Running on empty.

This week’s Harrow card, The Lost, is truly a frightening sight. The card shows a warrior whose body and equipment are decaying. His body is emaciated and corpse-like, his sword is cracked, and his armor is crumbling to pieces. Under his helmet, however, is a paid of bright green, glowing eyes.

The being on the card is a creature known as a bodak, a foul thing created when someone is corrupted by exposure to the darkest and most sinister secrets of the universe. Bodaks are driven by sorrow and loss, angrily lashing out at a world they no longer remember. It should come as no surprise that the card is aligned Chaotic Evil, the alignment of unchecked and unfocused selfishness and cruelty. Likewise, the bodak’s loss of purpose puts it in the suit of Stars, which corresponds to wisdom, awareness, and intuition.

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Look out below.

This week’s Harrow card, The Avalanche, should come with a warning but rarely does. The card shows an avalanche in the middle of its rampage. A number of things are in its direct path, including a wagon, barrels, and a pair of horses. Within the rocks of the avalanche itself, the rough shapes of two fists and a glaring face can be seen.

The Avalanche is a often a frightening sight in a reading, as it tends to represent a swiftly-moving, often unavoidable disaster. It is part of the suit of Keys, which corresponds to Dexterity, the ability that governs speed and movement. In addition, it is aligned Lawful Evil, which uses laws and rules to oppress and destroy others. In this case, The Avalanche is following the laws of nature, and in doing so ends up causing destruction and disorder.

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Answer me these questions three, ‘ere the other side you see… 

This week’s Harrow card, The Hidden Truth, is usually a very welcome sight in a reading. On the card itself, we see a wizard in full robes and hat. His right index finger is pointing to a passage in an open book, while his left index finger points above him. A flame burns on the left finger like a candle.

The Hidden Truth is a card of both action and contemplation. Of all the cards from the suit of Books, it represents some of the most active forms of intelligence and knowledge. Being aligned Lawful Good, it is also a card of harmony and completion. At its root, The Hidden Truth is about seeing past the intellectual noise of everyday life to discover a greater truth that will enhance our lives, but like all Harrow cards, there is a much deeper meaning than that.

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