'and I am the pendulum that swings and never stays'

the first set up

so if horsemouth remembers correctly the cards were: 

the high priestess (la papesse)

the hanged man (le pendu)

the wheel of fortune (la roue de fortune)

horsemouth had lied in framing the original question. (when is he ever completely honest?) 

who was horsemouth really asking about (and who for)? 

the cards used were a marseille pack. 

it has a strong red/ green / blue/ yellow theme. the characters seem drawn from closer to than the rider-waite cards, there is less mythological kipple at the edges of the frame.

the hanged man is waiting (he's literally hanging around). disconnected from the earth. his legs crossed and his hands tied behind his back. how did horsemouth get into such a position we may ask. what foolishness led him to this? does he like it there? or is he being punished?

the reverend sabine baring-gould  wrote the poem on broadbury down at the site of a famous gibbet where the dead bodies of criminals were hung in a cage and left to rot;

'and I am the pendulum that swings and never stays, 

the death clock of a bad old world that cankereth away'

the high priestess - well her you know. you see she is the only creature who is on the ground (and can thus walk around) in this set up. 

the wheel of fortune has 3 beasts on it - a blue winged monkey with a sword and a crown is raised up, but soon he is deposed (and then he is rising up again). or is it other moneys who will come to take his place. such is the world (how horsemouth initially misnamed this card). 

the second set up was (allegedly) about horsemouth's job prospects. 

again the hanged man appeared (more waiting), 

the lovers (les amants - do you see what horsemouth means about things bleeding in?) 

and horsemouth's old friend temperance.  

horsemouth is protected from on high, or maybe he's a protecting figure. it all looks good. maybe in the relation between the cards is the tower,  maybe a card hides unselected at the bottom of the pack. 

of course it is better to travel hopefully,  not to try to see the destination before you get there. 

but then horsemouth could have confused himself more by consulting the I ching. instead horsemouth likes the tarot,  he likes the images, the bonne hommes, their colours and the dispositions of them.  like love itself it all works by condensation and displacement. 

last night horsemouth went round a friend's house. there was food and horsemouth brought the beer and they talked. (and the tarot cards were produced). they were hunting around for music to play, horsemouth played ederlezi and then king tubby meets the rockers uptown which led into more king tubby. later  horsemouth got to play his album (twice?). 

this morning horsemouth has had his coffees (er. and two paracetamol). 

it's a rainy day out there. horsemouth doesn't mind it yet.