Dance and rejoice! You deserve to celebrate after a long journey. A phase in your life is coming to a close – it’s big but not scary.
This is a good day to reflect on what’s been happening in your life over the last long while. Where were your successes and what would you rather leave behind? How did all the little stories turn into a whole big narrative?
Review, laugh and maybe even cry, but don’t carry old burdens with you going forward. Be free and open and willing to be vulnerable. You’ve done what you can. It’s time now to simply enjoy your own little slice of the universe. You’ll have plenty of time to plan your next step tomorrow.
Today, we’re letting you all have the first glimpse of #21, the World.
I was inspired to reveal it after watching the video below put together by Knate Myers.
It’s a beautiful series of space images from NASA and perfectly expresses why we chose an astronaut as our final card in the Major Arcana.
Seeing our world from space reminds us that everything we know is really part of the grander whole, and whether we like it or not, we’re all in it together.
Dance and rejoice! You deserve to celebrate after a long journey. A phase in your life is coming to a close – it’s big but not scary.
This is a good day to reflect on what’s been happening in your life over the last long while. Where were your successes and what would you rather leave behind? How did all the little stories turn into a whole big narrative?
Review, laugh and maybe even cry, but don’t carry old burdens with you going forward. Be free and open and willing to be vulnerable. You’ve done what you can. It’s time now to simply enjoy your own little slice of the universe. You’ll have plenty of time to plan your next step tomorrow.
Here’s a kind of crazy video that got me thinking about the Tarot.
You may have seen it on the news a few months back, and if you were in Canada, it would have been hard to miss.
Some guys decided to send a Lego man carrying a Canadian flag up into the cosmos. They built both the little man and the rocket that shot him 80 miles into the sky.
The Lego man was attached to a camera so his voyage was recorded and is quite nice to watch.
It was the images of the Earth from space that reminded me of the Tarot, and the World card in particular.
The World card represents movement beyond the boundaries of everyday existence into a further dimension.
It also represents the end of a long journey, one that ultimately leads right back to earth, and in Tarot, back to the Fool who starts the trip all over again.
The little Lego man is a perfect metaphor for this journey.
Not only is he made up of little components that can be rearranged just like a deck of cards. He’s a tiny Fool who leaps into the sky till he reaches beyond the earth, only to fall back again to start all over.
Symbolically, Saturn is about structure, authority, and the organization of our world. It’s the rule-maker, or task-master in astrology, sober and stern.
The Vulture Goddess Nekhbet is associated with this planet, so you can imagine it’s kind of heavy.
The World
In Tarot, Saturn is represented by #21, the World. At first glance, it might seem odd that this dancing girl is connected to such a serious planet.
But with another look, the wreath around her might remind us of the rings of Saturn, as well as the boundaries it’s so famous for enforcing.
And as might have been deduced by the Vulture Goddess reference, Saturn is symbolically connected to death, and to the changing of the old guard.
In mythology, Saturn overthrew his father Uranus, while his son Zeus (or Jupiter) overthrew him.
The World card in Tarot identifies the end of a long cycle as well, and the revolution into something brand new. It’s the card that ends the Major Arcana, and prepares us to become Fools once again.
storms on Saturn
I got to thinking about Saturn after reading reports about the massive storms that have been raging there for over 200 days, well beyond the previous record of 150 days back in 1903.
They’re gigantic storms – eight times the surface area of the Earth. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has caught pictures of them, and from far away they’re beautiful.
But what I’m interested in is the metaphor of storms on Saturn, and what it might mean to the energies associated with that planet here on Earth.
If Saturn represents authority, stability, and structure, storms there might suggest disruption in all those areas.
And looking at the world these days, it kind of makes sense.
Since the storms began there’s been the Arab spring, rioting in Europe, mass demonstrations in Wisconsin, and the birth of the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
Rupert Murdoch and News International was shaken up, Wikileaks and Anonymous broke through cyber blockades, and faith in the nuclear industry was shattered with the devastation at Fukushima.
Not to mention Osama Bin Laden, Muammar Gaddafi, and Steve Jobs, have all passed. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was scrapped, female first-borns can now inherit the crown in Great Britain, and neutrinos might travel faster than the speed of light.
What once seemed like really solid structures are collapsing. It’s kind of like the storms on Saturn are identifying the chaos we’re experiencing in our Saturn energies here on Earth. Space weather synchronicity.
If there is any connection, even metaphorically, I hope the storms calm down soon.
Change is obviously in the air, and on many fronts I support it. But transitioning to new structures is hard for everyone. Saturn doesn’t like to be messed with.
Today it was 14 degrees F (felt like -3) and dark by just after 4:00. When I turned on the news I saw ‘severe weather’ across the continent. And North America isn’t alone; Europe is getting blasted too. Snow and cold everywhere!
It’s time to check in with the cards again. What can I do to cope with this winter?
Page of Swords
I first asked, ‘how bad is it really going to be?’, at least in my general area. I got the Page of Swords. It’s a pretty cold card to me. Those clouds feel like snow squalls, and the birds are flying high, like they do when the wind really gets blowing below.
At least the card is kind of bright. The sun’s not visible, but it’s no Hermit or 5 of Pentacles. Looks like the weather in Toronto will be cold, blowing and fairly snowy through January, but maybe not as bad as it could be. No doubt though, I’ll be needing my heavy coat.
4 of Wands
My next question was ‘what attitude will serve me best to get through this cold.’ I got the 4 of Wands. Is it mocking me with its sunshine and bare-armed celebrants?
Unless there’s a serious warm front on the way, I think this card is telling me to have fun. Enjoy friends and family through the holidays and be creative. Use that wand energy to make something I care about real. Find something to celebrate and let the cold be damned. The fire is inside.
Finally I asked, ‘what would be a good way to spend my time while the winds howl outside?’ The World card, #21 showed up. A naked woman dancing in a wreath?
#21 The World
I think she’s inside looking out, as if through a window decorated for Christmas. The clouds outside look cold and snowy, not unlike the ones with the Page of Swords. But she seems comfy, no clouds inside. In fact, it’s warm enough to wear only a scarf.
I’m struck again by the call to celebration. And like the 4 of Wands, there’s a theme of completion. I’m being asked to get busy, finish up a long project. Something that can be worked on from inside the house. I have a lot of things on the go so this certainly makes sense.
But there’s a bigger feeling of ending here, an ending with joy. Like New Year’s Eve perhaps? Closing up 2010 and getting ready for a brand new decade.
Winter is here and it’s cold outside, but I know what I need to do. Dress warm, get some of my projects wrapped up, and enjoy myself as much as possible. It’s not going to be so bad. I might even have a very good time.
