Approaching his 30s, recently married to his wife Alexandra (who made a living through her fortune-telling talents) and with a child on the way, his life's ambition was beginning to slip away...

Until one fateful night when he was drowning his sorrows away, the stress of his unemployment and the pressure of life on the poverty line on his shoulders, being consoled by his best mate Bernard Barnes, who fought alongside him and saved his life during their campaign in the war. Atticus challenged an inebriated man to a bet for his three retired from racing, but even out of their prime, strong and healthy race-horses he was looking to auction. Atticus was certain he could win the card game they would be playing by cheating due to his skills of illusion he'd learnt with his pack of cards as a bored foot soldier in the British Army. With no money left to put forward, Atticus persuaded Barnes to give him his remaining life savings to gamble with. While this didn't exactly match the stakes of the grand prize of the horses, the drunken man could hardly resist Atticus' cocky challenge.

However, in the end, the lucky (or cunning) Atticus won his three prize racehorses setting him well in motion to forming his own circus company when his loyal friend Bernard, investing his trust and savings in Atticus, bought him a shabby, but good and strong circus tent the perfect size for his horses. Atticus Ashton started rocky but eventually built his business to be alongside the most successful and beloved circuses for families in Britain.  From small beginnings with his wife Alexandra, who'd recently given birth to their infant daughter Amelia, eager to share her fortune-telling gift with the world, Bernard Barnes convinced by his mate to join in on the venture and become the clown character of the circus, Barnes' two boys training up as Acrobats to form their Barnes' Brothers acrobatic duo and finally, using his talent at horse-riding from his time as a soldier to create a show-stopping traditional trick-riding act, Atticus established himself as the ringmaster. And here, the stage name Atticus Astonish of Ashton & Co's Astonishing Circus was born.

Over the next decade, their popularity grew, although rocky at first. Bernard's clown character brought the apprehensive crowds, venturing to investigate the new circus in town, pure hilarity and not to mention the jaw-dropping effect the two young brothers' acrobatic routine left on the audience.

Even so, the circus wasn't bringing in enough profit and had been receiving complaints on many matters... Firstly, people felt that Atticus' trick-riding show stopper, while pretty impressive enough was a bit old-fashioned, which made sense as this kind of circus act had been famous since he was a boy and long before that, since the beginning of the circus. Additionally, while the other two acts had received nothing but praise, people had relentlessly heckled or even walked out from the fortune-telling act of Alexandra's calling it out as being ludicrous and a trick or scam.

With this feedback, Atticus sought to bring improvement to the company and expand its circle of members. He adopted two orphan pick-pockets, Clara and Timothy, who were caught living on the rooftops of London by the police and saved them ‘charitably’ from a life of child labour in a workhouse, bringing them into the circus' family. With their experience living on the roofs of London, Atticus used their skills to form a tight-rope walking and ceiling walking act. He also met a ridiculously large and strong teenage ex-sailor, by the name of Felix Fury, trying to make a living bare-knuckle fist-fighting in the pubs of London. Using his famous card trick illusion cheat in a bet, that he of course won, he hired the boy into the circus as a strongman.

With his troupe expanded and the new members encouraging sold-out shows, he turned to aiming for higher heights with his equestrian performance. Mulling over the success the young children of the circus act's brought, he decided to train up his toddler daughter Amelia to do tricks on horseback alongside him. In his opinion, nothing would impress the crowds more than a young child performing the difficult tricks he could. However, the young Amelia had little interest in this preferring the fortune-telling talents of her mother, her seer abilities said to be passed down through the woman of the family, to Amelia. Nevertheless, the ambitious Atticus was relentless and some would say harsh and cruel in his goal of training Amelia. While she faced much pressure and harshness from her father, and had many injuries while forced to overcome her fear of performing to the circus' rowdy crowd and being pushed into the spotlight, along the way, she eventually reached in his eyes an adequate level of skill. Atticus wished for a boy that he could teach his talents and pass on his legacy too, and Amelia though young was aware of the fact she didn't quite live up, tarnishing their relationship through the years.

As their popularity grew, and they became a household name, his daughter wasn't the only family member he put strain on. In his longing to have a son, he put pressure on his wife Alexandra who'd had difficulties in childbirth with Amelia, to bear him a son he could raise to pass on his legacy. Alexandra claimed she could foresee disaster if she was to carry a child again while Atticus diminished her fears as nonsense. Due to the complaints from the audience of her act, he told her he had made the executive decision to remove her wife's act from the program, re-assigning her to the overall running of the circus behind the scenes. Alexandra was displeased and put this down to Atticus' anger at her refusal to give him a son. With years of pressure from him, she caved and agreed, warning him of a disastrous and dangerous fate... She had pulled 6 tarot cards: The World - The Wheel of Fortune (upside down) - The Magician - Death - The Magician (upside down) - The Tower.

The changes to the circus brought them much fame, popularity and most important to Atticus, financial gain. With his ego growing, so too did Atticus' ideas, from small to plain impossible. He wanted to travel around the country, even setting his sights on Europe, but felt annoyance at how with the difficulty of travelling, their company could only have temporary circus tents that were in his opinion, ever the perfectionist, tacky and a waste of space. Due to this, he had plans in the making for a grand and impressive portable circus building, built with sturdier materials, that the company could travel around with to take their acts to the next level. Most called him crazy and his family felt nothing was ever good enough for him, feeling that the root of this obsession was most probably his unhappiness and unsatisfaction at his lack of a son since they had been trying for a long time and with much difficulty, putting Alexandra through continuous illness and emotional trauma again and again.

Nevertheless, he continued to push, even if it broke her and towards the turn of the century, Atticus felt like a man on top of the world. As his experiment to build the world's largest portable circus building was completed, Alexandra came to him bearing news she was pregnant and that the cards told her it was to be a son, however, his destiny was to be dangerous, the cards: The Magician (Upside down), The Fool and The Devil coming to her in her readings and appearing in her dreams... Atticus again merely brushed her aside while Alexandra, who had become very poorly, withdrawn and weak in her pregnancy, only responded with a knowing nod as if she knew her time had almost come to an end...

Almost a year later, Alexandra, not before birthing a healthy baby boy, died in childbirth. Later that evening, her body perished in a great fire that turned Atticus' new, state-of-the-art, travelling circus building to ashes. Alexandra's tarot deck had turned to dust... All except one card, Justice.

Though the company, may have been off to a slow start on their arrival, Atticus used the company's savings to purchase a set-up that would allow them to transport their circus on trains allowing them to tour the country, from middle-of-nowhere towns to grand and expanding cities, their troupe's recognition grew as families marvelled at the acrobat, tight-rope walker and ceiling walker pack of kids and the family trick-riding trio. Atticus' pride and joy, the young Arthur Ashton who had become his prodigy, continued to grow and impress his father learning all the tricks of the trade from trick-riding to his father's card tricks. What his father loved most about him is that the boy could take initiative, he didn't just mirror Atticus' ringmaster performance like his daughter, he developed everything he had taught him, becoming, over the years, even more, skilled at his father's talent of illusion, forming his magician character in the circus and an act to go along with this.

While the young Arthur thrived, the trio became a duo, with the older Amelia, being pushed further to the sidelines and out of the act by her father. She decides to upstart and continue her mother's fortune-telling traditions, though unnoticed by her father, much loved by the crowds.

Atticus, as always, had plans for the circus to become grander if it was even possible. Following the trends of the time labelled as 'The Great Circus Revival' he reached out to some of the most famed artists across the globe. He hired a lion tamer by the name of Basil Brute, who brought along a pride of wild cats that in the company's fashion, astonished the audience and a young French runaway, Celine, who rounded the troupe out with impressive trapeze abilities.

As their company grew, every single child in the country, whether in a bustling city or backwater town knew of the name ‘Astonish' and the profits flooded in.

While Atticus' business boomed for the next decade, things began to take a turn...

Eventually, after a heated argument, Bernard walked out on the company, and when the conscription was raised to 50 in 1918 he joined the war effort, his sons wanted to join with him but were blackmailed by Atticus' knowledge that they dodged their army conscription and they would be in legal trouble. Unfortunately, Bernard was killed in action during the battle, planting a seed of guilt but also, resentment in Bertie and Bailey towards Atticus that they couldn't be there with their father. When they plan to leave, Atticus holds their contract over their heads forcing them to stay.

In the following years, the circus had a boom in popularity, due to the events in the world driving a thirst for entertainment.

And in 1920, Atticus caught Tuberculosis and passed away. With such a legacy left behind the members flocked to view Atticus’s will.  Upon the reading of his will, he wished, in his death, for his inheritance to pass to his only son, the only recently, turned 20-year-old, Arthur Ashton, surpassing the oldest child, Amelia Ashton.

This was to be expected by most members of the circus.  In the case of the naive Clara and Timothy, who were still young and in the prime of their talent, they owed their life to Atticus who took them in and made a career for them. All they'd ever known was the circus. It was only natural that they continued with the company and looked up to Arthur and the next generation of the business that followed.  They had high hopes they would continue to be looked after by the Astonish family and be rewarded for their efforts and years of hard work. 

The newer members, such as Basil Brute, had money on their minds and had reaped rewards from the company for such a long time and would stay until the money dried up.

Meanwhile, a bit of a love triangle affair was going on between Celine and Felix, giving them a reason to stay put.

However, some were not so happy. Amelia had spent years viewed as the second, talentless child.  Her brother was the prodigy of her father, gaining his skills in talent in equestrian arts and magic. While she didn't inherit these same talents, she felt she was the overlooked child. With the death of her father, she was filled with delight and relief that after years of abuse and neglect, she and her mother went through at the hands of her cruel and cold father, years of slaving away and being ignored and overlooked she would own the circus and be able to end it's line, the one thing her father loved more than her. You couldn’t imagine her rage when she found that her very own family legacy surpassed her to land in the hands of her younger, egotistical brother. Inside she felt stupid for being in the least surprised. She cursed her foolish little brother who had grown up with a life of luxury and ease, in all his smugness and pride and the entire existence of the circus. However, on the verge of snapping, she wanted nothing more than to leave, but the resentment kept her there, kept her trapped. She kept a stiff upper lip, encouraged by her secret lover Bailey and her heart softened, agreed to help Arthur in the running of the circus. After all, it was her brother, not her father....

On another note, Bernard Barnes had not long passed away, and Bertie and Bailey Barnes whose father had loyally given so much to his dear friend Atticus and had been told by their father the disloyalty from who he thought was a friend, were in the least, to say put out. On one hand, Bertie was disgusted and felt they should demand their fair share of the pay to the young Arthur and walk out. However, Bailey, the gentler and fairer of the twins who was the secret admirer of Amelia which was a high motivator in his willingness to stay, advocated that Arthur was his own man and wasn't his father, that they should give him and his running of the business a chance. Bertie eventually acquiesced settling it to test Arthur's loyalty at a pay rise. Which, Arthur, promised to deliver.

And thus, all the members whether happily or unhappily, willingly or begrudgingly, set forth to sign strict new contracts set out by Arthur, suggested by his sister, who had stepped into the role of a loyal advisor, setting forth the new era of Astonish & Co's Astonishing Circus.

On top of the world after inheriting such a large fortune, in his youthful arrogance, Arthur felt he could do anything. With the pressure of following on from his father's name, he felt he had to make large statements. Statements, that his older, more responsible sister, urged him not to make.

Following on from a year of grieving and getting the circus back on its feet, the press began to release statements pondering over where the great era of the company closed at the end of the infamous Atticus Astonish, could his son Arthur Astonish step up to the plate?

Arthur set forth on a series of financial mishaps one after the other. Arthur's first mission as the circus ringmaster was to buy a herd of exotic animals from around the globe to join Basil Brute's lions and form a huge circus parade: elephants, zebras, snakes, various kinds of exotic birds... Any animal you can name, he wanted to have. Amelia whose hatred and jealousy had softened due to her love affair with Bailey, had bitten her lip and tried to be a faithful sister, urging him not to do it as the animals were pricey and it would eventually, affect the wage rates of the circus members, but Arthur pushed her worries aside. While this brought public amazement and high ratings, it ended in disaster with animals attacking circus members, passing away after not being looked after properly and large expenses. This animal menagerie idea didn't last long enough to replace the large hole it left in the business's finances.

Nevertheless... He continued with similar foolish escapades. His next idea was to create a fairground attached to their circus until they got halfway through the project and had to call it quits when the circus troupe urged his lawyer to convince him to put a stop to it as they couldn't afford to complete it. Again, another blow to the business account.

Again, not learning from his mistake he decided to employ freelance performers that he thought would add to the circus as he felt it was getting boring, that would come and go, taking more profit than he paid for them with. His most recent was a fire-eating couple from Brazil.

This caused a lot of annoyance in the circus. While they were used to his father, having an obsession with crazy business ventures, the difference was that his were long-term goals that he always completed to the best of his ability and that worked well in the end. But on the other hand, Arthur's were snap judgements with little effort put into them that only lasted temporarily before he abandoned the ideas. One way was organised and methodical, the other was rash and irresponsible, affecting the whole circus.

Of course, these new additions cost a lot of money. This only increased the tension in the core members. Bertie and Bailey who had only received a pittance of a wage rise were yet to receive more, while the newest most popular members like the freelance acts and Basil and his band of animals received most of the budget. Arthur picked and chose who deserved what wage depending on audience popularity, over the years Bertie had been demanding they leave and he confronted Arthur, but Bailey, whose love for Amelia had only grown, refused, though their anger grew.

In the case of Basil Brute, the newer animals, that had survived of course, seemed to be newer and fresher than Basil's band of bigcats prompting Arthur, who had been warned by Amelia they can't afford all the animals, to ask Basil if they can sell the cats. This angered Basil who had the cats since they were cubs, who refused and created a heated feud between the two. Basil, knowing that he was his most popular act, bluffs to him that he'll walk out with his contract almost up unless he gets a pay rise and a better cage for his lions. Arthur promises he can deliver and does, with a hefty price to pay.

Due to another financial hit on the business doubled by the effects of the great depression that shook America, Arthur tells the company he has to lower their wages resulting in a storm.

Bertie's last straw, the disparity between Basil's pay rise, the high-pay rate of the short-term contracted fire-eating couple and the disloyalty to the oldest members finally convinces Bailey to leave the circus. Upon hearing of their plan to leave when they confront Arthur, who with the stress of the great depression is stubborn and set-against refusing them a pay-rise and demanding they work till their contracts full term out of spite. A desperate Amelia begs him to offer them a pay rise. Arthur refuses and the two have a heated argument, Amelia's hatred boiling over at his resemblance to his father.

Bailey and Bertie plan to leave the circus in the dead of night so that Arthur can't stop them. She begs Bailey to stay and he begs her to come with them, but she can't let go of the circus. Amelia decides to alter Bertie's equipment hoping to injure him slightly so they can't leave the circus. However, disaster strikes and in a horrific turn of events, instead Bailey's equipment falters and he falls to his death in front of the crowd. This scandal along with the inability to afford circus tickets due to the financial state of the country, means the audience rates decrease significantly.

Amelia is devastated. Without the love of Bailey softening her drive for vengeance, especially when Arthur disregards the death of the brother when Bertie blames him and fights him, causing her to snap. From then on, she vows to bring downfall to Arthur and the company.

Bertie leaves town alleviating some financial stress from Arthur, however, this doesn't last long.

There has been a secret love affair between Felix and Celine for many years. Celine has confided with Amelia about how she is growing tired of waiting for Felix to propose. However, Felix writes a letter to 'the boss' about his plans to propose to Celine if he can have a Christmas bonus to afford an engagement ring. Amelia hides it. She then writes a fake love note from Celine to Arthur of her affection and uses it to convince Arthur to propose to Celene as he needs an heir for the circus knowing that it will upset Felix. Arthur does so and Celine, tired of waiting for Felix, accepts. Felix confronts Arthur, who is shocked and states he doesn't know what he's talking about. In their argument, his narcissism comes out and he boasts to Felix that he just has to accept Celine will be with him causing the two to become confrontational.

Later, Arthur catches Felix and Celine together and in his anger gives Felix his notice, sending him away from the circus this week, and keeping Celine with him.

Amelia puts further pressure on the angered Arthur and alters the business ledger to convince him untruly that he can only afford either the fire couple or Clara and Timothy, hoping to drive further tension in the circus. As Amelia expected, Arthur demands that his adopted brother and sister, Clara and Timothy, go into early retirement. They are distraught and beg him to change his mind, however, he refuses, claiming their act isn't what it used to be.

Timothy is angry and gives a slanderous comment to the press about the carelessness of the circus and Arthur's fault in Bertie's death, angering Arthur. However, Clara searches through the business records to find a way to prove they can afford to stay and finds that Amelia altered them. Upon confronting Amelia, she snaps and gives her an ultimatum that she's got to tell Arthur after the rehearsal tonight or she will herself.

Amelia angered by Clara and panicking that her plan is falling apart finds a note that Arthur left Felix, that he's left every week since Bailey's death, a list of equipment that needs maintenance work. At the bottom of the list, is that Clara's safety net needs replaced as she has complained that it doesn't have enough tension. Amelia hides the note so that Felix never finds it. That night at rehearsal, Clara's safety net fails and she falls to her death.

He tries to use this to lure Celine to him but she is hurt and angry and breaks off their engagement and attempts to hand her notice in, however, Arthur holds the contract over her head forcing her to stay.

The circus began to grow tense and the core more rotten, with a divide between the core members. Arthur became more and more separated from the company that was once his family.  With this and the changes of the 1930s, came the final downfall of the company.

With notice of Clara's suspicious death reported to Bertie by Timothy and Felix, telling him of their suspicions of Arthur, Bertie begins to re-think that Bailey's accident may have been foul play. He receives a letter from Timothy, attached is a note left from Clara about suspicious financial records and misunderstands thinking she meant Arthur had something to do with it when she meant Amelia. Bertie figures it out, being close to Amelia over the years and realising that only she handles the financial records. He sends a letter to her warning he is coming to the circus for revenge and sends a letter to Timothy telling him to check up on him if he doesn't get in touch again. When he arrives at the circus he sends a telegram to Timothy stating that Amelia is the culprit.

Meanwhile, another hit of the 1930s is the decline of the great era of train travel, raising the price of the circus' train travel to the extremes. With this in mind, Arthur has been planning for a long time to sell the circus' current property and remodel it to a mode of motor transport. Possibly the most wise business decision he's ever made, Arthur has been setting the money aside for a long time. However, Celine breaks in, steals the money, and uses it to bail out Felix. When Arthur finds this out, in a rage, he reports her to the police.

With Celine and Felix now wanted for theft and with Felix having broken his bail agreements, they are both in hiding from the police. Timothy keeps them hidden in his house. Timothy travels to check on Bertie worried that he hasn't heard from him and instead, Felix, receives the telegram (unopened) planning to give it to Timothy later on.

He confronts Amelia, who poisons a whisky served to him with poison. She feeds his body to the lions.

When the lions become ill from the poison in Bertie's body and die, all hell breaks loose. Basil believes it was Arthur who poisoned them, trying to cut finances for the travelling motor circus he wants to buy. The two have a full-blown fight with Arthur, in all his anger and stress, beating Basil Brute half to death until the fire-eating couple breaks them up and calls the police.

Arthur storms out flustered after the violent act he just committed to have a cigarette, and leaves Amelia nursing Basil Brute. Amelia decides to poison Basil Brute and pours a gasoline circle, using the fire-eating equipment, around his body so that the police are unable to determine the cause of death and assume that Arthur beat him to death.

Shortly after she's given Basil Brute the poison and poured the gasoline, Timothy arrives catching her in the act. He urges Amelia that Arthur is a murderer and that they need to go to the police but is stopped by Basil Brute reacting to the poison. In shock and before he can react Amelia stabs him and lights the fire leaving him to die.

As the tent is lit up in flames the police arrive. They find Arthur lurking nearby and his discarded cigarette butt. Following the testimonies from the fire-eating couple and finding the body of Basil Brute, they arrest Arthur Ashton for the circus murders. Amelia advocates for his innocence.

The police report the situation in the newspaper stating that they have a John Doe that's unaccounted for. On a train Celine and Felix have their bags packed to runaway together, their wanted posters in a newspaper Felix is reading, and a new engagement ring on Celine's hand. Felix stops at the page reporting the arrest of Arthur Ashton and shows Celine. They both discuss the John Doe and realise it'll be no other than Timothy. They deliberate whether they should tell the police their knowledge of the matter. However, they decide they can't as they'd be arrested and decide to let the matter lay to rest and start their new lives together. Believing that Arthur is the culprit they think that what is done is done. However, the two have forgotten of the telegram, unopened for years to come.

Years later Arthur, who has recently lost his final appeal on death row, is granted a last visit from his sister Amelia, who has continued to advocate for his innocence. Nobody knows what happened in their visit, what was said, what was done... However, what people do agree on is the fact that following on from this visit, a fire that had been put out in Arthur had re-ignited. He had found meaning again, a purpose, since his sentencing. That night Arthur performed a famous illusion from his shows and disappeared from his prison cell, escaping prison.

A week later a group of fire fighters called to put out a fire in the apartment of Amelia Ashton, find her body before it could be destroyed. And the cause of death? Poison... With the escaped Arthur Ashton still at large, a group of paranormal investigators are called by a mysterious figure to the site of the destroyed circus tent. Here, they are trapped in time and have to solve the mystery of what happened at this once great circus...

Now accused of the murders committed at his very own circus company, and facing the death penalty, the psychics must work out if he deserves his fate - is he innocent or guilty?

When the players step into the tent they will see a vision of the past, the great fire of 1930, the flames projected onto the sides of the tent and when the veil between the spirit world and their world rips, the tent will transform to, it's past-form, the way it was on that fateful day before disaster struck and the tower came crashing down.

Here, the players will be stuck as they explore the tent from the past, it's puzzles, clues, evidence and environment to uncover the truth and make their final decision.

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-This card was fitting for representing Arthur Ashton. Not only does the imagery of the card match his Magician persona in the circus, but the interpretations represent the new chapter for the circus company under his leadership when he takes over from his father.

However, at a deeper level, the reversed Magician card represents:

'hesitation, scattered energy, confusion, poor planning, lack of focus. You may be dealing with a creative block.'

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-On the surface and at first, Arthur appears, confident and ambitious in taking over the company. But away from the spotlight of the circus he is young, unprepared and foolish, making shallow unpassionate decisions that impact the circus and its members eventually leading to its downfall.

As a side meaning, the potential for manipulation or trickery.'

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-This also refers to his relationship with his sister Amelia who later frames him, pulling the strings on his mistakes like a puppet master leading to his downfall too.

'It is also a reminder that the Universe mirrors each of our actions in the greater scheme of things, so we should take care to direct our energy wisely'

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-Atticus's inflated ego, narcissistic tendencies and mistreatment of his company cause the karma he faces, a fate that his mother predicted at the beginning of her pregnancy and a fate encouraged by his father.

Card zero, in the deck, symbolises a beginning, like The Magician card, but different, due to the unplanned nature of a fate that hasn't yet been plotted out with many paths and opportunities depending on the choices you make. This brings up the idea of a butterfly effect, the energy of your decisions at the start of a chapter will affect your fate at the resolution.

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-This again ties into the underlying themes of bad karmic energy in a line that passes from Atticus Ashton and is predicted by Alexandra Ashton. The decisions made before his birth, relating to the imagery of it being card zero, causes karma to pass down from father to son when he inherits a company established before his time.

'The Fool can appear when you need to get clearer on your purpose before moving forward...How will the choice you make next ultimately come to affect your circumstances?'

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-Nevertheless, the card also represents that if you plan, find yourself and make positive choices your fate will have a positive outcome. In the case of Arthur Ashton, he did the opposite, linking to The Magician card and reflecting the reversed side of The Fool:

'Recklessness, risk-taking, general foolishness, and naivety'

(Chamberlain, 2019)

'Instead, this card speaks to the inner wildness we all possess that generally needs some management, through skills associated with cards like Temperance, and Justice'

-This draws parallels to Amelia's relationship with Bailey, who in contrast to his head-strong brother, represents the Temperance card. While alive, his qualities soften the hatred and rage that Amelia feels inside. When he passes away, the containment of these feelings being trapped for years surfaces as a stressor that is the final motivation for her to snap.

-The link to Justice also refers to Amelia's experiences and trauma that perverted her sense of Justice.

Justice represents:

'Upright: Virtue, balance, fair evaluation, right judgement. It's important to remain objective and stay out of ego as you evaluate the situation.

'Remember that Justice isn't about shame or anger-only balance.'

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-Amelia has experienced Justice in its reversed sense through the treatment of her by her father and the inequality between her and her brother. Due to this and the influence of the devil's qualities, she now interprets Justice in this state, taking Justice into her own hands against her brother dishonestly and immorally and imbalancing the scales of Justice.

'Justice also teaches us about cause and effect, and the balancing role of karma as a universal principle. It reminds us that actions have consequences.'

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-Again referring back to The Magician and The Fool, the butterfly effect and the eventual karma bad actions have comes into play. Her father enacts injustice toward Amelia, causing her sense of Justice to be manipulated by the Devil card and commit violent actions feeling she is undertaking Justice.

-The imagery of the devil card was interesting in this sense as it presents a young man and woman opposite each other at the shoulders of the Devil, his large figure looming over them. This showcases the real root of Amelia's inner conflict. The cruel impact of her father has loomed over her, her entire life. Trapping her and giving her an obsessional grudge to bring ruin to the circus and the brother she has had to compete with her entire life.

'Reversed: imprisonment, selfishness, obsession...Fear of lack, or fear of being judged. May also indicate a struggle with a problematic addiction.'

-Ultimately, this is why the players have to find the Justice card to end the game. To find the truth and put right the scales of Justice that was caused.

Source Material:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

While the upright positive connotations of the Emperor card have been evident in Atticus' life:

'Construction, formation'

'Sovereignety, leadership'

-He was able to create a successful and prosperous circus company in his lifetime through his initiative and strong leadership qualities. However, underneath the surface, the reversed meanings of this card stand out more.

'Reversed: Domination, inflexibility, excessive control, rigidity...Remember that flexibility is the necessary counterpart to solid structure. You may need to be protective of what you have created.'

-This is evident in the fact that Atticus' tyrannical, forceful nature and unwavering stubbornness impacted everything positive that he built, undoing the good that this card can bring.

-His ruthlessness to get what he wanted whether that be pushing his young daughter to perform his difficult acts and pushing his poor wife so he could have a son, points to his controlling and cruel nature. Furthermore, the breakdown in his friendship with Bernard Barnes.

-The eventual, break in the relationship between him and his family and the death of his wife is a prime example of the fact that he broke the family he built as a Father due to him resembling the reversed emperor.

-Additionally, as the Father of his circus, the poor foundations his imbalanced leadership caused, meant the circus he built crumbled, at the hands of his son after his lifetime.

'This card often points to the need to build lasting support structures.'

Quotes and information from:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-While Alexandra's lifetime didn't extend past the origin era of the circus, her presence extends throughout the rest of the circus' timeline as a spiritual force tying her character to the high priestess.

-The prediction she makes before her death comes into fruition making her character's presence, have a lasting impact on the rest of the story. The story links heavily to the past with the karma created by Atticus Ashton affecting the foundations he created, his children and company.

-In the case of Amelia, her murderous actions are directly motivated by her past traumas and conflicts she experienced that link to the death of Alexandra.

-On the other hand, in the case of Arthur, this card has important connections to the Magician card.

'Having set an intention with the Magician phase of the journey, it's now time to consider carefully what the next step is before acting.'

'Acting from impulse rather than inner knowing can lead to trouble.'

-This relates to Alexandra's original prediction of Arthur's doomed fate. Predicting, that he would inherit the circus and face a choice. If he follow the path of the reversed Magician card, she was able to forsee disaster.

-This also represents her opposition to her husband Atticus. While the High Priestess represents intuition and mystery, the Emperor opposes this with rigidity and stubbornness. And in another sense, it represents caution and thoughtfulness, while the Emperor is rash and careless. This highlights the conflict between her husband, which later impacts her son.

Quotes and information from:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-Again, this links to Alexandra's correct prediction of the doomed future of the circus in the hands of her son. In-part, the downfall is caused by the external force of karma caused by his father and the weak roots he left his children after his death. This meant the circus' success couldn't last forever.

-Even more so, the Wheel of Fortune Card relates to situations coming into motion due to change, which links again to the change in generation in the hand-over to the egotistical and careless Arthur.

'Cycles, turning of events, changing seasons...the need to stay centered.'

Quotes and information from:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

'Reversed: rigid attitudes, dictatorship, manipulation. Someone may be pressuring you to do things their way. You may need to challenge the status quo.'

-The Hierophant card's traits are reflected in the personality and actions of Bernard Barnes.

-As the Hierophant Bernard is a fair and just advisor which can be seen in the aid he gave Atticus in the formation of his company and how he stayed by his side, loyal to the community Atticus built.

-Beloved by his sons, he was a wise and just father figure. This is in direct contrast to Arthur leading to their falling out. For example, the reversed traits of the Hierophant, describe a similar character to Atticus.

-This is evident in his beliefs that it would be wrong not to fight for his country, establishing conformity to traditional beliefs like patriotism. He walks out when Arthur becomes manipulative, attempting to force him to go against his morals.

-This is modelled in Bertie when he challenges Arthur about the treatment of the circus members.

-Instead in Bailey, his fairness and level-headed composition are passed on. For example, the tranquillity he brings to Amelia and convincing his more hot-headed brother to stay in the circus for so long and give Arthur a chance.

Quotes and information from:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

'Reversed: halted progress, lack of control, impatience. Heading in the wrong direction, the pitfalls of aggression, ego, and arrogance. As a side meaning, can point to travel delays or difficulties.'

-The traits of the Chariot reflect the traits of Bertie and his head-strong and assertive nature, which is seen reflected in his initial confrontation of Arthur when he commits an act that goes against his beliefs: unfair treatment to the circus' older members driving him to leave the circus and the suspicion that he messed with their equipment on purpose. He's not afraid to make his feelings on matters known and is outspoken.

-His decisive and stubborn nature is in direct contrast to Arthur, mirroring the conflict between them. While Arthur also appears stubborn and head-strong, his facade is more shallow and interchangeable, he'll look to please anyone and change his mind depending on the situation that he's in. Bertie can't abide by this, causing problems between the two characters. For example, most of the reversed traits reflect the interchangeable and egotistical nature of Arthur as a direct opposite to him.

-However, the reversed traits of the Chariot card can mean someone is so determined and focused that they have a one-track mind causing them to get the wrong idea about situations. This can be seen in Bertie when he blames Arthur for the death of Bailey for months until he realises he was wrong.

-Additionally, the card points to travels and journeys and Bertie's determination to move on from the circus makes an ode to this.

Quotes and information from:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

'Reversed: imbalance, a lack of long-term vision, impatience, tendency toward excess.'

-Bailey as a representation of temperance, reflects a diplomatic and patient nature, contrasting to his brother Bertie. While they contrast, the Temperance's good omen of teamwork and equality means they are always a team and their differences compliment each other. Bailey's patience can help bring calmness to his brother cooling off his stubbornness when he feels put out by Arthur. Bailey is the reason why they stayed in the circus for so long.

-The twins' bond and equality is in direct contrast to the sibling dynamic between Arthur and Amelia who faced a childhood being forced to compete against one another and fighting for attention from their tyrant father. This makes the relationship between Bailey and Amelia interesting as the reason she falls in love with Bailey and enjoys her time spent with the twins because she can see what she never had in her own life.

-Additionally, Bailey helps resolve the conflict between Amelia and Arthur, but only for a short period. A lack of long-term plans is a negative feature of the Temperance card, which is why convincing of Bertie to stay in the circus went on for too long before it ended in tragedy.

Quotes and information from:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

'Reversed: dishonesty, deceit, suspicion, illusion. Mistrusting your own intuition. There may be too much psychic debris in the air to see anything clearly at this time.'

-The Moon relates to the character of Clara in the sense of her sensitive and curious nature that connects to the mystery aspect of the card.

-The moons encouragement of mystery, believing your intuition and investigating beyond what people see is the key motivation that drives her to feel something deeper is going on when they get given their notice to leave the circus. Feeling this way, she investigates further.

-However, this becomes her downfall. On the reversed side the suspicion causes her to search the business records and find out about the lies and fabrication from Amelia.

-These dishonest and conniving qualities represent Amelia in this situation when she murders Clara to cover her tracks.

-The quality of illusion would represent the false impression that Amelia makes, as a fortune teller and psychic figure, manipulating the appearance that the true culprit is Arthur after Clara's death.

Quotes and information from:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

'Reversed: loneliness, excessive withdrawal, isolation, confusion. Unpleasant bouts of isolation and loneliness should be tempered with some positive social time with supportive people. You may be ignoring or resisting solid advice from a wise source.'

-While the Hangman card represents the career and art form Timothy practises, due to the imagery of the card portraying a man hanging upside down from a ceiling drawing parallels to the ceiling walking act he performs in the circus, the Hermit represents his personality and the conflict he faces.

-As with the traits of the Hermit, Timothy is quiet, introspective and thoughtful. He prefers to be solitary, keeping to himself most of the time as a true introvert, except for Clara, who like in the reversed meaning is a shoulder for him to lean on.

-When Clara is murdered, the event distresses Timothy, causing him to leave the circus by himself, leaving with the trauma of losing the only person who meant something to him and facing a period of being isolated and dealing with this alone. This can be connected to the secondary meaning of this card.

-Reaching out for help during this time he is isolated, he reaches out to Bertie with a final note that Clara left, that he can't figure out the meaning of. This turns out to be an important clue referring to the reversed meaning of the card that the Hermit becomes so isolated he blocks out help from someone looking out for them. This situation repeats when he misses the telegram revealing the culprit from Bertie which results in his murder.

Quotes and information from:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

'Reversed: disharmony, fear of commitment, relationship issues. An inability to commit to one choice over another.'

-The Lovers represents the relationship that Felix has towards Celine, his affection towards her and their journey together.

-With Felix's awkwardness and shy qualities, like the reversed side of the card, he is unable to assert himself in his relationship with Celine and make moves towards a relationship.

-This creates disharmony when Arthur proposes to her and she accepts, forming a love triangle and a choice between the two men for Celine.

-In the end, when he finally asserts himself, Celine chooses Felix of the two men and they eventually run away together even stealing to make it happen, making their love story follow the upright meaning of the card in terms of important decisions.

-However, the choice aspect of this card could also apply to their choice to not give the police information about the murders at the end of the story, making a lot of the elements of the case unsolved and relating to the more negative qualities of this card.

Quotes and information:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

-With the end of Celine's story ending happily with Felix, her nature and story reflect the positive upright qualities of the Empress card. The two put themselves first to be able to have the means to runaway and start a life together giving them the best end over any other member of the company.

-While the Empress card reflects her personality and the end of her love story, the Star reflects the beginning of her love story and career.

-The imagery on the card relating to stars and a night sky draws a parallel to her being the star of the trapeze in the circus, a crowd favourite.

-The reversed meaning of the Star reflects the rocky start she and Felix had in their relationship when she lost interest due to a misunderstanding and sought advice from Amelia who used it to cause a misunderstanding between her and Felix. Although the situation righted itself with parallels to the Empress card.

'Reversed: despair, lack of faith...A project or relationship may be losing steam. Get back in touch with your inner guidance, and ask for help from those you trust.'

Quotes and information:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

This is reflected in the upright meaning of the card:

'Positivity, success, fun, warmth, harmony contentment. A period of joy and security. All is well'

Arthur was also born in a prosperous and optimistic time for the circus, even though there was a setback of the circus tent burning down and the tragedy of Alexandra passing away, the birth of Arthur helped Atticus to bounce back. The immigration to America was bringing huge excitement within the circus company. The newborn baby was almost a sign of good things to come.

This is reflected in the reversed meaning of the card:

'Setback, delay, insecurity, temporary blues. Don't focus on what isn't working right now. Trust that the experiences of joy, success, and easy rest will come again.'

Quotes and information from:

(Chamberlain, 2019)

'Reversed: lack of discipline, weakness. Resist the urge to act out of anger, frustration, or fear.'

-As opposed to the more positive associations with the upright meaning of the Strength card, which Basil thinks he is, Basil represents the reversed side of the card which reflects an incorrect interpretation of having a strong character.

-Basil equates strength with physical strength, which he has. However, the strength card reflects strength of mind and character. Basil as a character is quick to bully his way to the top and is ready to fight anyone and anything whenever he feels they insult his pride. This is the opposite of the upright meanings of strength connecting Basil to the reversed side of this card.

Quotes and information from:

(Chamberlain, 2019)