Upright

• Something beyond experience— something not yet experienced.
• Something masterfully hidden, covert, undiscovered.
• Gaps in knowledge.
• The vast mystery beyond that which is known.

The Five of Bells is has a double-Ether nature. It represents the unknown, that which has thus far eluded experience and understanding. To recognize the unknown for what it is, and where it is in our lives can be extremely empowering. The admission that we do not know can become the impetus to find out.

The presence of the unknown also carries considerable risk. Not knowing or understanding key elements of a venture can set one up to fail, if those elements turn out to be working against them.

Abstract

(Reversed)

• Things are unclear; nothing stands out of the haze.
• Feeling lost. Disorientation.
• Succumbing to confusion.
• Feeling numb.
• Being unable to think clearly.
• Lacking direction; not knowing the path by which to advance.
• Having many choices to make at once.
• Being distracted; losing focus.
• Bewilderment.
• Completely unfamiliar situations.

The Abstract Five of Bells has a double-Ether nature. It signifies confusion and disorientation. Confusion is often akin to chaos, in that it results from too many conflicting feelings, perceptions, options, and no clear method for sorting them out. Such feelings are natural in strange situations.

One of the aspects of Ether at work in this card is the quality of being countless. Imagine the cacophony of grand array of bells ringing without order or organization. Because bells represent callings or experiences, such cacophony can metaphorically represent a bamboozling array of perceptions, people's opinions, or ways forward— sensory or information overload which inhibits the ability to make sound sense of anything.

This card may be an invitation to concoct a method for sorting out the chaos, or to retreat from the complicated world in order to make sense of things in a secluded space.

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