Characters with Male and Female Genders in the Tarot Cards are quite common. For a long time, I thought that this was merely the creative decision of the Designer of that Tarot Deck. However, as I worked with the cards, over the years, this perception has changed. Today, I would like to talk a little bit about the Masculine or Male and the Feminine or Female Gender Characters in the Tarot Cards, and what they have come to mean for me.
One of the key Hermetic Principles is: As Above So Below. I was thinking about the state of our world and then I remembered this principle, and I began to wonder.
The world has always been a mess. It is a mess that we human beings have created and kept on escalating to even bigger and higher levels of messy. According to the concept of “As Above So Below”, then it also means that this mess just got way more messier!
As always, I use my Tarot Cards to help me make sense of this mess. Let’s explore these thought processes, shall we!
Among the 78 Tarot Cards in a standard Tarot Card Deck, there are a few Tarot Cards that have similar or common meanings. Just as the imagery of each card differs from one another, these meanings carry subtle but important differences within them that affect the interpretation of that Tarot Card in a Tarot Card Reading.
I found Robin Scott’s Urban Tarot Deck as I was navigating through the labyrinth that is the Internet, and ended up in love at first sight! ? This gorgeous deck is the result of a result of a very successful Kickstarter campaign in 2012.
The Urban Tarot Deck draws inspiration from the various locales of New York City — the streets, the buildings, the parks, the monuments, the people — everything about this lively and vibrant city is the source material for the images of this deck.
The latest news that I’ve heard is that the Urban Tarot Deck will be published again through U.S. Games Systems. However, Robin still has about 200 copies of the deck (as of 6 March 2017) — which could very well be considered to be the ‘First Edition’ ‘Collectors’ copies. ??
Psst: Deck Collectors! Get yourself a copy while the stocks last!
Each card is about 2 ¾ inches wide and 4 ¼ inches tall, with rounded corners. The surface has a smooth finish and the card is thick, but not too thick. The cards shuffle well during readings.
The back design of each card reminds one of the subway maps that you can find all over NYC. The card back is totally reversible, so if you use reversed cards in your reading, this deck is perfect!
The card images of The Urban Tarot Deck are so gorgeous, that I wished that they covered a bigger area on the card. However, this wasn’t a deal-breaker for me.
Psst: I also hear that this is going to be fixed with the US Games version.
You can see the card images on Robin’s site. And if you are into using Tarot Apps, you can find The Urban Tarot App on the App Store as well as on Google Play.
The Urban Tarot Deck doesn’t come with an LWB, but there is a full-fledged book that you will have to buy separately. The book features full color images of each of the cards on one side, and a detailed description of the card imagery on the other. You will also find information such as the source of inspiration in NYC, and the models who posed for the pictures. Another wonderful thing about the book is that the edges of the pages are colored to sync with the suits — so it makes searching for the card meanings quite easy!
In my personal opinion, this deck is perfect for those who have a good base with Rider-Waite-Smith based card imagery, and want to explore the Thoth based imagery. This deck features images that are a beautiful amalagamation of both. So visual storytellers can find peace while working with Thoth-based symbols as well.
Although the book provides a lot of information about the various places and situations and people who inspired the designs, and why a certain sort of imagery was used, you may benefit by reading up on the Thoth system to take your readings to the next level. However, even without that, using a storytelling approach, you will still find the images beautifully expressive and informative.
One thing I do miss is having reversed card interpretations. But that isn’t a deal breaker either. If you’ve worked with Tarot for a while, and you use reversals, it isn’t rocket science to figure out the interpretations. ?
Here are some of my favorite cards from The Urban Tarot Deck!
The deck follows the Thoth system. Therefore, Major Arcana 8 is Justice, and Major Arcana 11 is Strength.
Also the Court Cards follow the Thoth system of nomenclature and hierarchy. Starting with the Princess card, we move up via the Prince, the Queen, and finally, the Knight card.
The Suit of Pentacles is called the Suit of Disks.
And yes, unlike the Thoth deck, these cards have stuff going on in the background of the suit images — which totally makes this deck a great mix of the best parts of both Rider-Waite-Smith and Thoth systems.
I have had a ton of fun reading with these cards. Not only are the images deeply evocative, but they are also highly relateable. These are images not from some fantasy land, or imaginary place, or historical space and time. These are images from the world we live in, and see all around us. They are real, raw, and poignant. And they make a whole lot of sense.
I even made a video about this deck where I talk a bit more (as usual) and give you a peek at the cards. Take a look…
https://youtu.be/gGrLWybxkHI
Robin has been so generous by sending me another copy of the deck and book (which she signed, btw!!) for a giveaway. So get on it, and make sure you’ve entered! The contest ends 31st March 2017.
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
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What did you think of this deck? Did you like the images? Did they speak to you just like they did to me? And if you already have this deck, what are your experiences with this deck? Tell me in the comments…
In Section Two of my book Tarot Reading Using Storytelling Techniques, I wrote my version of the stories of each of the 78 Tarot Cards. Since then, many of my book’s readers have contacted me, and shared with me their card stories, which I have read with great joy. Therefore, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the Tarot Card Stories by Joana, a wonderful lady who contacted me via FaceBook, and shared these brilliant stories with me. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Ever since I had my first Tarot Card Reading about 10 years ago, I’ve been in love with the Tarot cards. The images, the colors, the art, the swirling magic of the stories that the images seem to tell me — all of it has in turn enthralled, intrigued, befriended, taught and guided me for all these years. However, my curiousity and some really happy coincidences have led to to discover that apart from the Tarot, there are a few more card-based divination systems out there.
Naturally, I have explored them — liking some for one reason or the other, and not really connecting with some. Today, I would like to share with you the different card-based divination systems that I’ve encountered and explored.
Just Because…
I’ve also made a video about this, where I talk about these systems. You can have a quick look at the different decks that I have from these different systems and see what I’m talking about.. 🙂 I’ve embedded the video towards the end of this post, so just scroll down…
Without any further ado, here’s the list:
Cartomancy is defined as “fortune telling by interpreting a random selection of playing cards”.
This is how it all began, I think. The deck of of 52 cards divided into four groups (hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs) was used for divination purposes. A random draw of a certain number of cards from a well shuffled deck would be arranged in a specific layout and interpreted based on certain rules and ‘meanings’.
Personally, I haven’t explored this system — mostly because there aren’t images on the cards which will stir up my imagination and intuition — which seem to be a requirement for me.
However, it does remain quite a popular system of divination. A quick Google search will lead you to some really interesting websites where you can learn more about this topic.
Images: None. Just the suit symbols. Face cards (Jack, Queen, King) have images.
The next evolutionary step for Cartomancy was when the 52-card deck was reduced to a 32-card Piquet deck by removing the cards 2s through the 6s.
This ‘Piquet’ deck was then later enhanced into a 36-card Deck, and the playing card symbols were substituted with actual symbols that was also loosely based on the popular ‘Game of Hope’ card game. This deck was then named after Mlle. Lenormand (1772-1843), a popular fortune teller based in France during the time of Napoleon. The system of divination using cards seems to have gained much renown due to her notoriously famous client-list and number of books she authored.
In my observation, the system of interpreting these cards is very logical and linear, while also incorporating intution. It is very unlike the Tarot in several respects. For instance, while reading with these cards, only the symbol on the card is important for the purposes of divining the meaning — contents of the card’s imagery bear no importance to the interpretation. However, just like in the Tarot spreads, the placement of the card in the ‘line’ or spread is important for the purposes of interpreting the message, and it always comes back to the context of the question that was asked of the cards. Also, the message that these cards give is very lucid and precise, compared to the very ‘feelings oriented’ and ‘deeply internal’ messages that the Tarot cards give.
It can be quite a shift for a very intuitive Tarot Card Reader to pick up these cards and read with them. However, when combined with a Tarot Card Reading, both these card systems play awesomely with each other — giving the reader both the deeper and the more practical messages. This can be advantageous for the client, who ends up benefitting the most from a very informational reading.
I recently found myself drawn to learn more about this system while I was working with the Dreaming Way Tarot for my Learn This Deck video series. I discovered that Kwon Shina, the artist illustrator who had drawn the images of the Dreaming Way Tarot had also illustrated a Lenormand Deck called the Dreaming Way Lenormand. Since I was in love with the quriky and cute artwork style of the illustrator I ended up purchasing the deck, and my journey of exploration began.
{I will write an article about the Lenormand Cards and include more details and links to resources in that article, and then link that article here. Promise.}
The Lenormand cards are a set of 36 cards in no particular order — there is absolutely no significance of why a particular symbol has a particular number like in the Tarot. Each card has the one main symbol on it. The background and other additional imagery carries no weight in the meaning and interpretation of that card. For a very basic spread, the cards are laid out in a single line and read linearly. The card to the right adds value or meaning to the card to its left, and so on. Each card can represent a single word (noun or adjective or verb or adverb) and you string them up to form a sentence which conveys the message. Plus, there is no concept of ‘Reversed Cards’ like with the Tarot. And unlike the Tarot, specific cards are decidedly positive or negative in their impact.
Although, it sounds pretty simple in theory, it is quite challenging to do this type of reading. For me, the challenge is in not letting my intuition get into the card’s imagery. This is why I have ended up looking for cards which have a very stark imagery style — just the symbol and nothing else extra on it. And the second challenge is in allowing only that much intuition to come into play which will let me know which of the meanings of that symbol apply in the reading. In short, I find myself running free but within a specifed area.
Of course, when I feel like I have ‘practiced’ enough, I plan to add these cards into my reading process so I can be of more help to my clients. For now, I have started with putting up a ‘card-a-day’ reading with this card on my Instagram and on FaceBook.
Images: Usually just a single symbol. May contain additional background imagery depending on Deck Theme and Artistic Style. Also may contain the playing card suit insert or name.
My first love. My best love. The Tarot Cards have been the doorway to exploring my intuition. However, they were also a great synthesis of my love for mythology, psychology, art, and symbolism, and the process of interpretation.
This is a complete system in and of itself. Typically, it has 78 cards, divided into 22 cards called the Major Arcana, and 56 cards called the Minor Arcana. The Minor Arcana are then further sub-divided into 14-Card Suits. The Major Arcana talk of a deeper truth filled with Arcana and Archetypal symbols and imagery. The Minor Arcana (through the four Suits of the Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles) talk of the everyday things that people go through in their lives. The Suits also contain a total of 16 Court Cards or People Cards which are a composite of the 16 different Personality Types.
In short, the cards cover all aspects of a person’s life — spiritual, energetic, mind, feelings, and practical.
The cards are randomly pulled from a well-shuffled deck, and laid out in a ’spread’ where the spread positions correspond with the question asked to the cards, and give the cards their context. Intuition and storytelling plays a huge role in interpreting these images, and they offer all levels of guidance and prediction.
Images: Deeply evocative imagery based on Deck Theme and Artistic Style. Full of symbols and hidden meanings. Every aspect of imagery may strike the intuitive-imaginative processes.
For some reason, I could never find myself drawn to these decks — probably because these cards usually have a message printed on them which tends to distract me from getting into the intuitive flow.
However, that doesn’t mean that this system doesn’t have it’s adherants and followers.
In theory, this is also a worthwhile system to explore. And many Tarot Card Readers often use Oracle Cards to add more value, meaning, and guidance into their readings.
Nowadays though, I’ve discovered Oracle Decks which don’t have much in the way of messages printed on them — maybe just a keyword. The White Rabbit Oracle and the Sacred Symbols Divination and Meditation Cards are two such decks that have drawn me to them.
Typically, you will find a good number of Angel based Oracle Decks out there in the market. But there are others as well — and just like the Tarot, they are often based around a certain central theme or belief system.
Readers may use these in a ‘spread’-type layout just like the Tarot, or they often pull out a random card or two to add value or additional messages to an existing Tarot Card Reading. However, these aren’t really suited for prediction-based questions. By their very nature, they are meant for guidance and encouragement.
Images: Depend on Deck Theme, and Artistic Style. Usually have an insightful or encouraging message printed on the image. Sometimes, its just a keyword.
I discovered these cards through a friend who had seen them when she went for a Reading. I ended up exploring the website and ordering this deck and three more later on. Of course, there are more decks based on different themes, which are totally on my wish list.
These cards, to quote directly from their website, “simulate creativity and communication”. The best part is that these decks can be mixed up with each other and still be fluidly used as a single deck.
The Original OH Deck was a unique creation, designed and painted by Canadian artist Ely Raman. There are 88 cards with pictures painted on them. These are complemented with 88 cards which have keywords on them. Randomly pull out a picture card and put it upon a randomly pulled word card, and see what comes up in your heart and mind.
Subsequently, several artists have created picture cards of their own, based on different themes, and added to this ‘image library’ and enhanced this deck.
I mix them up, and use them to plan / plot my story, or get to know my ‘characters’, both with and without the ‘word cards’. Sometimes, I also use them to gain a deeper understanding of my inner self and inner processes. Depending on how I feel during a reading, I may even add them into the mix for a client reading.
These cards come in real handy when the reading involves going deep into the client’s psyche to find root causes of fears, phobia, and other issues which have troubled them and left them in stuck positions in their lives. Of course, it requires a lot of trust between you and your client, and a lot of interactivity in your reading process. In my experience, these cards work especially brilliantly in readings when the client is willing to give the process a genuine shot — after all, he / she may have to sit and talk about what feelings and associations the image card + word card combo is stirring up within his / her psyche.
The accompanying booklet also describes how these cards can be used in a group setting in a ‘game’. These cards have found their use with counsellors and psychotherapists, as also with divination practioners.
Images: A number of paintings based on the Deck Theme. Different decks can be combined with each other to create a wider theme-palette of images to dive into.If you’d like a bit of a visual treat while I talk about the stuff that I’ve written in this blog post, then just click play and watch the video!
And if you would like to be notified every time I upload a new video, just head on over to my You Tube Channel and subscribe!
There are all kinds of different ways in which to access the intuition, the imagination — essentially the subconscious mind — using these card-based systems. Of course, these cards may or may not have all kinds of evocative images and artwork. Shuffling, then choosing random cards, and laying these cards out in a layout / Spread for the purposes of divination is a multi-layered system full of variety and innovative methods and tools.
Even though there may be a number of Tarot Card Decks out there to whet your appetite, these systems are also well worth looking into. Plus, they play really well with the Tarot.
Not only do they exercise your psychic muscles in different ways, but they also help you get more information, and put you in a position where you can help your clients better.
Of course, if you know of any other card-based divination system that I haven’t covered here, please just drop a line in the comments section below. Also, if you have anything else to add or say, please tell me. I would love to hear all your thoughts.
A very interesting idea was brought to my notice a few days ago – Tarot card images on Helmets! While exploring the whole thing a bit more, I had a chance to communicate with and have a nice telephone chat with Danielle Baskin, the wonderfully vibrant person who is the brains behind this concept.
Here are some excerpts from the conversation we had (both e-mail and telephone):
[Any errors in the transcription are purely mine.]
MG:
Danielle, tell me, how did you get this whole idea?
DB:
I [had] never touched a tarot deck until about two years ago when I was sort of ‘conned’ into getting a reading on the street. I was completely skeptical about the whole thing but [since I was] feeling sorta ‘off-track’ in life so [I said] “Okay, why not?”.
What really surprised me was the powerful sense of agency I felt immediately after leaving. It’s like all these hypothetical ideas [that] you didn’t know ever existed started to emerge simply from attempting to construct a story using these enigmatic images as a template. I accepted the idea that the Tarot cards [are purely images] – and didn’t reject it as a form of advice or therapy. The images trigger so much buried information! It’s [the process of] constructing the story that helps clear [the mind] and create patterns of thinking.
Helmet with Star Card Image
MG:
What was it about the cards – especially the images on the cards – that really struck you?
DB:
When I bought a deck and tried to figure out the different meanings of the cards, I started writing down my immediate reactions to the way Pamela Colman Smith placed the symbols.
I’ve always been fascinated on how different modes of thinking trigger eye movements – and how visual perception relates to storytelling.
For example:
Of course, reversing the images changed the meanings dramatically. For example, in The Magician [card], when the card is reversed, the hand pointing at the plants is more noticeable. This could mean quite literally feeling like a situation is out of your hands and you can’t grasp your resources, you’re blaming something else for your situation. The infinity sign [seems] less important when reversed. His face frowns more. He points at nature. When [upright] The Magician is aware of all his resources and the natural world. He appears to be altering nature, to make it more beautiful using cleverness and manipulation.
Helmet with Hierophant Card Image
[The amazing part is] that the cards were not painted in reverse. I’m not sure [that] Pamela Coleman Smith [thought about the fact] that the images would be flipped while she was painting them intuitively – but I still like the idea of the card possessing dual meanings, but a reversed card might be a stretch of a confabulation.
MG:
So what gave you the idea of painting these image on helmets, of all the things?
DB:
Well, the idea just came to me suddenly one day. The idea of having an entire deck of Tarot cards cycling around on the streets seemed to really jump out at me. There is a lot of motion involved with the Tarot cards. The images of the cards make you want to take action! I most certainly wanted to, and did!
The idea of seeing connections and attributing causality to chance circumstances is really fascinating to me. – while on a surface level the helmets are ‘protecting people from accidents’, they might [also] be regularly reappearing into people’s lives. It would be fascinating if people run into certain Tarot helmets on their daily commute and if there’s some sort of pattern of thinking (or mental state) that correlates to the times they do see that image – like “Whoa! I’ve seen that before! This is connected to this which is connected to this.”
I think temporarily disengaging from your environment is really important to help crystallize memories and sort of ‘think about yourself thinking’. Noticing symbols are important – because they help you learn about how you think. Not that symbols or omens are more powerful than you – but the idea that you’re noticing them could be more relevant than the symbol itself. It helps you pay attention to your own personal thought patterns and open up spaces for possibilities.
I also like the idea that each card-wearer will be connected to an entire deck. Realizing that he is a part of a whole. And that the whole is always in motion and impossible to capture.
MG:
All this sounds pretty interesting if you ask me!
DB:
Helmet with Emperor Card Image
Yes, it is! Especially since the wearer of the helmet always has the card stationary – there would be different ways to think about the card. [And as] the helmet is hemispherical like a brain, I got the idea of purposefully mapping out the images in accordance to the right-brain/left-brain.
Though highly debatable in neuroscience, the dualities that represent your conscious/public behavior (left) and your potential and unconscious thoughts (right) are understandable. The brain doesn’t necessarily work that way – but the two concepts or mental-modes are simple to grasp. I thought about this for a bit while mapping the images.
For example, the character in Justice is on the left side of the helmet hence its a card about public persona and and image you’re portraying. It’s less of a ‘personal’ image. I painted the High Priestess split in the middle in the back because its both subconscious and conscious. I think that card is about information and knowledge. How one can become burdened by excessive knowledge to the point where it blocks thinking. It is really symbol-rich and relates to vision (the occipital lobe).
MG:
What are your thoughts about looking at all these images in motion?
DB:
As I said before, the wearer of the helmet has the image stationary on his head, while he is moving around. Meanwhile other people may see the image either coming towards them, or moving away from them.
For example, with the High Priestess, if the image is coming towards you it means you have too much information clouding your thinking. You can’t see her from the front of the helmet. If [the image is] moving away from you it means you’re just scratching the surface of the learning experience. You need to examine things more closely. In the High Priestess image, you can see words and letters like ‘TORA’ but its physically moving away so you need to catch up.
MG:
What about the colors of the cards? Did they play any role in this process?
DB:
Helmet with Hermit Card Image
Oh, yes! The color choices are also really important.
For example, placing gray around only half of the Hermit (disappearing into a vanishing point) is another intentional choice.
I am planning to make a little informational booklet about each card and give it away with every helmet so that the people who buy the helmets can understand the fantastic symbolism of the images that they have chosen.
MG:
Did you get inspired by any particular card when this idea came into your mind? If so, which card was it?
DB:
Oh yes! It was The Magician card. He has all these resources on his table which he is using. And the infinity sign on top of his head – its like there are an infinite number of possibilities with the things you have in front of you.
MG:
Wow! The Magician is the card that does always talk about creative inspiration and creation. In fact, many creative people often use the image to help them find focus and bursts of creativity within their lives and work. I know I always pull out this card and look at it and carry it around with me, whenever I feel myself losing focus.
DB:
That is very interesting. But, funnily enough, it wasn’t The Magician which was my first helmet painting.
MG:
Then, which was the first card you painted on a helmet?
DB:
It was actually The Wheel of Fortune card. And I had some pretty interesting experiences with that image, let me tell you.
MG:
Really? Like what?
DB:
When I first started my company I created a Wheel of Fortune card for this psychic I met at a craft fair. I made it for free so I could meet with her to discuss tarot cards. Once I created it I kept getting tons of orders. When I went to meet her to give it to her my wallet was stolen from me on the subway. I actually lost some money when I was giving away the lucky helmet. Who knows what to attribute this to?
MG:
Oh yeah! I have had that experience with The Wheel! It is a crazy merry-go-round alright!
DB:
Tell me about it!
Danielle and I chatted for a few more minutes after that exchanging our experiences with the cards.
My Take:
Helmet with Fool Card Image
Personally, I found this whole concept quite fascinating – imagine you are going to work and then you spot a helmet with the picture of The Magician card, and then you go to work feeling great and experiencing a burst of creative energy within you! Or seeing the picture of The Hermit card while you go back home from school, and finding that peaceful, solitary place to sit down and grasp some complicated lessons you learnt at school…
The possibilities of the sightings of these symbols is endless – and will only add to the powerful symbolism that surrounds us in our lives everyday! In fact, something like this makes us sit up and take notice of these symbols – which otherwise just go away unnoticed because we just didn’t look.
When I do get me one of these helmets, I plan on getting one with The Fool card .. We have quite an interesting bond, The Fool and I..
Which one will you get?
To order your helmet from Danielle, just go to her website on www.humantarotproject.com or e-mail her at tarothelmets@gmail.com.
The Large Hadron Collider has been in the news lately for all sorts of reasons. So, today, I decided to have a look at the Wikipedia page about it here. Fascinating read!
To be honest, all the technical stuff kinda went over my head (yeah, well, that’s why I am no scientist!) – But then the ‘Purpose’ section of the Wikipedia page made me stop, think and wonder. Apparently, among other things, this machine will help Mankind understand so many different concepts and theories – all relating to the creation of the Universe itself!
All the people, especially those from the scientific community are obviously very excited about this – and of course there are those doomsayers who think that this experiment may pose a danger to the world itself.
Creation.
The one word that has inspired many books, concepts, theories, ideas, philosophies, myths and even religions – why are we so curious (often to the point of being obsessive) about how things began?
What does any person think that the beginning of anything will really reveal?
How does the BEGINNING of anything make any difference to what that thing IS NOW – or for that matter how it ENDS?
An interesting thought – considering that everything that ends must have begun somewhere and unless it begins, it simply cannot end. But it is sure that creation and destruction are both, equally inevitable parts of every single thing that IS.
In Hindu Mythology, there are 3 Gods who are associated with these different aspects of existing – Brahma is the Creator, Vishnu is the Protector, and Shiva is the Destructor. These 3 Gods form a Trinity, to keep everything going. And as per the Divine plan, everything begins remains and ends – apparently all at the same time – simultaneously.
Will knowing how the Earth or even the Universe began really make so much of a difference to Mankind – or is he just satisfying his innate inherent curiosity – and that’s all there is to it?
Or is Mankind waiting for some kind of a revelation to happen at the end of this discovery?
What does Man hope to gain from finding out how it all began? Is it a quest for Glory? Or is it for attaining the honor of becoming a God?
Will that satisfy the thirst?
When we find the Beginning will the search End?
You know what I think: I think that we all exist because of our will to exist and if that will went away, then everything will cease to exist.
It reminds me of something I saw when I meditated once: I had been sitting for some time watching the darkness in front of my eyes and feeling the tingling in my body. And then in the darkness there was a voice that asked: ‘Who Am I?’ And so a blue dot began to take form in that darkness – and it grew and it grew till it covered everything. It was all water, I think, rippling and flowing – and it was almost as if the question had stirred up echoes of reverberations all inside it and on the surface of it. And when each part of that flowing liquid resonated and asked the same question, the cacophony of sounds grew and grew till the whole thing exploded because of the sound. All those particles – each and every one of them – wanted to find out, individually (of course!), who they were! And they all began to move around and began to take shape and form – trying to find their identity in this and that – trying to find out whether this was who they were or that was who they were. They changed their shape and size and form and design – but the answer still eluded them. So they kept on going and going – because each shape and size and form and design – gave them no way, no method and no means of reaching any satisfactory conclusion. The more they changed, the more they began to become more confused about who they were. Soon it came to a point that they even began to forget what the question was in the first place. And it became commonplace for them to keep on changing their form from one thing to the next – completing a life-cycle every single time. And soon, the world (as we know it), began to take form. And then these particles began to become trees and birds and animals and then human beings. They liked becoming human beings – because they could now find several means of expressing their ideas, their thoughts, their concepts and their new questions. So they continued to remain more and more in this human form – they somehow thought that it was the most superior form that they had ever achieved. They were pleased with themselves. But then again, they realized that this form was not quite satisfactory too. Meanwhile, a few among them began to look deeper and probe more and more within themselves. They began to ask more and more questions. All these questions were about the same thing – how did it all begin? And the most important question of all – who were they? And so it all came full circle – and Mankind was besieged by this question – ‘Who Am I?’ Some of them have been able to ‘crack the code’ as it were – and then they supposedly merged with the Supreme. In my meditation, I saw that some of these became glowing blue dots and then some of them, the rare ones, just simply disappeared and started to form the darkness all over again.
And one day, it all went back to becoming the glowing blue dots, and then found its way back to the darkness – of course, only till the next time that a voice asks, yet again: ‘Who Am I?’
And as I moved far away from this, I saw that there were many such blue globes floating around in this darkness – each and every single one of them in different stages of this process. And each particle within each globe asking the same question: ‘Who Am I?’
Creation, Preservation, Destruction – all of them carry within them the seeds of the other. Everything came from the darkness and will go back there to rise once again – in the endless search for the elusive answer.
And this is not the first time this story has occurred. It has happened again and again and will keep on happening for ever.
Nothing is Everything and Everything is Nothing. Everything comes from Nothing – Nothing creates Everything. And then Everything turns into Nothing.
As I came out of this meditation, I realized that either of two things could be possible: that I had a really fantastic imagination (yeah, well…) and that what I saw was REAL.
So I decided that it was really great to JUST BE and ENJOY THE HERE AND NOW and stop chasing the elusive answer. Perhaps that is just the answer.
I AM. AND NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.
Reminds you about the symbolism of the Number Zero [ 0 ] – The Fool Card and The World Card – both merged together – doesn’t it!
Continuing my trend for looking at things from the other way round (as with the Minor Arcana cards), here I am trying to look at the journey of the Major Arcana Cards from the other way round, -i.e.- from The World to The Fool.
Sounds interesting? Well, then, click here to read on.
