1
Rider
A horse, a rider, word to bring. What is coming has already taken wing.
News, a visit, speed
Something is on its way. The Rider is a message, a person arriving, or a development that shows up sooner than you expected.
Le Petit Jeu
Introduction
How to play
You do not need to have seen these cards before. Le Petit Jeu is a simple introduction to the Game of Hope, the board these thirty-six pictures first belonged to.
Open the deck and look at one picture. The name is what the card is. The two lines under it are a rhyme, to help it stay.
Then open Reading. Write a question if you want. Press a size. The cards that appear are the answer. Read them from left to right, the way you read a sentence.
Five cards also say yes or no. Red means yes. Black means no. Hearts and diamonds are red. Clubs and spades are black. The small mark at the top right of each card is that suit. The word under the five cards is the vote.
2
Clover
Three leaves of luck, and quickly gone. Take the small chance, or not for long.
A small chance, light luck
A modest piece of luck, not a fortune. Take the opening while it is small. It passes if you wait.
3
Ship
Sails up, and the shore behind. The matter moves. The end is still to find.
Travel, distance, trade
Movement away from where you stand: a trip, a transfer, or business that crosses a distance. The result is still in transit.
4
House
The house is where the question stays. Ask the rooms, and not the public ways.
Home, family, safety
The private sphere: the place you live, the people who count as family, and what feels settled. It asks what is happening indoors, literally or not.
5
Tree
The tree is slow. The roots are deep. Health and time are what you keep.
Health, roots, slow growth
Health, ancestry, and anything that grows on its own clock. The Tree is patient. A problem here is old, or it needs time rather than force.
6
Clouds
A dark cloud, and a lighter one. Do not decide until the doubt is done.
Confusion, doubt, mixed signals
The air is unclear. You do not have the facts yet, or two moods are fighting. Do not sign, promise, or diagnose until the sky lifts.
7
Snake
The snake will not take the straight way. A clever turn, or one that strays.
A complication, a detour
A winding path, a sophisticated problem, or a person who does not say the plain thing. Desire can live here too, but it is rarely simple.
8
Coffin
A closed box. The matter ends. Illness, rest, or what the past suspends.
An ending, rest, a closed door
Something is over, ill, or ready to be put down. It is not a horror card by itself. It is a full stop, a sickbed, or an empty place where a thing used to be.
9
Bouquet
Blooms together, ribbon tied. Something kind is on your side.
A gift, charm, an invitation
Something pleasant is offered: a gift, a compliment, an invitation, or a repair of goodwill. It is social and usually welcome.
10
Scythe
The scythe decides and does not wait. What it cuts will not keep its shape.
A sudden cut, a decision
A swift removal. The Scythe is a decision that does not linger, an accident, a harvest, or a break you did not schedule. What is cut does not grow back in the same shape.
11
Whip
The rods repeat the same hard word. Practice, or a quarrel heard.
Conflict, practice, strain
Repeated effort, an argument, or words that land hard. It can be training and discipline, or the same fight on a loop. Notice which one you are in.
12
Birds
Two birds, and both of them will speak. Talk, and the worry at its peak.
Talk, nerves, a pair
Voices. A conversation, a negotiation, gossip, or the anxious chatter in your own head. Often two people, or one worry said many times.
13
Child
The child is small and just begun. Give it time. It is not yet the sun.
A start, something small
New, small, or inexperienced. A beginning, a literal child, or an approach that is still innocent of the risks. Do not load it with adult weight yet.
14
Fox
The fox is clever, and at work. Trust the craft. Question the smirk.
Work, caution, skill
Job, craft, and self-interest. The Fox is clever and not always warm. In work questions it is the job itself. Elsewhere, check whether someone is being strategic with you.
15
Bear
The bear is broad, and guards the store. Strength, a boss, the weight behind the door.
Strength, a boss, resources
Weight and protection. A manager, a parent figure, savings, or sheer stamina. The Bear can shelter you or overwhelm you. Size matters here.
16
Stars
The stars are quiet, and they steer. Hope is a bearing, not a year.
Hope, guidance, a clear sky
Direction after dark. The Stars are hope, a plan that inspires, healing of the spirit, or a wider view. They do not rush. They orient.
17
Stork
The stork has lifted from its ground. A change, a move, an upward round.
Change, a move, improvement
A change that lifts. Relocation, a new season, pregnancy in some questions, or an improvement you can already feel arriving. The Stork does not stay perched.
18
Dog
The dog sits near and does not leave. A friend. The loyalty you can believe.
A friend, loyalty
Someone who is on your side, or the quality of faithfulness itself. The Dog is rarely a trick. If trust is the question, this card leans yes.
19
Tower
A narrow tower, set apart. The rule is high, and so is the lonely heart.
Authority, solitude, an institution
A large structure: the law, a company, a government, or an ambitious lonely height. It can mean official rules, or being set apart from ordinary life.
20
Garden
A garden path the town can see. What happens here is company.
The public, a gathering
Life outside the house. An audience, a party, a network, a park, customers. What happens here is seen by more than one person.
21
Mountain
The mountain will not move this week. Go round, or wait. The pass is steep.
A block, a delay
Something large is in the way. The Mountain is a delay, a stubborn person, or a problem that will not move this week. Go around it, or wait. Do not pretend it is a hill.
22
Crossroads
Two roads cross. The sign has two ways. The choice is open. The card will not say.
A choice, more than one path
You are at a decision, or the situation has alternatives. The Crossroads is not the choice made. It is the fact that more than one road is open.
23
Mice
The mice are small, and never few. They take by nibbling, not one blow.
Loss, worry, something eaten away
Diminishment. Stress, theft, spoilage, or a resource leaking. The Mice are small and many. The damage is from gnawing, not from one clean blow.
24
Heart
The heart says yes to what it feels. It does not promise what is real.
Love, warmth, desire
Affection, romance, or the thing you actually care about. The Heart is a yes to feeling. It does not, by itself, promise that the feeling is wise or returned.
25
Ring
The ring comes round and holds its vow. A bond, a contract, then and now.
A promise, a contract, a cycle
A bond that repeats: marriage, a contract, an agreement, or a habit that comes around again. What is ringed is tied. Read the cards beside it to see whether the tie is welcome.
26
Book
The book is shut. The fact is in it. Study, or leave the secret in it.
A secret, study, the unknown
Information you do not have yet. A book, a course, a private fact, or a project still closed. Something must be learned or revealed before the picture is honest.
27
Letter
Wax and paper, folded tight. Believe the writing, not the talk of night.
A document, written news
Words made durable: an email, a contract draft, a result on paper, a text that matters. The Letter records. It is not the rumor. It is the written thing.
28
Man
A man stands in the question here. The cards beside him make him clear.
A man in the question
A specific man, or the masculine person at the center of the ask. If that is you, this card is the significator. The cards touching it describe his situation, not his whole character.
29
Woman
A woman is the person meant. Read what meets her, not a temperament.
A woman in the question
A specific woman, or the feminine person at the center of the ask. If that is you, read the neighboring cards as her circumstances. The card is a person, not a mood.
30
Lily
The lilies open, and not fast. Peace, and a pleasure meant to last.
Peace, maturity, quiet pleasure
Calm after experience. An older person, a peaceful spell, sensuality without hurry, or virtue that has settled. The Lily cools what is frantic.
31
Sun
The sun is day, and day is plain. A yes, a warmth, a visible gain.
Success, warmth, a yes
Daylight and a favorable result. Energy, confidence, recognition, or a plain yes. The Sun does not hide. If it touches a problem, the problem is visible and usually workable.
32
Moon
The crescent shows you as you feel. Then comes the name the dark reveals.
Feelings, reputation, the night
Emotion, intuition, and how you are seen. Recognition, romance in its moody form, creativity, or work that happens off the day-shift. Strong feelings, not always clear ones.
33
Key
The key is cut for this one door. What it touches matters more.
The answer, what matters
The important thing, the solution, or a door that is meant to open. The Key marks significance. Whatever it touches is not a side issue.
34
Fish
Two fish swimming, wealth in play. It gathers. It can swim away.
Money, business, flow
Cash, commerce, and abundance that moves. Consulting, trade, the sea in a literal question, or resources circulating. The Fish is plenty, and it can also slip away.
35
Anchor
The anchor holds the ship in place. Stay, if staying is your case.
Stability, work that lasts
What holds. A steady job, a commitment you will not drift from, or a period of staying put. The Anchor is heavy on purpose. Leave only if you mean to.
36
Cross
The cross is weight you did not choose. Carry it a while. It is not news.
A burden, a duty, a test
A weight you are meant to carry for a while: grief, faith, responsibility, or a hard lesson. It is not punishment by default. It is the part that is not optional.