PANIC!
The situation has become dire. Confusion, darkness, and the unknown surround you. You dig deep into your bag, hoping for something useful, knowing that the bag will give you whatever fate decides.
Will you find help?
Will you find confusion?
Will you find glazed nuts?
This is the chance you take with BOTTOMLESS BAG!
Close your eyes
Reach inside
FROM WITHIN
This grouping was selected at random from a communally generated master list of four hundred. It is my hope that these ten items can be used as a forecast or guide to your week ahead. You can also use a ten sided dice to turn each weeks items into a miniature oracle. Whether you choose to take these items literally or metaphorically, it’s up to you to find how these things may help. For a more thorough overview go to Introducing Bottomless Bag and Bottomless Bag 01.
Item 161
#60: ANTLER
A dangerous growth
Item 162
#264: TOYS
A playful distraction
Item 163
#348: PEACH IN A CAGE
Fruit, contained
Item 164
#90: WEARY
Things weigh heavy
Item 165
#374: PILOT
To take charge
Item 166
#203: A STEER SKULL
What happens beyond death?
Item 167
#347: MANY, MANY HOUSEPLANTS
The green inside
Item 168
#16: BLOOD
Through the veins, through the heart
Item 169
#62: LANTERN
To light the way
Item 170
#31: SHADOW
The absence of light
DIGGING DEEPER
This week I want to talk about how BOTTOMLESS BAG actually works. A few days ago I finished the preliminary layouts for the book version of this oracle. This gave me the ability to finally give it a test drive and kick the tires a little. The results were better than I expected and I really wanted to share.
To start I want to describe exactly how I envision people determining their items for their readings with BOTTOMLESS BAG. The setup is simple and follows the same formula as The Impossible Game. You have either a pair of twenty sided dice or a single twenty sided dice that you role twice. Unlike most situations you WILL NOT be adding these numbers together. Your first dice or roll will be your primary number and the other will be your secondary number. For example, if your primary came up 17 and your secondary came up 6 your result would be 17-6. From there you find the corresponding page and item.
For my first question I asked BOTTOMLESS BAG what it is. This seemed like a good place to start because the oracle is untested and unknown. I wanted to get a feel for it’s attitude and how absurd the replies might be.
My first roll brought me to A STACK OF MAIL. This feels so perfect to me. How I translate this is that BOTTOMLESS BAG is 400 little letters from nowhere. Some of them are bills that need to paid, some of them are junk mail, and some of them are letters from a dear friend. This felt like a perfect start.
My second question for the oracle was whether or not BOTTOMLESS BAG will be helpful.
I rolled WALKING SHOES. A necessary assistance for someone walking down their own path. It makes the trek more comfortable and provides support. Also an incredibly apt roll.
My third and final roll for that session was for the question of what the future holds. This one hit me hard with a very personal resonance.
That train table belongs to my son. I see this table in my living room every single day. When I asked BOTTOMLESS BAG about the future it gave me a direct reference to my son, the person in my life who essentially embodies the future for me.
I don’t think I could have asked for a more perfect trial run. Over the coming weeks I’ll be testing the oracle out more and sharing it here.
I’m also hoping to have the book finished by the end of the year and making it available by the end of January 2021. The articles will run for another 23 weeks for whoever wants to keep seeing these little deep dives.
That’s all for now. Come back next week for another dig into the BOTTOMLESS BAG.
As always:
SEE WHAT’S INSIDE
DIG DEEP
AND
HAUNT ON
ABOUT ERIC J. MILLAR
Eric is the artist and writer behind Outlet Press. He has published over 20 books over the last four years with VACA: Outlet Illustrated, Volume 5 being his most recent publication. He is also the creator of The Disruption Generator, the randomly generated bibliomantic oracle, and The Impossible Game, a cleromantic oracle, both published in partnership with We The Hallowed.
About Author
