34 - SeparateOriginal Title = Labor. Busy. (Arbeit. Beschäftig.)
Imagery = A senior in casual clothes putters about by himself in his garden, while on a patio a lone youngster in slip-ons is concentrating on adding bling to his shoes. Neither is concerned with the other.
This card represents choosing to be involved in absorbing activities separately from the other main player.
This card is the opposite of card 03; and exudes a Negative tone.
This card describes UNITY, and can be judged as a greater form of card 10.
This card is all about the preoccupation of the Significant with themself, to the exclusion of the Querant. In a Spread it typically will appear as an obstacle on the road to a merging, but could also appear as a report of accomplishment should the goal have been to break out of a union. It is not necessarily a permanent state, and the card leaves it undefined as to whether the divide is due to circumstance or a premeditated self absorption.
Note that the word Labor is often misperceived as saddled with odious work, rather than as just choosing to be busily involved by oneself in a desired activity/hobby (a solo labor of love, as the illustration indicates). This is understandable, as Labor and Busy are nowadays associated with wage slavery. The new label of Separate is thus a better title for contemporary understanding, as it makes reference to the overarching concept of not bonded.
|| In the past this card was often titled "Absorbing Distraction", and indicated involvement in some captivating activity (sport, hobby, videogame, etc.) that was causing delinquency from participating in the dating game. ||