Illumination | Haiku

Fortune Teller

The gathering storm

The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too.

Vincent Van Gogh

I gather my spells

Mysteries and enchantments

Surviving the storm

For many years, in the early morning, I have done a daily reading for myself with my well worn Rider-Waite tarot deck. It is a way of talking to myself, as my interpretation of the cards I select often offers me clues on my mood or my hopes and worries about the day.

The Rider-Waite tarot deck, originally published 1910, is one of the most popular tarot decks in use for divination in the English-speaking world.

Other names for this deck include the Smith-Waite, Waite-Smith, Rider-Waite-Smith, or simply the Rider tarot deck. The cards were drawn by illustrator Pamela Colman Smith from the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite and were published by the Rider Company.

While the images are simple, the details and backgrounds feature abundant symbolism. Some imagery remains similar to that found in earlier decks, but overall the Waite-Smith card designs represent a substantial departure from their predecessors…….. The symbols used were influenced by the 19th century magician and occultist Eliphas Levi. Wikipedia

For several weeks I have had glimmerings of a story about a long-lived fortune teller now reduced to working in a small carnival, barely surviving the combination of modern times and the pandemic.

I started exploring her story with this haiku.

I wrote this poem in response to a prompt from Tej. She confronted us with a mystical question:

The mysteries curtained At what moment was it ordained? The vastness it sustained Who created it? Unexplained!

She then continued the challenge of the magical mystery that is the NeverEnding poem, spelled into existence by Martin Rushton, by tagging me and a group of wonderful fellow poets for the writing prompt: Storm.