SymTutor: Practice Tool for
a Three-Zener-Card Spread

This page displays a simple, randomly-generated, spread of three Zener (ESP) cards (in five colours: yellow, red, blue, green, & black), in conjunction with a brief description of a querent (the person for whom a reading is conducted) and a topic of interest. It is intended for study purposes, enabling readers to practice giving short readings for a variety of situations. The three cards can be considered as aspects of the past, present, and future, or simply an interrelated group pertaining to the subject at hand.

To generate a new querent and card spread, simply click the “another reading” button. For maximum benefit, these practice readings should be spoken aloud, as they would be in a normal setting.

The classic set of “ESP testing” cards was created in the 1930s at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina), by perceptual psychologist Dr. Karl Edward Zener (1903–1964), who some three decades later would became Chairman of Duke’s Department of Psychology. The five symbols were designed at the behest of a colleague, Dr. Joseph Banks Rhine (1895–1980), a biologist by training, but best known as the founder of Duke’s parapsychology laboratory. It has been claimed that Rhine may have suggested the “wavy lines” symbol to replace a proposed triangle, though there is no strong evidence one way or the other.

More recently, it has been suggested that the pure, abstract nature of the Zener symbols are ideal for the delivery of readings to those who lack belief in—or are otherwise averse to—the more occult traditions. A number of interpretations have been developed to support this approach.

The card images displayed above reproduce the symbol shapes of the first mass-produced packs created by Haines House of Cards under the auspices of Duke's parapsychology laboratory, with five copies of each of the five symbols (i.e., a 25-card pack). They are coloured to reflect that depiction in some contemporary packs; those preferring the traditional black-only designs can simply ignore the colours presented here.

Two good resources for Zener symbol interpretation are Robert Neale’s elegant “Systematic Creativity Stimulation”, in Mystery School (The Miracle Factory, Seattle, 2003, pp. 89–101) and Alan Strydom’s “Simple ESP Card Reading System” (self published, South Africa, 2006).

... Doug Dyment