Weekend Oracle Card Inspired Flash-Fiction

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Saturday, September 5, 2026

Hello, all. Back in 2016 Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland got stuck in my mind.  The world around me seemed to have gone topsy-turvy and down a weird rabbit hole.  

Walrus y carpenter Alice n Wonderland Oracle card Paolo Barbieri
#32: The Walrus and the Carpenter

Allow me to digress.  First let’s do a one-card reading, intended for grounding or centering. It’s from the Alice in Wonderland Oracle by Paolo Barbieri.  The card I randomly drew is The Walrus and the Carpenter.  For deeper meaning you can look up that part of Lewis Carroll’s story. 

In short, this card means that things are not always what they seem. That old admonishment is usually taken in a negative way. However, it might just as likely be a good portend — especially if one is feeling overwhelmed with how much needs to be done, or goals unmet, or with unfortunate interpersonal issues. Take heart — things may not be what they seem. Look at the situation from different points of view.  Examine it from outside yourself.

Back to the reason for this post.  The topsy-turvy-Wonderlandy sense from ten years ago came and went every now and then.  Then about 18 months ago, it came back.  Hard.  Jefferson Airplane’s old song, White Rabbit turned into my mental soundtrack. 

So, to exorcise it, I wrote a short story inspired by it all — my own surreal, modernized, urban fantasy take on Wonderland and Alice. (See more about that at the very end of the post. It’s available on Amazon.)  As it turned out, that wasn’t enough.  With the help of Tim Price, I recorded a Grace Slick tribute of me singing White Rabbit.  That wasn’t enough either, so I made a bunch of illustrations and turned it into a video for the song.   

That seemed to exorcise it, for the most part, but a large part of me still feels like I never climbed out of that rabbit hole. When I recently stumbled upon some oracle cards with an Alice in Wonderland theme, I bought them. Which finally brings me to the reason for this post.  1)  I’ve always wanted to write more on my Rabbit Hole story — it has a big story-verse inside my head.  2) We all had fun with my tarot inspired flash fiction last weekend, so I’m going to try the same thing with these Wonderland cards.  (Just one disclaimer… I really can’t in good conscience recommend this deck of cards. The quality of the cardstock is good. They’re a good size.  Those are my only positive comments about them.)   

Now, here’s three cards worth of flash fiction… followed by my song.

The Paintbrush is in Your Hand

A Spontaneously Written Oracle Card-Inspired Short Story

Tweedledee and Tweedledum_Alice Wonderland oracle

Tweedledee and Tweedledum

Liddie’s white sneakers made an embarrassingly loud squawk against the linoleum floor when she walked into the art therapy room.  The Mirror Twins turned away from their side-by-side canvases to stare.  One twin painted the still life display, while the other twin painted a reverse image of it.

“Mirror twins” was the term Blythe and Claudia had used when she first met them.  They were identical except that odd things would be reversed.  Such as the natural part of their hair — right side for Blythe, and left side for Claudia.  Although they admitted, with self-satisfied smirks that they could easily switch the parting of their hair whenever they wanted to mess with the staff at the asylum.  There was also a mole on their hip, but since that was a “tell” that couldn’t be easily changed, they kept it secret.

Little door to strange land_Alice Wonderland oracle

A Little Door to a New Land

The twins were painting scenes of an open door, beyond which was a strange land.  Of course, Claudia’s picture was the reverse of Blythe’s.

“We know you sneaked out the other night,” they said in harmony — one speaking high, the other using a low voice.  “We know they brought you back,” they added on a flat note, switching high and low.

Queen Alice_Alice Wonderland Oracle card by Paolo Barbieri

Queen Alice

With a sigh, Liddie plopped down on the empty stool next to the twins.  She picked up a paintbrush, complaining that she wasn’t an artist, and couldn’t think of what to paint.  The twins suggested a golden key.  That seemed much easier to Liddie than what the girls were painting, so she grabbed the yellow paint.

“Yeah, they brought me back,” Liddie grumbled in a sardonic voice.  “Queen Liddie, ruler of all I survey… in my hallucinations.”

“Poor Liddie…  Cheer up,” said the twin who was probably Blythe.  “Things aren’t always what they seem…  Especially in this place.”

“You inspired us to make doors that lead away from here.  You have to assume there’s a key,” added the one who was probably Claudia with a nod at Liddie’s blank canvas.  “The paintbrush is in your hand.”

The end.

Now the song…  My Grace Slick tribute cover of White Rabbit in the YouTube video below.

v=meIbyIm_dNE”>White Rabbit Cover Grace Slick Tribute 720p – YouTube

 

 Happy September.  Have a wonderful rest of the weekend.  Friendly comments are welcome.  Hugs!

♣ ♣ ♣

The flash fiction above is from the same story-verse as this obligatory shameless self-promotion.  It’s a quick read/very short story, something my twisting mind saw as an additional, modern-day adventure in Wonderland.

Universal Purchase Link:

E-book/Kindle only:  relinks.me/B0D61B41RL

♣ ♣ ♣

This blog is entirely human-written.  Furthermore, the author expressly prohibits any entity from using this publication for purposes of training AI technologies to generate text.     No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author, or used with permission, or from free sources.

Copyright © 2026 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

All rights reserved.

47 thoughts on “Weekend Oracle Card Inspired Flash-Fiction”

    1. Thank you kindly about the song, Edward. I shared it the summer of 2025 as my birthday post. (I did a “thank you” song the year before, but I couldn’t keep that semi-tradition going this year.) Anyway, it seemed like a good way to round out this post.

      I appreciate your remarks on the cards. The artwork on them is actually good. It has an anime style, and that doesn’t bother me. My guilty pleasure is truly good anime (not the kind that sexualizes young girls or goes over the top in objectifying women). However, more than half of the cards are done in an almost monochromatic greenish-beige. I need color. (The Mad Hatter card is an exception. It’s brilliant.) Many thanks for reading and commenting. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Hi, Teri. I was probably around 50 before I read it. With all the Disney-esque versions, I was taken aback by the creepy… kind of sinister vibe that was under the storyline.

      The twins in my flash fiction are based on a pair or true-life twins from my childhood. I grew up around an utterly freakish number of twins, especially considering that the town’s population was under 8,000 people. Have a great rest of the week. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. What a wonderfully creative idea, Teagan! I love how you can take the inspiration from an oracle card and turn it into something so imaginative and engaging. Your storytelling always has such a special touch. I truly enjoyed spending a little of my weekend in your creative world. ❤️✨

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. I like the idea of painting my way out of my troubles.
    There is an actual Wonderland Tarot based on the original book illustrations. Or there was at one time–which means, no doubt, someone is selling one on eBay.
    And you are correct–things can be better than what they seem too. (K)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi, Kerfe. Yes, wouldn’t that be a nice magical talent to have?

      I did investigate Wonderland tarot (as opposed to oracle cards). There were quite a few different decks. At this point I don’t remember why I settled on this particular deck — whether I was leaning specifically to oracles or if none of the tarot versions clicked with me. Although that doesn’t mean the one you knew was among the ones I saw. Happy September. Thanks for reading and commenting. Big hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. A fun post for sure, Teagan, thank you! Your fiction is quite befitting of Wonderland.

    Yes, the art on those cards is a bit odd, but I can see why you were lured back into the rabbit hole.

    Love the cover you did with Tim!

    Hope the Scoobies weren’t too upset that they were not the centre of your attention for 1 post!

    HUGS! 🐰

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’m happy that you liked it, Resa. Maybe the deck will grow on me… But it has about 10 fewer cards than most oracle card decks. And half as many as tarot. I could deal with the unlikely art style. It’s the lack of color that ruins it for me. Most of the cards are monochromatic snot-like greenish-beige. You know how I need color… Thanks for your support of the song — then and now. Big hugs back. 🤗

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Lack of colour … oh.
        Yeah, colour can be used effectively to connote.
        Well, you did good with them today. Congrats to you for making the most, and thank you you for the cool post!
        ❦❦❦༻★༺❦❦❦🤗🤗

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  13. Blinded by flash fiction
    Wrapped up like a goose
    Another walrus with an addiction
    Blinded by flash fiction
    Revved up got your goose
    Another rabbit with good diction
    Blinded by flash fiction
    Dragged down for the count
    Another story’s contradiction

    Fun flash to start off the morning. Love the video. You did a great job on the vocals.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Deborah, especially about the song. The expanded story I envision would be episodic… handled in a way vaguely similar to the way the TV series “Once Upon a Time” was presented — just episode by episode, exploring the world and gradually bringing in the characters per chapter… but in the asylum… expanding on the mythology I created as a supplement to Lewis Carroll’s. But there are several other works on my priority list. LOL — as usual. Have a good holiday weekend. Hugs.

      Like

      Reply

  16. I remember the short story, which I enjoyed, and it was good to return to that universe and listen to the song again. I agree with Beth, although I think the whole world feels like Alice in Wonderland universe at the moment. Thanks for another wonderful flash fiction, Teagan. Big hugs and love to the Scoobies! ♥

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Beth. Anything political is so very, very triggering for me, that I can’t discuss it. But I had such strong feelings that they demanded to be expressed in some way or form. I also was trying to do that in an “occasional serial” of sorts, a post-apocalyptic urban fantasy called “the Rise of Mnemosyne”… but there was so much “me” in the character and it felt so hyper-real to me that I couldn’t bear to write it. Anyhow, I appreciate your feedback here. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a Reply