Fugdale’s Funhouse

Want to dip your toes into another dimension or explore the spacious wonderment of history? Today in the Funhouse you can play a unique point-and-click adventure about Beethoven’s Life; or you can spend some whistful minutes in the strange world of the Tele-tubbies; or discover how to percieve yourself in the 10th Dimension.

Funhouse Picks of the Day

Beethoven’s Hair

Game of the Day

Boohbah

Fun Site of the Day

Imagining the 10th Dimension

Video of the Day

Beethoven’s Hair - Live Beethoven’s Life as a Bug

This masterfully crafted experience plays partly like a point-and-click adventure and partly like a flight simulator and partly like a shooter and more. It’s really a light puzzle which allows you to explore various historical moment’s in Beethoven’s life including his association with Napolean and his musical inspirations involving World War 2 and Nazi Germany.

The game starts when your cursor releases the spirit of Beethoven and turns into a fluttering butterfly. The butterfly moves using your mouse and can lift higher or lower with the up/down arrow keys. I noticed on some browsers, you can hold the keys continuously to raise, but on Firefox you must repeatedly tap the keys to raise or lower. (Take note of that if playing in Firefox otherwise, you will get stuck early in the game).

Once you guide your butterfly through the keyhole you will be in a wonderland of music, imagery and notes from Beethoven’s life. Question marks float along the pathways offering historical facts, but the story of Beethoven gradually gets told in a very atmospheric and original manner. The beutiful graphics and highly unique gameplay make this a good endeavour. If you stick with it past the first few puzzles, you can finish the entire thing in less than 20 minutes.

The exploration is interesting and all, but I found the controls with the butterfly to be kinda difficult to manage. The butterfly stubbornly flies past areas you want to stop at, but after playing for a few minutes, you get the hang of it and by the time you do, you don’t need the butterfly anymore. This game is definitely worth a look if for nothing else than its artistic merit.

Boohbah - Tele Tubby Fun

From Beethoven to Tele-Tubbies, what a segue. Normally I wouldn’t present a site for toddlers, but this website offers a great deal of stoner appeal. You land in a colorful rainbow land with floating bubbles and the Boohbahs. Click on the bubbles for psychadelic graphics you can manipulate and play with or follow the rainbow trail to the delightful gift in the center of the screen for random interactive activities, like jumping on a trampoline or shifting people’s bodies around.

Break out the psychadelic drugs and give yourself 15 minutes to play with this unique interactive site for kids.

Imagining the 10th Dimension - A Trip Into Multiple Dimensions

This fascinating video will give you a visual exploration (using a simple black and white cartoon) of the various dimentions of space/time beyond what we can percieve. Based on modern concepts such as quantum mechanics and string theory, this video will help to visualize what is difficult for most to put into words or even wrap their head around.

If you’ve enjoyed the classic piece of literature, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, by Edwin A. Abbott, you will enjoy this movie, which uses many of the same principals discussed in Flatland and goes way beyond the book.

Support the Funhouse by purchasing products related to this post.

In this series of articles on the positions of the Celtic Cross Spread. I will attempt to illuminate readers to the sometimes subtle distinctions between the meanings of the positions. I will post more information on other aspects of the Celtic Cross Spread later. In these articles I will use the term ’subject’ to refer to the person you give the reading to (which can by yourself or someone else). I will use the term ‘reader’ to indicate the person giving the reading (which will usually be yourself).

Celtic Cross position number 2 – CROSSING ENERGY, OPPOSING FORCE, LATERAL MOVEMENT, SUPPORTING ENERGY, DEFINING ASPECT

At the center of the spread crossing card number 1 (the subject), lies card number 2. It represents energy that is either working against or possibly supporting card number 1. Even if the energies represented by the first two cards seem similar, the second card often represents an obstacle to overcome or an opposing force.

If you visualize the spread as a novel or a movie, the second card represents the conflict or antagonist of the story. By comparing cards 1 and 2, you should have a clear picture of the central struggle your subject faces right now. If no struggle or obstacle feels evident, then the opposing forces may be working together to create the same overriding energy.

If you think of the whole of human emotion as if it were a flat map. All 78 energies of the tarot run vertically and horizontally similar to the longitude and latitude markings of a globe. The first two cards of this spread give you a marker on the map which tells you where the subject is right now. Other dimensions of the subject’s situation (such as time) can be derived from other cards in the spread. Read more on this “dimensional” concept in my previous post Imagining the Celtic Cross Spread in 5 Dimensions.

The second position could indicate any of the following:

• An opposing force.
• A conflict your subject faces or an obstacle they must overcome
• A supporting or clarifying energy.
• Another way of looking at the subject.
• A defining element, which sheds more light on the subject.
• A crossing or lateral movement. Energy that flows against your main objective

Court Card in the Second Position 

A court card in the second position will sometimes represent a person in the subject’s life who is at odds with them or doesn’t see the situation the same. This person may be working against the subject (in regard to the question they asked).

Conversely, a court card can represent an aspect of the subject’s personality which is working against his/her intentions. A personality flaw that may be getting in the way or impeding progress.

Example:  A woman asks about the state of her marriage. You draw the Sun card for position one and the Queen of Cups in position two. This could indicate that the woman generally sees her relationship clearly and with an optimistic slant, but her personality suggests to others that she isn’t happy or she may be projecting a moodiness which works against the sunny energy. Conversely, the Queen of Cups can represent the other person in her relationship. Perhaps your subject’s sunny optimism makes her partner moody or difficult to be around.

When you don’t have a clear idea of the situation from card number one, card number two should shed some light on the matter. If you think of the cards as a general conflict in a story, you will be able to inquire with your subject to narrow down what that conflict may be.

Relationship to other positions

The number two card in the Celtic Cross spread relates to most of the other cards in the spread. Since it is closely tied to the subject of the reading, you will refer to Cards one and two as a single unit as you progress throughout the spread. Since card two mostly represents something you need to overcome or work through in order to progress, you will refer back to it as the main objective to address in the spread.

The Spokes of the Wheel - Relationship to Positions 3-6

I like to look at the central card as the hub of the wheel in the Celtic Cross spread. It represents the NOW. Examine the horizontal line of cards from left to right (past present future). The cards in the middle represents the present state in that sequence of time events. Examine the vertical line of cards, from bottom to top (unconscious, conscious and super conscious). The cards in the middle represents what the subject is aware of in the situation—what’s on his/her mind right now. You can and should interpret the cards in relation to both of these directional spokes of the center wheel.

Relationship to Position 1 

The first card also has a very strong relationship with card position 1. The two cards represent the central conflict or obstacle. These two intersecting energies cross in space/time right now and create the atmosphere the subject feels most right now. They should almost be treated as a unit.

Relationship to Position 8 

The second card ties in closely with card 8. Card 8 usually represents the subjects environment, external forces and what others think about the subject. Card 2 has similar properties in that it deals with opposing or outside forces. Comparing these two cards for similarities and differences can shed light on the subject’s question. When they differ, usually card 2 represents an influencing aspect and card 8 represents emotions and thoughts of others or the general environment that the influencing forces of card 2 operate in.

Relationship to Position 9 

Position 9 represents hopes, fears, desires or a general key to any puzzling elements of the spread. This relates to card 2 as these aspects (fears, desires) can work against the subject or possibly work for the subject (hopes, key).

Relationship to Position 10
Since Position 10 represents the outcome if things continue as they have, you can inform your subject that whatever obstacle number 2 represents, they must overcome it in order to alter the outcome of position 10.

Hopefully you have a clearer understanding of the importance of card position 2. Check out previous posts for other positions.

Visualize the traditional Celtic Cross Spread in 5 different dimensions. This way of focusing on the spread helps me give more detailed readings. I hope it helps you as well.

This image shows a typical layout for the Celtic Cross Spread. The first part of the spread looks like a cross (cards 1-6) and the second part looks like a staff (cards 1-7).

For those interested in string theory or quantum mechanics, I’ve developed a way of visualizing this spread in 5 different dimensions.

Instead of thinking of the first half of the spread as a cross, think of it as a 3 dimensional orb. The center point of the orb is the cross formed by cards 1 and 2.

Flatland - Length and Width

Card one represents the longitude and card 2 represents the latitude. You can think of them as width and length. Think of all the various states of human existence as lying on a flat 2 dimensional map. Cards one and two will place you on the map. Card one will line up vertically on one of 78 columns and card two will line up horizontally on one of 78 columns. This coordinate is the subject’s situation in life right now. Card one covers the subject and card 2 crosses the subject creating a coordinate.

In a 2 dimensional world, this is all you would need to determine your present state. But we are three dimensional beings, therefore we need to add another dimension.

3D - Adding the Dimension of Height

Now we can ad a third dimension with cards 3 and 5. A dimension of up/down or of height. Card 3 represents your inner state–the unconscious influences, what lies below the surface. Card 5 represents your guiding state–the super conscious influences or what lies above the surface. Both of these cards color and influence your current state (the coordinate created with cards 1 and 2). You can interpret the center coordinate through the ‘height’ filter to determine your coordinate of consciousness.

4th Dimension - Adding a Time Line

Let’s now move to the 4th dimension–that consisting of Time. Your current state and how your levels of consciousness effect it are continually moving along on the arrow of time, which is indicated by cards 4 and 6. Card 4 represents your past and influences which brought you to your current state. Card 6 represents your future influences–the state you are moving towards. As you visualize this line of cards, the center coordinate represents the ‘now’ state in time.

Humans living in 3 dimensional space tend to visualize time as moving only forward, but if you pull yourself out into the 5th dimension and look at the 4th dimensional time as a single unit, you will realize that the Now state is only one slice of the entire entity of the subject’s life.

The 5th Dimension - Inner/Outer

Now we come to the 5th dimension. This dimension is really a branching off of the timeline represented by cards 4, 1, 2, and 6. It is outside that timeline, but still effecting everything. It does not intersect with any of the coordinates of the orb section because it is outside that dimensional realm, but still specifically tied to the coordinates. Think of the orb and all it’s various states throughout the timeline of the 4th dimension as a single unit. From the 5th dimension we can take this entity and offer advice. You can visualize the 5th dimension as one of inner/outer. Exploring the situation from a larger perspective.

What do the cards of the staff mean?

Card 7 represents the subject of the orb coming from the center outward in all directions. (How the subject views the situation). Card 8 represents the subject of the orb moving inward from all directions toward the center. (How the subjects environment effects him). Card 9 represents a ‘key’, a ‘hint’, a unifying theme, a solution to any puzzles present in the spread. And Card 10 represents a possible outcome. These four cards are like a super-conscious examination of the same themes presented in the orb portion of the spread.

Higher Dimensions and the ‘Universe Next Door’ Card

Sometimes when visualizing the spread this way, I like to throw out an 11th card. (String theory actually predicts we live in 11 dimensions). I like to angle this card and lay it between the 5 card and the 10 card. I call this “the universe next door”. It represents a version of ‘you’ in a parallel universe as a comparison card. It can show the subject how things could be better, worse or at least drastically different if they were living in an alternate reality (perhaps one where they had made other choices).

Many readers will probably describe this visualization as hogwash and so be it. But I find it useful in tying the cards together.

For more information on visualing the 11 dimensions of string theory, check out this video (Visualizing the 10th Dimension). It demonstrates some of the concepts I’ve discussed and makes it easier to comprehend concepts like the 5th Dimension.