They are sponsored by the Thirteen, first and foremost. Games played and fortunes told with them are filtered through their context and influence. They do not have anything against nonbelievers, but all the same those qualities render them less susceptible to interpretation by the Deck.
Although the Deck of Circular Motion only appears in historical records after the Lightclaiming, it has always been on Loom. It is a fact of life there, much the same as gravity and the ability of prayer to bring the rains. Few ever ask where it really came from - when was the last time you pondered as to how the Earth began to rotate?
NUMBER CARDS
The number cards (and also the face cards) are not numbers. They are archetypes, unchanging facets of the stories which sustain all gods.
2: Lover. The Lover is energy, fulfillment, sustenance. It is the lowest of the cards, representing its close ties to mortal life. At its best, it is stability and happiness. At its worst, gluttony and obsession.
3: Creator. The Creator represents self-image, as it is shaped by the outside world. Its positive aspects are opportunity and epiphany. Its negative aspects are vanity and unintended harm.
4: Seeker. The Seeker is known as our mortal faults, the space upon which we have to improve. It represents experience and forward motion, but also self-neglect and stubbornness.
5: Destroyer. The Destroyer is most concerned with the inner world, and knowing one's own nature, even at the price of forsaking the outside world. It can aid in recognizing danger (specifically the "in over your head" type) and in being humble, but might also create an unhealthy fear in the self or in others - specifically, but not always, of the unknown.
6: Ruler. The Ruler seeks to establish cooperation between people and the environment. It brings the boons of vigilance and widespread peace, but at the potential costs of mental duress and unhealthy competition.
7: Warrior. The Warrior symbolizes purpose. A Warrior might mean success or courage, but it could also bear the banner of insecurity and cruelty.
8: Magician. The Magician is the herald of change, and is recognized as one of the most powerful cards for this reason (it often has special effects in stacking games, for example). It could bring with it agency, or perhaps guilt. It is also a general stand-in for change, as vague as that is.
9: Innocent. The Innocent is comfort. It provides sure-footedness and a knowledge of boundaries when invoked, but can also inflict foolhardiness or repetition.
10: Sage. The Sage is defined the eternal search for truth. It helps in the departments of awareness and clarity, but plants the seeds for doubt and paranoia.
Jack: Caregiver. The Caregiver recognizes itself as indicative of servitude. It is closely associated with likability and compassion, and is weak in the areas of righteousness and preservation.
Queen: Fool. The Fool is expressed in drinking deep, eating well, and the pursuit of pleasure. It is unaffected by impending danger, and wields the strength of emotional knowledge. It is hurt worst by understimulation and being faced with the future.
King: Orphan. We see the Orphan as good fortune. It has the most sway in hours of judgement and desperation, but cannot aid much in the everyday occurrences of social interaction and physical labor.
Ace: Conductor. The Conductor symbolizes the game itself, and the inherent paradoxes that construct it. It is both spiritual guidance and sinful entertainment. It is the lowest of the cards, and yet trumps them all. It was the one that created the game, and yet it does not exist outside its context. Seeing it in a reading is a rarity, and a sign that someone is extremely spiritually unwell. And yet it is the kingmaker in countless games of cards.
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| Alonzo Fenix |
SUITES
The suites are numbers. Specifically, they are the Divine Numbers - those considered holy through their connection to various pantheons present in the canon of the Thirteen.
These numbers are:
Five. This is the number of the Undead Guardians, once-mortals risen to give those faithful to them an afterlife to look forward to. In a traditional playing card deck, it would fill the space of the Hearts suite. In the context of the four elements, it is most closely associated with Earth.
Six. This is the number of the Archlords, the old gods who ruled Loom long before the arrival of the Thirteen. It fills the space of Diamonds, and its associated element is Fire.
Seven. The number of the Titans, who once opposed the Thirteen but at the same time galvanized support for them. It fills the space of Clubs, and its associated element is Water.
Thirteen. The number of the core pantheon, the saviors of Loom, and the House in the broader cosmic context of playing cards. It is, of course, Spades, and for its proximity to the heavens it is associated with air.
RULES CARD
The Rules Card exists, and does what it sounds like. One side contains the rules for spiritual readings, and the other the rules for playing cards. It depicts the Three Creators, ambiguous aspects of the universe itself that dictate morality.
WILDCARD
The Wildcard depicts a mouth, void of all things save a single white tooth. It represents a particularly unknowable deity within the mythos of Loom, the Singular Hunger. If it inexplicably appears off the top of the deck in a game of cards, it loses to everything else (despite outranking all of them). In a reading, it may invite itself as a harbinger of base needs, divine ascension, hilarity, gore, dung beetles, charity, and innortedity.
