01 - ThemOriginal Title = Main Person. (Haupt-Person.)
Imagery = An unmarried man with blank gaze, passively standing near his livingroom table.
{illustration goof - table is missing its leg}
This card represents Them, the person of interest you are desiring to conjoin with, regardless of their gender/age.
This card is the opposite of card 02; and exudes a Neutral tone.
Historically it would be assumed that a woman was using the deck to ask about a potential marriage partner, and thus the "them" was implicitly implied by this card. Only in more recent times has there been an inordinate focus upon the images gender/age depiction, and an unnecessary effort made to dynamically substitute it with cards 02, 05, or 06 as the reader felt appropriate. Ignoring for a moment that the swap steals a card that could be of importance elsewhere in the Spread; while a swap with card 02 could have been possible without significant divinitory disruption (that card is also titled Main Person), cards 05 and 06 are a problematic appropriation.
Nowadays the reader should ignore the image on card 01 (it is only a mnemonic aid anyways) and just use it to indicate every Significant.
Tip: If you still have an insurmountable problem ignoring the cards imagery, just cover the card with a small personal photo/token after the card has been laid in the Spread.
Note that occasionally this card will not appear in a Spread. In that event the Spread is simply making known that it desires that you to choose a more tailored card to represent the Significant, such as perhaps card 12, 13, 22. or 30 as appropriate. If both cards 01 and 02 are missing from the Spread, the reader should study the Spread very closely before assigning substitute cards, and unless specifically performing a specialized reading, should also give serious consideration to voiding the read entirely.
|| In the past this card was often titled "Prime Gentleman", and indicated a man in the prime of life. Alternatively it could also have indicated a male querent, a male significant, or a butch significant. ||