Stripper Tarot: IV Wicked Wisdom

You see Wicked Wisdom as soon as you walk into the club and Wicked Wisdom sees you. She is eying you up from across the room where she is sitting at the bar with a well-to-do gentleman who cannot take his eyes off of her. He is looking at her and she is looking at you and you feel strangely paralyzed in the trajectory of her powerful stare. She smiles. Her smile isn't kind, but it isn't cruel. It is amused. It is predatory, but peculiar in a way you can't resist wanting to know more of. She looks at you as if she knew you were coming and now that you are here, she wants you to see her before you see anybody else. She wants you to know who rules the roost. Her gentleman friend keeps talking. He hasn't noticed that she isn't listening. He comes here every night to see her, to buy her drinks, to hear her dry-wine voice drip like honey from her split tongue. She is beautiful in the way you enjoy most: wickedly. This girl is a black widow, a raven, a wolf. She is a psychic vampire and you can tell right away, but there is something erotic in the sharing of blood, so you let her see you looking. You let her see that you think she is beautiful. You smile like she doesn't scare you and you lift your head up like the alpha female you are and walk right past her and into the dressing room. She intimidates you, but you can't let it show.

She walks in and sets up her make-up bag on the counter behind you, using one mirror while you use another. You feel her eyes all over you. She's watching you from behind so you try to be extra graceful and strong. She starts a conversation.

"I like your stockings," she says calmly while she spreads red lipstick over her full mouth. You thank her. You are taken off guard by her compliment. It puts you at ease and you begin to open up to her. You tell her where you got them. She smiles. She asks you where you are from. You tell her as little as possible, but you tell her too much. She keeps asking personal and invasive questions.

"You got a man?"
"How long you been dancing?"
"Are you nervous?"

She is like a lion, circling around your insecurities to test your weaknesses, finding a way to your throat without you even knowing it. You suspect it somewhere in your gut, but you don't want any drama, so you answer politely. If this were your first encounter with a girl like her she would have you cut open already. You would be pouring out your soul in order to seem submissive so she might stop testing you and let you be, or be on your side. But you have known a few girls like her and this time you are more ready than ever, but maybe not enough.

While you are on stage you see her watching you. She smiles when you look at her and then leans in and whispers something to her customer. He comes up to you after your set and asks you for a dance. He says Wicked said you were a good dancer and he would like you. You smell some bullshit, but you suspend your suspicion to make some money. The man ends up being a total asshole- grabby and rude. You walk away from him wondering if she did that shit on purpose. You shake off the thought. She is getting into your head and you don't like it.

Later on, you hear some of the girls talking about Wicked.
"Man, Wicked is a pimp!" They say and laugh as the story unfolds.

Wicked invited one of her friends from home to come out and join her and earn some extra money dancing. The girl was broke, so Wicked sent her the bus money and said she could share her hotel room. Now, Wicked is taking her money every night and charging her extra for "protection." She has the poor girl convinced that she will get her fired and leave her stranded out here in the middle of nowhere unless she pays her every night.

Shy says "that's fucked up."
"None of my business," a girl says and the others mmhmm in agreement.
"Nah, fuck that shit,"

Shy says she's going to help the new girl out of that shitty situation. You hope she does. You can tell everyone is a little afraid of Wicked. She is like the black-hand of this dingy little middle-of-nowhere club. You are at once disgusted with Wicked's abuse of her friend and amazed by how fucked up she can be. You feel your imagination stretch a little to fully comprehend this new level of fuckedupedness. The writer in you is so intrigued with this woman. Wow. You are speechless. You want to help the girl, but you are traveling alone and you aren't about to get involved in this shit. You let the other girl take care of it and she does. The abused girl doesn't show up the next day and you find out that Shy helped her get home.

A few days later Wicked watches you trying on your new corset in the dressing room and she stands there shaking her head. "No, babe, that doesn't look very good on you."

"Huh? Really?" You ask, readjusting a little. "I think it looks nice."
"No, it's kind of tight around the waist. Look," she says, turning you toward the mirror, "Look how it squeezes your love handles out. No good."

She's right. You never noticed it before. You thank her, feeling totally owned.

"No problem," she smiles her sinister little smile. "We have to look out for each other."

You wait til she's gone and another girl comes in. You ask her opinion. She says you look amazing. You look back in the mirror and realize that you do, in fact, you look hot. You begin to understand what Wicked is doing. She is fucking with you- trying to induce some self-doubt while pretending to be a friend. She is Wicked.

But you like talking to her. You like sharing cigarettes with her outside and listening to her life story. She is tough and you like that. She is a bitch and she pulls it off artfully. She cracks you up with her bluntness. A certain dancer comes out and stands off to the side smoking, not talking. This dancer was pretty rude to you earlier that night and you are still feeling salty about it. She tried to tell you off in front of the other girls for not getting the guy you were talking to at the stage to tip her during her set. You tell her you tried and he didn't want to and so you walked away from him. You can't help it if he doesn't tip. She rolls her eyes and walks off. You decide she's a rude, nasty little thing and you want to stay out of her way.

She smokes silently under the big, clear sky while you and Wicked talk. You sigh. Will this night ever be over, you ask out loud in exasperation. The other dancer says, "It aint over til the fat lady sings." She says it snidely and you feel it sting.

Wicked takes a drag. "Well, you're fat," she says, flicking her cigarette into the darkness, "so start singing."

You want to laugh, but you hold it in your throat. You can't believe she just said that.

"Fuck you, Wicked," the other dancer says, smashing her cigarette under heel and walking through the swinging front door.

Wicked chuckles. "Just telling the truth," she says, smiling. You smile back.

You can learn a lot from Wicked Wisdom, but beware. She doesn't always have the best intentions. She interrupts your sales, but tries to play it off like she's just introducing you to her regulars. She says hello to every man you are talking to and reminds him that he is all hers, but you're a good girl so it's ok if he enjoys you for a dance or two, but after that- he's hers. You start to get very irritated with this behavior, but you notice her crossing her arms over her round stomach in insecurity and you realize that she is just threatened by you. You feel sad, but you keep it out of your head for the night. You are only here for a few days and then Wicked can go back to being top bitch.

When the Wicked Wisdom card is drawn, it means it is time to question the intentions of others. Who loves you and who vamps you? Who lifts you up and who needs to tear you down to feel good about themselves? Snakes in the grass are intriguing and exciting, but they can be deadly- so beware. This card is also a warning to remember your own inner voice and be careful about who's opinions you let into your heart. If the corset felt and looked good, wear it. When you walk into a new club, keep your head up. Be strong and confident, but don't be a bitch. Focus on your money, but enjoy the idiosyncrasies of your co-workers without letting them into your soul, unless you will be uplifted by it. Be private and remember that anything you say can be held against you. Trust your gut, but don't become paranoid. Just glide.

A reversal means you need to check yourself. Are you being a good friend or a catty bitch? Are you hurting someone to protect yourself because you feel intimidated and threatened? This will only weaken you.

Most importantly, don't hate on Wicked. Her halo may look like horns, but so does yours sometimes.