Free Tarot Card Draw!

[rowyn]

So, while I was in Seattle, I bought shatterstripes's Tarot of the Silicon Dawn, because it was very shiny.

I have no discernable psychic or precognitive abilities*, but the deck is very shiny, and I rather want to, you know. Do something with it. Other than leaf through the pretty pictures. And offering card readings is something people seem to do on LJ fairly often, so hey, why not?

So leave a question on this entry if you like, and I will draw a card or three from the deck and reference the short descriptions helpfully written by queenofstripes and provided in the deck's accompanying book. Based on these, I will give you a most-likely-not-very-useful response to your question. I will even link to the image of your card from shatterstripes's website. It'll be fun!

Edit: If you would like to ask for a question on behalf of a fictional character (like a character from a book you're writing, or a game you're playing), feel free! My fictitious psychic powers* will work just as well if not better on fictitious people, after all. :)

Edit the second: I should mention that this Tarot deck is NSFW: it has quite a bit of nudity, as well as kink and gender genderqueer. You are warned!

* No slight is intended here to people who take tarot readings seriously or find spiritual import in them! I am only making fun of myself, I promise. I do think that tarot cards can be interesting problem-solving or meditation tool, in terms of making one think about different angles or approaches, even absent any divinatory abilities. But I'm not even sure I do a good job at that, hence the disclaimers.

Comments

[rowyn]

... I hope the Tarot cards know the answer to this, because I don't. If you figure it out, tell me how?

For you, I drew: The Empress, upright; the Three of Swords, inverted; and the Nine of Pentacles, inverted.

The Empress is a two-faced woman on a throne: with a mask she looks at the audience, while her true face is turned to the side. Her role as ruler, and that she came first, represents yours as GM, the final authority in the games you run. Like her, you need to be able to look in multiple directions at once, or at least look like you are, to your players. You also wear a mask, taking on the roles of the NPCs. Perhaps you should focus more on that mask: fully inhabit the characters you play! Think about their hopes and dreams. Take joy in being them for a while, although like the Empress, you can't lose yourself in the part: you must remember that it's the NPC's job to lose. Ultimately, the PCs are the stars. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun playing their nemesis, or companions, or inscrutable Wise Old Person.

The three of Swords made me laugh when I drew it: it's a monster-woman stabbing herself in the stomach with three swords, and -- paradoxically -- enjoying it, a big smile on her face. Quite the metaphor for GMing, where you let the players kill off the villains you create, and enjoy it as it happens. The card is inverted, though, and it took me a while to think exactly what that might mean. Reading deeper into the symbolism, I note that she's stabbing her womb, the source of her creations. I think she's here in cautionary fashion: don't do this! You're working too hard at your GMing, and while it was fun at first, you've gone too far and it's killing your ability to create. Relax some. Wing it more. Make your players do some of the work -- let them tell you what their PCs' homes and familes are like, let them pllay minor friendly NPCs when you have too much on your plate. That sort of thing.

The nine of Pentacles is Strength, a woman thrusting downwards with a blast of pure power as she falls. Inverted, she suggests you shouldn't just bull through the drudgery on willpower alone. Mix things up! Be devious with yourself. Plan your plot points in the shower. Ignore the stats if they're getting in your way: make it about the story. Or if the story's getting in the way, ignore it and give them a good fight. Make a new story! Or let the PCs pick what interests them and develop that into your plot. Be lightfooted, with a handful of different options little-developed, rather than focusing a lot of energy on one thing.

[genkitty.livejournal.com]

*chuckle* Nice set of cards! I appreciate the reading and will keep this in mind.