
One conspicuous feature of the Wild Card are the pictures in their golden frames. Because in the actual, printed card these pictures are so small that they are a bit hard to see, I’d like to offer a few close-ups and explanations here.
In general, the picture frames and their contents visualise that the Joker can stand for any issue we want them to, for any issue we maybe should pay attention to but don’t pay attention to, yet. And to visualise that even issues we try our best to ignore will still start to leak into our consciousness whether we want them to or not, I had some of the paintings “leak over their frames” into the Joker’s cosy room.
Most obviously, so much sand has already been trickling out of the painting in the top right corner that it has begun to turn the Joker’s room into the same type of sand dune.
This sand dune, by the way, was part of the first version of the Anna.K Lenormand Sun! This first version showed a peaceful sandy beach, with a person made of sand lying smiling, looking up at a glowing sun. It was quite lovely, but it really wasn’t a good Sun. So I ended up discarding that version – but I was very happy when I found a place for it in the Wild Card.
In the top left corner of the Wild Card, there is a picture of a stormy sea and a mountain – these are taken from the Ship card. So this picture frame could be speaking of the things which are in motion, of things that we are exploring. Droplets sprinkle over the frame and towards the two oval picture frames to its right.
The bigger one of these two oval frames shows a similar “trees and fog” landscape as seen in the Tower and the Key. In both cards, the fog represents formerly unclear things we have learned to clear / understand. Here, the fog creeps out of the frame – maybe representing things that are still unclear.
The smaller oval frame shows glowing sunlight which emanates beyond the frame. Just as the Sun card, it could represent growing clarity, conspicuity.
If you are familiar with my two Men and Women you’ve probably already noticed that the blooming trees in the backgrounds of these cards also show up in the long picture frame behind the Joker’s head in the Wild Card. I wanted the blooming trees to feature in the Wild Card, too, to directly connect the Joker with the other person cards.
There are several picture frames to the Joker’s right. With one of them, only the back is visible. Three of them show small sections of their front.
The first one shows clouds, and in this context, to me they hint at dullness. For in contrast, behind them, the second frame shows the same pomegranates that also feature in the Snake card. These pomegranates represent desire and ambition. If you look closely (at the whole Wild Card), one berry has rolled outside of the frame.
The third painting shows parts of the a house – you can clearly see that it very closely resembles the one in the House card. So this picture frame could be representing our home and family.
To the Jokers left, there is a rather richly carved picture frame containing fish – one of them is jumping out of the frame. In the Fish card, the fish represent fulfilment, profit, wealth.
So the frame with the fish in it maybe speaks of those things in our life of which we have plenty.
The frame lying on the floor right underneath it points at the opposite: at that of which we have too little. It shows a scene taken from the Mice card, including two mice. One has already climbed over the frame, ready to enter the Joker’s room, possibly about to nibble away at the other frames, too.
The biggest picture frame shows a larger-than-life cat. It represents the unknown factor, things which are yet unrealised or indeterminable. The large cat’s realness is even more ambivalent than what the other picture frames show. She can either be seen as just an overdimensioned painting of a normal sized cat, in which case hers is just one painting among many. Or, she can be seen as an actual living cat. Especially if you flip the card it seems as if a gigantic wild cat was looking in from a skylight.
If you haven’t yet read my full explanation of the Wild Card’s image you can check it out >> on my website.
WOW…the intricacies of this image captivate me. Thank you for your blog and the depth you add in writing about how you came to create the images! I think this card is BRILLIANT and goes way beyond (or into) the dynamics of the unknown and how it can impact our lives…best joker EVER!! Great job!!
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Thank you! I think all in all it took about half a year from the first vague concept to the finished card. At first I only knew there was something I wanted, but not what, exactly. So I could but wait and let it simmer, let awareness grow by itself, without actively pushing it. After a few weeks or months, I’d then discover what this something was, and how I might visualise it – but that usually led to another vague inkling, and so on. As is so often the case the evolutionary history of the card’s image reflects its meaning!
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