The Book of Fate

The radiant face of the day-star, rays streaming, set at the head of the first folio.

Two keys crossed at the wards, the emblem at the head of the second folio.

An hourglass with its sand running, set at the head of the third folio.

A ship under full sail, set at the head of the fourth folio.

The mason's square joined with the compasses, set at the head of the fifth folio.

A small living sprig of green, set at the head of the sixth folio.

A domed straw beehive, bees about it, set at the head of the seventh folio.

A ladder set upright, rungs ascending, at the head of the eighth folio.

A blazing comet trailing fire, set at the head of the ninth folio.

A bare skull, set at the head of the tenth folio.

The belled cap of the jester, set at the head of the eleventh folio.

A pyramid rising to its point, set at the head of the twelfth folio.

A drawn bow with the arrow nocked, set at the head of the thirteenth folio.

Two long bones crossed, set at the head of the fourteenth folio.

A bound sheaf of ripe corn, set at the head of the fifteenth folio.

A ship's anchor, set at the head of the sixteenth folio.

A heart pierced by an arrow, set at the head of the seventeenth folio.

An altar with the sacred fire burning upon it, set at the head of the eighteenth folio.

A single open eye within a radiant triangle, set at the head of the nineteenth folio.

A single standing pillar, set at the head of the twentieth folio.

The sun ringed by stars, set at the head of the twenty-first folio.

A camp of tents pitched in order, set at the head of the twenty-second folio.

A griffin, lion's body and eagle's wings and head, set at the head of the twenty-third folio.

A book lying open, its pages displayed, set at the head of the twenty-fourth folio.

A temple crowned with a dome, set at the head of the twenty-fifth folio.

A standing harp, its strings ready, set at the head of the twenty-sixth folio.

A rolled scroll, partly unfurled, set at the head of the twenty-seventh folio.

A banner raised on its staff, flying, set at the head of the twenty-eighth folio.

A castle portcullis, the iron grille that drops to seal the gate, set at the head of the twenty-ninth folio.

A hand gripping a drawn dagger, set at the head of the thirtieth folio.

A great house battlemented like a castle, set at the head of the thirty-first folio.

The crescent moon, horns turned upward, set at the head of the thirty-second and final folio.

The first and most open of the thirty-two questions, the one a querent turns to when the heart already knows what it wants and only fate is in doubt.

The question of the worker and the maker, asked when something has been set in motion and the outcome is unknown.

The question of one who labours now and dreams of the day they may set the work down, secure and provided for.

The question of one already chasing a specific aim and wanting to know if they will catch it.

The question of one who seeks love itself, asking whether the heart's quest will be answered.

The question of one weighing a gamble, a stake of money or means on an uncertain turn, asking whether it will make them or mar them.

The question of one who senses a journey ahead, perhaps a long one, perhaps a life made elsewhere.

The question of one who hopes to rise and be advanced in their calling, to gain the higher post and the recognition that comes with it.

The question of one who hopes their deeds will outlast them, that their name will be spoken after the work is done.

The question of one held, or one who waits for someone held, asking whether the doors will open.

The question of one who fears their good name is targeted, that enemies are working to tear down what they have built in others' eyes.

The question of one who hopes not merely to be known in life but immortalised, their name applauded by those not yet born.

The question of one entering or facing a legal contest, wanting to know not only whether it comes but how it ends.

The question of one facing a sea-voyage and weighing not only whether to go but whether the crossing is safe.

The widest-looking of the thirty-two, the question that lifts its eyes from the single life to the turn of the seasons and the changes coming to the…

The question of one who has dreamt something striking and wants to know what it signifies.

The question of one parted from the beloved and uncertain whether the heart left behind stays true across the distance.

The question of one who has lost something or had it taken, and wonders whether it will return to their hand.

The question of a parent looking past their own life to the welfare of their children, asking whether the young will be virtuous and happy when the…

The question of one who would know whether a friend is truly loyal, whether the bond will hold when it is tested.

The question asked at the sickbed, by or for one who is ill, weighing recovery against decline.

The question of one taking the temperature of the day before them, asking whether the hours ahead are favoured or against them.

The question of one married or about to be, asking after the fortune of the union itself.

The question of one looking ahead to the man they will marry, asking to be told everything about him before he is known.

The question of one looking ahead to the woman they will marry, asking to be told everything about her before she is known.

The question of one weighing the whole tenor of their life, asking whether their days will be spent in happiness or in misery.

The question of one about to set out on a particular journey, asking whether it will prosper or prove unlucky.

The question of one who hopes to come upon a treasure, a windfall, a sudden fortune found rather than earned.

The question of one who waits for someone gone abroad, asking whether and how soon they will come home.

The question of one who senses opposition and wants to know its scale, whether they face a few foes or many.

The question of one who thinks of friends far off, asking after their health and what occupies them now.

The last of the thirty-two, the question of one who wonders how long their thread runs.