Wandering
Whether it is sunrise or sunset, I love walking when the moon is out and the animals, insects, and birds of the night have come out to play. It is literally a different world. The sounds are different, the smells are different, and your eyes see things differently. Wandering around under the light of the moon, in the cooler air of the night or the early morning, can be incredibly healing. It can calm the mind and the body at the same time without you even having to think about it. Just move your feet, get lost in the moon’s environment, and boom, instant stress relief. The very act of being outside under the moon waiting for the stars to come out is a contemplative process, especially if you can leave your phone and all other digital devices inside. Taking time to move through your garden, stretching out in your backyard, or wandering along the shoreline at the beach are some of the best interactive pathworking practices I can recommend. They not only ground you, but put you in a receptive and reflective mood. I have often taken my Moon card outside and propped it up while I sat and watched the moon make its way into the night sky. I have kept it with me as I watched one set of birds gather together in the trees to sleep, while another got ready to explore the night. I have placed it in my back pocket as I have strolled by the beach, gone to a night market, or just hiked through some nighttime trails. The Moon reminds us that in many respects we live in two very active and different worlds—one that happens when the sun is shining and one that happens when most of us are sleeping. Go and explore the world under the Moon’s watch. See what magic it has on display, and allow yourself to get lost in a world that is similar yet different from the one you habitually know.
19. The Sun
The sun is one of the few elements that is required for life. Maybe that is why so many sacred texts talk about how in the beginning, there was light. Without the sun, things would not grow. As humans, we also have a connection and need for the vitamin-D-rich light the sun gives us. Our bones would literally crumble and fail to keep us upright without the vitamins the sun provides. There is no doubt that on a cold winter’s day, seeing the sun fills one with joy, warmth, and life. However, in summer, our relationship to the sun can be a little more complicated. There are those of you who are true sun bunnies and don’t fully thrive until the heat of the sun hits your skin, and then there are those of us who prefer gentler light and find it stifling, suffocating, and confining during the summer months. Which one of these you are will dictate the terms of your relationship with this card. The sun does not just bring warmth, however; it also brings light. It graces our lives with extended periods of illumination, times when we find ourselves out of the shadows and darkness and in the reality of the world that we have created. Our relationships with light and heat are not one and the same. They are two very separate elements within the Sun card. I am a fan of the light and notice my moods are elevated when there are blue skies and a glowing sun; however, I am not a fan of the heat. Needless to say, this makes my personal relationship with the Sun complicated, and yours may be as well. Regardless of your relationship with the Sun, it will magnify and heat up the cards around it, so notice what and where it shines its light. You may not want the full blast of the sun on you, but you may be grateful for the other things it brings out of the shadows. All in the sun’s path shall be blessed with light, even if they don’t want it. Take a good look around when the sun is out and see what you may have missed hiding in the dark corners and spaces of both your inner and outer worlds.
Pathwork
Intentional
Let’s talk about light. Light is something many spiritual seekers discuss. They talk about finding the light, being the light, embracing the light and working with the light. This always sounds like a lot of work to me. The sun is all nonstop, continuous light, and it has a way of bursting forth every single morning without much effort, just because of the nature of what it is. Maybe there is a very distinct lesson in that for all of us. Be more and chase less, and more light will naturally be able to burst forth. As you take your Sun card and place it in front of you, think about things you are trying to push into being or that you’re working too hard to control.
Now pick up your deck, minus the Sun card, and give the cards a shuffle. When you feel you have shuffled enough, place the cards facedown in front of you and fan them out. Now find the one card that seems to light up. I know this sounds a little out there, but trust the energy of the Sun to guide you and show you the path to more grace and ease. Just let your gaze roam over the cards until one of them lights up, or at the very least appears lighter than all the other cards. Pair this card with your Sun card and read them as one answer to this question: How do I allow the light to move through me without me forcing it or trying to be in control? If you wish to go deeper, pick up your journal and see what else these two cards have to say.
Intuitive
I know this isn’t discussed a lot when it comes to the Sun card in tarot, but like the suit of wands, the Sun burns. It is pure, raw fire that has the potential for mass destruction. Light brings life, fire takes life. This is a useful tool to use during meditation, because you can use the fiery energy of the sun to burn away thoughts, feelings, and patterns of behavior you no longer want, and use the sun’s light to grow new thoughts, feelings, and habits in their place. Working with the Sun card during meditation can be both healing and liberating. Place your Sun card where you can see it, as you take some nice deep breaths. Visualize the Sun in its natural form as a burning ball of gas, flaring powerfully in the darkness of space. As you breathe and focus, think about feelings, situations, and difficulties you want the Sun to burn away. See these things being pulled into the Sun and destroyed instantly. Keep this up until you feel you have nothing left to give to the Sun for now. Now allow the Sun to send you healing prana to cleanse your body. Perhaps give this healing energy a color and watch it flow out of the Sun and into your body. When you feel complete, restored, and light, take some more deep breaths and bring yourself to the present moment. Do this small meditation as often as you like. If you feel drawn to do so, journal about your experiences with the Sun as a point of mediation and release.
Wandering
Are you a sunrise or a sunset type of person? I’m a sunrise person. I love that time of the day because it is cooler and quieter than any other time. This is also one of my most productive times as well. There is just something so very magical to me about sunrises. My wife, on the other hand, is a sunset person. She loves watching the sun go down, especially over the ocean. She comes alive at dusk and marvels at what she calls the golden hour. This is how each of us pays homage to sun. Some of us do it in the morning, as it peeks over the horizon and sheds its light on the promise of a new day, while others do it in the evenings, thanking the sun for all that has unfolded in the now ending day. These times of day are important, as they align the sun with two very distinct directions, east and west. Directions are essential to the wanderer and each has a lesson and a meaning. East is the direction of birth and all things new, including possibilities and opportunities, while west is the direction of the ancestors and endings, of things that have once been, but are not forgotten. If you are a sunrise person, then the sun has more of an impact on you as you start new projects, and you feel more of a buzz of energy when you begin things. If you are more of a sunset person, then the west is your direction and you enjoy seeing things come together and you revel in the end result. You will probably be more inclined to connect with ritual and prayer that deals with ancestors and stories and ideas that have been passed down. For this exercise, you are being asked to connect with your sun energy direction—be it east with the sunrise or west with the sunset—see what lessons and messages this direction has for you, and become more aligned with your sun power to know what facets of the Sun card serve you best.
20. Judgement
If there really is a higher divine power that could rid you of all of your sins, would you want that? Would you want t
o be rid of all of your guilt, shame, and regret, and if so, would you truly be able to let it go? The card of Judgement offers you such a deal. It is the card that wipes the slate clean and absolves you of anything that you had to do to get to this point in your journey. It basically tells you that all is forgiven, so please move on and complete what you started. But how many of us can actually let go of the hungry ghosts of the past that easily? In Buddhism, guilt and shame are considered sins—sins that if left to fester will create demons and monsters for the mind to fight, teaching us that all judgment happens within the mind only. Carrying around any past ghosts wreaks havoc with our ability to make life-affirming decisions. These mental wounds slow you down and leave the door wide open for another demon—fear—to walk in. When we finally release our need to judge and be judged, we close the door on fear and starve it of light once and for all. The Judgement card offers you a path to peace and enlightenment. It shows you what can be achieved when you let the past go and allow yourself to be reborn. This is something that happens to us all as we go through one ego death after another. You may have killed off part of the ego mind back in the Death card, but up until now you have been holding onto the guilt of wanting and needing change in your life. We have all been there—wondering if the decisions we have made for our own growth and expansion were worthwhile, especially when they seemed to cause others some sort of pain and suffering, even if we know there was no other choice our soul self could have made. It is no mistake that we must pass through the land of Judgement before we are allowed to make our way to the World card. In other words, we cannot end our journey without first forgiving ourselves for taking it in the first place.
Pathwork
Intentional
The Judgement card connects us to the act of forgiveness. Forgiveness is never about another person. It is all about ourselves, making it one of the most powerful forms of healing. The act of forgiveness is an intentional act of self-love. It happens when we stop seeing ourselves as broken victims and start seeing ourselves as perfectly imperfect humans. Humans are messy. They make mistakes; they have a knack for causing great suffering and tend to turn this on themselves in cruel and creative ways. Yet despite it all, humans have an incredible capacity to love, hope, and forgive.
Today you will meditate on forgiving yourself. Start with something small and slowly work your way up to the bigger things. We beat ourselves up about small, petty things all the time, so start there. Take a few nice deep breaths and say, “I forgive myself for …” and fill in the blank. You can close your eyes if you feel drawn to do so. For me it is often “I forgive myself for speaking badly to myself,” or “I forgive myself for setting unrealistic expectations,” or “I forgive myself for being angry when it only added to the problem.” I think you get the idea. I have always been amazed at how just working on the small stuff has massive ripple effects with the big stuff, so feel free to keep your forgiveness meditations small. The important thing is to do them often, at least a couple of times a week. They only take a couple of minutes. Do it in the shower, in the bath, while you are stuck in traffic. Just breathe, forgive, and release.
Intuitive
Imagine a world where everyone is forgiven and loved completely and wholly for who and what they are; a world where each person’s heart chakra is so big and so strong that it can see nothing but pure unconditional love for themselves and all those around them. I know this sounds like a mythical world, but this is the energy of the Judgement card. As archangel Gabriel blows the horn of God, she literally wipes the slate clean for all of those who have risen for another chance at life. It is interesting that we find this card near the end of the major arcana, at the end of the road, at the edge of the World. It’s as if you need to learn to drop everything you have carried with you on your journey before you can finally make it to that warm embrace waiting for you in the arms of the Mother and the arms of the World card. As you meditate on this card, think about what it would mean to be able to open your heart that wide, to be able to love that purely, and to be able to see yourself as perfect and without shame. As you meditate or do a yoga pose, visualize all of your pain, all of your anger, all of your perceived failures just being blown away by a loving angel, leaving you naked, exposed, and raw. See yourself dressed in new skin and swelling with the beat of a new and more divine heart. With each inhale, focus on drawing Gabriel’s energy into your heart center, and with each exhale, push out all identities, tags, and boxes you have tried to fit yourself into. See how working with the Judgement card in this way makes you lighter and brighter, and gives you a sense of new and renewed hope for the future.
Wandering
The Judgement card can symbolize an awakening, an expansion in consciousness, and a rebirth of ourselves. This makes sense considering its placement in the major arcana, for none of us makes it out of an experience the same as we were when we went in. It just stands to reason that we would see a new version of ourselves reflected back to us as we get ready to cross the finish line. In this respect, the Judgement card shows our butterfly phase. Having broken through our cocoon in the light of the Sun, we now emerge here in the Judgement card to walk into the World. We all have butterfly moments, and now it would seem you have come to yours. Use this card to seek out the parts of you that have gone through a transformation. Find places that no longer look or feel the same to you as they did three months, twelve months, or two years ago. Even the way you navigate through the world around you is different, but have you really taken the time to notice this?
As you make your way through your world in this newly birthed butterfly body, notice if sounds seem louder or quieter or if your sense of smell is sharper or duller. Seeing how you engage with space, negotiate environments, and experience places will be the best way to truly live the transforming, rebirthing energy that the Judgement card brings you. Go and wander. Take your wings for a test drive and see just how different the world around you feels, looks, sounds, and smells.
21. The World
Within the major arcana, this is the last card or last stop in the Fool’s journey. The Fool has progressed through all of the cards of the major arcana, growing, learning, and evolving along the way. Once at the World card, the Fool is changed and no longer the same. The Fool is now more evolved and possibly even more enlightened. In this respect, the World card represents completion, the end of a cycle, journey, or quest. There is no going back once you have made it this far. The only option is to start again. This is the natural progression of cycles: you begin, you end, and you begin again. Each time you begin, you start as a new and different person. Who have you become? What sort of person are you now that you have made it through your journey or quest? Are things as you had expected them to be? What does the world look like through your wiser, more enlightened eyes?
We never come out of a situation the same as we went in, just as the caterpillar does not come out of its cocoon the same. You are now the butterfly, transformed and changed yet still you. One of the elements that is not discussed often with the World card is the notion of stillness. Before you wander too far, you may want to take a breath and just observe the landscape for a while. Things are different where you now find yourself, and you have to figure out the best way to navigate around this new world. You may not even be sure how you fit into the landscape you now find yourself in. Just be still. Sit for a while and slow yourself down.
Pathwork
Intentional
So now you may think you are finished. You think you have come full circle, and now you get to just enjoy the world you have created. Are you sure it is not missing anything? For this exercise, take the World card from your deck and place it faceup with the image upside down in front of you. Now pick up the remaining cards in your deck and give them a shuffle. When you have shuffled enough, take the card from the top of the deck and the card from the bottom of the deck and place them faceup under your upside down World card. The card from
the top of the deck shows what needs to be taken care of before you can turn your World card back to its upright position. The card from the bottom of the deck shows what needs to be left behind, as it has no place in this new world you have created. You can journal with these two cards if you find it helpful. Keep your World card upside down. Do not turn it back to the upright position until you have taken care of what is shown in the card you pulled from the top of your deck. Only then will you be ready to embrace the World and all the wonderful things you have created within it.
Intuitive
When you hear the saying “The world is yours to take,” what do you think of ? Does the statement overwhelm you, excite you, terrify you, or sadden you? In business, the talking heads and so-called gurus are always screaming that people are scared of success, that it is not failure but success that makes people choke, self-sabotage, and blow shit up. These are all things to ponder as the tarot literally hands you the World. This gives us something to work through in our meditation practice, especially thinking about which parts of the world bring us joy, which parts bring us sadness, which parts we embrace and accept, and which parts we choose to deny. As you bring the World card into your meditation practice, contemplate the idea of taking the world, holding it in your arms, and claiming it. Claim it for healing. Take a nice deep breath and think about all the times you have talked yourself out of something that would have made you feel successful and happy. Shift the moments of pain, doubt, and fear out of your heart, and exhale them back out into the world as raw energy just waiting to be transformed into something amazing. Repeat this until you feel lighter and less overwhelmed. When you feel complete you may let go of the world. Place it back into space. Watch how claiming and healing yourself will in turn heal the world around you. Go on now and take the world; it is yours, you have earned it.
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