"Hey. Wow, tarot. Earth-style tarot. Nostalgia hit... Looking at things from new angles, eh... I could use a lil bit of that while maybe keeping some things vague?"

"I can promise that I won't share what you tell me willingly to others, but make no guarantees it could be acquired against my will. I will also not hide the fact that you asked questions of me. In any case, vague is fine, though I will probably be less helpful. What question do you have? I assume this isn't the first time you've gotten a reading?"

"If I did, it was a long, long time ago. I just... Remember it. Reincarnation situation."

She sits, tail in lap.

"Uhh... As for actual questions, I found milliways! This place is great! And there's a few things I'm sort of concerned about bringing back to my world, because of potential negative knock-on effects. Diamonds are very expensive because they are very magically useful, but if I import the necessary tools and knowledge to build high temperature high pressure press rigs... Someone is going to get hella rich, probably not me because I know I have no patience for that kind of thing, and lots more magic stuff is going to get made in the next decade or three, and it just might... Be a mess. Especially given some politics. Trade secret wizard cabals, at a gloss. So the actual question is... What do."

The man smiles. "Yes, Milliways is great. I have had to reevaluate my entire life now knowing magic exists. So, relatable."

He starts riffle shuffling the cards. "Right. Neither I or the cards can tell you what to do, but they can point to things it would be good to look out for."

He stops at seven riffle shuffles and draws three cards. "Here we go."

"Okay. Seven of Pentacles means...assessing, figuring things out, but also the potential to reap a reward. You see how the man is standing there, looking at the...okay, I guess they're not really fruit, they're pentacles. But they sort of have that fruity vibe. And it's reversed. I typically interpret reversals as being...the energy of the card is not being fully realized or expressed, that something is blocking it, or that it is starting to enter or is leaving.

Nine of Wands has two main aspects, for me. The first is endurance or stamina or perseverance. This man has successfully put up eight of these wands. So you get that vibe from it, that he worked hard for it. And the second aspect is paranoia. The wands are being put up as something like a fence, and the man is looking warily outside. So there's this feeling of having to defend one's self, or of being put upon.

Queen of Swords is about...so Queens have this, internal or intuitive focus, and Swords is about logic, intellect, rational thinking. Which seem kind of contrary to each other, but they're not. Queen of Swords represents...so the Queen of Swords is like — you cannot bullshit her. She will see through you. And she's very direct and honest and she is not afraid to say that. She has seen it all and she is not afraid to, put people in their place, so to speak. But not in a directly hostile way, but simply in a way where she just tells it how it is."

He rests his chin on his hand.

"Nine of Wands and Queen of Swords together imply, to me, that people will absolutely want to take advantage of you and you need to be wise to that, and you need to be on guard for that, or find someone who is able to perform these functions for you — court cards, the Page, Knight, Queen, King, often are interpreted to mean specific people. And that you need to have, or have someone who has the cutting energy of Swords, who can cut through and provide clarity to you. I don't know whether or not finding such a person is possible for you, though.

Seven of Pentacles say to me, especially in the reverse position...so, Seven of Pentacles is about having put in the hard work, and now thinking of what to do next. But what I ask of you is: why do this? Why do you want to bring that back to your world, given that you know it's messy and you have no patience for it? What drives you to do that? And what is your end goal? In so doing this, what do you seek to achieve? The Seven of Pentacles and Nine of Wands say to me that it will be long and difficult, and you need to have, kind of a guiding star, or a lodestone that you are able to consult at all times, to say, 'Yes, this is what I want, this is what I am working towards'. Do you have that?"

"You can choose to ask a different question or a follow up question, or ask me to draw an additional background card — it's an extra card I sometimes draw to represent the context or surroundings of a situation."

She pinches the bridge of her nose.

"So, it's just perspective, really, but Queen of Swords absolutely sounds like the goddess Galasa... The Light Gods will be weighing in on something this big, for sure. They intervene directly often enough. Maybe the wands are... All the effort wizards use to guard against each other, or something... Or my own agonizing on risk mitigation. As for what drives me to this, that's obvious. I want to help people. It's hard in ambiguous situations because I have, I exist at a high enough level of stakes that people have lived and died by my decisions, and I dwell on it. And I hate that. Mm... Should I abrogate this to the gods and other people? I know a genius wizard, who is not good nor evil... Throw it out and hands off? The gods are good, in the moral sense, from all I've seen for decades."

"Alright, I'll try to see what I can get for you on the question of delegating."

He riffle shuffles seven times again, and draws four cards, three from the top, and one from the bottom.

"Justice! First major arcana. Justice is what it sounds like — justice, but also about karma, cause and effect, great and stately decisions that must be made with care.

Ace of Swords is...Aces represent the beginning of all the suits, and they represent all the formless energy of that suit in a positive way. The Ace of Swords represents the cutting energy of the Swords suit, and it represents uprightness and honesty and fortitude, and it represents logic and reason, and it also represents justice or fairness.

Page of Swords is...okay, it's actually a very similar meaning to the Ace of Swords. But here it's more...Pages represent youth and the possibility of growth. Swords is a suit associated with challenges and the overcoming of challenges — in general it is the 'saddest' of the suits." He makes quotation marks in the air.

"So what the card implies is: it is possible for problems to be sources of growth. That you may not necessarily feel equipped to do something, but that it is possible to grow to become equipped to do them. You learn by doing, so to speak, and if you wait to be one hundred percent ready, then you may not act at all. And it reinforces the theme of: you absolutely must act fairly, justly, ethically, honestly, forthrightly, and that you cannot dissemble or 'soften the blow' or be confused or wishy-washy about what you want."

He draws his lips when the reversed Ten of Swords is drawn from the bottom of the deck.

"A lot of Swords today. This is the context card. Ten of Swords reversed. The first meaning of Ten of Swords is very obvious — it means total defeat, tragedy, the very bottom. Ten is the number of fruition in Tarot — they represent culmination. The second, less obvious meaning is...martyrdom, or victimization.

Okay, so, the feeling that I'm getting from all of this is...I haven't drawn any Cups cards yet. Cups is the suit of emotions and relationships. The Ten of Swords is present, but it's reversed, so its energy is not fully present yet. The vibe I'm getting is...and again, I know little about your situation and I don't mean to condescend, or cast aspersions. But the vibe that I'm getting is that, you believe, very strongly, that you have to help people by bringing this technology or power to them, or that you must do it, to benefit them. Which is very good and noble of you. But it seems to be arising from a more superegoic place, and that, hm, on the level of deep emotions or drives, there is a tension or conflict. And I think that resolving this before you do anything irreversible is good. The previous reading and this one suggest that not resolving it will haunt you, later on, that the Ten of Swords's energy will come to pass and you will feel like, resentful or misanthropic, that you have to carry the weight of the whole world on your back.

Sorry, that was besides the point and is unrelated to your question. As for delegating: the very strong Swords energy suggests that you should find someone who is very trustworthy and just. Someone who has principles and will stick by them, and who can be trusted to act predictably and with conviction. And that you, yourself, have to approach this situation with justness and with principles. No favoritism, nothing like that. You have to state how you will act and do as you say.

The Page of Swords suggests that...it could either mean that there is someone or some god who could be suitable who, on the face of it, wouldn't seem like they would be, or that you yourself could be suitable and don't see that aspect in yourself. That you have more capacity for fortitude and patience and principledness than you think, and that you could grow into that."

"Mmm...... It's just tarot in the end. You're not wrong that I'm conflicted. I have a sort of rule for myself that I mostly fight monsters, not people... Be impersonal and impartial about it...Well, I'll think on all this. Thanks."

Really, it's nothing new to her, it's not news that the world is vast, and complicated, and that dealing with vast complicated societal issues requires clearheadedness, neutral judgement, and consideration.

Does she hate herself for not being the hero she wishes she was? That is the conclusion she came to, once upon a time, and it keeps rearing its ugly head again and again... And in the end all she can do is keep moving.

"Yes, my tarot is not magical! I'm glad you seemed to have gotten something out of it, at least. Welcome, and goodbye."

He updates the sign to include:

I can promise not that I won't share what you tell me willingly to others, but make no guarantees it could be acquired against my will. I will also not hide the fact that you asked questions of me.

A grumpy blonde approaches. She reads the sign, glancing occasionally at the seated man.

"...so how's this work, exactly?"

"Hello. The way tarot readings work is that you ask a question, and then I draw cards. The cards have meaning and symbolism attached to them that suggest things about the question or the situation. And then I try to interpret what they are trying to say. My cards have no magical power and can't be used for prediction. The way I use them is: the cards force you to look at things in a way you aren't currently, or aren't used to, and this can often clarify why or how you feel about a situation.

Do you want an example? You can also ask a question now and I'll tell you whether or not it is suitable, or how to make it suitable. Alternatively, you can just describe a situation or a problem and I'll just draw cards about it to see what its vibe is. Sometimes I do that, in lieu of specific questions, though it's harder and often less useful."

"...well, the question on my mind is 'should I break up with my boyfriend'. Can you work with that?"

"I can draw cards to try to look at the dynamic of your boyfriend and you, and what elements are playing into wanting to or not wanting to break up with him. And then you can decide whether or not it's accurate. It's still useful to have the cards say things which are, or seem, facially untrue — it either represents the fact that you must face up to something you have been in denial about, or it makes your convictions more certain and removes doubt.

Neither the cards or I have special power to predict what will happen, and ultimately the decision to do so or not do so has to be yours.

Do you want to go ahead?"

She thinks about it.

"...eh, can't be worse than dithering angrily about it for weeks. Sure."

"Alright." He will do the same thing as previously: riffle shuffle seven times, draw three cards off the top, and one from the bottom.

"The Star is a major arcana card. Major arcana cards, compared to the minor arcana, typically represent...bigger things, things we cannot necessarily change, things which are not quotidian. The Star represents...hope and serenity. You see in the card how the stars shine bright against the dark sky. And it also represents...giving, being generous. You see the woman pouring water to form the lake and the rivers. It is about being stable and sure of one's self and then being so full that one is outpouring with love. The Star comes just after the Tower card, in the major arcana — the Tower represents total devastation and the upending of things.

The Three of Wands represents...foresight. It represents taking the long view, of stepping back. You see how the person is looking out at the horizon, surveying it, very calmly. And it's also about...exploration, leadership, taking the lead. Looking far out so you know how things will go when you and your group set out on your journey.

The Seven of Pentacles represents assessing, considering. You see how there are these...golden fruits, I guess, on the bushes, ready to harvest. So they give the sense of patient waiting and the fruition of that patient waiting, or nearly so. There's an anticipating quality there, an anxious quality, of being like, 'I put in all this work, and now, will it pay off?' It being reversed suggests — this is how I read reversals — that the energy of the card is not being fully expressed, that something is blocking it, or that it is entering or exiting. I'm not the sort of reader who interpret reversals as literal opposites.

This card is the context card. I use the context card to interpret...things which are more subtle, or which are in the background of the main cards. It's a technique I learned from a friend. The Knight of Wands represents...Knight cards represent the energy of their suite at a very strong level, unlike Pages, but without the maturity of Kings and Queens. So they often have this, positives and negatives quality to them. The Knight of Wands is adventurous, loves new experiences, restless, wants to keep going and going. And he's very charming, but this charm often has a fleeting quality to it, or a superficial quality to it — it doesn't have the stability of Pentacles or the conviction of Swords or the earnestness of Cups. He is very confident and passionate but it's not necessarily tempered with caution. And it's in a reversed position."

The man inhales and sharply exhales.

"Okay. I have very little context or knowledge of your situation, but I'll try my best to interpret.

The cards suggest that you two have been in a relationship for a while. And there's this creeping sense of...is this all going to be worth it? I get the sense, from the combination of Star and Seven of Pentacles, that...you have been giving and giving and giving, but you don't know whether all that giving is being received with thanks, that it's actually amounting to everything. And there's this sense of, from the Knight of Wands, that there is still a lack of stability, that it still feels like a casual fling even though the amount of investment that has been put in would typically have advanced the relationship to the next level, that there will be more commitment, but that commitment is lacking. But that this energy hasn't fully developed yet, otherwise, the relationship would probably have been ended already.

The center card, the Three of Wands, I think, is what the cards suggest you to do, which is — take the long view. Do you imagine yourself being with this person one, five, ten years from now? Do you want to marry or otherwise solidify your relationship? It's totally fine to just want something low key and short term, but you have to be clear that that's what you want, and invest or not invest in the relationship accordingly. If you don't see a long future with them, then think about whether this situation — I imagine something happened or things are happening which are causing you to consider breaking up — is enough for you to break up. But if you see a longer future with them, then...you have to lead, you have to take the first step, and have a plan, or have thought things through, as the card suggests. Say to him what you want, what your intentions are, and if his wants are in accordance with yours, then ask him for a commitment and to make amends. Otherwise, you should more seriously consider leaving."

She listens through this whole recitation, studying the cards and thinking about the words. ("Confident and passionate, but it's not necessarily tempered with caution" gets a snort out of her.)

"...huh," she says, a few seconds after he concludes. "I can see what you mean about seeing things from new angles. That's... huh."

She pulls out her phone and takes a picture of the arrangement of cards.

The man smiles slightly as she makes thinking noises.

"I hope that was helpful to you. Do you want to make a followup question or a second, unrelated question?"

She thinks it over for a few seconds, then concludes, "Can't think of anything. ...thanks, though. I think it was helpful."

"No problem, goodbye!

She's trying to sneak a peak at what the man is doing with the cards, while not being obvious about it.

Divination by cards... sounds fun!

"Could I also get a question answered?"

The man doesn't mind! He looks up at her when she approaches.

"Of course. What question do you have?"

Will she ever love me?

"There is this person and... she's sending me mixed signals, she seems to have a great opinion of me and not shy away from physical proximity, and she wants to talk to me often, but I fear it's just all part of the role we're playing in society, and I'd like to get to know her more but don't know how to do that and I'm scared I'm misinterpreting friendliness for something different and..."

She forces herself to stop and take a breath.

"That, basically."

"Part of the role you're playing...you can choose to give as much or as little detail as you want, though I'll be less able to help you if it's vague. In any case, I can try reading for that. You want to know more about the state of your relationship with her and the paths it can go to?"

"Yes, that sounds good. The paths it can go is probably a good question..."

"Alright, here we go." 

"The Eight of Wands represents rapid action. You see how the wands all seem like they've been thrown or launched and are now all coming down. It represents quickness, decisiveness, things coming to a culmination or critical point, an apoapsis where an action would be the most impactful. A secondary meaning is receiving news. It's in the reversed position, which — I interpret reversals as meaning that the energy of the card is stifled, blocked, not fully expressed, or is entering or departing. Reversed Eight of Wands implies that the critical point is about to come, or has already passed. Alternatively, that the urge to decisively act is there, but is being stifled in some way.

The Three of Wands represents foresight. The person is looking out into the distance, surveying the land. And it represents leadership. Once the land has been surveyed, the person will lead the way into the wilderness. They are the one who is taking the first step. And it represents going into the unknown, going where no one has gone before. 

Queen of Swords...this card represents an energy, or a someone — the court cards, Page, Knight, Queen, King, are often interpreted to be specific people — who is honest and forthright. You will never be able to get anything past her, and likewise, she will never lie or deceive you. She will always tell you how it is and there will be a lot of clarity in your interactions. She is experienced and worldly and she has cutting wit. But here, the card is in reversed position, so that energy is not fully present in the situation.

Here is the context card: King of Cups. The King of Cups represents an energy who is caring and tolerant. It's a very warm and sort of paternal kind of energy, someone who you could rely on to listen to you and give good advice. And they are very diplomatic and good at resolving emotional tensions; someone who can take into account all points of view. Cups in general is a very receptive suit. Very yonic, so to speak, in contrast to the phallic nature of Wands and Swords.

There's a dichotomy here between Swords and Cups — Swords are very logical and head-based, and Cups are very emotional and heart-based. Swords are stubborn and Cups are yielding. Swords are justice and Cups are mercy. Swords are distance and Cups are intimacy. So there's a difference there.

Queens have a more inward focus and Kings have a more outward focus. But they are similar in that they are both mature adults, that they represent the energy of the suit in its full, mature, and balanced form, unlike the budding Page or the Knight with overly strong energy. They are equally mature, equally powerful, equally able. Here there is no...neither of them are having to reach down or reach up, neither of them are inferior or superior.

But the difference here is that the Queen is reversed and that the King is upright. The Queen, for her to be truly on par with the King, must be fully present, must fully present herself to him and the world, and then they will be equal in stature. She has that potential, but she needs to express that potential.

I drew no major arcana cards, which implies that everything that is occurring is within your power to affect. Minor arcana cards tend to represent lesser things, things that are workable or quotidian — major arcana cards are, well, major, and tend to represent things which are forces of nature or fate."

"Decise action either stifled, entering or departing... I think it's entering. Like, I have things I can do and I should probably do them now."

"Going into the unknown is very much a theme, yes, and leading... I don't know who should lead this. I have a feeling that I should, if I want things to change?"

She giggles "Oh, yonic is such a funny word!"

"A lot of clarity, but reversed... yeah, definitely, I'm very unclear on what the message is."

"Someone who could listen to me and give good advice, and is a man? Uh, I wonder who that is! Maybe someone I haven't met yet... It definitely can't be Vinio, he's the opposite of caring and tolerant!"

She looks up from the table.

"Oh. You are a man, listening to me and giving me good advice. Guess that checks out!"

"Everything is in my power to affect... yeah, of course, I know that, it's just... I think I'm scared."

"Can I ask another question?"

"Traditionally, the court cards were gendered, but I don't interpret them in that way. To me it has to do with masculine and feminine archetypes — outward and inward, phallic and yonic, extroverted and introverted — rather than being about literal gender. I apologize if I was unclear.

You can ask another question! You can ask a followup question to this one, or a clarifying question. Alternatively, you can ask a completely different question."

"I see... so someone outward, and... phallic." She resists the temptation to ask the fortune teller whether he is phallic. It would be mildly funny, but she doesn't want to imply things. If only people communicated more clearly!

"The second question is basically... would it work, as a relationship?"

"How I would interpret masculine and feminine in tarot is...the dichotomies would be: strong vs gentle, aggressive vs passive, cooperative vs competitive, intense vs mild, doing vs being, actor vs patient, offense vs defense.

I can't answer that directly. What I can try reading for you are the possible strong and weak points a relationship with this person could have. Do you want that?"

"Strong, aggressive, competitive, intense... oh... but then if she... then why..."

Sofia seems lost in thought for a moment.

"Yes please, that would be helpful!"

"Alright, give me a moment to draw the cards."

"Oh, it's the King of Cups again, but in reversed position. I've already explained the meaning of the King of Cups in the previous reading, so I won't repeat myself. It is interesting that it's here again but reversed, though!

The Three of Cups represents...so you see the three women are raising their cups together. It represents partying, joy, happiness, exuberance. It represents being a part of a community and loving that community. It represents togetherness, friendliness, neighborliness. It's similar to the Two of Cups, except the Three of Cups is less reserved, less intimate, and less romantic. Here it is also reversed." He chooses to interpret the reversals until later.

"Knight of Pentacles. Knights represent the energy of the suit to a very strong degree that is not tempered by the maturity of the Kings and Queens. So they have this positive aspects and negative aspects dynamic to them. The Knight of Pentacles represents an energy which is very solid and stable. Pentacles in general is a very grounded and worldly suit — it relates to money and wealth, and it's associated with the element of Earth. The Knight of Pentacles is someone who is very hardworking, but may not know how to relax. Someone who is very realistic and grounded, but may be close-minded or pessimistic. Someone who is dogged and persevering, but may be stubborn. Someone who is reliable and cautious, but may be dogmatic. Someone who is meticulous, but may be obsessive. It's a very Type A personality, so to speak. Very conscientious.

The Four of Pentacles here is the context card. This card represents avarice and possessiveness. You see how the man is holding the pentacle very tightly in his arms, and two more are pinned beneath his feet. It signals a desire for control, and a desire to block change, to prevent things from moving. And it represents miserliness, penny-pinching.

There's a dichotomy that I'm spotting here, where both of the Pentacles cards are upright, whereas both the Cups cards are reversed. One interpretation for this is: there may be too much focus on the material aspects of the relationship — of course, the material aspects are important, especially if one is looking to marry or start a family, but they are not the only aspects of it. And too little on the emotional side. Alternatively, it can mean that the material aspects are already fulfilled or are 'ripe', so to speak, but it's the emotional side that needs work, that needs to be unblocked in order for the relationship to be in its fullness.

Although honestly, I'm not getting a very clear vibe from these pulls. I don't know if they were helpful or meaningful to you — if not, I can try drawing again, or you can ask another followup question. Or abandon this line of questioning altogether."

"'Someone who is very hardworking, but may not know how to relax.' yeah, that would be her."

"I think it's the latter. The material aspects are not a problem, but the emotional side is... complicated."

"I think I'd like to ask a final question, on a different line."

"What is stopping me? What obstacles are in my path?"

"Stopping you with regards to the relationship, or in your life, generally? Or in reference to something else?"

"Mostly the relationship, I'd say." the man is nice but she's not going to tell him about... the other things.

"Obstacles, obstacles. What are your obstacles..." he says, as he shuffles the cards.

"The Ace of Cups is the possibility of love and feeling in a situation. Very appropriate in this situation. It represents intuition and intimacy. It represents emotional force, emotionality. It's reversed, which is also appropriate in this situation, where we are trying to figure out what is blocking you from relationships.

The Empress represents Mother Nature in her glory. This is a major arcana card. This card represents abundance and joy from that abundance, of luxuriating in the senses. It also represents literal and figurative mothering. Taking care of something or someone. It is reversed here. There are a few different ways to interpret that...let me draw the other cards before saying more.

The World is the final card in the major arcana. It represents fullness and completion. It represents accomplishment and fulfillment, of finally having gotten everything you wanted, in the end. There is also a secondary meaning of involvement, participation, inclusion. To be a part of the world means to be in the world. You cannot escape it. You are fully in it, and this card asks you to recognize that. We are all in this together. Figuratively speaking. It's kind of awkward to say that now, now that I know there are different worlds. But yes.

The Knight of Swords is similar to the Queen of Swords, except that this energy isn't tempered. Very blunt, very direct, very cutting. Very logical. But also cut off from intuition. This card is the sort of card to cut away everything in its path. It's very...'facts don't care about your feelings', or 'destroyed by facts and logic'. Sorry, that was a reference specific to my world. But it has that energy."

Unlike the last time, there isn't a pause before he begins the final explanation.

"The cards are implying that you are overthinking things, or listening to your inner critic too much, and not relying more on your emotions and intuitions. You need to be a part of the world. You have to immerse yourself into it, and allow yourself to feel and sense fully, and not try to take a step back to analyze the situation dispassionately.

There is a recurring feeling that I've been getting from these readings. Here I get it from the fact that the Knight of Swords is present. This is a very judgmental card. This is a card that is cutting and opinionated. And also the fact that the Empress is reversed — I interpret that as a feeling of: there are pleasant things that could be indulged or enjoyed, but that this enjoyment is being prevented. And that may possibly be due to other feelings that may be present, like guilt, or shame, or unworthiness, or feeling stupid or cringeworthy."

Oh.

"I... I need to go, now, I think. Thank you for your readings!"

She runs away, and through the door to her world.

That was a little sudden! "Alright, see you, goodbye," he says.

A man in washed-out, hard-wearing clothes closes a book of poetry and approaches.

"I'd like to try it. More for its own sake than because I want an answer to any particular question. What it feels like to be the one asking, not an outside observer."

"Of course, that's no problem. The question doesn't need to be a matter of importance to you, although there still needs to be a question."

"Oh, good. I heard your last few, but the practice has been long forgotten by my day, so I wasn't sure. I have big questions, but I don't think I need a source of entropy for them. Maybe... Oh, the man who inspired me. What do I do for a dead man, who died fighting me but would have been on my side if he could? He was very much mad but used tarot and poetry as a metaphor to pass me a message his slave-mistress couldn't understand."

"My condolences. Is it that you want me to draw for you, or that you want me to read a spread for you? A spread is an arrangement of tarot cards.

Is it that the man gave or presented you tarot cards to send a message, and you want someone to interpret said cards? My cards aren't magical and I can't do a seance with them. Or is it that you want me to draw cards for...how you could deal with the tragedy?"

"Read a spread. What he said to me was - this poem here, T. S. Eliot," he says, gesturing with the little book, "He quoted from it, and several parts of it were using symbols from tarot. He referred to me as the Hanged Man, and the woman who was controlling him as 'Madame Sosostris, with a wicked pack of cards.' So it left me curious what getting a reading is like."

"And yes, the tragedy. He didn't get a funeral. I don't think there was anyone to mourn him. And... I mean, he was trying to kill me. I'm a little conflicted. But I'd like to honor his memory somehow."

"I'm unfamiliar with T.S. Eliot or Madame Sosotris, but you can read out the poem to me if you want, and I can try interpreting the tarot symbolism there for you.

As for the Hanged Man," he turns his deck over and flips through it, finding the card and holding it out, "here, you can look at it."

"The Hanged Man is quite paradoxical as a card, and there are several different meanings attached to it. In its upright position, it is upside down. The card represents upending the order of things. But this is a more internal change. It's more about...turning over your preconceptions, how you yourself see the world, rather than representing a change in the external order — that's more of a Tower energy. The Tower is another major arcana card, the most tragic card, I would say. In the major arcana, the Hanged Man succeeds Justice and precedes Death. It is the thirteenth card in the major arcana — its numbered twelve because the major arcana is zero-indexed.

The Hanged Man also represents sacrifice. Sacrifice in two ways. The first is sacrificing yourself for a higher cause. Being a martyr. The second is...giving up what you want. Putting others first, renouncing your claim on things, stepping back. 

Related to this is the meaning of letting go. The Hanged Man represents release, emotional release. Accepting fate and circumstance, ending one's struggle, surrendering, giving up control. Not...defeat, because that's an external thing, but this is a very internal thing. The Hanged Man is very concerned with internal experience.

Another meaning of the Hanged Man is stillness. Nondoing, nonaction. Pausing, reflecting, waiting.

A particular dynamic of the Hanged Man is...sometimes, one only gets what they want once they stop chasing after it. It's like with sleep — you cannot force yourself to sleep, and if you try to grasp for sleep, it will flee you. Rather, you have to be still and stop wanting, so to speak, sleeping, and then you will fall asleep. The Hanged Man is in a compromised position, but they are also in a relaxed position. There is no anguish on their face. They accept their position. The Hanged Man signifies that sometimes, when things are the most urgent, that is when we most must wait and remain still. When things seem like we must exert force, sometimes that is when we most must refrain from such exertion.

I don't know what exactly they meant, in referring to you as the Hanged Man. But it's probable that he meant to relate you to these concepts somehow."

"Hmm. Really that sounds more like him. But it made sense to me - I was stuck waiting, marking time doing my own thing while I waited for the - evil goddess, basically - to get tired of me and try to kill me. I was - pretty tense. Maybe he meant I should accept it, which... I did, sort of."