Emily Jewel Mundy
Cupid crawls into the renovated, mystical back of a tarot reader’s van. They are dressed in worn-out black jeans with wings tucked in an equally worn-out black hoodie, curly hair shaggily draping over their shoulders. They seem to be lacking sleep, sporting a grey expression. Tarot Reader: Welcome, hi. Your hair is much longer than last time. Cupid: Hi, yeah. It’s been a while… what, about, a year? Reader: Seems so! Well. Do you have an intention for our reading today? Is anything on your mind, any pressing concepts to explore…? You know the drill. Cupid: Yeah. I’ve been feeling lately like I need to reinvent myself. To re-invigorate the image everyone has of me. Something. I’m not entirely sure. Reader: Let’s pull the cards, then—see what they have to say. Cupid nods, takes the deck of card in their hands, shuffles three times, and sets the deck in front of the tarot reader. Reader: And, cut the deck in thirds please. Cupid does so, and the tarot reader flips over the first card. Reader: Okay, the seven of pentacles, facing you. This card reflects a culmination of events or feelings in the past that are affecting the present… pentacles represent money and business endeavors, and this card specifically deals with income or personal gain—a positive return, essentially. Does this resonate with you at all? Have you made any professional moves that have really been influencing you lately, for instance? Cupid: That’s funny, yeah. I signed a two-hundred-year contract with the soul of Esther Howland… long-dead, but raking in the royalties in the afterlife, STILL. It’s been, like, over 150 years since she got that valentine from her dad’s business partner and decided to “make a better one” or whatever. She wanted to mass-produce them in America, so she asked me for a contract and rights to my image. Which, sure, has been SUPER lucrative—I mean, Americans will buy anything—but also, it’s been a bit much. I’m starting to feel funny about seeing so many old, semi-undressed pictures of myself around this time of year. Reader: Seems to be influencing how you’re feeling about your image now, absolutely. Well, let’s see what the deck has to say about the present situation, huh? She pulls another card and places it in front of Cupid. The Devil card appears in reverse. Cupid: WELL. That’s nerve racking. Haha? Reader: I know it looks a little freaky, but it doesn’t necessarily have to mean something horrible is happening. The Devil has to do with self-deception and the inner-force inside us all. It's about wearing a mask, sometimes. But it’s reversing you, which can conjure the breaking free of this self-defeat or deception. What do you think about that? Does it bring up some present emotions, or? Cupid: Sure, I’ve definitely been struggling with feeling like I’m trying to pretend I’m the same as my old self. I don’t feel as… conventional? Lately? So, that makes sense. Reader: The Devil in tarot can mean you’re drowning in your own fears and bondage to perception. Maybe it’s time, since it's reversing you, to reclaim this power in yourself. Take off the metaphorical mask. Be you. Be The You that is relevant now, and not bound to a contract drafted 150 years ago. Cupid: Valid. Yep. Reader: Let’s pull the last one, get some insight about what’s next. She pulls the last card—The Moon faces Cupid upright. Reader: Two Major cards in a row! And what a mystical one the Moon is. It speaks to your anxiety, and how to manipulate your own fearful projections into a clearer perception. It’s about carrying on with the dim light the Moon provides you, traveling without a specific destination, letting the way forward reveal itself. Cupid: Relevant. Reader: Indeed. If you’re feeling like it’s time to reinvent yourself, but you’re not necessarily sure how to, now seems like an okay time to let go of some control. Let an emotional tide lead you somewhere. Re-assert your image without knowing exactly what that will mean for you. Do you feel comfortable doing that? Cupid pushes back their shaggy curls. Cupid: Not exactly… but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Reader: Might be, yeah. Cupid: All right, thank you. I’ve got some things to think about. Reader: You do! You always do, we all always do. Cupid crawls from the back of the van and steps out onto the street, passes some loud and semi-drunken bros who don’t recognize them. They feel brighter, immediately.
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