Three major arcanas walk into a bar....

A gal posted this on another forum and I thought you might enjoy it!

© 2000 Tea Prentice

Three majors walk into a dark and crowded bar: The
Hierophant, the
Magician and the Fool. They sat down at a table and
Temperance served
them a pitcher of Mai Tais while a tipsy Empress
greeted each one
with a big hug and kiss. The fool couldn't help but
notice a robed
woman seated in the corner. In front of her was a
large dark brown
box inside a glowing sphere of white light which was
hovering above
the table.

"What's that!?" declared the Fool in wonder.

"That," said the Devil at the end of the bar as he lit
another
cigarette, "that is addictive."

The three Majors decided to go and get a closer look.
The woman
introduced herself simply as the High Priestess. The
Magician noticed
that the box had a door on top which was closed and
mentioned it to
his friends.

"What's inside?" asked the Hierophant.

"LIFE." replied the High Priestess.

"What is LIFE?" the Magician queried.

"Oh," sighed the Star wistfully, "it's anything you
want it to be."

"I like that," said the Fool.

The Magician looked at the surface of the table in
front of the High
Priestess and saw 78 cards spread out. Before he could
open his
mouth, the Priestess said "KEYS."

"Ahhhh," deduced the Magician, "these keys open the
way to life. I
wonder how it works!"

"Be careful," warned the Moon, "Things aren't always
how they appear."

"I'll unlock the box!" declared the Hierophant.

The Hierophant moved the Magician out of the way and
sat down at the
table across from the Priestess. "These keys," began
the
Hierophant, "are tools and instruments of my faith. If
I arrange them
according to my beliefs, I will certainly unlock it."

"Yes!" cried Strength, "Belief will surely do it!!"

"I like that." said the Fool.

So, the Hierophant began arranging the cards according
to his beliefs
and slowly began to build a tower around the sphere of
light,
positive in the feeling that it would act as a
conductor, focusing
the energies of his faith, and that power would unlock
the box. It
took him some time to pick and arrange just the right
cards and after
3 hours he finally placed the last card.

Boom!! There was a loud, thunderous crash and a flash
of light. The
card tower exploded and all the cards fell to the
ground.

The Magician laughed and moved the Hierophant out of
the way to take
his place.
"These keys," began the Magician, "are tools and
instruments of my
thoughts. If I arrange them according to the systems I
have worked
out in my head, I will certainly unlock it."

"Yes!" cried the Emperor, "A systematic order will
surely do it!"

"I like that." said the Fool.

So, the Magician began arranging the cards according
to his ideas in
three little piles, positive in his reasoning that if
he juggled the
correct combination around the sphere it would focus
the energies of
his thoughts and that would unlock the box. It took
him some time to
pick and arrange just the right cards and after 3
hours he finally
placed the last card and began to juggle them in
figure 8's.

Boom!! There was a loud thunderous crash and flash of
light. The card
configuration exploded and all the cards fell to the
ground.

The Magician shook his head and stood up leaving a
space for someone
else to try.

The Fool stepped forward and picked up all the cards.

"I like these." said the Fool and he put them in his
backpack.

The Fool then leaned forward, reached out, opened the
lid to the box
and fell in.

The Magician and the Hierophant stared at each other
in astonishment
and then looked back at the High Priestess.

She smiled and said, "I never said it was locked."

© 2000 Tea Prentice