Faeries Oracle

Card 62 - The Glanconer

Illusion. Delusion. Lust. Projection. Clear sight.

Have you ever noticed that when we really, really want someone or something, we tend to see it without clarity? The object of our lust looks flawless and glamourous, which should tell us something right away. But, usually, it doesn't.

He says his name is Smoothe Harry, but that may be a little illusion of his own. Unlike the Pook (Card 60), The Glanconer doesn't change his shape to tempt us with our own mental confusions and paradoxes. He simply wears a mirror in which we see our desires temptingly displayed. He doesn't try to fool us; he simply allows us to fool ourselves. Well he may try just a little, just to make the test a little more difficult. After all, we can be more proud of passing a difficult test than an easy one, can't we?

Smoothe Harry also appeals to our vanity - and the more we have of it, the easier his work is. A little flattery and we'll believe whatever he wants us to swallow - especially since it is just what we want to swallow anyway. Of all the faery challengers, Smoothe Harry is the most likely to be sly. He practices a sort of emotional judo where he lets our own desires lead us into a fall. As we rush headlong toward our vision of perfection, he need only step to one side as we cast ourselves at him - and down we go. Not fun. But, maybe, perhaps, we might just learn something from it.

Starter Reading

It is not good to make decisions when blinded by lust. Whether it is lust for a person, a thing, or an idea, we need to pause and take our time before making actual commitments. We need to read the fine print, check out the foundations, get a mechanic to test the so-beautiful secondhand car. If we are considering buying something, we can refuse to let ourselves be rushed into it and take time to make sure it is really what we think it is. If we are considering making a commitment to other people, we need to take our time and really get to know them much better. This is another lesson in seeing the truth behind a beglamoured surface, though in this case it is we who have cast the glamour.

Reversed

Someone is pretending to be other than they really are. They may even believe (or at least want to believe) their own deceit, but probably not. This pretense may be because they want to please others, because they lack the moral strength to present themselves and their ideas honestly, or because they simply hope to gain an advantage by fooling others. Sometimes people fool themselves into thinking they are better than others and it is therefore all right for them to deceive. Although that is invalid logic, it is not uncommon. Vanity can be involved here, especially vanity based on something we know deep down to be untrue. False words like unmeant apologies may arise, or we may claim that something means little to us when, in fact, it means a great deal.

The others involved in the situation need to wake up and notice what is really happening instead of allowing themselves to be fooled. The situation needs to be handled with care, lest the awakening have very explosive, destructive effects.

If the pretender is the querent, she urgently needs to begin to present her true self and true ideas before things get much worse - as they certainly will, with the ensuing crises being even more devastating. This is the time to call upon Honesty (Card 40) for aid!

"Faeries are profound - profoundly annoying."
-Brian

The Faery Challengers