iPod arcana

A White Bear piqued my interest recently with her digital scatomancy... inspiring me to add a bit of mysticism to my apparently smug and self-satisfied usual commentary. The way it works is, you use your iPod as a divination device in conjunction with the Celtic Cross tarot configuration. Instead of tarot cards, you shuffle to the next song that comes up on your iPod! Voila, a very expensive Magic Eight Ball.

Come to think of it, I've actually been playing iPod divination ever since-- well, since I got my iPod in early 2004; I'd be walking down the street and I'd ask the iPod what I should do about a particular (boy) problem, or ask for a sign which could help with a particularly difficult decision. And the game itself is a descendant of the radio divination game I used to play in high school with my friends Renee, Noelle, and Kate: we would tune the radio to 99.9, "Love Songs at Night" and say "Ok, does so-and-so like me" and then Billy Joel's "Goodnight My Angel" would come on and we'd all go "awwwwwwww he likes you!"

Here's an explanation of what the difference cards in the Celtic Cross mean (taken from Byzant Mystical by way of Preposterous universe)



1 This covers you (or me, him, her or them, depending on who the reading is for)
2 This crosses you
3 The crowns you
4 This is beneath you
5 This is behind you
6 This is before you
7 Yourself
8 Your house
9 Your hopes and fears
10 What will come

So without further ado, I turn to my iPod and ask: am I stuck in the land of grevists for good?

1 The Covering: The important events, issues, attitudes or influences around the question or current situation: “Les Cactus” Jacques Dutronc. "Le monde entier est un cactus!" it's true, I feel totally buried by the prickliness of the French and their weird interpretation of democractic process (the minority disrupting the everyday life of the majority! the extremists overshadowing the moderates!)...

2 The Crossing: Current obstacles, problems, conflicts and opposition that the questioner must deal with: “Departure,” REM ...which makes me unsure if I should stay here

3 The Crown: The best that can be achieved or attained from current circumstances: Love Theme from “Romeo and Juliet” ...but at least I have my Romeo

4 The Root: Past events or influences that have played an important part in bringing about the current situation: “L’Amour,” Carla Bruni ...and it was love of France that brought me here to begin with

5 The Past: Events or influences from the more recent past that have influenced the present but are now passing away: “Cha cha cha” Jimmy Luxury ...was going through a sort of second adolescence, partying and hooking up, but that's calmed down over the last two months

6 The Future: Future events and fresh influences about to come into play that will operate in the near future: “Keeper of the Flame,” Nina Simone ...uh-oh. here's hoping this refers to my current flame.

7 The Questioner: The questioner's attitude and how they relate to the current situation: “Perfect Day”, Lou Reed

8 The House: How other people around the questioner affect and view matters in hand: “Lucha de gigantes” Nacha Pop ... "En un mundo descomunal/ siento tu fragilidad."

9 The Inside: The questioner's hopes, fears and expectations with regard to the question or the current situation: “Gigantic”, the Pixies ..."it's a big, big love"

10 The Outcome: The eventual outcome of events shown by the other cards: “Dolly Dagger”, Jimi Hendrix..."Been riding broomsticks since she was fifteen/ Blow out all the other witches on the scene."

(I must say I'm often suspicious of the iPod shuffle function's claim to randomness; can sheer chance determine the repetition of the term"gigantic" in numbers 8 and 9?)