“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. The point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
I've just completed my 2018 forecast tarot reading, and I wanted to reflect on all that I have learned from the tarot this past year. Life is so much more complex than we allow it to be, and I have learned to step into the middle of paradox. True, alchemical treasure is found when we step outside the camps of 'black' and 'white', into Rumi's field, out beyond right and wrong. And this is the place we need to be, now more than ever, in the midst of all the polarities and 'sides' running rampant in the world today. It is not about any given experience, or person being good or bad. It is about what IS.
True knowledge always brings more questions.
If we think we have the answer, life will surely present us with an experience which will try to pull us back into the realm of questions. Expansion comes out of questions. Growth is not possible when we stop asking questions. And we are here to grow.
Life is a great balancing act. All the religious traditions talk about this, though it is more commonly explored in the eastern paths.
When we live in the middle of the paradox, and learn to make peace with uncertainty, fear does not have such a grip on us. Everything passes. Everything cycles back around again. Life is a cyclical dance. We need both light and dark, both high and low, for WHOLENESS.
In drawing the Devil card, or the Tower card (everything falling apart), if we can step away from fear, and into honest examination of our life, we will see what needs to change in order to bring more love, or greater abundance into our life. In drawing the Death card, examine what in your life needs to end, as a natural part of the cycle, so that new growth, expansion, and possibility can come in. Without something old ending, the new cannot come in.
Tarot has taught me to live the questions. And love the questions. And not seek the answers before I am ready to hear them.
To be satisfied with the path, and to be at peace, as much as possible with not knowing. I have the power of choice, always. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. And when we bring that which we fear into the light, we have the choice to move beyond it. Without first seeing it, we cannot move forward.
Tarot helps us to see what we need to see.
If we can approach what we see without judgement, massive shifts and possibilities are opened to us.
For example, I recently did a reading dominant in the suit of Swords - turmoil.
In drawing the Five of Swords (self-destruction), instead of jumping to fear-mongering conclusions, as is second nature in our culture, I took a moment to explore what this actually means. How is self destruction at play in my life? I could see it in a new light. Without destruction of the old, the new cannot come in. Self destruction is like a doorway to change. Even if I fear the change, it needs to happen. And it will happen. This in turn brings balance, which opens up the door for new possibilities.
Question: How can I deepen my spiritual practice? Answer: Four of Swords - stillness, and mental power. Sit in stillness without fear. Even when the four swords are about to strike, there is an answer within the question.
Question: How can I find balance in my present situation? Answer: Daughter of Swords - by being honest about what you really want, and observing all things closely. And as always, another question arises - how are you holding on to your keen insight and frankness in a way that might be causing you to make judgements of others?
Question: How can I fully let in health, joy, and friendship? Answer: Two of Swords - by unblocking your vision and moving past your stalemate. Unblock your answer. Face the truth that the light will reveal.
In all darkness there is a kernel of light. Choice is a factor of momentum in transmuting your dark stories into light.
It is inky black outside, but A new dawn is coming. I can feel it. And it belongs to all of us. All who believe. Out in the field, beyond right and wrong, is where hope, peace, and equality lies. A rich and vibrant future that belongs to all people of the human race. All are accepted, none are discriminated against or excluded. We are all One.
Working with the tarot has taught me that my rising belongs to me. And my rising belongs to you. My rising belongs to every woman, and every man who is living and awakening on this earth right now.
Tarot has also taught me that every second of my existence has been witnessed, seen, and loved by a Divine Higher Power. Every tear, struggle, lonely night, darkness, hurt - and yes, every joy has been seen.
Every single moment of my life has been witnessed.
Even the experiences I considered to be bad, have been a part of the integral growth and blossoming of my soul, and nothing has gone unnoticed. This is so powerful. And now I have the ability to be this loving witness for others.
Just like in the tarot, when I pull a challenging card and choose to see it with love and non-judgement; not as a bad omen, but as a guide pointing me toward what I need to see,
I can be a loving, non-judgemental witness to my life, and to the lives of those around me. To know that we are all doing our best, with the raw materials and stories that we find ourselves in. To not try to fix, or change, or give advice, but to witness. This is one of the most powerful gifts we can give another human. Witness, and live into the answers.
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