What is the Rebus Mysteria?

There are many conceits that come with using cards that we can lean into for this personal study. Activities like shuffling and creating randomness allow us to give ourselves permission to let go. Flipping and turning cards are physical rituals of revelation which draw our focus to the revealed and cause us to study what is shown for value or effect. Layout, proximity, and discarding all have meaning and help to manage our focus and relationship with the growing narrative. We call this a “Constellation”

The images on the cards have no valuation. They are images of nature and represent a wide range of experiences of nature. They images represent a range of elemental models from Western traditional four elements to Eastern traditional 5 elements. They present things from close up and from far away and myriad textures and patterns. The hope is that, in combination, they can be arranged to unlock moments of reverie.

There are words with the deck that are separate. We call these words “Notions”. These words are there for you to name the experience of the cards that you are having. Sometimes you may want to put the word directly on the card to name what you are seeing. Sometimes you may want to circumscribe cards, and the spaces, between them with words to describe feelings and experience that arise in the intersections as you metabolize what you are seeing, feeling, or remembering. 

The combination of Notions and Images forms a “Lens” which gives meaning to the image, connects it to a particular story of your own, and opens the possibility for you to see things in new and different ways.