The Kipper is a 36 card forecasting system, the cards of which are referenced by their Number. It is not know who actually invented the Kipper card system, but there is strong evidence that the person lived in Bavaria around the 1880s. We do know that all decks are derived from the deck published by the Matthias Seidlein company in the 1890s, and that the deck was named after the famous cartomancer Susanne Kipper as a marketing ploy.
At the time of the Kipper systems invention, card decks were only printed by established publishers. As is still done today when a creator allows their deck be published by a mass market publisher, the publisher will modify a cards title and imagery in a manner that they feel will increase deck sales to dabblers. Because the Kipper originally lacked a guidebook, serious cartomancers had to guess at the creators intent for the card meanings solely from the publisher modified titles and illustrations. Unfortunately this has led to some misinterpretations, as some titles and images were initially (and often still) taken too much at their face value alone.
The Kipper card system is really quite unique, but to truly understand the mechanics you have to first strip away both the euphemistic Old German titles and the often misleading decorative mnemonic imagery. What initially becomes clear is that the deck is tailored for the specific purpose of examining courtships of all forms, and not for general divination. Another thing noticed is that the deck is very binary, in that most cards are actually pairs, coldly declaring a better/worse evaluation. It is therefore not surprising that the deck is often described as: a masculine deck intended for women
.
Most of the cards in the Kipper deck have an opposing pair. Many of the cards also express the same idea, but in a greater or lesser form, so that together they can be grouped into one of three Sets. There are also cards which act as Clarifiers and which represent Profiles. Several cards stand less on their own, serving instead as adjectives to adjacent cards in a Spread.
The cards in the deck are particularly well suited to questions about a potential lover, especially if the dating goal is to establish a conjoining. Intriguingly, as it is functionally a courtship, the deck is also suitable for questions about business merger negotiations.
The Circumstance set consists of two groups of four cards each, that describe context. The Ease group evaluates how smoothly things are flowing. The Unity group evaluates the amount of closeness that is occurring. Two of the opposing cards in each group indicate a stronger occurrence, while the other two opposing cards indicate a weaker occurrence.
___CIRCUMSTANCE___
+ EASE - + UNITY -
|26-Fortunateness| == |32-Adversity| : greater: |03-Joined | == |34-Separate |
|27-Increase | == |24-Reduction| :lesser: |04-Briefly Together| == |10-Temporarily Apart|
The Manifestation set consists of two groups of four cards each, that describe accomplishment. The Progress group evaluates whether events are proceeding in a positive or negative direction. The Concord group evaluates the amount of positive or negative harmony engendered. Two of the opposing cards in each group reflect an influence with strong impact, while the other two opposing cards reflect a similar influence with weaker impact.
___MANIFESTATION___
+ PROGRESS - + CONCORD -
|15-Succeeded | == |19-Thwarted | : greater: |11-Accord | == |23-Dispute |
|07-Pleasant Report| == |14-Upsetting Report| :lesser: |36-Freedom| == |29-Restriction|
The Perception set consists of two groups of four cards each, that describe impression. The Dependability group reflects the amount of positive or negative reliability that is felt. The Respect group reflects the amount of positive or negative credence that is being given. Two of the opposing cards in each group reflect a stronger belief, while the other two opposing cards reflect a weaker belief.
___PERCEPTION___
+ DEPENDABILITY - + RESPECT -
|20-Stability| == |09-Change | : greater: |25-Trust | == |33-Doubt |
|16-Cautious | == |18-Irresponsible| :lesser: |17-Acceptance| == |31-Suspicions|
Two cards estimate an increasing relative length of time that an event takes to unfold.
|28-Short Time|
|35-Long Time|
Two cards warn that things are being concealed in an increasingly troublesome manner.
|08-Deception|
|21-Secret|
Two cards indicate traditional roles.
|06-Matriarchal Figure| == |05-Patriarchal Figure|
Four cards indicate major archetypal characteristics.
|30-Airy Disposition| ~~~ |22-Fiery Disposition| ~~~ |13-Earthy Disposition| ~~~ |12-Watery Disposition|
Two cards identify the players in the melodrama.
|02-You| == |01-Them|
Because the subconscious effectively has only thirty-four cards to work with (three through thirtysix), the cards will exhibit variable meanings depending upon their context within any particular Spread. Please note that the deck being referenced is the "Original Kipper", a deck that is a relic of both its historic time and place. The card Titles are in Old German, and the crude illustrations reflect the Bavarian middle class environment and social mores of the late 1800s. Understanding the cards in the new Millennium requires replacing the imprecise German titles with more concise English titles that are not just
01 - Them
02 - You
03 - Joined
04 - Briefly Together
05 - Patriarchal Figure
06 - Matriarchal Figure
07 - Pleasant Report
08 - Deception
09 - Change
10 - Temporarily Apart
11 - Accord
12 - Watery Disposition
13 - Earthy Disposition
14 - Upsetting Report
15 - Succeeded
16 - Cautious
17 - Acceptance
18 - Irresponsible
19 - Thwarted
20 - Stability
21 - Secret
22 - Fiery Disposition
23 - Dispute
24 - Reduction
25 - Trust
26 - Fortunateness
27 - Increase
28 - Short Time
29 - Restriction
30 - Airy Disposition
31 - Suspicions
32 - Adversity
33 - Doubt
34 - Separate
35 - Long Time
36 - Freedom
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