Acanthus wield Time and Fate to tell the stories of other lives. In great and monstrous myths they appear as mist-shrouded figures, the tricksters and foreshadowing poets who guide events with subtle gestures. When we witness benign influence we might call them Enchanters, and thank them for overcoming obstacles with strange ease, but we more often call them Witches: cunning ones who step outside the laws that bind everyone else to spin new rules from the Wheel of Fortune.

You don’t know them but you’ve seen their work — lived it, even.

Ruling Arcana

Fate and Time. They’re the root powers of destiny: Arcadian energies that turn the Wheel of Fortune. Witchcraft is the art of shaping destiny.

As a subtle Arcanum, Fate is part of every soul, the vessel containing its ultimate purpose. Like Merlin (a name Acanthus say was a title), they study and draw forth potential. Like the An Mórríoghan who laid Cú Chulainn low, they turn Fate against itself with curses and oaths that trap the fools who swear them.

Time is the loom that spins Fate into action. Acanthus part the Mists of possibility to predict portentous events. To Witches, these are scenes in a mythic story. Arcadia teaches that lives are legends, so as tricksters, allies, and prophets, they predict and shape pivotal moments — a role that puts them on the outside of great stories, setting the stage but rarely wielding the hero’s sword.

Inferior Arcanum

Forces. Lightning arrives at its appointed time in the tale, not before. In Arcadia, elemental powers are visible manifestations of destiny and Fae passions. Fire isn’t heat alone, but the anger of the Fair Folk or the climax of an apocalyptic myth; it is not to be raised through some mechanistic act of will.

Symbols and Myths

The Fool and the Wheel of Fortune. Tricksters, fairies, and witches. Stories of curses, blessings, and great destinies. Wishes and bargains.

In the Awakened Tarot, the Acanthus personifies the Fool: a trackless soul, able to move freely through the currents of destiny. Witches don’t get to this state through naive wandering, but by unburdening themselves of old attachments, and using magic to slip the grasp of new ones. Their Mysteries involve the Wheel of Fortune, a card depicting the relentless spin of destiny. There’s no still place to stand in the world, no equilibrium to be had. Even Acanthus can’t just grab a spoke of the Wheel to get to a favorable situation. A Witch needs to get to the right place at the right time to nudge things just so. The further she is from the ideal opportunity, the more she needs to push — with stronger, more dangerous sorcery.