Querent.py

Querent.py is an experimental software tool for personal tarot practice, supporting introspection and exploration through card-based reflection. This Python-based system incorporates both pre-populated traditional card meanings and user-generated interpretations, allowing for the evolution of card meanings over time. It requires a physical tarot deck, using card draws as triggers for retrieving and generating information.

Key features:

Local, single-user deployment supporting situated knowledges and personal practice
Emphasis on introspection and exploration over prediction
Support with inputing drawn spreads
Not a static encoding of fixed meanings, but a tool for exploring associations and generative potential
Ability to supplement traditional tarot meanings with user-supplied notes and interpretations
Variable data persistence, with the user populating a knowledge base through sustained interaction

Theoretical framework

Ian Bogost's concepts of "philosophical carpentry" and "procedural rhetoric"
Alejandro Jodorowky's ideas of the tarot as a "projective instrument", "nomadic cathedral", or "portable contemplative device"
Explorations of "ostensive detachment" and "black-boxing" in knowledge practices
Critical engagement with the presuppositions of large language models and RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) systems

Usage

(Note: Detailed usage instructions to be added as the project develops)

Project structure

querent-py/
├── src/
│ └── querent.py
├── data/
├── docs/
│ ├── concepts/
│ ├── development/
│ ├── research/
│ └── user_guide/
├── examples/
├── notebooks/
├── tests/
├── .gitignore
├── README.md
└── requirements.txt

src/: Contains the main Querent.py script
data/: Stores essential data files, e.g. card meanings
docs/: Houses theoretical background, development notes, and usage guides
examples/: Provides usage examples for better understanding (to come)
notebooks/: Contains Jupyter notebooks for exploratory analysis (stretch goals)
tests/: For unit tests ensuring code reliability (???)

Project context

Querent.py is part of a broader research initiative, "Xamota," using reflexive software development to explore the intersections of intuitive, embodied knowledge and structured data schemas. This project is being developed in collaboration with @timcowlishaw as part of our sprawling, collaborative Python-for-ethnography skill exchange, "Enxaneta."

Related projects:

Humus: A "composting" database that forgets things, developed by Tim Cowlishaw.

While Querent.py focuses on tarot practice and intuitive knowledge retrieval, Humus explores concepts of information persistence and decay. Together, these programmes form a tiny experimental software ecosystem, exploring alternative approaches to data management, knowledge representation, and software development in ethnographic research contexts.

Contribution

This project is currently in a closed development phase. However, we welcome forks and discussions about the project's concepts, implementation, and implications for personal tarot practice. 🎴