Mriyi Metaphoric Cards: Working with Pictures and Sayings

Let us imagine two people looking at a picture of a house among trees. One notices a lit window and says he would like to spend a weekend there. The other looks at the dark road and wonders how to get out. Nothing in the image has changed, yet different details, memories and expectations have already entered the conversation. They provide a starting point for looking more closely at a situation in one’s own life.

Metaphoric associative cards offer a prompt for this kind of conversation. MriyaRun’s Mriyi, or Dreams, deck pairs surreal images with folk sayings on the reverse. You can examine the picture first, then explore what the text changes: does it support your initial thought, contradict it or simply feel irrelevant?

According to the OH Cards Institute’s history, Ely Raman began creating cards in 1975, with OH published in Canada in 1981. His idea involved making art available for personal interaction outside a gallery.

The original OH deck combines separate picture and word cards. Bringing an image together with text is therefore not an invention of Mriyi. A particular deck’s differences lie in its artwork, choice of sayings and suggested ways of using them, without ranking its “depth” or promising a greater therapeutic effect.

Looking at a card may help someone put words to something previously difficult to describe. For example, they might notice that the most appealing part of the cosy house is being free from visitors. That opens a question about rest. Another explanation is possible too, and can be explored in conversation.

A saying adds another condition to the reflection. It might recall a familiar family rule or provoke disagreement. Being printed on a card does not make a phrase an account of your life. You can ask: “When does this idea help me, and when does it narrow my options?” A phrase that does not fit can be set aside.

Meaning emerges through how a person describes what they see and relates it to their circumstances. A facilitator need not decode a house as loneliness or a dark road as hidden fear. Asking what the person means is more useful.

One way of exploring Mriyi uses transactional analysis language: Child, Parent and Adult. In this authorial reading, the image prompts questions about wishes and feelings, the saying about learned rules, and the discussion about facts and available decisions. This organises a conversation; the card does not measure ego states.

Every feeling need not be assigned to Child, every word to Parent, or Adult left without emotion. Someone can feel pleased, remember advice and assess their options at the same time. Exploring a specific conflict is more useful than sorting oneself correctly into three parts.

For instance: “I want to hold a meeting, but I am used to thinking that I must prepare perfectly first. What is actually necessary for a first attempt?” The discussion moves from a general rule towards a task that can be clarified.

Let us imagine Olena, who wants to run a small creative workshop. She looks through the cards and chooses an image she associates with presenting herself to others. This is an educational example, not a client’s story. The sequence below is a suggested working exercise, rather than a verbatim reproduction of the kit’s instructions.

Olena first names visible details: who or what appears, where attention is directed and what lies outside the scene. She then describes her association: “I want to show my work, but I am waiting for someone to tell me I am allowed to start.” She reads the saying on the reverse as a new question about this thought, rather than a ready-made answer.

Next she needs information about the workshop itself. What venue is available? What do materials cost? Who might attend? What experience does she already have? The card cannot supply those facts, but the discussion may reveal what she still needs to know.

A manageable step might be asking about venue costs or offering friends a trial session with clear terms. Olena could also decide that she currently has other priorities. The exercise is useful insofar as her next decision becomes clearer, including a decision to postpone the idea.

Another approach is to choose a saying that interests you or invites disagreement, then look at the picture. Notice whether reading has changed your associations. The text already directs attention, so an initial response is not an independent “message from the subconscious”.

You can then compare several cards and explain why one describes your current situation more closely. Your explanation matters. Choosing a picture does not establish a personality type or uncover a decision concealed inside you.

An opening can be simple: “What did you notice first?” Leave time for description, then ask whether the person wants to connect the image with their own life. Staying with an invented story is also possible.

Instead of “which parent are you afraid of here?”, ask, “What do you associate with this detail?” Instead of “what trauma does the card reveal?”, try, “Is there anything you would like to discuss?” In a group, other participants can share their own associations by agreement, without presenting them as explanations of someone else’s experience.

A card, question or entire exercise can be skipped. For individual reflection, choose a manageable current topic. If the exercise becomes distressing, stop and consider what support is needed. These cards are prompts for conversation and reflection; they do not diagnose conditions or replace psychotherapy or medical care.

A few lines are enough: what I saw, what I assumed, which fact I will check and which action I choose. Later, compare those expectations with what happened. The image remains a starting point, while the subsequent decision also draws on real circumstances.

Mriyi, Part 1 contains 50 Ukrainian-language cards measuring 120 × 80 mm. The product page gives the current kit contents and purchase information. When choosing a deck, look closely at its artwork and format: do you want to examine these images, compare them with the text and ask your own questions?