Glossary / Cards / Mice

erosion · stress · leak
small drains can undermine major goals
Native house · House 23 — erosion
Caution
ignoring minor losses until they accumulate
Useful action
patch leaks and simplify
Core variants
By domain
general
reduce stressors and prevent gradual depletion
love
small unresolved tensions can wear trust down
work
operational leakage needs immediate maintenance
Common pairs
When Mice appears beside these cards:
generalMice + Querent puts attrition, drain, or small repeated stressors directly on your own choices and position.
loveMice + Querent points to worry, doubt, or low-grade relational strain landing most squarely with you.
workMice + Querent marks personal energy, focus, or resources being quietly depleted by accumulated pressure.
generalMice + Key shows how the drain can be answered — once the source of attrition is identified and named, the erosion can stop.
loveMice + Key suggests the quiet tension eroding the relationship has a specific, identifiable cause that can be addressed.
workMice + Key points to a diagnostic fix for an operational leak — identify the drain and the solution becomes obvious.
generalMountain + Mice combines a major obstacle with persistent erosion — the blockage is both immovable and slowly wearing down what surrounds it.
loveMountain + Mice suggests emotional distance compounded by accumulating small worries, where the obstacle itself is generating secondary stress.
workMountain + Mice marks a structural blocker that is also creating operational attrition — the delay causes its own damage.
generalMice + Cross shows attrition wearing down what must be carried — a duty or burden being eroded by small, repeated stress.
loveMice + Cross suggests the relationship's sense of duty or obligation is being undermined by chronic low-level strain.
workMice + Cross marks a critical responsibility being slowly weakened by persistent operational stress.
generalCrossroads + Mice warns that indecision itself is a form of attrition — the longer you wait at the fork, the more energy drains away.
loveCrossroads + Mice suggests relational uncertainty is wearing both people down, and making the choice may hurt less than continuing to delay.
workCrossroads + Mice points to a decision delayed so long that the cost of waiting has begun to exceed the risk of choosing.
generalMice + Counterpart places attrition, stress, or quiet depletion with the other person — their own strain is affecting the wider dynamic.
loveMice + Counterpart suggests the other person is carrying worry, doubt, or small accumulated stress that is leaking into the bond.
workMice + Counterpart marks a collaborator or stakeholder under quiet operational strain that is affecting their contribution.
Technique notes
Knighting
Diagonals