before i spoke like this

before i thought like this

before i trusted my own knowing

these cards were how i learned to listen

i created them when i had nothing else

no books

no tools

no system to lean on

they were written on the backs of old playing cards

inked with whatever pen i had

pulled in silence when there was nowhere else to look

that constraint mattered

nothing was polished

nothing was theoretical

each card came from direct contact with what was present

emotion instinct avoidance truth

i used them in the years where things were loud unclear and fractured

not as prophecy

not as comfort

but as a way to sit with myself long enough to see what was actually happening

this deck is not the destination

it is a bridge

it is what carried me from then to now

from needing something external to learning how to hear myself

these cards are a tool for the in between

to support awareness not replace it

to reflect what is active so responsibility can follow

use them as a mirror

then move

they are not an excuse to stay

they are a way to see so you can go