and this is one that utilises all 52 of the La Vera Sibilla Italiana cards.
It’s originally for the French Sibylle des Salons, but can be used perfectly well with this Italian deck, despite the many differences in card meanings. It’s a spread of two halves, really; the first, a grid where “counting” is used to get a kind of overview of the period you’re looking at ahead. The second part is to identify six main “themes” the cards suggest will be upcoming, in our case in the news, using triplets of cards. If your deck has playing card references, as La Vera Sibilla does, you can also perform a third level of analysis, which is of those, both in terms of suits and of numerical multiples.
For subscribers, the instructions for how to lay and read this spread (referencing the Sibylle des Salons or Indovina) can be found here:
So!
Here’s how the initial grid fell with the “counted” cards (we counted here in fives).
We don’t look at the rest of the grid generally - I mean, we can if we want to, but I tend not to do so. So it’s these cards we read first.
And here are the “six themes”. The first three triplets:
The second:
Let’s see what this reading is suggesting is coming up for us in the news in the next week or so.
Counted Cards: Overview (in English)
Messenger; Joyfulness, Child; Sighs, Service; Wife; Enemy, Wedding
News is apparently coming of something positive and worth celebrating for someone younger or junior, or perhaps the birth of a child, perhaps the flourishment of a new project. However, there is a kind of yearning for a sense of service or duty from someone else that is simply unlikely to be. There is a female figure, perhaps a wife, perhaps just a responsible woman, someone who keeps things running. There is a deal with a male enemy on the cards.
Reading these diagonally, they suggest that news will be delivered perhaps to a younger person from a servant or employee figure.
There’s celebration, but also yearning, a desire for something that can never be, from a woman, perhaps a wife, or perhaps someone will be pining for a wife figure. And then there is a male enemy and a marriage or deal that goes on there.
The “Six Main Themes”
The “themes” tend to be the centre cards in the triplets, with those around them providing the detail:
Theme 1: Sickness, Unhealthiness, Dysfunction
Lord, Malady, Hope
This appears to concern a main man, a senior, or older one, king of the manor. Hopes arise that matters will improve, or that he is beginning to be “healed”, or he is hoping for improvement, either in his own health, or in the state of things that are wrong generally.
Theme 2: Battles,Conflict, Struggle
Misfortune, Soldier, Young Woman
A complete disaster or destruction, everything collapsing in war or due to military action, but a young woman, or female-named figure may be rising from the ashes. Terrible disaster for a young woman in a war situation or battle zone, but there’s a suggestion of innocence and “growing up” coming in here.
Theme 3: Negativity, Depression
Despair, Melancholy, Frivolity
Some lightening up of negativity appears to be on the cards here. Note how they go from despair, to just “murky thoughts” and then to the levity of the butterfly, a more playful, light approach. It’s saying “lighten up”, or find ways to do so. Get fun and lighten things where we can. It might also suggest a hint of drama, of people being overdramatic in a frivolous way because they’re feeling negative or troubled. So watch out for big old drama llamas coming up in the news too.
Theme 4: A Man, A Male Lover
Money, Lover, Doctor
A male healing figure who is paid a lot or who gives great value. A “money doctor”. Or a man’s financial problems are healed.
Theme 5: Consistency, Stability
Thief, Constancy, Reunion
After the loss or theft of constancy and stability, it will return. It looks as though a reunion between individuals is on the cards soon. Someone who has lost or stolen a stable or consistent foundation will have it returned to them by reconnecting with others.
Theme 6: News, Messages, What Is Written
Love, Letter, House
There will be news or a message about love or passion in a household or institution. A message of familial love or togetherness, perhaps, which may be published, with a sense of putting on a united front.
Playing Card References
You can find out more about these and how to use them in this deck here:
Across both parts of our spread, the suits of the relevant cards were pretty evenly represented with a slight (by two cards) emphasis on Cuori - that is on people, relationships and emotions. So expect a people-led week, with goods, bads and reactions to that.
In terms of multiples, we have quite a few coming up here. My interpretations of those would be as follows:
Two Twos: Collaborations, assistance, more positive partnerships
Two Fours: Coming together with something else established, mergers, devotion, seriousness
Two fives: Balancing disruptive factors, defeat, competitor
Two Sixes: Situations you learn from, minor niggles
Two Sevens: Signs, dreams and visions of the future
Three Eights: Uncertainty, Fears, Helplessness
Four Tens: High honours, promotion, elevation
Four Elevens/Jacks: Raucous gatherings, education
Two Twelves/Queens: Alliances, supportive women
Two Thirteens/Kings: Advice and support.
So put together, this suggests a week where we’ll be seeing lots of personal alliances, gatherings, mergers and perhaps two established institutions coming together, with an aim to balance disruptive factors. So it sounds like some political tightrope walking will be going on. Situations may arise where lessons have been learned, and there could be a focus on dreams of the future, along with people’s fears and worries. It looks like there should be an achievement, with someone promoted, and there are likely to be loud gatherings of young men, with more senior men and women offering guidance and support.
Overall, news is apparently coming of something positive and worth celebrating for someone younger or junior, or perhaps the birth of a child, perhaps the flourishment of a new project. However, there is a kind of yearning for a sense of service or duty from someone else that is simply unlikely to be able to be fulfilled. There is a female figure, perhaps a wife, perhaps just a responsible woman, someone who keeps things running. There is a deal with a male enemy on the cards.
Reading these diagonally, they suggest that news will be delivered perhaps to a younger person from a servant or employee figure.
There’s celebration, but also yearning, a desire for something that can never be, from a woman, perhaps a wife, or perhaps someone will be pining for a wife figure. And then there is a male enemy and a marriage or deal that goes on there.
The key themes of what’s upcoming in the news are, according to these cards, likely to be as follows.
Sickness, Unhealthiness, Dysfunction
This appears to concern a main man, a senior, or older one, king of the manor. Hopes arise that matters will improve, or that he is beginning to be “healed”, or he is hoping for improvement, either in his own health, or in the state of things that are wrong generally.
Battles,Conflict, Struggle Involving A Young Woman
A complete disaster or destruction, everything collapsing in war or due to military action, but a young woman, or female-named figure may be rising from the ashes. Terrible disaster for a young woman in a war situation or battle zone, but there’s a suggestion of innocence and “growing up” coming in here.
Negativity, Depression Lightened
Some lightening up of negativity appears to be on the cards here. Note how they go from despair, to just “murky thoughts” and then to the levity of the butterfly, a more playful, light approach. It’s saying “lighten up”, or find ways to do so. Get fun and lighten things where we can. It might also suggest a hint of drama, of people being overdramatic in a frivolous way because they’re feeling negative or troubled. So watch out for big old drama llamas coming up in the news too.
A Particular Man & Money Healing
A male healing figure who is paid a lot or who gives great value. A “money doctor”. Or a man’s financial problems are healed.
Consistency, Stability After Loss
After the loss or theft of constancy and stability, it will return. It looks as though a reunion between individuals is on the cards soon. Someone who has lost or stolen a stable or consistent foundation will have it returned to them by reconnecting with others.
News, Messages, Something Written About Love
Love, Letter, House
There will be news or a message about love or passion in a household or institution. A message of familial love or togetherness, perhaps, which may be published, with a sense of putting on a united front.