BY SINGER MORRA
i.
an eight ball is an oracle like any other: a toy, a tool, a wishbone.
you must believe in it as a guide, even if you are fated not to follow.
the oracle will say what must be said, which is not always the truth.
just as querents are selfish, oracles are sensitive. just as querents are childish, oracles are impish.
there are no rules, as far as i am aware, regarding the standard practices if the oracle should break, if its die is imbalanced or sticks between two faces, or how one ought to reconcile the differences between alternate versions. my recommendation is to treat every idiosyncrasy of your oracle as not a defect but as a manifestation of the burden of clairvoyance. oracles behave strangely sometimes.
ii.
IT IS CERTAIN
remember that there are competing theories about why time moves forward instead of backward. the result you propose seems so sure that it may have already plant your feet in the ground and say yes! put solid action to work. say this. believe this. whatever you asked, write it on paper or sculpt it of objects. make it so, for the concrete parts of the earth will accept it.
YOU MAY RELY ON IT
stop worrying about this and accept that it will happen. if it does not for some reason, you are meant to be surprised or disappointed. hope and expectancy are crucial to growth. rely on this as sure and go about your other work with that in mind, and whether or not it shall come to pass, having tucked it away you will have room for reflection.
AS I SEE IT, YES
all interpretation is fallible, you know. even the inanimate oracles with their manufactured randomness are just guessing. if you mean to put belief into this oracle, accept its personality. it is unsure of this answer, but based on all the possibilities presented to it, its guess is yes. what’s more, it chose to remind you of itself and its subjectivity. it is the voice of a friend asking for answers on your behalf - it would be truly sorry if this prediction was wrong, but it did the best it could.
MOST LIKELY
this is more likely than any other possibility, but in the slippery way of the future, it is not certain. lightning might strike the tallest tree, but it also might strike any one tree or number of trees in the forest. the fire might spread. the chain of causality, the when, the why, the how, are uncertain, but if you let things be, they might be.
OUTLOOK GOOD
these words could mean nothing to your question. perhaps the answer to this question is a resounding no, but it simply doesn’t matter. the outlook from here, from the oracle’s perspective, is good. rest easy knowing that, and accept the ambiguity here. your question does not need an answer, but you are on the right path anyway.
YES
how much plainer could the universe be in showing you this future? it will simply be. no interpretation necessary, no oracular flair, no avoidance, no discouragement.
SIGNS POINT TO YES
pay attention to the signs. look up, look around, find the objects both natural and industrial which affirm this. consider them. remember that you asked, and remember that you were told yes. evaluate whether this is true.
REPLY HAZY, TRY AGAIN
do try again, and in earnest. there is nothing wrong with your asking, your question, or you. sometimes the machine needs to be finessed.
ASK AGAIN LATER
go out. make dinner. talk to someone. revisit this question after some other activity, at some other time of day in the near future. maybe several times. to everything there is a season, you know, and neither you nor the oracle are ready to receive the answer to this.
BETTER NOT TELL YOU NOW
oh querent, of course you want to know. you want the answer to this desperately, but you already know that you cannot be told. perhaps the answer hangs heavy in the air, known to you, the oracle, and the Gods, but it shouldn’t be said now.
CANNOT PREDICT NOW
oracles can only do so much. some questions can never be answered. you may try this again at another time-- perhaps it is only a matter of the day or the hour, but it may be that this is not to be answered at all. respect the oracle, and do not test it with impatience.
CONCENTRATE AND ASK AGAIN
don’t be distracted. do not ask lightly. be sure to ask the right question, with the right words. you don’t need human clarity, you need spiritual clarity. ask the heart of the question without fear. you may not get the answer you want, but that is why you ask.
DON’T COUNT ON IT
this is not solely negative. you simply must not put your energy into hoping for this. don’t expect it. you might expect anything else, auxiliary, tangential, or opposite, but this proposal is not to be relied upon. if it comes to pass, it will only happen after you have abandoned your hope for it.
MY REPLY IS NO
the oracle knows you. it is looking you square in the face and saying that you need to hear a no. this question must be refused now.
MY SOURCES SAY NO
there are many competing forces and energies which build the future. this oracle had to reach far and wide to find the answer to your query, and some majority of the Gods told it that the answer is no. it may be that you will find another small spirit who will whisper a defiant yes, if you think you can search better than it can.
OUTLOOK NOT SO GOOD
no good can come from this mode of thinking. this is an uneasy proposal at best. it seems untenable and unhealthy. look elsewhere, shake off this question and walk away from it.
VERY DOUBTFUL
the oracle shrugs at this proposal, and after further consideration, shakes its head. you have seen that gesture before, and know that though it is not an outright refusal, though some possibility may linger, this way is clouded. sometimes sailing through the fog is manageable, but it is always unsafe.
Singer Morra is a Queens NYC-based queer composer, playwright, and magick maker who works as a voice teacher and musician for theatre.