Any thoughts on the 3 Tarot cards?
I've read through the forum and didn't see any threads regarding the Tarot Cards Bigby found in the business office, One of them with a guy lying there with swords sticking around can be collected so it must be of some use. So, any thoughts?
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For what it's worth, here's what the cards are supposed to mean in Tarot readings. (These interpretations may not be entirely accurate, but it's not like the stuff is real anyway. :P )
Strength: Fortitude of character, being able to rise above the obstacles in your way.
The Tower: Heavy changes and destruction. Usually carries a negative connotation, but can sometimes be interpreted as a good thing (e.g.: a bad part of your life being destroyed to make way for something better).
Ten of Swords: Extreme misfortune, basically the worst possible thing happening.
So, if these cards are Telltale's way of foreshadowing, we've got horrible things on the way and the death of something old, but in the end Bigby will manage to stay strong and overcome it.
There's many interpretations for Tarot Cards... some say that Strength rather represents the Inner Fight , inner power to change yourself. Then the Tower is usually Chaos , Destruction ... The tower comes before The Devil (in tarot cards). The Ten of Swords ... it's very hard to guess this one. However , generally the last card you pick in the Tarot Fortune Game symbolizes the final result , the inevitable fate.
So ... I would say the Ten of Swords symbolizes fate ... which is pretty disturbing if you think about it. (ten of swords = guy stabbed by 10 swords ... must be a painful death)
You can use the Taro card on the mirror
Yes I noticed that. The mirror doesn't care about Tarot at all, which is a small twist. By the way, Bigby mentioned a "Jack" when examining the cards, who might that be?
Seemed clear to me:
Strength: Wolf befriends woman.
The Tower: Woman is murdered.
Ten of Swords: Community (or some subset of it) turns against wolf.
Thanks for the input, I think that makes a lot of sense, the first to cards clearly shows a big wolf and a dead girl. Given that Bigby will turn into the giant wolf later, he probably becomes a public enemy of the fabletown at some point.
Did he say the last name? If not, I don't want to spoil it.
Going off what one user said..
I wonder how much they can really do with the story here. I haven't read the comics, but I know that Snow is alive in them so that ending came as quite a surprise. I really can't fathom where they're going from there, but it will either be really stupid or really clever - I'm betting on clever.
Maybe the whole story takes place in a Fables version of The Matrix? HMMMMMM!
One thing that I noticed is that the Strength and Tower cards are slightly different than are usually depicted in a traditional rider-waite deck. Strength is generally pictured as a woman holding a lion by the jaw, in the game she's holding wolf. I think the reasons for that are obvious. I assume the woman represents Snow. Especially because of the backstory with Snow and Bigby. Also, if you've read the comics (or if you read their backstory under the "Bigby's Mercy" entry), it makes even more sense.
The Tower is two people falling from a lightning struck tower in a traditional deck. Here, again, it's different. It's a woman lying on the ground in front of the tower while a man looks down in horror. Also, it was a prince and princess on the card in the game, correct? I had guessed that that was Faith & Lawrence, though it could have been Snow & Bigby again.
The Ten of Swords is basically how it usually is. Though, to me the figure on the card bore a resemblance to Bigby.
With it being 3 cards, this could symbolize a typical "Past, Present, Future" spread. The past is inner strength, fortitude, etc. The present could be the incident with the girl, the catastrophe that seemingly came out of nowhere and shook everything up. The future? Doesn't look good. Ruin, despair, possibly backstabbing or betrayal.
Also, was I the only one who found it interesting that those three cards were on Ichabod's desk? Why would he have them there? Just those three and not the whole deck? And, maybe we'll be seeing Jack soon, since he was mentioned.
...That seems to spoil more than just the first chapter of the game. >_>'
Nope, but the way Bigby puts it shows that this Jack guy is pretty badass.
All I know is, this cards represent something that is going to happen, good old Telltale sneaking in something that is useful, but you don't know how to use that information.
I think the same as you. But to me strength means that you have accept the death of someone, like Snow. The tower could be someone trying to get the spot of Wolf, to be the new sheriff. And the ten of swords shows a guy stabbed one the back. Probably a betrayal.
The Ten of Swords might have been foreshadowing Snow's death.
Seems to me there's also a much more literal and superficial interpretation to the last two. The second was Faith and the third was Lawrence.
anyone else notice that bigby takes the 3rd tarot card??? hmmmmmmmm
Keeping in mind that tarot cards are generally shown in sets of three because they represent a person's past, present and future and that their meanings tend to interact with each other, I have some interpretations:
The first card was "Strength" and it depicts Bigby's past. The image of a woman embracing a wolf seems to represent Bigby's relationship with Snow, and implies that she is a figure who has been a source of strength for Bigby in the past. Seeing as how he's already a semi-invulnerable powerhouse, this "strength" likely refers to his ability to control himself and do the right thing.
The second card was "The Tower" and it depicts Bigby's present. It shows a woman having fallen from a tower while a man looks on in horror. It's generally associated with sudden, catastrophic change and probably represents what ends up happening to Snow at the end of the episode. Basically, the source of strength that Bigby had come to rely upon is lost and as a result, he's more likely to lash out at others.
The third one is "The Ten of Swords" and it depicts Bigby's future. The image is of a man lying on the ground, stabbed by ten swords in his back. It pretty much means that the worst possible thing that could happen to Bigby is about to happen to him, potentially as an indirect result of the sudden, catastrophic change in his present. Based on the image, I would venture a guess that the "worst possible thing" that ends up happening is the entire Fabletown community turning on him, "stabbing him in the back." Combined with the other two, it could mean that Bigby's reaction to Snow's loss could cause him to do things that would alienate him from the town and cause them to turn on him.
If Bigby does get "stabbed in the back" like the card shows, then I think that as soon as it happens, Bigby will take the card out from his pocket, stare at it in disbelief and say something like, "Ah, shit."
I'm hoping he gets stabbed in the front. Then he turns to the mirror and it'll say "I told you tarot was a backwards art."
I like your explanation very much, but it could also just be about the episode.
Past (Strength) - Exactly what you said
Present (Tower) - He found the tarot deck when he had just discovered Faith's head.
Future (Ten of Swords) - Didn't he love Snow? So having her die would be like horrible, and to have a connection between what the Mirror says about "friend on friend" and the Tarot Deck I am willing to assume the mastermind behind it all is someone close to Bigby (but then again that goes even without the Tarot Deck).
Not saying you're wrong, just wanted to share my thoughts on your brilliant explanation
Hell, I think Bigby is going to end up stabbed several times. It's happened before in Fables, it might as well happen in TWAU.
Bigby can only die from a silver bullet. Snow can only die by being stabbed by a sword. I think 10 fables try to drive Bigby to suicide based on the last card. The first is how Bigby got the strength to change his ways from Snow White. The second is definitely Snow White having her head cut off. When things will go bad Bigby will want to give up and shoot himself but will be stopped.
I wonder why Bigby only takes the 3rd card when I thought that it was the 3 cards together that gave the message.And also what were these cards doing here on Crane's desk ? Why did he choose these cards and in this particular order ? I think that he is up to no good since we see Bigby threaten to throw him down the witching well in episode 2.Maybe he knows something or is linked to a suspect but didn't want to speak up because he is doing something illegal ? And as the formal mayor he couldn't risk his reputation.Maybe these are not "massages" that he gets when he's nervous.What if he actually knew the pimp ?
However,I find it really odd that Bigby takes the card without even explaining why as he usually does when he picks up other important items I think.How can he possibly know that he will need it in the future ?! And why is there an option to show the card to the mirror ?
The fact that they're on Crane's desk is something that really stands out to me. Why his desk? Why those 3? Most people who use tarot would have the whole deck, not just 3 cards. Did Crane have a reading done to check the future? Was he worried about something? Seeing a witch for some reason? And then there's the mention of Jack. He's always been an interesting character. So many questions...
With the 'friend on friend' stabbing in the back thing Bigby may just lash out. Have you ever played Team Fortress 2 if so you know how annoying it can be why a spy who you thing is your team mate stabs you in the frigin' back. Like Colin said about having friends, maybe just maybe Bigby might have a fit and hurt somebody creating chaos and causing somebody close to turn on him. It certainly looks as if he will in the Episode 2 preview with pushing the chair over, threating Ichabod and fighting with Beast. All allighing within the plot, which makes the rest of the fables 'back-stab' Bigby.
perhaps the cards are ment for Crane and not Bigby.
We can only hope.
I think it was for both. The second one shows a resemblance of Snow White. The last has a resemblance of Bigby. I think Beast knows what his wife is up too if you tell him that his wife didn't want you to tell him. Beauty is actually the Snow Queen.
maybe when Crane was saying that thing to Snow that was along the lines of "you brought this to me NOW!!??" it was because he had just seen the cards only moments before he heard the news. Maybe it contributed to him spazzing out like he did. Possibly Crane knows his time could be limited? Maybe the first card was referring to Bigby being present when he will receive bad news, (when he learned of the murder from Snow Bigby was there.) The second card could have been interpreted by Crane as something bad happening to Snow, or a change of his assistant (what happens with Snow,) And the third card implementing his own death. (swords in the back of a dead man.) Just another theory but who knows...
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I was under the impression that there were only three cards and that they changed based on who was drawing them. Not altogether sure why, it just seemed to be the implication after what he said about Crane obtaining them.
A full tarot deck generally consists of 78 cards. 22 trump cards (major arcana) and 4 suits of 14 (minor arcana). Most of the time random cards left out like that would be an indicator that someone has been doing a reading. There are tons of tarot spreads that use varying numbers of cards, but one common spread that uses 3 is the Past, Present, Future spread. So my thoughts were either Crane had a reading done because he was worried about something and he kept the cards, or he did a reading himself and left the cards out (doesn't seem likely with his character), or possibly someone pulled those three and sent them to Crane as a warning.
Then again, maybe there's no reason why they're there other than to send a message to the player.
They were definitely Crane's... Dunno much about tarot but just in context something is especially supernatural about this particular deck...
Well if you ask me, Strength was Snow inviting Bigby to Fabletown, then both the tower AND Ten of swords were her death.
Maybe Jack and the beanstalk? He's in the first comic... That's where my knowledge of the series ends, though.
Don't forget the title card for episode 3. Beauty holding a gun and with a badge around her neck reading, "Fabletown Police," while watching Bigby.
Snow White is alive in the comics... Just sayin'.
If you look at the cards, it shows the plot of the episode:
The first two represent the plot of the episode, while the third hints at things to come. I really hope Smoke & Mirrors comes out soon, I haven't been this invested in a game since Mass Effect 2's first teaser.
In ep2 bigby picks up cards that are about betrayal and searching.