Cards of the High Chapter

The cards of the High Chapter in a Sagnabok deck are the great omens, and also represent the steps of a journey. When present in a reading, they are always the most significant cards, and also lend greater weight to those around them.
  Like the trumps in a regular deck of Playing Cards, they are numbered, as well as named, from 1 to 20. In addition, the Sagnabok includes two additional High Trumps, the Void and the Sun, which are to the regular trumps as they are to the suit cards. When they appear, the high trumps form the centre of a diviner's knot, or vortex, a critical divinatory nexus speaking of events of great importance.
 

The High Trumps

The two high trumps represent the beginning and the end. Counter-intuitively it is the Void which represents the beginning, a place of pure potential, while the sun stands for the end of one journey and the beginning of another.
 

0. To, the Void

The Void is the end of all things, all journeys, but must also be the beginning. It is a place of pure potential, from which all things are possible, until a choice is made and possibility begins to collapse into certainty. It is a place fo darkness, but not the ordinary kind which denies vision. In the Void, nothing can be seen because everything is visible.
  Meaning: Darkness. Endings. A place of absolute potential that precedes and follows all action. That which has not yet been born. Waiting for a partnership which will provoke two passive agents into action. Patience and defensiveness.
  Reversed: Destruction and the loss of potential. Inaction and stagnation. Self-imposed exile or isolation.
 

XXI. PI, the Sun

In the light of the Sun, all things begin, grow, and reach their ending. It is the driving force of all understanding and decision, the setting for alliances and actions.
  Meaning: Light. Beginnings. Acts of creation and the realisation of potential. The choice of a path. Union and cooperation with a common end. Drive and activity. Impatience. Action.
  Reversed: Failure, loneliness. A creator. An act of creation gone awry. Reckless and unwise actions.
 

The Ordinary Trumps

The ordinary, or regular trumps, mirror those in a 64 card Sagnabrok deck.
 

I. The Perfect Fool

A traveller begins as the Perfect Fool, knowing nothing and therefore fearing nothing. Their steps may be faltering, but their eyes are clear and their course is certain.
  Meaning: Emergence. Readiness. The first, faltering steps upon a journey. An empty mind, unblemished, like a page awaiting ink. An innocent who stands ready to learn and grow with the benefit of both instruction and experience.
  Reversed: The arrogance of youth. An unwillingness to listen and learn; rejecting advice or guidance out of hand. One whose naievete is defended from the benefits of wisdom.
 

II. The Lightning Lance

Kraku is the spear of Lightning, a vessel of divine wrath but also an initiator, capable of birthing fire, light and inspiration. As a line that cuts the sky, it is also a divider, a barrier between states.
  Meaning: Ignition. Instigation. A spark that quickens, setting fuel to flame, anger to action, pain to purpose. The moment between retreat and rebellion, doubt and certainty. A point of no return. The first step to transformation. Rage.
  Reversed: Unguided anger. Lashing out, even against a benefactor or protector. An indiscriminate iconocalst, tearing down the good along with the bad.
 

III. The Throne of the God-King

The divine monarch of the age of God-Kings sits the Throne in absolute power, surrounded by the trappings of authority and privilege.
  Meaning: Absolute hubris. The mortal assumption of divine power and authority. A ruler, a tyrant, a giver of quests. Arrogance and high-handedness. Power that corrupts, and power that is corrupted. A figure of unchecked power.
  Reversed: The failure of authority. Mere anarchy and unrest. A puppet ruler. Power without authority. Overconfidence.
 

IV. The Ring of the Mage-Empress

The closed circle of the Ring represents the power of the sovereigns of the Mage-Empires, self-granted and self-contained.
  Meaning: Reason and learning. The power of knowledge. High magic and the refutation of nature's domain. The rule of cold reason and untempered sorcery. An arcanist of exceptional power. Authority without divine mandate. Power as its own end.
  Reversed: Wild magic. The collapse and corruption of a natural order. The spell-wracked or possessed. Madness.
 

V. The Balance of the Sovereign's Anointing

Mortal and Divine come together in the balance of a Sovereign pact. This balance is the foundation of a modern nation, with the rare exception of a godless republic.
  Meaning: The accommodation between mortal and divine powers. Pacts of sovereignty and congregation. Divine magic. The order of an organised faith. A sanctified ruler or religious leaders. A sacred place.
  Reversed: Strife between the material and the divine. Blasphemies and infernalism. Rebellion agains an anointed order. A false prophet.
 

VI. The Warrior-Champion

The Champion raises arms in the service of their cause. Their armour is strong, their blade true, their purpose sure.
  Meaning: Personal strength. The force of arms and the defence offered by armour. Acting in service of one's own beliefs. A champion of a cause or authority; a military leader. A blessed or enchanted weapon. High principles. Self-reliance. Might serves right.
  Reversed: Inner weakness concealed by a facade of strength. A bully or a braggart; might makes right. Hands and blades stained in innocent blood.
 

VII. Dark Moon, Light Moon

The two Moons of Galath - Du, the dark moon and Li, the light - circle one another in pefect balance. The light of the moon can be deceptive.
  Meaning: The source of wonder and magic. An openness to amazement and miraculous occurences; the willingness to feel wonder. A miracle worker. A transformative revelation or realisation. A traveller or group of travellers. Humility.
  Reversed: Closed minds, jaded and joyless. Illusions and deceptions. A trickster or poisoner. False doctrine and suffocating dogma. Righteous hubris.
 

VIII. The Well of Secrets

The Well is filled with whispers and shadows. It will hear your secret, however shameful, but once spoken it will remain there forever.
  Meaning: A place of mystery and secrets. Things that are hidden. A road less travelled. A past that you wish was forgotten. Dangerous knowledge and choices with unclear outcomes. A keeper or discoverer of deep secrets.
  Reversed: A false appearance of certainty. Vicious gossip and hurtful words. A blackmailer. A treacherous path.
 

IX. The Dragon in the West

The Dragon is power, but also knowledge and restraint. Its hoard is more than mere treasure, but a repository of lore and history.
  Meaning: The preservation and passing of knowledge. Teaching. Legacy. A treasury of knowledge and lore, especially that held nowhere else in the world. A keeper of true treasure; a librarian. A vital piece of knowledge.
  Reversed: Forgetting. An irreplaceable loss. A place or a truth lost to the ravages of time. A collector with a hidden hoard. A lie that could bring disaster.
 

X. The Shield of Night

Noctis hangs in the sky, bringing night to the world and offering protection against the unholy and abominable.
  Meaning: Rest and sanctuary in a place or time of safety and peace. A powerful figure offering protection against physical and spiritual and harm. A faithful host. The shelter of the shadows and the protection of night. Calm.
  Reversed: False sanctuary. An untrustworthy host. Danger in the night. A nocturnal hunter. A snare. Danger or threat concealed in darkness.
 

XI. The Weavers of Fate

The three Sisters of the Loom create the patterns of destiny, to which all are bound, but none enslaved. Fate is a guide, not a shackle.
  Meaning: The inscruitible paths of destiny. Divinations and prophecies. Guidance that must be followed with faith. An oracle or a seer, gifted with foreknowledge. A message from someone or something in the past. A warning in history. Repeating patterns.
  Reversed: Free will. Defiance. Questioning guidance, rejecting advice and defying prophecy. A false seer or misleading vision.
 

XII. The Priest of the Gods

The true servant of the gods offers protection to the needy and the weak. The Priest offers charity in humility, not to elevate their own standing.
  Meaning: Nurturing and protection. Charity. Kindness. The strength to stand when the storm is coming. A flock in need of its shepherd, a lost lamb in need of its sheepdog. A person in need of aid that you are in a position to protect.
  Reversed: A calculated sacrifice, but not of oneself. Cold pragmatism. Cruelty. Preying on the weak. One with cause to fear you.
 

XIII. The Giant to the East

The Giant possesses a strength that rivals the power of destiny. It is a force sufficient to change the course of nations.
  Meaning: Towering strength. The power to shape destiny itself. A fulcrum through which strength can be magnified. The endurance of stones and mountains. A rival whose challenge you must meet. A turning point on which the fate of many hangs.
  Reversed: Careless strength. Catastrophic destruction proceeding from random actions. Uncontrolled appetite. A powerful bully holding many in fear. A coming disaster.
 

XIV. The Donjon of the Ash

Even within the Hells of the Ash, the Donjon is desolate, a cleft in the stone sealed by imperishable bars.
  Meaning: Captivity at the hands of enemies. Punishment. A prison cell with your name on the door. The keeper of the keys or the guardian at the exit. A place of imprisonment and torment. A portal barred from the outside.
  Reversed: Freedom. Amnesty. A broken lock that ends an incarceration. A prisoner who rules the prison. A door barred from the inside.
 

XV. The Mage of the Arcane

The Mage has not only learning, but the means to apply it. The staff of the Mage is a lever, transforming small forces into great ones.
  Meaning: The application of long study. A lever; the magnification of force. An unchalleneged master of their art. Shared teachings guide many hands to work in concert on a single task. A lineage of craft, master and students.
  Reversed: Misused teachings. Unintended consequences. A dispute regarding the correct application of learning. A charlatan with unearned authority. A servant greater than the master.
 

XVI. The Tower of Pride

The Tower of Pride stands tall, but lacks strength, bending in the winds of fate and threatening always to topple. Unearned certainty leads to disaster.
  Meaning: Endeavours long worked for undone in a moment. A disaster. Shipwreck. The failure of all of your works. A calamity which destroys those things you most hold dear. A downfall long suspended. An avatar of utmost destruction.
  Reversed: Widespread devastation. A narrow escape. A treasure saved from the wreckage. Salvation in humility.
 

XVII. The Celestial

A spirit of the Corona, bright of aspect and great of power, holds the emblems of law and justice.
  Meaning: The Corona. The absolutes of law and inflexible morality. Choices and the consequences that proceed from them. A keeper of the law. A voice in the Eternal Song. A wrong that you must make right. Justice.
  Reversed: A hunt. A bounty. To have all hands turned against you. A hunter who pursues without mercy or cruelty.
 

XVIII. The Elemental

The primal spirit of the Elemental realms bears the fury of nature roused and unleashed.
  Meaning: The primal realms. Nature. Outbursts of elemental force and the dissolution of the material. A place of elemental power, or a wielder of immense, primal power and authority. The wrath of nature.
  Reversed: Elemental cataclysm: Storms, earthquakes, volcanoes. Uncontrolled elemental power. Unnatural intrusions into the primal domain.
 

XX. The Fiend

The spirits of Ash and Otherfire rise from below, opposed by the infernal forces of the Hells and the will of TO.
  Meaning: The Ash. The opposition of law and chaos. The rigidity of the infernal. A contract most dire. An agent of the Infernal Hierarchy. A path that leads to the Hells. Bound by an agreement. Power with a price. Hellfire. A devil.
  Reversed: Oathbreaking. Chaos unleashed. Bloodlust. A demon. An incursion of the demonic.
 

XIX. The Comet of VA

The Comet brings the gaze and the power of VA, the Hunger of the Nothing, into the world. It is to be feared.
  Meaning: Hunger. Destruction. A need that supercedes all others and lures you to betrayals. An all-consuming egoism. The ultimate foe; an enemy from beyond the bounds of creation. The enemies of all things divine, primal and material.
  Reversed: Being consumed. The horror of undeath. Otherfire. A follower of the Outer Dark. Abominations and aberrations.