15 Mystery L
"The larger the island of knowledge,
the longer the shoreline of wonder." Ralph W. Sockman
KEY WORDS
Explore
Question
Unknown
Alien
Curiosity
Play
VIDEO
MEANING
There are mysteries ahead. Light your torch, and step into the unknown. Hidden treasure, hidden traps, hidden stories. Speak the question that is on your mind aloud. Shout it and listen to what the echo tells you. Seek out the unusual, the marginalised, the underrepresented and get to know it. "Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible." Richard Feynman.
Nurture your spirit of curiosity. Be like a tours visiting your daily life for the first time. See ourselves as others see us. Explore yourself, others, and the world around us in good humour, and in kindness. Summon your spirit of adventure. "This is the real secret of life -- to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realise it is play." Alan Watts
OBJECTS
Bat (Dark) See beyond the most obvious - look deeper than first appearances.
Note (Air) Listen to strange music. Talk with the people whose voices you don't often hear.
Butterfly (Earth) Keep moving forwards. Some things you didn't think possible will become real.
Fork (Fire) A call to adventure can be refused, but a quest awaits for whoever is bold enough to accept.
Poison (Dark) Curiosity is very different to suspicion. Beware of toxic unchecked assumptions.
Match (Fire) A spark of curiosity lights a passion for learning which will enlighten your path ahead.
THE MAGIC SEAL
THE ART
This is a place where Andrea can write a description of some of the artistic influences in the card - whether it is references to other artworks, or whether it talks about how the design leads your eye, or choices that he took whilst designing this card, and also the animation.
To the right is space for another image, which could be a close-up of an important detail, or it could be a famous painting, or it could show when two cards connect this could be an image of Powerful & Powerless, or of Happiness & Melancholy etc.
AUGMENTED REALITY
The AR video shows the moment our explorer crosses the door... without showing what is beyond the threshold. We only see what our imagination creates for us: a new world waiting to be discovered! Glimpses of gold in the darkness... or is it a star? Dancing mummies or are they idols? Sometimes it's better not to solve a mystery, and let it keep fascinating us with its magic!
THE MUSE
Kiki Lovechild is an extraordinary talent. A clown, a boylesque artiste, a cabaret comedian, he specialises in bringing the audience with him on an adventure into the unknown. Whether he is hunting a rare butterfly in the audience, finding new meaning and mischief in the most unexpected places (Total Eclipse of the Heart?!), or staging an elaborate bank heist, we can't help but be drawn into his world. His insatiable curiosity is infectious.
There is great joy in mysteries, in the things that couldn't be planned-for, and in amongst the whimsical moments or surreal absurd happenings that can only be orchestrated by a genius, or a clown, or by someone who is both. We must never be afraid to invent new rules.
Have you noticed Kiki appears elsewhere in Oracolarium: Fear and Lust. They for a trio of cards which explore our relationship with things or people or places that are "other" and different to what we're used-to. How do you usually engage with the things at the very edge of your comfort zone, or those that are just out of reach?
THE MUSIC
A growl of suspicion rumbles under the intrepid adventurer's theme. On a quest into unchartered territory, the melody is a bittersweet mixture of major and minor, of hopes and fears, of light and shadow. The wind instruments fill the sails of the ship. The strings lead a heroic melody that battles on against the odds into mysterious horizons. The piano and percussion play supporting roles - the Watson to Holmes, or perhaps the Renfield to Dracula. What will be discovered on this journey into the mysterious?
LINKS TO GO DEEPER
For a movie experience of true mystery, lose yourself in the incredible Memento movie (trailer on YouTube), or attend one of the most mysterious plays by watching The Mousetrap (official West End trailer).