#literary tarot

[enchantress-of-numbers]

Oh my god, it just arrived. I'm gonna post pics when I open it but I am just so excited!!!

[monstercollection]

I’ve been slacking with my Literary Tarot Challenge posts so I’m going to do a quick drop with summaries of the ones I most recently finished, and hopefully get around to longer reviews of them later.

The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon (Nine of Parchment)- diary of an 11th century gentlewoman in the Imperial court of Japan. Sei is just… the most. She’s so much. She’s petty, she’s decadent, she’s conceited. She’s 100% That Bitch. I love and hate her in equal measure.

This was an absolutely fascinating window into the Heian Era but I had to WORK for it. Reading a book written 1,000 years ago is hard enough, but as someone from the US with only a second-hand familiarity with Japanese culture, Buddhism and Shinto, there were a so many new concepts I had to learn. Lots of good appendices in the edition I read that helped with unfamiliar vocab and cultural references (and I’ll edit to include which one I read when I get home). By far the hardest book I’ve read for the challenge and the first one I thought I might not finish.

“The Outsider” by H. P. Lovecraft (The Tower)- Short story about a sad, lonely haunted monster man, so basically my bullshit. My familiarity with Lovecraft and his mythos extends to having read Call of Cthulhu in college and playing a few board games based on his stories. I think I’d have gotten a little more out this one if I’d known more about his interconnected lore but I don’t necessarily feel the urge to delve further into Lovecraft’s work. It definitely stands on it’s own as a solo story.

“Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street” by Herman Melville (Four of Light)- this is probably one of those stories assigned to me in high school or college that I either read just enough to fake my way through or read but remember nothing about.

It’s a short story about a lawyer who seems to collect weird, quirky, flawed little men for employees. He is extremely compassionate and I can’t tell if the lengths he goes to for them is supposed to make him the butt of a joke or if we’re supposed to see them through his eyes and empathize with them the way he does. I feel like it’s the latter. It’s stance seems to be that no one should suffer for being weird, lonely or mentally ill.

I’m sure my high school teacher bent it into some kind of puritan morality tale about how there is no point in helping those who won’t help themselves, but it doesn’t hit that way.

Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (The Star) - I don’t understand why Emily has not gotten the same attention and love as Anne of Green Gables. This is a beautiful story deeply into the category of Magical Realism, Emily’s world is as full of fairies and nature spirits and prophetic visions as it is the injustices of early 20th century childhood.

It pushes so many boundaries. I can see why it would not have been popular in it’s own time— there is a healthy level of blasphemy from Emily and her father who believe that their loving God exists as a separate being from the puritanical God everyone else preaches about.

It also radically asserts the idea that children are whole beings deserving of the same rights as adults. Almost every child in the book is living with some kind of abuse or neglect— and it’s not treated as “period-appropriate parenting techniques” but as the actual injustice it is.

I’m going to do a longer post on Emily soon because I have SO MANY FEELINGS about it. It might just be my favorite thing I’ve read for the challenge so far.

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot (The Hanged Man)- How are we all sitting around for tea when the slow march of time leads us ever closer to death? The helplessness in the face of existential inevitability made this one feel just right for the Hanged Man

“The Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin (Temperance)- Hard sci-fi short story about a pilot who has to make the choice between jettisoning a stowaway into space or running out of fuel before he can deliver medical supplies to a colony. This was emotional as hell but a really good story.

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

ITS HERE!!! 😍😍😍

[madcat-world]

From AnonBea

✨First set of the Literary Tarot Suit of Light!✨

- Ace of Light- Carmilla - one of my favourites, since it’s canonically LGBT and it’s vampires, so it’s that good juicy content. - Two of Light - Emma - Originally the WIP had more traditional Sikh outfits (was so fun to research) but was a bit hard to tell what the originally story was, shame though.  - Three of Light - Wizard of Oz - Ended up taking inspiration for the three items the crew receives from the movies, since the ones in the original books are…very strange and nebulous. 

Link to Kickstarter where you can preorder your copy!! Also, link to my commissions if you like whatcha see!✨✨✨

[anthonyreadsthecards]

The Tale of the Renowned Duelist

Literary Tarot

Nine of Ink

Richard Scott was a man of many talents. He traveled through the wildest parts of the world, seen amazing wonders and incredible horrors, and managed to always live to tell the tale. Although this last adventure almost proved too great a challenge, even for him.

It was meant to be a tournament. A competition of skill and determination to see who was the best survivalist in the world. However, like most things, someone took the game much too seriously and began to weed out the competition. It was subtle at first, things that could have been seen as an accident, but Richard knew that there was something amiss. His suspicions were confirmed during a race through the forest and three of the other survivalists had vanished without a trace. And when they found the remains of one of the lost competitors…well…foul intentions were the only thing that made sense. 

And slowly, one by one, the rest were picked off until Richard was the only one left. That is to say Richard and Elias Ripley, the man who was holding the competition, were the only ones left. Ripley was a person who held determination as the strongest feeling a person could have. Only someone of great determination could have survived all the tests and traps and also would want to see this game to it’s bloody end. 

Unfortunately for Ripley, Richard Scott was a master of his blade. A golden knife that he had discovered on one of his many adventures. The blade had saved his life on more than one occasion from freeing him from his binds, repelling one attack after another, or even cutting through brush and green so he could find his path back home. One would think that Richard would be at the disadvantage in this fight. Ripley had the gun, the superior weapon, and he also knew the terrain better than Richard but Ripley’s view of man’s greatest emotion, determination is what turned the tables on him. 

Over the next three days and nights, Richard made his way to Ripley. He fought through hunger, thirst, beast, and nature with only his will driving him forward to beat this mad man at this twisted game. And when the time came for their final standoff Richard was ready. Ripley did his best to keep Richard at bay with the rifle, but unlike Richard’s knife gun’s needed to be reloaded.  Richard took advantage of Ripley’s respite and drove the knife deep into his captor’s heart. Bloody, bruised, and half starved Richard made his way back to civilization with another wild adventure ready to be shared. 

[jawbone-xylophone]

So I just got the Literary Tarot and I don’t know who I need to tag so I can compliment them with my tears but it is BEAUTIFUL work.

[croneboulder]

AYYYY ANOTHER KICKSTARTER DECK ARRIVED!!!

Say hello to the long time coming Literary Tarot! Between issues with paper supply at least once during its test-copy process, and a LOT of back and forth to nail the spot-gilding on the cards, this deck took a full two years to get to my doorstep, but it feels VERY worth it.

Y’all KNOW I’m a slut for a magnet closure box, so I am ECSTATIC about this. And yes, gold is EVERYWHERE on this deck. The box is gilded, the mini-guidebook is gilded, the card edges are gilded, there’s even a ton of spot gilding on the card faces! Yes, it’s garish, and that is exactly why I love it.

here are the two extras I bought as add-ons: the full-size tarot guidebook (with some juicy extras inside re: reasoning for story selection and some card art progress pics), and that gorgeous spreadcloth.

I’m generally aware of (the majority of) the stories selected to be evoked by each card, but here’s a selection of the literature I’ve actually read, at least on my first pass shuffling through the deck-

If you’re curious, the alternative suits line up as: ink is wands, quills are swords, light is cups, and parchment is pentacles.

A lil disclaimer for those looking into the deck: some of the cards line up much better with a standard ‘reversed’ reading, rather than ‘upright’, but I honestly kinda like that? You’d have to water down the impact of a whole lot of these classic stories to get some kind of positive outcome or wholesome meaning out of them. I can see myself using this as a good ‘who or what to trust/warning for pitfalls’ deck.

Anywho! The Hermit, the Moon, the Ace of Parchment, and the King of Parchment are my favorites of these, the pairings are just *chef’s kiss*

My only major gripe is with a stretch goal goodie, and I’m gonna just bring that directly to the creators instead of whining on here. Everything else, the magnet closure box, the big guidebook, the DECK, is all really fucking cool.

[literallys-illiteracy]

The floor of natural sciences:

I've been sitting on this essay for a long time and its finally up to the standard i want to start maintaining (at least somewhat) from now on.

As a preface, i am so sorry for how long this one is. No, its unlikely that the other realisation analysis will be this long, its just because of how many threads there are in this one, plus the addition of Jungian psychology and tarot cards.

i only have a tangent anywhere near as long as the tarot stuff in one other essay at most, at least for the floor realisations.

Magical girls:

The story of all four* Magical girls are intertwined, with all of them meant to represent virtues; the magical girls of Happiness, Justice, Love, and Courage, eventually growing to represent Greed, Despair, Hatred, and Wrath; each magical girl represents a dichotomy of human emotions.

The Queen of hatred, also known as the difficulty wall, is the magical girl of love, whose sole purpose in the world is to defeat villains, to act as a force against evil. If the world lacks a villain, if her purpose is null, then she shall fulfil it by becoming the villain herself, her neurotic obsession with justice leading to her coming to represent the hatred against villains in the world, and the love towards those who defeat them.

The King of Greed, the Magical girl who represents happiness, who seeks desires, who believes that the root of desire is the greed to claim more; The King, in seeking her desires, eventually fell, now trapped in the amber seal. 

The king Devours all, seeking more to consume for her desires, the sin of greed inherently seeks more, seeks for eternity, seeks to claim until it cannot anymore; The day the King’s hunger ceases will be the end of everything.

The Knight of despair, the knight dedicated to protect the kingdom, to protect what was right in the world, and her sisters, the king and queen (that felt weird typing). The faith and dedication she felt towards her country was betrayed. One who fought for good became evil, upon realising that there was no longer evil in the world. One who dreamed of happiness for all, a world where everyone could meet their desires was consumed themselves, and began to devour everything; All that remains of this kingdom is the Despair and pain of one who found that everything they had fought for, everything they had upheld, was for nothing, the knight, looking back, was never able to protect, nor uphold, anything at all.

The knight wishes to save others, to ensure that she could protect others in the world, otherwise her blade shall have no purpose, only to be turned against the world that she could not protect 

The servant of Wrath…. I'll be honest I remember absolutely nothing of wonderlab, all you need to know is that, after finding, and subsequently losing companions, the servant was consumed by rage, knowing only hatred and wrath against the hermit… I'll reread Wonderlab eventually and update this… maybe?

Tarot and playing cards:

The King and Queen are rather obvious in terms of playing cards, with the Jack representing both the Knight and Servant, and the Jester trumping them all as the Joker card.

Tarot cards:

This was probably not what you expected to be reading today was it? 

All of the Magical Girls have allusions to the Tarot in some way shape or form, most strongly tied to the Tarot are the Knight of Despair and the Servant of Wrath (and by extension the Hermit).

From the Major Arcana:

The hermit, when reversed, represents loneliness and isolation of a person, the person having lost their way in life, blind to all else; The Servant of Wrath being the opposition of the Hermit, thus, represents these traits, Blind rage against the Hermit, and the loss of companions to them, isolating them from the world.

Simultaneously the Servants themselves represent the Tarot of strength, showing bravery and courage, feeling strong compassion towards those who have been lost and finding the strength to stand against the Hermit.

Minor Arcana: 

The Suits of the Minor Arcana are more akin to playing cards, as in they each have 4 picture cards; The King, Queen, Knight, and Page (a royal or knight’s servant), which we may link clearly to our four magical cast.

There are four suits of minor arcana as well, akin to a deck of cards, the suits of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles, representing: the passion and the pursuance (meursault jumpscare) towards one's goals, the invigorating passion that drives oneself; the depth of emotion, especially emotions felt towards and directed at others, from love and compassion to hatred, the emotional complexities of one's heart; intellect and judgement, the ability to resolve through reason and ethics with a clear mind, being able to see your path and find balance within yourself; and finally the physical world, the tangible possessions that one may have, take, or desire, the importance of happiness and stability in the world. 

Each of the minor arcana may be linked to the Magical girls, the servant for wands, queen of cups, knight of swords, and king of pentacles.

As a final note i want to talk about a specific card in the suit of swords, i'm not aware if this was an intentional reference by project moon however; In the Suppression fight of the Knight of Despair, three enemies appear as the swords of a forgotten knight, additionally when in despair, all swords use a unique page; the heart-piercing sword, Heart-breaking Sword, and Heart-tearing sword; The Three of swords represents heartbreak, ones suffering, ones grief in life, the exact virtues which the knight represents.

The jester of Nihil

The jester of Nihil has a strange amount of nuance for an abnormality without a lore page to look through within Lobotomy Corporation, as it is one of the few abnormalities original to the game of Ruina, however the Jester makes reference to the tarot of the fool, to the meaning of the magical girls, and strongly links to the Floor realisation as a whole.

The Jester is a strange case among the floor, as it’s true nature is presented at face value, the magical girls all act as mirrors of themselves, showing their virtues and their flaws in all, yet Nihil is all that the jester represents, the Nihilism that all things in life are worthless, what good are virtues when the virtuous are never rewarded, when there is no true meaning in life why care to exist as a person, rather than indulge in your own flaws.

The jester acts as a mirror, the Joker being played as a trump card over the reigning achievements of the magical girls, showing their flaws, telling them that all they have done is nothing, the worthless greed, pointless hate, meaningless despair, and senseless wrath; The Magical Girls must each shatter this distorted reflection of themselves in order to defeat the jester, for greed to become happiness, for hatred to dissolve into love, for Wrath to uncover courage, for despair to make way for justice.

The internal battle to overcome one's nihilism in life, the expectation for the meaning of existence to come to oneself, the Magical Girls must overcome their flaws, realise and remember their purpose.

Back on tarot cards quickly:

The Tarot of the fool is a young man venturing across a road, joyful and unaware of himself, uncaring for any dangers that life may present. As he ventures further, the dog by his side warns him, about to topple over a cliff, and lest he become aware he will venture and fall. 

The Text of the Jesters cards makes allusions to the tarot, walking the road without the dog to warn the jester it has no purpose, a head of void, walking without a purpose or direction, simply walking. 

To add on to this, and to link it further back to the mirror that the jester is meant to be, the abnormality page “magical girls” reads: 

the jester retraced the steps of a path everybody would’ve taken. The jester always found itself at the end of that road. There was no way to know if they had gathered to become the jester, or if the jester had come to resemble them;

the road of life, the one which the tarot of the fool walks unaware of himself, the one that the jester walks without any intent or meaning, the path that all people take, always came back to the jester, those who walk the path began to resemble the nihilism of the jester, or perhaps those who walked before him imprinted upon him, now, driven by base instinct, the jester walks the path, speaking the names of all he has met before him.

As the magical girls walked upon their paths, blinded by obsession (ishmael jumpscare), consumed by their greed, lost to wrath, and broken by despair, their shared agonies led their roads to the same destination, to the jester who denied meaning in life:

In essence, the jester, and the tarot of the fool, represents all of the magical girls, they walked their paths in life, oblivious to what was in front of them, blinded by rage, driven forward by greed, complacent and unaware of the cliff they walked towards; the knight, broken by an endless cycle of betrayal, blinded through teardrops, and the queen, denied a purpose in life, left to aimlessly wander and create her own path, all walked, blissfully unaware of the direction they walk.

The expectation for the meaning of existence:

As should be fairly obvious, the nihilism portrayed by the jester in the floor's final act is in direct opposition to the floor’s theme labelled above.

In nihilism, a large aspect is the lack of drive, if one has no meaning in life, no set path before them to walk, left only to their intuition, then they may stray further towards a cliff’s edge, with no set place in the world, one can expect nothing in life; Tiphereth embodies the opposite of this viewpoint, mirroring the nihil of Roland and the jester, in Enoch’s final death, rather than despairing and giving into grief, Tiphereth (A) finds her path in ensuring that her brother’s death, and the countless copies within lobotomy corporation, were for a reason. Tiphereth, after Enoch dies, seeks to complete the seed of light with Angela, she finds her path, resolving to give her brother’s death a meaning.

In this we may mirror the jester to Tiphereth’s character, but we may also mirror the magical girls as a whole, who act as a foil; The servant of wrath, after losing a companion, gives into blind rage towards the Hermit, while Tiphereth accepts her loss. The king of Greed, in pursuing her desires, consumes more and more, before sealing herself away. Tiphereth, after her brother was lost in the pursuit of a better world, remained in wanting, rather than taking more. The Knight of despair, and the Queen of hatred, both losing a purpose in life, The Knight being robbed of one from another’s greed, and the Queen losing hers in obsession, mirror Tiphereth as well: Tiphereth, after working towards the seed of light’s completion, being her only goal in life to complete, watched as Angela took the light for herself, Just like the Knight, she was robbed of her purpose, finding that everything she had worked towards in the past was for nothing. However, Tiphereth join’s Angela, rather than falling to despair she seeks to ensure that all she did was not truly in vain, that she worked towards something tangible, that her life had a meaning. 

The Queen, is in essence the same, seeing the light germinated, if Angela was not to interfere, would leave Tiphereth without a meaning, to be left and powered down; The Queen, after completing her purpose, went forth to seek more, the obsession to have a meaning in life driving her towards destruction, rather than acceptance of completion

Magical Roland:

I have nothing but my sorrow, and I want nothing more. It has been, it still is, faithful to me. Why should I begrudge it, since during the hours when my soul crushed the depths of my heart, it was seated there beside me?

Each magical Girl’s link to Roland is quite obvious, with them each acting as a reflection of himself, through the looking glass of the jester, and portraying his past sorrows, channelling their shared agonies into one. 

"What is the reason I exist, when there’s nothing to look forward to… All I wished for was a peaceful world, what’s so wrong with that? ...In the end, I failed to keep one person safe… One person…"

The queen of hatred, as the name suggests, represents Roland’s hatred; Roland, in losing his wife, lost his purpose in life, he was no longer the ‘person’ Roland as far as he was the mask he wore, both Roland and the Queen, losing sight of the future, losing purpose to fight for justice, losing what defined them in the world, become beasts, destroying recklessly in their path in a desperately despairing attempt to create a new meaning for themselves, their purpose of love, leading to their rampage of hatred.

Both Queen and Roland sought to find a meaning to exist; If fighting villains was her purpose, then she must become the villain in their stead; if Angelica was his purpose, then his vengeance must drive him until it is done.

"I should have emptied out my heart, so I wouldn’t have to experience loss ever again."

In Return from an operation in district 25, Roland finds himself without a home, the pianist having ravaged district 9 - Roland finds the disfigured corpse of Angelica, reaching out in her last moments, now fused to the piano; Roland and Anglica had plans for life, they wanted to live a happy life free from the dangers of the city, they wanted to protect each other, and their child. They failed. In finding that all he had fought for was for nothing, that he was not able to uphold his virtues in the world, Roland fell into a pit of despair, having failed to protect, Roland turns his blade upon the world like the Knight does, his eyes too blinded by tears to know where his blade points.

"Only darkness resides here. How can I suddenly start seeing what I couldn’t my whole life."

Roland’s Connection to the Knight runs deeper into Roland’s past however, when Roland joined the smoke war, the moment he realised the machinations by which the city runs, the awful truth which remains concealed from vision, fueling each motion of the greater machine; Roland cannot fight to upstand a moral world, he cannot uphold justice in an unjust world. In realising this, Roland conceals himself in response, slowly becoming the mask he wears, an empty cold darkness.

 "The first bit of humanity's desire started with the bite of a sweet apple. We've been banished from Eden for that sin. And now we're standing inside a vast orchard. My basket is so large, all the fruits of the world can't make it full. But, is it so bad to lust for honey when there are flowers? After all, we are born to pursue happiness."

Roland, long into his existence, yet never having lived, experienced this joy meeting Angelica, she taught him to become a human, and, after all, Humans are born to pursue happiness.

While Roland’s greed was not a folly, he sought for more joy in life: he married Angelica, quit his work as a fixer, had a child, settled down in a home, he needed these joys in life to live, rather than just exist. Roland sought for more, to migrate to a nest – to do one last job as a fixer, seeking his friend’s connections. 

It is the Nature of Greed to hunger for more…

"...Sadness says: ‘Begone, pass away!’ But greed seeks eternity—seeks deep, deep eternity."

Much like the King, Roland began to devour everything in his path, the city… those responsible… everyone must feel the same sorrow that he had felt. In the hell which served as their one and only home, Angelica was no more, the city took from Roland, and he would take everything from the city.

Roland’s rampage was fueled by hunger, a hunger for revenge, a hunger for meaning, all ways to fill the void which took residence within him, the consuming abyss taking the place of his soul; His heart belonged to Angelica, and it was taken alongside her life. 

Though not the greed to gain what he hadn’t, it was the greed which compelled him, which caused him to fill the vacuum of emotions that Angelica had left behind, no matter how many were to die, the hunger never ceased, Greed seeks eternity—seeks deep, deep eternity

"That’s why I lost… Broke down because of someone I loved dearly…"

In his emptiness, Roland was filled with despair and hatred. Anger. Wrath. All the rage he had ever felt blinded him to the world. Like the Servant he was no more than a mindless monster destroying all that stood in his path—Roland was not a fixer, he was not the same Roland who led Charles’s office, he was simply a rampaging beast, directing his hate towards all who were near, friend or foe.

(listen i still haven’t re read wonderlab so i can't remember if there's really any more nuance to the servant’s story)

"Blinded by carnal desires and jealousy, he willingly walks to the edge of the cliff…"

The jester of Nihil represents Roland’s EGO in whole, not in the sense that it is him manifesting one, rather that it is the nature for all who walk the road of life without meaning to resemble the Jester; Taking the part of the fool, Roland is blind to his path ahead, expecting no meaning in his life past revenge; The Nihilism trumping the virtues of the Magical Girls, who Roland has walked the path of; Roland’s persona of the Jester denying the virtues which he has held, reflecting hollow shells of the magical girls.

The battle of the Jester acts to remind Roland of himself, in defeating Nihil, Roland confronts his past, knowing that, even if one loses themselves, it is not the past that defines a person; The road they walk leads back to the jester, but only the Fool continues walking blindly.

One must find themselves in order to continue in life, rather than walking blindly to the path's end.

In playing the fool, Roland’s life may be represented by the tarot itself, as many interpret the Major Arcana to be the path waiting before the fool, the journey and story of his life ahead, split into thirds.

Beginning the story as the everyman (expanded on in Chesed), the fool, Roland's life, and the first 7 of the arcana preceding him represent one's personal relationships, the bonds one forms and the knowledge or intuition gained from them.

Though I'm sure that someone more knowledgeable of the tarot could likely match these tarot to specific points, events, and people throughout Roland’s life, its not necessary for the understanding of the journey at large.

The journey starts with the fundamental balancing forces of the material world and human psyche, naturally.

The Magician and High Priestess, as mentioned above, represent the human conscious, and unconscious respectively. They represent the ego and the unconscious of one's mind, the current awareness, grounded in the present and holding the power to act, and the passive potential waiting to be called upon.

The reason I am discussing these two in particular is due to their connection to the mind and psychology, in which Roland is deeply linked, specifically to the concept of the Persona.

In Jungian psychology exists the concept of the persona, the outward mask that you present to the world and to others, the way in which you present yourself, on one hand, to make a definitive impression of yourself upon others, on the other hand, to conceal the true nature of the individual. 

The way in which someone presents themselves is vital to society, in order to communicate and function with others, the risk is, that if a person lacks a definitive sense of self, a strong ego in a sense, then they risk becoming, or rather, being consumed by their persona; if a person lacks a separation between who they are and what society expects of them they are identical to their persona, they have hidden behind a mask of what others expect that you no longer remember your face behind.

A persona may adapt, change, or be abandoned over time, if a person attempts to gain social reputation, they will hide more of their true face, limit their selfhood in favour of social acceptance; Should a person lack a persona, they are blind to the social world in a sense, seeing it as a playground without consequences, lacking social tact.

Roland and the jester are both connected to this concept; Roland’s defining piece of equipment being a mask which blocks all others from perceiving the real him, only shattered by Angelica, who gave him a reason to live as a person, rather than as the void hid behind.

The Jester can be understood as the mask itself, the nihilistic persona taken on by those who have no path forward, who continue walking the road ahead without reason, without a drive to define themselves by, to define them as a “Self” by. 

I look just like them, and they look just like me when they’re together

In order to prevent losing oneself to the mask they wear, it is important to have a strong ego to remain present; As mentioned above, the beginning of the fool’s journey represents the ego, the conscious mind which acts to maintain the self against the persona.

The remaining cards are not strictly important to discuss for understanding of this story; The Lovers could be understood as Angelica and Roland, the Hierophant as Roland leading/joining Chales’s office, but they aren’t integral.

Leading into the second stage of the journey is the chariot, representing confidence and stability and, when reversed, the loss of one's path

Losing sight of his path, the fool, our fool, retraced his steps back, and found himself at the start of the road, walking in the steps that everyone must have taken before:

From here, our fool(s) journey diverges, the second leg of this journey, faced by the fool who has faced, who has learned from those that he met along the path, is silent, bearing the weight of a man longing for death.

Losing his path in life, Roland’s story continues in his rampage; Though he has a reason to live, it acts as his drive to die, his desire for this suffering to end; Through the death of Angelica, he loses the ego that was found in the past, his conscious self, his human mind of the present blinded to emotion, Roland is no different than the fool at the beginning of the journey, approaching the cliff without care, simply walking along the path.

The second stage of the journey, following the discovery of oneself, represents the ordeals of life larger than yourself, beyond your personal sphere.

As with before, discussion of each card’s meaning is not needed to understand these legs, Roland’s journey is not one that has ended, yet he may be understood in the third leg as well, the search for meaning, for one's place in this world, for your own meaning in the universe.

Lacking the ego gained in his first leg, our fool; The Jester; Roland, continues travelling without purpose, retracting his steps, Roland returns to a road that everyone would've taken, finding himself lost at the end of this road.

Though finding the meaning that the fool sought from the hermit, the reason to live, Roland no longer has the answer to guide him, instead he is simply isolated, never able to live as a human again; 

Roland embraces the Devil, releasing his desires, acting on these urges, believing that they are the only thing that may bring him joy.

In the rampage which was the extent of his continued life, Roland eventually finds himself along the end of the path, this road which was meant to end his sorrow.

still, he finds himself lost.

Roland finds himself at the start of a path everyone would've taken.

He always finds himself at the start of that road.

He always finds himself at the end of that road.

In the end, Roland seeks his final completion, the end of his life’s journey, the tarot of the world, of absolution, completion, resolution.

Roland, seeking fulfilment, seeking his sense of self, he finds himself at the start of a path everyone would've taken.

He always finds himself at the end of this road.

Roland cannot find his self at the start of this road.

Roland can never find his self at the end of this road.

[6-and-7]

The Magnus Arcana 6 of Swords - MAG 046: Literary Heights

[enchantress-of-numbers]

my two jean jackets, with all the pins I currently have

plus some close ups to do these pins justice.

with pins from @ultrainfinitepit's film noir monsters, angelology iv: angels of extinction, and baldur's gate 3 companions, and @vile-worm's eldritch entomology, plus pins from the literary tarot, guild wars 2, stardew valley, and some others!!

oh i almost forgot the rad skull bedazzled on the back of my black jacket.

[monstercollection]

Starting Gentlemen Prefer Blonds while I’m still having respiratory symptoms from Covid was a mistake because now, on top of coughing violently, I’m laughing too hard to breath over München Kunst jokes”.

When I die, they’re gonna have to put “München Kunst” down as the cause of death.

Edith Wharton called this the Great American Novel and she was right.

[tritemagicalsatire]

"The Scapegoat and The Villain"

A Tarot Reading by Ares

---A past collective reading from Sept. 19, 2024, posted at 3:22 pm---

Pic: Reversed Death Arcana from Persona 4 (a game screenshot)

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"One has denied of His voice, but not His actions to justify His way of faith."

- a line from my own poem, must gatekeep HAHAHA!!

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Good morning, madlang folks! 🥳

Maaaring late na ako sa balita, pero, how are you noong Lunar Eclipse in Pisces event? Lawit na ba ang mga dila sa kapaguran? Jonks! We must rest in peace sa katahimikan at kadiliman upang tayo'y magpahinga at manahimik sa ating mga kama in this bed weather season. The Lunar Eclipse in Pisces reminds us na matulog muna kung kinakailangan at susunod na yang mga gawain na yan. Even reflecting things can be tiring, make sure you are in a right state of mind to think about it. The world will wait, your health comes first muna. Batugan mode base sa POV ng burnout society, joke! 😉

Ingat sa s4kit, mga folks! Except sa problemang pag-ibig dahil love is everywhere and love is in the air (inutot ni Cupid), yikes charotski! Labyu! 🤘

Ito na, let's begin!

Since follower din ako ng Tarot Radio PH, something has made me thinking dun sa isa sa mga live na collective reading na noong isang araw ko lang pinakinggan. Something made me think of another own quotings in my writings na pwede maging topic for today's reading and at the same time, a poem pero tinatago ko muna for myself because I need to make it longer for a reason that me and myself is the only audience for that poem. A shadow work poem, in particular. Just a line will suffice pangdagdag info sa araw na ito. Hehe...

The scapegoat and the villain, both the madmans of the Uni-verse of collective hooman multiverse for me. Ang isang scapegoat na ubod ng self-sacrificial to the point of k1lling themselves "wisely" (because they justify it with "inhumane" respect to that principle, and with great optimism pa nga kung minsan kaya nagagawa nilang sumunod dito like it's some kind of duty to do so) while the villain presents themselves as an "incarnate of evil" or "Satan himself in human form" basta mga sumasalungat sa batas ng nakararami because they feel sh1t sa kasusunod sa layaw ng lipunan and they feel suffocated from it, like, they had enough from it. Both rely in their ways of thinking about faith and how they are so sure of it talaga to the point of forgetting their own humanity. Parehong may victim complex at may kanya-kanyang pamamaraan ng pagbubulakbol at pagpapasensyoso sa pinanghahawakang prinsipyo.

Stagnancy rises hangga't wala ring nakontrang matinong rationale sa isang prinsipyong matagal nang hinubog ng panahon at hindi natinag sa bawat sitwasyon. Matigas na makunat pa. Nako! That sometimes even the authorities and with their utmost power and tools na pwedeng magamit in every possible way can't help them kahit anong hila sa kanila palayo sa kanilang nakapako nilang kinasasadlakan.

Most of the unbalanced principles na meron sila ay nanggagaling sa kanilang unhealed wounds na hindi pa tukoy kung saan nanggagaling basta mostly nyan ay nasa nakaraan titingnan at nagmamanifest hanggang kasalukuyang panahon.

If there is one near you, or are you one, gaano kahaba ang pasensya mo sa mga katulad nila o katulad mo? At ano ang gagawin mo kung papaano mo sila panghahawakan? 🥱

Here... Susubukan kong bigyan ng emphasis ang point of views ng dalawang panig na ito and how they manifest in their own ways base sa interpretations ko, but still, ang complexity nyan ay syempre nakadepende sa bawat individual. Take what resonates and alisin ang hindi.

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The Scapegoat:

(8 of spades reversed, 9 of hearts upright)

Tell me why you did it

Every dream falling apart

Tell me why you did it

After the promise

Still aching, still aching

Oh, baby, I need your love

-Heartbeat, Heartbreak (Persona 4 OST)

Seeking refuge, and personal freedom by means of restricting oneself sa pagsalo ng pwetmalung bad karma ng iba and ang malupit pa rito ay sila mismo ang napag-iinitan, as if one lives for it while they d1e alone and gradually dahil sa totoo lang ay despite their God-given gifts (kahit ang pagpapasensya sa mga katulad ng ganito ay quite a feat naman talaga) on doing something ay wala man lang "sukli" sa kanilang kabutihan and yet, their so-called "nature" tells them to do it kahit naaagrabyado na sila o dehado na sila from their own limitations. Kung sumama man ang loob, wala rin sila magawa — o sabihin nating iniisip nila na wala silang magagawa dahil they subjected themselves to it out of love na alipin ng damdamin lang without basis ng logic or out of spite as if one is nasa isang hostage situation. Feeling or thinking na laging "walang choice".

Guilt tripping and gaslighting ang may malaking factors kung bakit nagmamanifest kay Scapegoat ang ganung klaseng mindset. Kahit degradation can give attention din naman talaga sa mga katulad nila, parang pagdila lang ng breadcrumbs sa lapag tapos inaamag pa masabi lang na "ok lang, panglaman tiyan din yan!" tapos hyping sa paligid na "sige dig in! Basta nakakain!".

Nako! Lalong pinagmukhang timang. Tapos ang tyaga-tyaga pang makisalamuha! 🙄😆

Tapos ito pa, paulit-ulit pa sa pag-asang may magbabago pa roon sa other party pero sige ang lapit dahil akala may mawawala. Welp, for your safety mga Scapegoat folks, better avoid or detach paunti-unti or stop na talaga sa mga taong mahilig mang-akusa at mambaliktad (tapos nan4nakit pa) nang walang sapat na basis para maging safe, secured, and sane ka pa.

Hays... There is freedom more than being free sa pagiging Scapegoat because you "chose" it and may "freedom to choose" naman, mga folks! Hindi porket may kalayaan ay tinatake advantage na ng mga oppressors (maski of the Self) ang magago sa buong lifetime. Wala ka sa BDSM set-up hoy! Make sure you know your rights as an individual person. 🤦🏼‍♂️😆

Pagsawaan mo na yang kadena na yan, lubid naman! Tapos sunod, goma naman. HAHA!!👌🤣

Charot...

A question... Mawawalan ba ng saysay ang buhay kung walang ipeplease na ibang tao na wala naman talagang essence sa life natin? Bakit hindi natin subukan ang ating mga sarili na bigyang halaga starting this day? Bakit ba? Paladesisyon ako eh. Ayusin mo buhay mo hoy! 😆🙄

Just one try... not once, but when it happens kapag umiral ang resentment dulot ng kasasalo sa bigat ng ibang tao. Baka sakali lang, try lang. Pagaanin din ang sariling buhay nang may tamang balanse at naaangkop. 😉

A quote to ponder:

"I am a cage, in search of a bird."

- Franz Kafka

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The Villain:

(8 of hearts reversed, 5 of clubs reversed)

Turning misery into meaningfulness

Changing day after day

Your affection, your affection, taking pride from fear

Past will tell you when to make yourself a hero

-Your Affection (Persona 4 OST)

A villain to many, a hero to some...

Why is that?

I'm gonna get myself cancelled sa ganireng wikaan, lols. We think of a villain as certified a-hole characters na hindi deserve mabuhay, maski kumain at uminom kung papalarin ang self-righteous selves natin just to freaking t0rtur3 them HAHAHA!!

Reclusion, repulsion, revenge... mga sawa na sa sariling kahinaan ang mga ganitong tao.

Eh, mabuhay ba naman sa oppressive household or lipunan na umaabot sa punto na ang lala na ng amats ng mga ganito na kailangan na nilang ilabas ang pagkabarumbado't pusong bato nila like you know, atleast they are being hero to themselves kahit minsan. There are times that others follow because of the confidence they have for themselves. People like certainty din talaga in the midst of unpredictable but certain kind of vi0lence. Sabik na sabik sa pagbabago, like they need to do it with utmost respect sa kanilang nature na may dapat mabago sa kanilang current shituation as per their personal POV. Hearts in so much self-indulgence along with mindless and reprehensible hedonistic anarchism may lead to reckless actions that will cause unfavorable situations and sudden change of course sa life na kung saan ay hindi na mismo macontrol ng Villain ang mga nangyayari sa kanyang buhay due to those "unfavorable" SHITuations na gumulo at patuloy na gumugulo sa kanyang "pagkavillain" dahil sa maikling sabi ay ang pangit ng kanyang pag-uugali at pag-iisip kasi, yung tipong ang mga self-righteous peeps ay mapapasabi ng "buti nga!". Charots. Masyadong pangkupal ang labas HAHAHA!

Hindi... ganito, ganito...

Kahit gaano pa sila "kasama" sa "moralist society standards", they don't deserve kung ano mang pangbabaldado ng pananaw na ininstill din nila sa sarili nila na nagmumula sa lipunang tinarantado at ginutom ang kanilang sikmura.

Plakda! Plakda! Ang barado't matigas na sistema sa mga katulad nilang nakatikim ng paghihingalo pamulat sa mundo ng kabilang parte ng moralidad at sosyedad 'pagkat ang mundo ay hindi lamang sa kanila naikot dahil bawat taong makasalamuha ay lubhang mga inosente at nangangapa lamang sa buhay na walang kasiguraduhan.

Nawa'y hindi na maulit ang malungkot na genre ng buhay na ito, bagkus, kaawaan ang kasamaang nanaig sa pusong pinuno ng pagkamasalimuot kahit sa totoo lang ay imposible ito dahil sa pagbabalanse ni Universe sa bagay-bagay. All we can do is to take it as a lesson if may ibang tao na naging ganito sa atin kung nasa Villain era sila, simply detach and motivate yourself to be a Villain of them naman, but with a twist of goodness and righteousness for the both of you and mas pabor syempre sa sarili dahil alam na ang tama sa hindi, not just feeling but by thinking kung ano ang talagang kasalanan na sumasalungat at prinsipyong sablay at wala sa hulog kaya wala rin sa tamang ayos. Wasak ang equilibrium ng individualism at collectivism, ayun naging individualism vs. collectivism.

Clash between two worlds na hindi naman necessary dahil wala naman talagang lalaban at walang kalaban in the first place kung hindi ang mga sarili tapos ang pangit ng delivery ng mga personal demands sa life. 🤣😅

Misunderstood parehong panig kung tutuusin tapos self-righteous world is ang lala ng mga binabatong interpretations. Ay jusmiyo yawa!! XD

Basta may moral grounding ka pa sa buhay ay kaaawaan mo na lang ang mga tulad nilang hindi nakawala sa sistemang gusto nila sila lang ang pakikinggan at susundin. Kung ikaw man ay pending malalang Villain ng masa, mag-isip isip ka na dahil malalang pagsasabotahe ang gagawin mo sa sarili mo dahil magiging katulad ka na ng bagay na kinamumuhian mo. Sige konti pa, destruction occurs and war will follow. Ano gusto mo? Ikaw ang magpapasimula o sila? Kaya mo bang dungisan ang mukha mo kung ikaw man ang magpapasimuno? Sana maayos pang maihatid ang pakikiaklas patungong kalayaang deserve mo, make it a peaceful kind of war. No need for bloodsh3d, sana ano? If may manipulation malala, need ng mga professional na mamamagitan like some mental health therapist or a spiritual counselor kumporme sa personal beliefs for some objective kind of knowledge — an unbiased one. 😅🤣

Ang tanong, sino ang totoong Villain sa inyo? Ikaw na pending bida sa sarili mong buhay (you must reclaim your power) o yung feeling bida at talagang bida-bidang other party na kinamumuhian mo. Good luck investigating that matter. Patulong kayo sa iba (at sana sa iba't ibang prinsipyo para mapag-isipan maigi) if needed para sa balanseng moral grounding while doing the deed. Hehe... 😉🥱

A quote to ponder:

"Being against evil doesn't make you good. Tonight I was against it and then I was evil myself. I could feel it coming just like a tide... I just want to destroy them."

- Ernest Hemingway

[madcat-world]

From AnonBea

✨Last set of the Literary Tarot Suit of Light!✨

-  Queen of Light - Jane Eyre - This one is probably one of the darker looking ones, fun adding all the little easter eggs, like the missing portrait and the candle!  - King of Light - The Odyssey - I’m sorry, @charminglyantiquated , I know that rope would break his arm…but it looks really cool so.   Also, yes, Odysseus is trans, All the people in my suit are trans, ALL OF THEM, ya’ll got tricked (affectionate) <3 I’m so happy to see all my cards complete, a whole suit of Tarot cards! I always wanted to make a tarot set as a kid, it’s crazy to think that I actually did it! And with other amazing artists too!

Link to Kickstarter where you can preorder your copy!! Also, link to my commissions if you like whatcha see!✨✨✨

[mixingpumpkins]

Three of Pentacles & Queen of Pentacles

If you’ve felt in need of a boost lately, don’t be surprised if it comes your way today. Whether it’s an unexpected discount or an encouraging word from a friend or mentor — or even just a picture that makes you stop and smile — take it as a sign that you’re on the right track. If you can, take a moment to breathe and luxuriate in something you enjoy. Luck is on your side, so it’s a good day to try something new or creative if you’ve been considering it, but avoid jumping into something impulsively. Balance is key. Consider asking for help if you feel you’re having issues juggling everything — you’ll likely benefit from a diversity of skills and may be glad to have allies as you progress. ✨🦇

(Story recs from the cards: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas & The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen)

yesterday's reading | my tarot reading tag

[arsanimarum]

Cults of the Shadow, Kenneth Grant