The Shadowscapes Tarot called
me today, and the cards I threw are The World (wheee!) and the Nine of
Pentacles reversed.
The
Universe/World, which corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes, and
material, stable and practical energy that is slow to change), Saturn
(discipline, responsibility, limitations and resistance), Thav (mark or sign),
and the Path between Malkuth (the physical world of action and physical, outer
reality) and Yesod (the place where patterns and images emerge that may
manifest into the physical world) is a card of integration and involvement and
understanding, a crystallization of the entire issue at hand. “Completion” is
one traditional interpretation of this card, but “completion” is too simple a
word to apply without qualificaiton. Like the Seven of Pentacles, this card tells of a slowing
down of movement and effect; this time the slow-down is happening because the
manifestation is complete. This
can be good, yes, but it can also represent a bit of opposition or
obstinacy. The completeness of
manifestation in this instance is set in stone; while it may also be the
catalyst that begins the new cycle, the current cycle cannot be changed.
The Shadowscapes World card
shows a woman surrounded by verdant and lush green foliage all capped with a
beautiful starry night sky lit by a full, glowing moon, gazing into a large
crystal ball that appears to be a smaller version of that moon, also
glowing. The glow of the two orbs
seems to be connected, as if the energies of the moon and the orb were passing
back and forth. Beautiful
red-breasted birds accompany the woman, and the man in the moon appears to be a
bird in the moon. This card is
about patterns reflected, about “as above, so below; as below, so above,” and
about the “now” and all its accomplishments, rather than the past or the
future.
The Nine of Pentacles (Venus, beauty, allure, relationships, in Virgo, “I serve,” practical,
analytical, work and service oriented) in an upright position tells of
accomplishment through the imposition of discipline. The Nine of Pentacles sometimes reminds me of The Empress, and
in a lot of ways this card in an upright position can be seen as a Minor Arcana
version of The Empress.
I love the image on this
Shadowscapes card! A woman sits in
front of a piano that appears to be a part of a tree, playing for her own
pleasure. The trees are green, and
the branches appear to be leaning over and spiraling toward the piano and its
player. Music and the playing of a
musical instrument is a great metaphor for the energies of this card; after
all, playing the piano takes discipline, but once we’ve got the hang of it we
can enjoy what we’ve accomplished.
There is a
clear message here: enjoy my accomplishments (because they are substantial, and
they are effectively bringing balance into my life), but beware of seeing these
accomplishments through rose-colored glasses. After all, balance is temporary and once I enjoy it for a
bit, I need to begin building something new or that nice balance will begin to
morph into lethargy!
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