Fortitude: a Roman general stands before his Caesar, with Roman soldiers in the background and a naked person on the floor behind his feet, presumably an important person he conquered on one of Rome’s far-flung campaigns. Upright Meanings: that strength of mind which enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage and stick-to-it-tive-ness. Doing whatever it takes to get the job done. Strength over the long-haul. Being rewarded for one’s fortitude. Reversed Meanings: weakness, indecisiveness, vacillation, cowardice, timidity, dastardliness; an inability to bear a challenging situation until victory is achieved, or to make a decision and stick with it, no matter what comes. An inability or unwillingness to devote one energies or make sacrifices to the pursuit of an end.
Fortune-a naked, blindfolded woman with a veil winding around her body hold two bags of money in her hands. A wheel rests against her left thigh. A spilled dice-cup and several playing cards lie on the ground to her right. On closer inspection, the card closest to her appears to be the Ace of Spades, which is a card of change. Upright Meanings: good fortune, a lucky break, a fortunate happenstance. Luck is with you. Now might be a good time to take a gamble or make a decision, since the energies of the Universe are working in your favor. Reversed Meanings: misfortune, bad luck, possible loss of money. Luck is not on your side right now, so don’t gamble, or make any decision which would constitute a gamble.
Friendship-two men in eighteenth-century garb are standing on a path, shaking hands with their right hands, while laying their left hands on their chests. Upright Meanings: friendship, agreement to work together, heart-felt pledges of ever-lasting friendly devotion, contracts, pledges of assistance, being accepted as ‘one of us’. Reversed Meanings: a friendship sours, or ends; people who were formerly friends become enemies; being ousted from a circle of friends; people who become friends for bad or nefarious reasons; the ‘mean girls’ or the ‘cool kids’ clique at school; a bully and his posse of friends; an agreement to form a crime syndicate. Friendly enemies. Or enemy-friends.
Garden-a garden with straight paths, neat plant beds, well-manicured trees, a fountain and an ornamental arch, seemingly the garden of a wealthy person. Upright Meanings: an actual garden, public park, forest preserve, or any public place, such as theatres or concert venues, where people meet, gather, see, and be seen. Public lands. Reversed Meanings: a private place, such as someone’s property; or formerly-public land which has been declared, and sold, as private property; a bad contract. Meeting in a public place for nefarious purposes; something bad happening in a public place.
Gentleman-an eighteenth-century gentleman, outfitted with a sword and a cane, looking to the left while gesturing with his left hand to the right. Upright Meanings: anyone of the male gender. An honest, sincere person of upright morals, since the card is its upright position. A decent fellow. Reversed Meanings: a person of bad morals, oossibly a criminal of some kind, an untrustworthy person. This man could be an enemy of the inquirer. A bad man.
Gluttony-an obese man in rich clothing kneels on a fat tuffet and gazes up, as if in worshipful prayer, at a game fowl, a lobster, a terrapin and a leg of venison hanging from hooks on a wall above his head. Upright Meanings: an actual glutton; someone who overindulges in anything; someone who already has more than enough to live on, but wants and feel he deserves more; greed; someone with an eating disorder; addition. Reversed Meanings: scarcity after a long period of abundance; a greedy person who finds themselves cut off from their former source of abundance, or their ‘fix’; someone forced to go on a ‘diet’ of some kind, either literal or figurative. You overindulged, and now comes The Big Hurt, along with a little shame at having lost control of yourself. You resolve to do better–until the next time it happens.
Gratitude-a lion caught in a net is talking to a mouse. A tree stretches over the lion’s head, and there appears to be a pond in the foreground. Upright Meanings: Gotcha! You’ve been caught! Gratitude, or the need for it; help or assistance may come from an unexpected quarter, so be prepared to swallow your pride and give it. Possibly a caution you’re walking into a trap. Be nice to everybody; you don’t know whose assistance you’ll need later. Reversed Meanings: Escape from a trap. Ingratitude; being helped and expressing no thanks. Giving your ‘rescuer’ no credit for the assist. Being too proud to accept help, or to say ‘thanks’. Preferring to stay trapped, rather than accept assistance, for that would put you in another’s debt—and you’re not sure you’ll like what they demand as payment.
Harlequin or Player-a clown on the right appears to be clutching his midsection and laughing as a masked player in costume runs up to him from the left side of the picture. The clown’s right arm is obscured under a drape and the player appears to have a sword or stick holstered on his left side. Upright Meanings: a person or persons who are playing a role—they are not what they appear to be, and what they say to you may not be what they really mean, or where their real priorities lie; a situation which is not as it appears to be; a set-up, a play in which you are one of the players, but don’t realize it—this situation is not for your benefit; someone is trying to fool you. Reversed Meanings: the players and/or clowns are unmasked and their true identities made known; the ‘play’ is interrupted and brought to a swift end; the real situation is revealed; a deception is exposed. The inquirer may find out what the harlequin or player wanted from them.