21 - SecretOriginal Title = Livingroom. (Wohnzimmer.)
Imagery = The interior of a Livingroom, containing family heirlooms [skeletons] as well as decorations of very personal current taste [intimate].
This card serves as a warning that something good/bad/indifferent is not being revealed.
This card is correspondent to card 08; and exudes a Negative tone.
This card might be judged as a greater form of card 08. The card cautions that you have not been made privy to a fact, and in a Spread will often imply that the associated card is holding something back. The nature of the secret (good/bad/embarrassing/unimportant) is left undefined. Alternatively it could be advice for you to keep things under wraps for the moment, by acting in private or only disclosing to a trusted clique.
Traditionally this card could occasionally function as a clarifier, indicating that the situation under scrutiny is occurring in the present tense.
Historically the Livingroom was a place in the house restricted exclusively for the families use (guests were hosted in the Parlor), where like a company boardroom outsiders were not allowed to enter. It was a private place where the family did not have to put on airs, and where personal, embarrassing, or sensitive items and matters could be confidentially kept. The new label of Secret is thus a better title for contemporary understanding, as it makes reference to the overarching concept of nondisclosure.
|| In the past this card was often titled "Private Matter", and indicated an embarassing secret. Alternatively it could also have indicated a players desire for privacy. ||