The Tramp

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Interpretation & Meaning

The Tramp - a card from the inclusive oracle deck

Latanya (they/them) used to watch Cinderella a lot. They sang the songs and held their breath as the fairy Godmother fixed Cinderella’s life for one unforgettable night.

“You can’t go in that!” – uttered the woman after taking a closer look at Cinderella’s appearance. She then proceeded to shake the wand, say the words and a swarm of magic lights did the rest. The orderly golden hair, the sumptuous dress, the glass slippers: from messy squatter to fancy princess, Cinderella was ready to meet the love of her life.

Latanya grew up clinging to that moment. They looked at themselves in the mirror every day and whispered “You can’t go in that”.

One day they decided to fix it. With no Godmother to help, malls and makeup tutorials were the next best thing. From messy high school student to fancy princess, Latanya was ready to dance the night away and meet the love of their life.

The ball was at a nightclub in downtown Paris. Wearing their heart on their flutter sleeve and a dark red lipstick, Latanya walked into the room and entered a choreographed nightmare. Nobody asked them their name: everybody had plenty of names to call that unlikely princess. Nobody picked their shoe off the floor (or their dignity) as it got stomped on by joyful feet. Nobody chased them on those pitch black streets after they ran out in tears.

Far from midnight, the carriage turned into a pumpkin in front of Latanya’s eyes and the pumpkin was rotten.

Demonic totem of temptation for many contemporary cultures, The Tramp is here a symbol of resistance.

She can’t escape the shame engine that moves the world around her – names dropping on her skirt like spilled wine – but she can study its mechanics and sabotage them, slowly and methodically.

When this card appears in a reading, you might be facing rejection (personal, societal, political) or be immersed in an environment that’s using shame or guilt to control you. Whether you belong to a marginalized minority or are being unfairly discounted in the workplace, it’s time to put up a fight and shake off the labels that someone else is sticking onto you.

This is a card of strategic disobedience, personal emancipation and insurgence against an unjust system. In order to dismantle an oppressive system, you’re going to take all the space you can, turn your disadvantage into your secret weapon and resist assimilation until your underdog victory is achieved.

Keywords: rebellion • discrimination • stigma • shaming • individual vs society • oppression • disobedience • systemic injustice • resistance • segregation • rejection • unapologetic • disadvantage • social deviance • ostracism • misunderstood • feeling different • social control • social sanctions • banning

Practical References

Work	Equal opportunity officer, social worker, public defender, all jobs having to do with fighting stigma and discrimination
Situations & Life Events	Bullism, Marginalization, Unrequited love, Rejection, Social Deviance
Archetypes	The Rebel, The Underdog, The Oppressed, The Contrarian

Interpretation within the Game of Cracks

The Soil

In the Soil position, this card symbolizes an environment or situation that uses shame or guilt to control its components. It might also refer to a an unjust system or a state of rejection (whether personal or societal) which is keeping the consultant on the bottom

The Knot

As the Knot, this card symbolizes the tension between fitting in and rebelling to an unjust system. In order to advance in your journey, you need to be bold, unapologetic and resilient in a world that is trying to bring you down

The Eye

When this card shows up as the Eye, it can represent an outlandish personality, someone who stands out (for good and for worse) within their environment. It can also stand for a rebel, a contrarian, someone who lives to challenge the norms and assumptions of the status quo

The Fall

As the Fall, this card warns you against channeling a destructive behavior or wanting to go against the grain at all costs. The feeling that the whole world is against you might be a dangerous construct of your mind rather than a tangible reality

The Hook

When this card appears as the Hook, it's an invitation to reclaim your power and not listen to an environment that wants to bring you down. Swim against the current, disobey, do whatever it takes to weaken a system that is rotten and poisonous

The Fruit

In the Fruit position, this card suggests an outcome that puts the consultant in a minority group or even rebellious position. Something they're doing - whether good or bad - might potentially lead to stigma, discrimination or rejection.

Homework & Practice

In order to embody the teachings of this card, you can:

List all the minorities to which you belong and reflect on how they’re treated and perceived by the majority
Think about a time in your life when you were ostracized or discriminated against. How did you get out of that ditch? What did it teach you?
Think of all traits you possess (physical, behavioral etc.) which put you at a disadvantage within the system you inhabit. Would you change them if you could? Do you think of them as weaknesses? Can you imagine your path without them and the things they taught you?

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