watercolour and ink on paper

Mark My Card

Are your cards a meditation or a prediction. Do the cards know your fate, do they predict your fate, or do they set your fate. Is the reading the direction of the future or an insight into the future. How well do you know your cards, is it an intuition or an understanding. And are any of your answers less valid if I disagree with them.

I would like to make a pack of cards based on the meanings behind a the old wisdom of the tarot.

the fool
Oh look at that fool, falling, floundering, crashing about breaking the rules and...

i the magician
The question is how to put in practice that the subtle rules the dense, the question that...

ii the high priestess
The High Priestess knows about secrets. She knows how to keep secrets. And...

iii the empress
But how does it feel, how does it really feel? It may be the cleverest of things to...

iv emperor
But what is power and what does it mean to me, and how can I apply this to myself? ...

v the hierophant
And here we have it, the symbol of spiritual life, that is to say the all there is that...

vi the lovers
The lovers have choices they can make, unlike a child the lover chooses the relationship...

vii the chariot
Willpower is a fantastic tool in the tasks of yokin those beasts and achieving a...

viii strength
There she goes again, our hero embarking on the quest, the mission, the journey, and the...

ix the hermit
Always in a state of flux, here comes the rational thoughts: this is a good situation, it...

x wheel of fortune
On this wheel we have placed the symbols of the metaphores the ancestors used to express...

xi justice
Seen to be done... well, perhaps on TikTok it does need to be seen as that is all there...

xii the hanged man
It is difficult, it would seem, to hand about upside down and appreciate the surroundings...

xiii death
Oh death, here you are with your melancholy and finality. Last night I watched a...

xiv temperance
Everything, life is not a cartoon with dimensionless goodies and baddies that could be...

xv the devil
I have heard the devil is an oppressive experience that is, in least at part, from...

xvi the tower
It was proposed that I built the tower purely out of anxiety, of course I recognise how...

xvii the star
It is a lot harder to live hopefully than to say you are hopeful, maybe living hope is...

xviii the moon
And so began my week of lunar confusion. The path I had trodden so casually...

xix the sun
And let the sun shine down to the deepest dampest forgotten depths of neglected and,...

xx judgement
We are limited in this human body with finite, and, indeed, quite small levels of...

xxi the world
And before me stood the world with all the complexities and all the contradictions it...

Ace of Swords
Clarity in reason and communication, in air.

Ace of Staves
Creation in creativity and action in fire

Ace of Cups
Intimacy in emotions and intuition in water

Ace of Coins
Prosperity in materiality and success in earth.

One of Swords
Conviction, determination, strength and triumph in reason and communication in...

One of Staves
Beginning, starting anew, an adventure or enterprise in creativity and action in...

One of Cups
Abundance, fertility, fulfilment in emotions and intuition in water.

One of Coins
Perfection, prosperity, bliss, extensive wealth materiality and success in earth.

Two of Swords
Balance but in the case of tension, a stalemate in reason and communication in...

Two of Staves
Travel, bravery to venture down new paths in creativity and action in fire.

Two of Cups
Emotional partnership, connection, a union in emotion and intuition in water

Two of Coins
Occupation, signaling skills with words, translation, communication in materiality and...

Three of Swords
Disappointment, rejection, seperation, betrayal in reason and communication in...

Three of Staves
Commerce, practicality or useful knowledge, specialized skill in creativity and action in...

Three of Cups
Resolution, conclusion, the closing of a chapter, celebration in emotion and intuition in...

Three of Coins
Mastery, artistic or creative skill, recongnition or accolades, in materiality and...

Four of Swords
Retreat, filling the well, rest, seclusion in reason and communication in air.

Four of Staves
Stability, romantic harmony, tranquility and enjoyment in creativity and action in...

Four of Cups
Aversion, disapppointment, an inability to move past or through something, in emotion and...

Four of Coins
Hoarding, possessiveness, stinginess in materiality and success in earth

Five of Swords
Conquest, defeat, self-interest in reason and communication in air.

Five of Staves
Conflict, competition, rivalry, jealousy in creativity and action in fire

Five of Cups
Instability, emotional instability, loss of friendship, incomplete connection in emotion...

Five of Coins
Destitution, financial loss or ruin, destitute, adversity or insecutiry in materiality...

Six of Swords
Transition or travel, voyage, overcoming of moving beyond, in reason and communication,...

Six of Staves
Triumph, conquest, the realisation of a goal, in creativity and action in fire

Six of Cups
Nostalgia, memory, past experience, sometimes overwhelming in emotion and intuition, in...

Six of Coins
Charity, philanthropy, generosity, the impulse to give, in materiality and success in...

Seven of Swords
Endurance, perserverance, fortitude, the ability to endure in reason and communication in...

Seven of Staves
Success, overcoming the odds, winning negotionations, in creativity and action in...

Seven of Cups
Inability to realise a passion, unrealistic expectations, daydreaming dreaming in emotion...

Seven of Coins
Ingenuity, inventiveness, gain, discovery of treasure in materiality and success in...

Eight of Swords
Turmoil, conflict, restriction or limitation, in reason and communication in air

Eight of Staves
Swift action, haste towards goals in creativity and action in fire

Eight of Cups
Depart, abandonment of effort, leaving behind, departure in emotion and intuition in...

Eight of Coins
Skills, craft, apprentiship, handiwork, diligence in materiality and success in...

Nine of Swords
Despair, heartbreak and anxiousness in reason and communication in air

Nine of Staves
Vigilance, anticipation, grit, awareness in creativity and action in fire.

Nine of Cups
Victory, abundance, material success and gain in emotion and intuition in water.

Nine of Coins
Plenty, accomplishments, prudence and material comfort in materiality and success in...

Ten of Swords
Defeat, misfortune, and loss of energy in reason and communication in air

Ten of Staves
Burden, responsibility, pressure in creativity and action in fire

Ten of Cups
Family, virtue, harmony and contentment I. Emotion and intuition in water

Ten of Coins
Legacy, affluence, ancestry and inheritance in materiality and success in...

Page of Swords
Curious and inquisitive, insight and discretion in reason and communication in...

Page of Staves
Loyalty, a sign of important news, a semaphore in creativity and action in fire.

Page of Cups
Surprise, happy news, an offer of service or assistance in emotion and intuition in...

Page of Coins
Study, scholarship, reflection, a desire for learning or knowledge in materiality and...

Knight of Swords
Capacity and skill, occasionally impetuousness, in reason and communication in...

Knight of Staves
Passion, lust, comfort with the unknown in creativity and action in fire.

Knight of Cups
Opportunity or arrival, a new approach or being approached newly in emotion and intuition...

Knight of Coins
Methodical, deliberate, persistent, capable in materiality and success in earth.

Queen of Swords
Perception, keen wit in reason and communication in air

Queen of Staves
Exuberance and enthusiasm, graceful in creativity and action in fire

Queen of Cups
Devoted, warmth, feminine intuition in emotion and intuition in water.

Queen of Coins
Prosperity, luxury, opulence and generosity in materiality and success in earth.

King of Swords
Controlled, clear-headed, authoritative, experience and intellect in reason and...

King of Staves
Visionary, maturity, entrepreneurship in creativity and action in fire.

King of Cups
Emotional balance, sound counsel and professionalism in emotion and intuition in...

King of Coins
Reliable, dependable, providing for others and professional acument in materiality and...

AI and the Machine
It is impossible to create a work of art that is not influenced by other people's...