A cranky old woman with a heart of gold…
A band of wise, yet humble sorceresses who travel across the land healing it’s wounds…
A wise old man with much to contribute, respected by no one…
This is awesome! I’ve been doing tarot with playing cards off and on for many years (I quit for a spell because I was creeped out by how accurate my readings were…)
I started to do mine, too. Here’s some:
SPADES:
2- No new growth; No extra taken
3- Taking life without regenerating
4- Hibernation
5- Habitat defended but loss experienced
6- Renewal of life!
DIAMONDS:
2-Putting the needs of other life ahead of one’s own
3-Solves pertinent issue with community or threat to land
4-Living peacefully with the Sunflowers and snakes
5-At odds with Sunflowers and snakes
6-Spirits hear cries
7-He who hates the Prairie learns to love it; If a bough won’t bend, it will with loving coaxing
I’ll post more later when I have them fine-tuned.
<<Queen of Diamonds: A warrior, wielding coppersword and cougarskin cap, jealous and ready for love>>
I use the Queen of Diamonds as my face card and have for years, but this fits me even more than the traditional meaning I used to use. This is great, Willem, and thank you for this thread!
[quote=“sunflowersFTW!, post:23, topic:771”]<<Queen of Diamonds: A warrior, wielding coppersword and cougarskin cap, jealous and ready for love>>
I use the Queen of Diamonds as my face card and have for years, but this fits me even more than the traditional meaning I used to use. This is great, Willem, and thank you for this thread![/quote]
Crazy and cool! 
What an unexpected response. Thanks you!
Ace of Spades - A gigantic serpent with glittering scales waits in darkness…
Queen of Hearts - A green haired woman stands in the creek staring at the water…
3 of Clubs - 2 mischevious children paddle away in a canoe…
A distant pair of weary travelers covered in bits of moss and debris walking the roadside between forest and industrial zone, who, upon approach, reveal friendly faces.
These SIX GREAT STRENGTHS came from a tale I read and stuck with me. some of them give me strength just thinking about them (and one has to do with one of my most powerful dreams ever):
the footsteps of a cat
the beard of a lady
the spittle of a bird
the roots of a mountain
the voice of a fish
the longings of a bear
They give me strength when I get curious about what makes each one powerful, magical.
Also, what if you mix & match? the footsteps of a mountain, the longings of a fish. . .
Amazing!
This makes me want to start a riddle-making thread. 
a beaver lodge made of bones, with moist earth tucked lovingly in between.
this is fun. i used google image search as a springboard for the imagination. so many nearly forgotten stories, so many lovely paintings…
a smoky path horses may traverse, riderless, to the moon
a x-shaped mushroom patch that will chage all vision to black and white except for choice opportunities, which appear bathed in a fiery gold, when trampled
a woman who is stricken voiceless when her husband disturbs a solemn ceremony
a paintbrush that brings images to life when used to paint over eyes
a phantom rat that exists to dash before the vehicles of merchants, blessing those who instinctively attempt to swerve
a warrior standing loyally by their master, sending back all charging enemies although mortally wounded by many arrows
a wandering drunkard who dreams of being reunited with a lost love who in fact never existed
a furious recluse who always receives copious amounts of the things least desired, attention and affection, the fury triggering increasingly reckless behavior, a quality which only adds to his charm in the eyes of the inescapable fawning enthusiasts
funny, this reminds me of something I used to do to help myself get to sleep (I embody the insomniac’s insomniac). I’d envision someone (the sleep fairy?) painting me with sleep using a giant soft paintbrush, from head to toe. One arm at a time, each finger, one leg at a time, each toe, my face, my eyes, etc., slowly and sleepily. . .
brings dream images to life!
a wandering drunkard who dreams of being reunited with a lost love who in fact never existeda smoky path horses may traverse, riderless, to the moon
My favorites. So cool Richard!
In the Fifth World, you’ll have an oracle for each land. You flip your coin five times to get a reading; then you match it to a season, and you have your reading.
So, to make an oracle for your land, you:
- Identify the seasons that happen in your land
- For each season, list out 32 people, places, phenomena, etc. that you observe in your land during that season.
- Write a riddle for each one. Willem had some really great things to offer in the College of Mythic Cartography podcast about how to write riddles. I’ll include a lot of that advice in the Fifth World book with the instructions on how to write your land for the Fifth World.
Which would mean that making such an oracle for your land would involve coming up with 32 riddles for each season–bioregional, seasonal, animist poetry. When I came up with the idea, I realized, that would actually make for a really, really good rewilding exercise, story game aside, now wouldn’t it?
Most of the elements here come from local legend and folklore, or the stories of Seneca, Mingo or Shawnee groups who once lived here. I wrote this for In a Wicked Age, which mostly focuses on “sword and sorcery,” a pseudo-historical genre usually set in the early era of civilization. In this case, I wanted a bioregional animist oracle for my own home, the area now dominated by the city of Pittsburgh. I have a bit of a lead-in for when I use this for a local gaming con here in Pittsburgh–
Have any of you here ever gone to Meadowcroft? It sits maybe a half-hour’s drive from here. For a long time, we thought the first humans came to North America maybe 10,000 years ago. Then we dug at Meadowcroft, and found signs of people here–right here–over 30,000 years ago. We live in an ancient, ancient land. Thousands of years ago, giants lived along these rivers and built mounds to honor their dead. And a thousand years after they fell, their last children remained free here while down the Great River, the Ohio River, there reigned the Sun King, from the City of Mounds–we call it Cahokia now, and we built the city of St. Louis on top of it. But back then, no city in the world sprawled larger than it did. They traded cedars from the coasts of the Pacific Northwest, obsidian from the empires of Mexico, shells from the Gulf, and copper mined in North Carolina and Virginia. The power of the Sun King stretched across Turtle Island, but here, the children of the giants remained free, ever under pressure from that kingdom, bound to the land that gave them the strength to endure. In that wicked age…
Suh-weet use of the “Spring - Romance, Summer - War, etc.” suit seasons.
Again, to reiterate: SUH-WEET!
Started these a while back. Haven’t finished or polished them yet (apologies). These are all based with my home (the San Fernando Valley, meeting place of many tribes) as the center, so, for directional purposes, Los Angeles to the South, desert to the east, ocean to the west:
THE UNQUIET PAST
(EAST, HORROR)
HEARTS (Life)
-
A young boy, listening to an ancient voice he cannot ignore, setting fire to a clump of bushes.
-
Two roads, scurrying southward to join an eastbound river, carrying the memory of metallic beetles.
-
A trader, an artist and a maker meeting at a tavern to discuss a shared nightmare.
-
A procession of musicians, each playing a singular tune that drives children mad.
-
A tyrant’s hand, reaching out to enslave a population to support his warped dream.
-
Two rows of people, each eying the other suspiciously, only one of which will find absolution.
-
A ring of broken promises, a man at the center, constantly offering more than he can actually provide.
-
Spirited demons of quicksilver and light, leading many astray and taking the souls of others as they laugh.
-
A clump of villages, its tenants nothing more than skin and bones, hope to survive a horrible drought through sacrifice.
-
A fire sweeping across a sacred forest, burning an ancient and powerful oak.
J. A mad shaman, returning from a pilgrimage to a dead city, bearing ominous gifts.
Q. The lady, Pacoima, the white-foam of trapped rivers matching the tears that fill her eyes.
K. A mad twin, sorcerously empowered by the dreams of others, seeking a way to unseat his more powerful brother in the South.
THE UNQUIET PAST
(EAST, HORROR)
SPADES (Death)
-
A black ribbon marking a road that leads straight to Death.
-
The ruins of twin villages, long dead, home only to clinging grasses and lonely ghosts.
-
Three men, digging up graves in the necropolis on the hillside.
-
Two pairs of partners meet; one plans the death of the other.
-
The hand of a dead civilization reaching out to drive people to madness.
-
A mother, crying, as the ghosts of her just-slain children howl at her for vengeance.
-
A lucky caravan, escaping the desert, some left behind.
-
Old covens fueled by blood rituals, now dry as wisps, hoping for a red rain.
-
A group of powerful manipulators that can kill only using words.
-
The restless dead, clinging together, mired in pools of black tar, waiting for a sign to rise up.
J. A spirit that devours cities escapes its desert prison.
Q. An aging demon of yellow and brown smoke, spreading misery through stealing the breath of others.
K. An academy of wisdom and high learning, corrupted by demons so its students only create destruction.
THE UNQUIET PAST
(EAST, HORROR)
DIAMONDS (Sky)
-
Desert spirits, howling their evil intent on whirling winds of destruction.
-
Two forces, one from the east and one from the west, clash, causing lightning.
-
Winds racing from the deserts, knocking over villages, hiding sins.
-
The spirit of four winds mourning a lost brother.
-
Prophetic dreams sent from tomorrow; the great devourers are coming.
-
A group of oppressed people, possessed by spirits, burning a market to the ground.
-
Lightning flashing, the tongue of an ancient serpent, fires leaping toward the stars in a dry, dry season.
J.
Q.
K.
THE UNQUIET PAST
(EAST, HORROR)
CLUBS (Earth)
-
A lost road, winding through half-hidden canyons.
-
Two cultures, both immigrants, one old, the other new fighting over the discovery of unclaimed riches.
-
Refugees flee from a paradise best forgotten.
-
A parade of Roses, celebrating a New Year, hiding the fact that most are slowly dying.
J. Spirits of the grasslands, trapped and boiled, producing foul liquids that both intoxicate and lead people to violence.
Q. A woman, chosen for her beauty, acting as a “Queen†only to be cast aside once her role if fulfilled.
K. A fabled city, locked in a harsh desert, promising your dreams in exchange for your future.
A STORM OF SERPENTS
(NORTH, POLITICS)
HEARTS (Life)
-
An almost-man, wondering what is happening on the other side.
-
A matter of pride separates two people.
-
A young woman, missing her family across the water.
-
The soft tread of paws, as bears return to the southern lands.
J.
Q.
K.
A STORM OF SERPENTS
(NORTH, POLITICS)
SPADES (Death)
-
A milky path across the night sky, leading across the horizon to where the dead go.
-
An old man and a woman, carrying packs filled with hot tar, boiling young children.
-
A happy trader, poling his way across the water on a reed raft.
J.
Q.
K.
A STORM OF SERPENTS
(NORTH, POLITICS)
DIAMONDS (Sky)
-
An old farmer, stretching his back after a sharp pain.
-
A horde of angry spirits, waiting for rains to poison new lands.
-
The spirit of rain, blustering its way south to an unfortunate conclusion.
J.
Q.
K. A giant serpent, curled in the sky, belly rasping against the clouds.
A STORM OF SERPENTS
(NORTH, POLITICS)
CLUBS (Earth)
-
A magic mountain, still echoing with the cries of forgotten children.
-
A shallow sea, covering the gray bones of an abandoned city.
-
A place of healing, guarded by stone spirits, in the center of a bitter sea.
J.
Q.
K.
AN OCEAN OF
UNENDING DESIRE
(WEST, ROMANCE)
HEARTS (Life)
-
A river spirit freed from its confinement.
-
A dream of lust, wrenching the souls of an innocent couple.
-
Three young men, beating the seeds in springtime.
-
An old man watching dolphins playing in the ocean.
-
A forest tipped with lights, the vision of a lonely artist.
-
A small oasis, filled with parrots and the women who tend them.
J. A small outdoor theater, in a canyon, playing the tragedies and dramas of a long-dead genius.
Q.
K. The p’akas ‘asil, the Black Walker, defiling the spirits of those that will not oppose him as he walks the roads of a forgotten civilization.
AN OCEAN OF
UNENDING DESIRE
(WEST, ROMANCE)
SPADES (Death)
-
A cannibal devouring only those that he loves.
-
The bones of an old demon, jutting from the canyon floor.
-
A grasping ocean, plucking spirits from the cliffside.
-
Across a pond, a group of people, caged, hoping for freedom but finding only hardship.
J.
Q.
K.
AN OCEAN OF
UNENDING DESIRE
(WEST, ROMANCE)
DIAMONDS (Sky)
-
A grey whale warns of the storm coming to these shores.
-
At the bottom of a blood-red cliff, a potent sorcerer tries to woo a new apprentice.
-
Grey cliffs, off which hopes are broken and dreams crushed.
J.
Q.
K. The half-moon eye of the indigo SkyCoyote, watching over his people.
AN OCEAN OF
UNENDING DESIRE
(WEST, ROMANCE)
CLUBS (Earth)
-
The Woman of White Foam cries, wishing things could be as they once were.
-
A sunken garden, hidden inside a hill, next to some bubbling tar pits.
-
A narrow rift, home to three nations.
-
The hands of a river spirit, grown mad from being trapped.
-
A house, dedicated to collecting the crafts of folklore of other cultures.
-
Shimmering night jewels cover the ghosts of a long-dead marsh.
J.
Q.
K.
BLOOD IN GREY CANYONS
(SOUTH, WAR)
HEARTS (Life)
-
A once-great captain, a hole torn from his stomach.
-
Two rival gangs, clashing, chasing after the only thing that makes their lives tolerable.
-
Four people planning a great rite.
-
A strange market, once fruitful, now only filled with bitter seeds.
-
A small town, built to represent a better time, now housing a hollow people.
-
A group of old men, plotting to unseat a maddened chief.
-
A great threat rises, armies marching towards the north.
J.
Q. A tree spirit dreaming, remembering lost passions and despairs.
K. A twice-born leader, hoping to help a dying people.
BLOOD IN GREY CANYONS
(SOUTH, WAR)
SPADES (Death)
-
A hungry spirit, chasing after a meal that got away.
-
Two young boys, terrified of the monster they’ve unleashed.
-
A contest held to see who can save a dead land.
-
A large group of wealthy people, discussing the fate of a now-flooded marshland.
-
A somber march to remember fallen villages.
J.
Q.
K.
BLOOD IN GREY CANYONS
(SOUTH, WAR)
DIAMONDS (Sky)
-
A sun spirit, looking for a friend to play a game.
J.
Q.
K. A pearl-white owl, its eye the full moon.
BLOOD IN GREY CANYONS
(SOUTH, WAR)
CLUBS (Earth)
-
A forgotten city, containing madness and the legacy of broken people.
-
Two serpents wrestling, causing earthquakes.
J.
Q. A silver lake, guarded and kept away from the populace by those that fear its power.
K.
How about an Oracle with 8 aspects of the 8 directions creating a new version of the I Ching:
NorthEast-
- Thunder strikes mountain in the middle of the night
- Jay’s alarm call, a scout caught sneaking
- Owl-caped shamaness perched in Cedar tree
- Young woman dances like a cougar beneath the stars
- A coal kept burning, wrapped in shredded bark
- Wise man wrapped in wool blanket seeing the future in fire
- Dead Salmon coming back to life from skin and bones
- Raven Steals Sun
East-
- The dawn chorus travels across the globe with rising sun
- Yellowjackets awakening in underground nest
- Young child hesitant at forest’s edge
- Two streams-one brings illness from toxins, the other life-giving nourishment
- The sting of nettle
- Cedar lodge lit from within by firelight
- Band of scouts watch a bear from afar
- Salmonberry shoots gathered by old woman
More later…