The shaman smiles at you and offers a bowl full of twisted bits of paper. "It's midwinter, please take a blessing."
You reach in and pull one out, and untwist it to reveal a red hard candy, brushed with sugar. One of the children playing nearby whispers, none too quietly, to a friend, "I thought only children got candy!"
But Bai Kunabei is already reaching into her bag, pulling out a palm-sized disk of iron, with bright enameling showing an older person, of indeterminate gender, with children on his or her lap. "Ah, the nature of your problem--or at least, your situation. This is the Grandparent, the sheltering aspect of people. It represents your family, or perhaps a mentor or sponsor. If you don't have such a person aiding you in your endeavor, you should ask, because there are people willing to back you. And the skills you need for this project?" She reaches into the bag, and draws out a copper disk, the bright enamels depicting a metalsmith hard at work. "The artist. The skills of your hands and mind, the appreciation of beauty and utility. Useful things need not be ugly, of course, though not everyone appreciates that. But for this endeavor, I venture to say they must not be ugly, that leaving them unpolished will mean they don't suit their purpose."
A ball-like object sails toward the bowl of papers, and Kunabei's hand moves suddenly to catch it. A skinny girl runs up, apologizing. "You must be more careful, Vlaritaa. If you throw away your ball whistle in the mountains, you could be left unprotected when a wraith shows up." The girl looks at the burnt metal ball hanging from the shaman's prayer staff, and blushes. "Yes, Bai."
The shaman turns back to you. "And finally, the abstract aspects, the perspective of your thoughts that will aid you in this endeavor."
She pulls out a bronze disk, on which is a bright mandala of images: A flower, in the center, with tiny animals, seeds, trees, and, around the edge, stylized people in a chain, something like paper dolls. "Life. Interesting. Your abstract disk is one of the natural concepts. Remember that everything is interrelated, taking out even one bit leaves a hole."
She lets the three metal disks sit there for a moment, so you can look at them. "And don't forget your blessing. That scamp there will try to talk you into giving it to him; it's your blessing, you can do what you will with it, but I advise you to not simply give it away. Trade it, if you so choose, for something you need, or something you will treasure." ____________________________________
Welcome, and thank-you to your friend for sending you here. As to your other query, today, I would prefer a tip, but perhaps next time we can trade readings. I am eager to have a more reliable laptop.
no subject
You reach in and pull one out, and untwist it to reveal a red hard candy, brushed with sugar. One of the children playing nearby whispers, none too quietly, to a friend, "I thought only children got candy!"
But Bai Kunabei is already reaching into her bag, pulling out a palm-sized disk of iron, with bright enameling showing an older person, of indeterminate gender, with children on his or her lap. "Ah, the nature of your problem--or at least, your situation. This is the Grandparent, the sheltering aspect of people. It represents your family, or perhaps a mentor or sponsor. If you don't have such a person aiding you in your endeavor, you should ask, because there are people willing to back you. And the skills you need for this project?" She reaches into the bag, and draws out a copper disk, the bright enamels depicting a metalsmith hard at work. "The artist. The skills of your hands and mind, the appreciation of beauty and utility. Useful things need not be ugly, of course, though not everyone appreciates that. But for this endeavor, I venture to say they must not be ugly, that leaving them unpolished will mean they don't suit their purpose."
A ball-like object sails toward the bowl of papers, and Kunabei's hand moves suddenly to catch it. A skinny girl runs up, apologizing. "You must be more careful, Vlaritaa. If you throw away your ball whistle in the mountains, you could be left unprotected when a wraith shows up." The girl looks at the burnt metal ball hanging from the shaman's prayer staff, and blushes. "Yes, Bai."
The shaman turns back to you. "And finally, the abstract aspects, the perspective of your thoughts that will aid you in this endeavor."
She pulls out a bronze disk, on which is a bright mandala of images: A flower, in the center, with tiny animals, seeds, trees, and, around the edge, stylized people in a chain, something like paper dolls. "Life. Interesting. Your abstract disk is one of the natural concepts. Remember that everything is interrelated, taking out even one bit leaves a hole."
She lets the three metal disks sit there for a moment, so you can look at them. "And don't forget your blessing. That scamp there will try to talk you into giving it to him; it's your blessing, you can do what you will with it, but I advise you to not simply give it away. Trade it, if you so choose, for something you need, or something you will treasure."
____________________________________
Welcome, and thank-you to your friend for sending you here. As to your other query, today, I would prefer a tip, but perhaps next time we can trade readings. I am eager to have a more reliable laptop.