Warehouse 13 Wiki
Register
Advertisement

A deck of fortune telling cards that Mother Shipton used to spread tragedy all over England.

Origin[]

Ursula Southeil, better known as Mother Shipton, was an English fortune teller whose name today is linked with many tragic events and strange goings on, including the Great Fire of London, all over the UK, Australia and North America throughout the 17/18/19th centuries. Many fortune tellers used her effigy and statue. 

Effects[]

The cards cause whatever prediction the user makes with them to come true.

The only situations shown that were created by the deck were manifestations of the card's literal depictions/illustrations (a jester, a wizard, a chariot, etc.). However, as the meanings of the cards themselves related to the person they were drawn for, it is uncertain if this deck is truly capable of telling one's fortune, or if users merely always draw cards relevant to the situations they wish to create.

Collection[]

This artifact was first discovered when a man at a renaissance fair suddenly died of a heart attack while laughing after a mysterious jester approached him. After Pete and Steve arrived, a cart began moving on its own and nearly ran over a little girl, who was rescued by Steve,  and then dissappeared into thin air. Also, wizards shooting green lightning from their wands and living life-size chess pieces also began causing chaos. 

It was discovered the granddaughter of the fairs fortune teller borrowed Mother Shipton's Tarot Cards from

Tarrot cards

Oswald getting his fortune from the cards

her grandmother and used them to predict a boy named Oswald's fortune. The fortune she predicted said Oswald would become a great hero which means the cards have been challenging Oswald this whole time. Oswald was suppose to be the one to call 911 for the man who had a heart attack, Oswald was suppose to save that little girl from that run away cart and not Steve, and Oswald was suppose to defeat all of the other creatures the cards created. Even after the cards were neutralized, their effects wouldn't go away until Oswald proved he was a hero or died trying. The cards were finally completely neutralized when Oswald proved he was a hero by slaying an evil knight the cards created. 

Trivia[]

  • This artifact seems to be a mix of multiple tarot card varieties, as evidenced by some cards belonging to the Rider-Waite deck (such as the 9 of Swords card), and other cards (as The Magician in this deck does not match the Rider-Waite card of the same Arcana).
    • This mix, however, creates a plot hole. The Rider-Waite deck was first published in 1910, created by poet and scholarly mystic A. E. White (1857-1942). Mother Shipton lived during the 15th and 16th centuries (1488-1561).
      • This chronological mistake is either an oversight by the prop department, or they had to resort to such cards as they could not purchase or recreate period-accurate cards for the show.

Appearances[]

Advertisement