Omens

A gray Seattle day in January.  Not raining, but rain threatening.  Not cold, but colder than yesterday.  Cats comatose, lying about the house. 

I had plenty of sleep last night, but after lunch I felt drowsy and lay down for a quick "power nap."  After drifting off for maybe ten minutes, I awoke with a start.

I'm not sure I'd been dreaming.  But at the time I woke up, I had a large Ace of Spades filling my entire field of vision.  "Huh!" I thought to myself, and drifted off again.  I again awoke with a start.  And another huge Ace of Spades.

I don't believe in fortune telling, or tarot, or horoscopes.  Or, for that matter, studying the flights of birds or the entrails of chickens, or the casting of runes. I believe that the universe, at least as far as it is observable to mankind, proceeds in an orderly fashion.  Cause and effect.  Yeah, I'm big on cause and effect.  On Newtonian physics, at least where quantum physics and relativity don't require otherwise.

Still.  It was a giant Ace of Spades.  Undisputedly.   And twice, within, say five minutes.

The image looked ominous, but what do I know?  I looked up its meaning, as understood by those canny in the art and science of fortune telling.

Ace of Spades Misfortune; sometimes associated with death or, more often, a difficult ending.

That's the fast and dirty description given by a simplified "Fortune Telling for Dummies" article.  A more detailed explanation is given by a more professional and "scientific" article:

The Ace of Spades is known for being baleful and sinister, and there is certainly some basis for this reputation. It's essential meaning links it with the ancient concept of karma and destiny, however. Certain things must come into being, or pass away, for they are part of the larger pattern decreed by fate. In the ancient Greek worlds the three Fates (Atropos, Clotho and Lachesis) answered to no one, but sat spinning the thread of destiny over which even the gods had no influence.

Similarly, the Ace of Spades cannot lightly be dismissed. In its most positive manifestation it promises worldly power and influence, but at a price. Generally, it augurs a challenging phase ahead, in which obstacles must be overcome by the power of positive thinking, faith in oneself and, if necessary, a stoic acceptance of present difficulties and reversals of fortune. This is not a good time to initiate any kind of legal battle, nor to expect a favorable outcome to any kind of dispute.

 Equally ominous, perhaps, but with some caveats.  Worldly power and influence?  I like the sound, but I think not.  I suspect I've passed the age when that is possible.  But challenging times ahead?  Now that I can accept.

I offer you my weird phantasm, primarily as a hedge against the future.  Abraham Lincoln may or may not have had dreams that foretold his imminent death.  Maybe everyone has similar dreams all the time, and wisely dismisses them.  Wisely, because such dreams mean nothing and nothing comes of them.  But when you're the President, dreams give way to myths and myths become enshrined in our collective consciousness.

Still.  The Ace of Spades.  I didn't have to read anything about fortune telling to sense that the news wasn't good.  I've been procrastinating in updating my will.  Not good.  And maybe I should double my Vitamin D intake.

If anything unfortunate happens to me in the near future ... well, I warned you..