Kipper Cards 19-24: Death/Coffin, House, Living Room, Military Person, Court, Thief

Kipper Card Meanings including notes, quirks and directional features, using the Wahrsagen Kipperkarten, Fin de Siecle & Salish decks.

Here are the main card meanings for all the above Kipper cards. In terms of the images, I want to illustrate some of the extra nuances you can get in terms of meaning by using the images and directions indicated on the cards, and also how different decks might compare on this.

So the decks I’m showing from left to right in these card meaning lists are a) the “Original” Wahrsagekarten, Lieder version b) the Ciro Marchetti Fin de Siecle, and c) the Salish Kipper decks. As we’ve said, the Salish, although a modern deck, usually follows the directions in the “Original original” 1890s printing of the deck, so that’s the one to use if you’re a purist.

You can see my comparison and overview of these three different Kipper decks here:

Unlike the Sibilla decks, Kipper cards do NOT have reversed meanings. I also note below where there are equivalent or similar cards from other oracle systems. Plus whether they are considered Master cards for Master card readings (more on that in a future post). I have marked those that are with an M.

19. Death/ Coffin (M) 

Meaning: The main ‘stop’ (as in ‘fullstop’) card, especially in Master Card readings. Endings, bereavement, stopped, finished, closed, gone, death. A process of ending that must be gone through. Look at the cards around the Coffin to understand the nature of the ending being gone through.

Illustration & directions: Although I should stress that you don’t have to use directional cues at all (and many German Kipper readers don’t), a number of readers view the card that appears at the foot (ie ‘thinner’) end of the Coffin (which as you can see differs between decks) as indicative of what has ended with the card next to that as what is getting changed as a result. The card at the head (the wider end), they believe, is where the ending began and the one next to it as what area is most affected. As such, it’s one of the more “complicated” cards directionally, especially as it’s so impacted by design. If you wish to use that. Bear in mind that other decks with the exact same card don’t, so…

Similar to: The Death card in both Vera Sibilla/Gypsy Oracle and the Fright/Death card in Sibylle des Salons/Sibilla Indovina, as well as the Lenormand Coffin, where it is often more indicative of illness.

Notes: This is both a Master and the “fullstop” card for Master card readings. One reader in particular teaches that there are several others, but be aware that this is not necessarily followed by other Kipper readers, including German practitioners.

20. House (M)