flicker of amber light from the anbaric protomix. These are the essential elements of the Imperium, and, to all those brave explorers who venture upon the path of discovery, we offer these words from the Divine Sator written in the years of awe 247–299*:
Those who seek are blessed by the Gods of the Machine, and by the Divine Artificers; those who turn away their eyes and close their ears, learn nothing and remain without movement. They are like broken escapements in the divine world of the Horologer. But to those who find the jewels of light that lie within the great work, they shall be blessed and progress to the very heights of the Imperium.
THE WARDS OF INFINITE WISDOM
The following Manifesto (see overleaf ), also known as the “Compact of the Leagues,” was issued by the Guild of Artificers, drawn from all four of the Leagues of the Imperium. All aeronauts, engineers, aquanauts, and navigators in this world, together with the artists and scientists, philosophers and diviners, hold this as their central tenet. The Steampunk Tarot has been formulated to follow the philosophy of the machine outlined here. We invite you to take it to heart.
* Anbaric Wisdom Era is the year count of the Imperium, the equivalent—we are informed—of 62 CE elsewhere.
• MANIFESTO •
of
The Guild of Artificers
The perfection of knowledge collected from the book of nature has ever been at the heart of all professors of the arts and sciences. The pursuit of whatever gives a clearer light and demystifies the truth is the lantern by which each lady and gentleman has made their way upon the path to wisdom. Whatever gives promise of a greater or purer light has drawn inventors, engineers, and practitioners of the many arts and sciences to expend their skills and energies to perfect a better beacon by which all beings may walk without stumbling.
In this age of enterprise, we draw our inspiration from the treasury of the aeons to both rediscover and to spring forward into ages yet undreamed. For, though much has been discovered, there is yet more to be rediscovered. Many of our number courageously pursued the light of truth in ages when the microcosm was but dimly lit by occasional sparks from the great machine. Those of our guild bravely labored amid barbaric ruins to achieve what the world now enjoys.
Lovers of wisdom and followers after the truth together hold the axiom that knowledge is for the benefit of all. To that end is our whole labor and care.
The light of the soul shines in all, but when many souls combine, that light shines even brighter. With knowledge and wisdom before us, we expect the rising of a greater illumination, as individuals and nations join together to increase the number and respect of our guild, and to partake with us in the treasures of this universe so that all may benefit.
The philosophy of our guild is no new invention, but has been received by every generation since time was first counted. Many ladies and gentlemen of high renown have wisely imparted these teachings through the aperture of their intelligent understanding, and are in agreement with each other through time and space. In every part of the universe, the truth of knowledge is peaceable and incontrovertibly itself. When this concord is experienced, it makes the whole universe one.
But when knowledge is abused or put to the servility of coining wealth for a few, without respect of the treasury which all inherit, then humanity departs from the machine and all is toil without profit. For the false-hearted who would tear knowledge apart, diminishing the light and shielding its beams from us, would make mechanicals of us all.
Those who serve knowledge will ever find each other, whatever the differences of time, place, or language. With hearts and minds as one, they set their hands upon the mainspring of life, making it all their service. This guild shall thus endure through countless ages, as it has ever done, remaining untouched and hidden from the destroyers of knowledge.
♦ PART ONE ♦
EXPLORING THE IMPERIUM
The Shape of the Tarot
“Would that it were possible for you to get wings, and soar into the air, and, poised midway between earth and heaven, behold the earth’s solidity, the sea’s fluidity, its flowing streams, the spaciousness of air, fire’s swiftness, and the coursing of the stars, the swiftness of heaven’s circuit round them all! Most blessed sight were it, my son, to see all these beneath one sway – the motionless in motion, and the unmanifest made manifest; whereby is made this order of the cosmos and the cosmos which we see of order.”
Corpus Hermeticum, Book 5
Preparing to Land
Your airship is finally about to overfly the capital city of the Imperium. What do you see when you look down from the gondola of your craft? As the clouds clear, your eyes are drawn to a four-square city with a round temple-like structure at its heart. This is where the Gods of the Machine abide, you are told. They are the sacred presences who keep the machine of life turning in this world. Around the temple, four pyramid-like structures are erected. Your guide tells you that these are the Guild-Houses of the aeronauts, engineers, aquanauts, and navigators. They are not really pyramids at all, but are built as four tetraktii. Within each of these is found the headquarters of the Legates who answer to the Gods of the Machine.
You know that the Imperium and your own world have a common origin but that somewhen, things diverged. Recent technology has made your visit here possible, and you are itching to explore this world that has so much that is like your own and yet which is so different. They say that some things are very familiar to visitors, while others seem almost historical or futuristic. Technology has diverged and developed in different ways, and you are going to explore just how.
Your guide gives into your hands a pack of cards. She says, “Before landing, perhaps you might wish to acquaint yourself with our world? The Imperium is represented by the images of the seventy-eight cards in this box. These are the twenty-two Gods of the Machine, the forty cards of the Four Leagues, and their sixteen Legates. We regard each of these cards as a teacher and a guide.” As the cards spill from their box into your lap, you see that this is a tarot pack, similar but different from those that you know. You may be already acquainted with its symbolic language and you wonder who will be your guide to this world. Pick a card that seems to speak to you—the one that attracts your gaze and makes your skin tingle. Just hold it and regard it. Let it be your guide to the world into which you are about to step.
The Gods of the Machine
The Gods of the Machine cards (numbered 0 to XXI) represent the heart of the Imperium. They are the Major Arcana of this tarot and they form the matrix of the machine. Their primal impulses beat out the determining rhythm to power this world, and their influences course through every artery of the Imperium. Each is an actor in the temple of the machine which keeps the world turning. From them, all wisdom stems and flows out to all parts of this world. They are the primary gateways for powerful forces that affect everything in a long-term and profound way. (See panel opposite for the Steampunk Tarot Gods.)
You experience the Gods of the Machine both personally, as your inner life is geared round by seemingly outer events, and also systemically, as your whole outer environment becomes drawn into their bigger drama. As you change, so does your outer world; this is why the Gods of the Machine are the shape-changers of the Imperium. They are the essential fuel in your vehicle, giving you different kinds of performance.
In each Gods of the Machine card entry in Part Two, look under Gate of opportunity, Gear-change, and Blockages to clear for the specific outlines of each power in your life (see The Language of the Machine, overleaf, for further insight).
The Steampunk Major Arcana
Many of the tarot names