The Tarot of Ikea
October 26, 2019 10:25 AM Subscribe
Like the universe, IKEA feels infinite. IKEA is a place of transition, a journey, a source of light and comfort, but also strife.
(H/T to Dan Hon on Twitter)
I got the magician reversed, the dowel reversed, the fool, and the Allen key. this means I'm going to try to stand up that Kallax before it says to because I can't figure out how to turn the Allen wrench otherwise and most of the dowels will break under the pressure while I stand there yelling as it falls apart out of my hands but I have some extra dowels & some wood glue so it'll be ok just kind of rickety & with glue stains.
posted by bleep at 12:25 PM on October 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by bleep at 12:25 PM on October 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
The images of the dowel and the allen key for two of the suits are almost symmetrical about a 180° rotation (not perfectly so, as you can see one of the ends but not the other), which means to tell if those are reversed, you have to either look closely, or look at the number/letter in the corners of the card. This seems suboptimal.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:31 PM on October 26, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:31 PM on October 26, 2019 [2 favorites]
This is great.
What do we think the minor arcana translates to from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck?
My best guess is:
Lamps = Wands
Sofas = Cups
Dowels = Swords
Allen Keys = Pentacles
posted by mostly vowels at 4:27 PM on October 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
What do we think the minor arcana translates to from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck?
My best guess is:
Lamps = Wands
Sofas = Cups
Dowels = Swords
Allen Keys = Pentacles
posted by mostly vowels at 4:27 PM on October 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
This seems suboptimal.
So does one of our IKEA nightstands. The drawer doesn’t quite sit flush when closed.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:31 PM on October 26, 2019 [3 favorites]
So does one of our IKEA nightstands. The drawer doesn’t quite sit flush when closed.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:31 PM on October 26, 2019 [3 favorites]
Damnit acb. I clicked in to drop the same link.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:20 AM on October 27, 2019
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:20 AM on October 27, 2019
That's weird, mostly vowels, I had a totally different set of equivalencies. On first read, it seemed really clear to me that:
Lamps = Swords (illumination, clarity, knowledge but also dark times and pain)
Sofas = Pentacles (material comfort, abundance, security)
Dowels = Cups (relationships, feeling, connectedness)
Allen Keys = Wands (action, change, transformation)
What's the reasoning behind your attributions?
posted by Acheman at 11:41 AM on October 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
Lamps = Swords (illumination, clarity, knowledge but also dark times and pain)
Sofas = Pentacles (material comfort, abundance, security)
Dowels = Cups (relationships, feeling, connectedness)
Allen Keys = Wands (action, change, transformation)
What's the reasoning behind your attributions?
posted by Acheman at 11:41 AM on October 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
To be clear, that's a serious, non-rhetorical question; nothing relaxes me as much as a friendly discussion of which things correspond to which other things.
posted by Acheman at 2:44 PM on October 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Acheman at 2:44 PM on October 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
I agree with your suits, Acheman. Those were my gut associations as well. I could see an argument being made for Allen Keys as Pentacles (projects, work, extending to finance) maybe, but Sofas fits better. Dowels are 100% Cups.
Swords is a difficult suit for me and I like the imagery of the Lamps a lot. Light casts shadows.
posted by Glier's Goetta at 3:48 AM on October 28, 2019
Swords is a difficult suit for me and I like the imagery of the Lamps a lot. Light casts shadows.
posted by Glier's Goetta at 3:48 AM on October 28, 2019
What's the reasoning behind your attributions?
Sure thing! I'm also going a lot by the Ikea Tarot author's description of these - that's what's in the quotes below.
Lamps = Wands
-"Upright, think of knowledge" Whenever I think of wands, I think of ideas and new projects. Lamps throw light on the new things to be done.
Sofas = Cups
-"comfort, home, safety" Can totally see where one would think Pentacles here, but I strongly equate home as a relational space, and have a tendency to equate Cups with domesticity and intimate relationships.
Dowels = Swords
-"Dowels hold things together, but when put under pressure the wrong way, they can split." This feels so swords energy for me - the idea of a double-edged sword. Swords can clarify and sculpt, but they can also go wrong when used with too much energy.
Allen Keys = Pentacles
-"action in the world" For me, a lot of action is in relationship to material security (Pentacles). I also think of Pentacles as what gives people the freedom to turn their energy inwards or outwards - and Allen Keys are definitely about shaping energy.
posted by mostly vowels at 7:30 PM on October 30, 2019
Sure thing! I'm also going a lot by the Ikea Tarot author's description of these - that's what's in the quotes below.
Lamps = Wands
-"Upright, think of knowledge" Whenever I think of wands, I think of ideas and new projects. Lamps throw light on the new things to be done.
Sofas = Cups
-"comfort, home, safety" Can totally see where one would think Pentacles here, but I strongly equate home as a relational space, and have a tendency to equate Cups with domesticity and intimate relationships.
Dowels = Swords
-"Dowels hold things together, but when put under pressure the wrong way, they can split." This feels so swords energy for me - the idea of a double-edged sword. Swords can clarify and sculpt, but they can also go wrong when used with too much energy.
Allen Keys = Pentacles
-"action in the world" For me, a lot of action is in relationship to material security (Pentacles). I also think of Pentacles as what gives people the freedom to turn their energy inwards or outwards - and Allen Keys are definitely about shaping energy.
posted by mostly vowels at 7:30 PM on October 30, 2019
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The Lovers is a card of togetherness, relationships, collaboration, and of course, love itself. Reversed it's an absence, a distance, a relationship that isn't working or needs to no longer be.
The latter reveals itself when someone says "Hey, let's assemble this nightstand together! It'll be fun!"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:41 AM on October 26, 2019 [2 favorites]