Trump
For Bathsheba by Aylwin & Luke, c. Goat 3659
Bathsheba is being
haunted by Deirdre’s ghost, probably due to her death-curse, and Bathsheba asks
Luke and Aylwin for trump readings based on the
question, ‘So what do I do about Deirdre?’
Luke’s reading:
Luke is the son of Brand but he makes no claims to an especial flair for trump
artistry, he’s more a man of action. However he often reads the cards himself
and he’s sure it can only help.
Significator (where you are
now): Bathsheba reversed - Luke
reckons this one’s pretty obvious.
Aspirator (what you’re aiming for): 3 of Cups - Luke seems a little
flummoxed by this one; he says it represents marriage or birth.
Instigator (what brought this
about): Deirdre reversed - also
pretty obvious, in Luke’s opinion.
Hidden Influences: The Priestess reversed - Luke mutters
about ‘emotional instability’ and ‘emotional enslavement by a woman’ before
admitting that he really has no idea what this one means, which is often the
case with ‘hidden influences’ on account of them being hidden.
The next 4 cards all signify a sequence of
events; though the interval between them cannot be known they will occur in
this order and are seminal to the culminator.
First Event: 2 of Cups - love, friendship, trust,
fealty, etc, but Luke (hesitantly) suggests it implies Bathsheba needs company.
Luke doesn’t think it means him since it’s not The Lovers and there are good
reasons why he shouldn’t go (see below), but obviously Bathsheba should take
one or more people to complement her own talents.
Second Event: Brand reversed - court cards reversed
can imply the person is acting against you or is himself in trouble, or it can
mean someone like the person concerned, a shadow perhaps? In this case,
Luke is inclined to take it at face value and sees it as a meeting with Brand,
who is almost certainly in deep difficulty and may very likely intend you harm.
If this is so, then Luke is even more certain that it shouldn’t be him that
accompanies you. His feelings toward his father are ambivalent, to say the
least. Brand has too many hooks in Luke and there’s no one better at
manipulating hooks than Brand.
Third Event: 3 of Coins: Luke is a little confused
by this one. It’s a card that often turns up in his own spreads. He’s always
taken it to refer to his commercial ventures, though his father referred to it
as the card of the Master Artisan. Luke thinks it means Bathsheba must strike
some sort of deal.
Fourth Event: The Devil reversed - Luke is not happy
to see this here. He sees it as a warning of a bid for control by the
instinctive side of one’s nature - but it can also reveal a dangerous
repression of the instincts by the intellect, which is not very helpful at all.
More cogently, it indicates Evil occult happenings, either the Evil within you
or directed at you. Luke knows his father – beware!
Culminator (where this is all
going ultimately): The World – “The
final and successful completion of the matter in hand. The culmination of
events. The ending of a cycle of destiny”, is how Luke puts it. Despite the
previous card, things look pretty good. Though obviously the cards must be
assuming the right choices are made along the way.
The Pivot (the crucial issue you must address): The Moon [the pivot is always on its
side, indicating it could turn upright or become reversed, depending on how you
address it] - upright, it refers to a ‘crisis of faith’, though Luke mutters
something about ‘clear vision in the dark’. Reversed, it warns of deception,
lies and nightmares - a Terror of the Deep and Dark.
Summary: Luke reckons the cards point specifically
to you negotiating with Brand, who was last heard of in the Abyss, which by all
accounts is pretty dark. As a result of this you will be involved in Evil
Occult Happenings that, if handled well, will result in a successful outcome vis-a-vis Deirdre. But you should not go alone.
Aylwin’s reading: Aylwin is a very different sort of man to
Luke. Tutored by Fiona rather than Brand, she never took him beyond the basics
due to his ‘lack of talent’. However, when it comes to divination, as opposed
to creation,
I’ve also made 2 assumptions: a) Aylwin and Bathsheba are going to be completely truthful
with each other, not hold anything back - please let me know if this isn’t so
and we can revise things; b) Aylwin uses the Zephyra-Asperage tarot - this is because the only point in
asking the same question of 2 different card readers is to get a difference in
perspective, and the Z-A deck makes Aylwin’s reading
that much more different to Luke’s.
Significator (where you are
now): The Fool, stepping in to the
Abyss – before Bathsheba thumps Aylwin he may have
time to explain that ‘Fool’ does not necessarily mean ‘stupid’ (though it can,
of course). More usually, it implies ‘innocence’ or possibly ‘ignorance’. In
common with many decks, the Z-A deck portrays the Fool stepping off a cliff in
to a Void. I think Aylwin knows what that means!
Aspirator (what you’re aiming for): 9 of Cups – a healthy mind in a healthy
body indeed.
Instigator (what brought this
about): Death reversed – Death is a
very complex card. Despite the symbolism, there’s always a chance that it means
death literally. In this case, Aylwin feels it may
refer to Deirdre’s death at the hands of Bathsheba but, reversed, it may also
indicate a near death experience that leaves a permanent scar or a life extended
unnaturally, all of which could make some sense. (The cards are often given to
triple-whammy meanings like this to those who really know how to handle them.)
Hidden Influences: Bishop of Cups reversed – Z-A Bishop of
Cups: A hunchbacked dwarf
dressed in Victorian style, complete with top hat, steps out of a shop door. In
the shop window can be glimpsed various bric-a-brac, betraying the place as a
second-hand junk/curio shop. The dwarf appears to be leering wickedly at a
couple of tiny dolls in period dresses before dropping them into a toby-jug, no doubt holding more of the same. Strangely, his
reflection in the shop window is completely different; that of a man of normal
stature and a widow’s peak. The reflection’s expression is one of revulsion and
fascination. He is the Creator, the
Progenitor, when his creation was taken from him forcibly he laboured to get it
back. His intellect is profound, his imagination original and his knowledge
immense, though not limitless. Once he was insane and many still think him so
but his real fault is that he is amoral, in the truest sense of the word.
Court cards reversed can imply the person is
acting against you or is himself in trouble, or it can mean someone like
the person concerned, a shadow perhaps? Aylwin is not
sure if this refers to a single person. It might be a group of people, all in
some way linked to the central personage portrayed here. [The central figure is
Dworkin, of course, and his reflection is Dark – the ‘group
of people’ are of course, the myriad personas of Dworkin.]
The next 4 cards all signify a sequence of
events; though the interval between them cannot be known they will occur in
this order and are seminal to the culminator.
First Event: Knight of Crosses – Z-A: A man dressed in green upon a field of
black broken only by the occasional star. No terrain may be seen. His posture
is rigid, arms flung wide as if in crucifixion. His mouth is open in a wail of
despair and his eyes reflect only the background. Once he walked in the light but is now fallen into darkness. He has
suffered deep misfortune and lost all that he loved or desired, entirely by his
own designs. He now dwells in deep and bitter loneliness, unloved and untrusted and justly so, dreaming only of a return to his
former life, but he will need help to achieve rehabilitation.
Aylwin is pretty sure this is a person [Brand]; note the lack of reversal.
Second Event: 3 of Wands – Negotiation
and oration, a successful start, original ideas. The very first word says it all for Aylwin.
Third Event: Strength – particularly moral strength
and determination – the opportunity to execute a plan if one has the moral
courage, (Kurtz has a lot to say about this in Apocalypse Now), or perhaps
psychic strength and ability rather than physical. Neither meaning precludes
the other.
Fourth Event: The Thief – Z-A: A man dressed in dark colours walks past an
impressive building with a spire. He is hunchbacked and carries a spade over
his shoulder and a large black bag in his hand. His skull-like face is averted
from the building. This thief carries a
spade because he is the Stealer of Souls. He represents those forces and people
who will seek to destroy you morally and spiritually. The card can also
represent common theft and petty criminals.
Aylwin finds the presence of this card disquieting, and he’s sure it refers
more to a spiritual threat than to mundane theft. However, it’s not actually
reversed so paradoxically it doesn’t seem to be operating against Bathsheba’s
interests.
Culminator (where this is all
going ultimately): Judgement – the
Dead rise up! Again, the cards are being literal. In the Z-A deck, an angel
blows a trumpet and 4 figures rise up, 1 man and 3 women. Symbolically, the
card indicates (among other things) rejuvenation; a new lease of life; a return
to health.
The Pivot (the crucial issue you must address): 10 of Crosses [the pivot is always on
its side, indicating it could turn upright or become reversed, depending on how
you address it] – Z-A: The Ul
Summary: the Abyss definitely seems to beckon,
along with a meeting with the mysterious Knight of Crosses. Then, provided you
show some moral courage, The Thief does his thing and several people live
happily ever after who ATM might not be living at all, from some points of view.
[This, of course, is all foreshadowing for
one of my plot threads for Bathsheba, the laying of Deirdre’s ghost and the
possible retrieval from the Abyss of Deirdre, Sarah and perhaps even Brand
himself.]