Tarot Dige st Is s u e # 4 The Authentic Self All written content by Jim Larsen
September, 2017
A word from the Editor
Issue 4 of Tarot Digest explores The Authentic Self. Who are we when we are not trying to be somebody? Who are we when we simply are? Put your guard down. Relax your mind. Let your spirit soar while your ego rests. Give yourself an opportunity explore the truth of who you really are while letting go of the projection you want others to see. When you do this, you are at your most authentic self. - Jim Larsen www.foolspathtarot.com
Finding the Pieces of Yourself
Remaining Whole
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ome people who lose too many pieces of their selves believe they can recreate who they are simply by changing their name. Only their name changes though. They are still the broken and fractured person they ever where, only now their identity has changed. They have the idea that the name change somehow gives them a reset. It only though, puts a fresh coat of paint on a damaged structure.
Ask the cards, “What is missing?” Draw a card. What’s broken and missing inside has been neither fixed nor found. It is, in some ways, an evasion technique that gives them the sense that they are in fact somebody new because now people won’t see in them any of the old damage and pain. But none of the damage and pain can stay hidden. The only way to make the damage and pain be unnoticeable is to fix it and heal it. The pieces that are missing must be called back into the whole. Until all the pieces are gathered and put back together, there will always be a sense of sadness and of loss. To be truly whole and perfected as the person you are meant to be you must endeavor to find where in the universe these missing pieces are hiding and bring them back to yourself, fit them into the blank spaces where they belong without judgment and integrate each of them back into the totality of who and what they collectively are. Endeavor to use tarot to find these missing pieces of yourself. Ask the cards, “What is missing?” Draw a card. Does it resonate? Visualize this piece of yourself somewhere in time and space. Imagine yourself as having this piece in the whole of who you are. Imagine the strength and power that you now have thanks to this piece. Imagine the time and events that caused you to lose this piece. Now, visualize a different outcome. Visualize yourself with the strength to not lose this piece. Imagine that it never splintered off. Do this enough, and you will convince yourself that it is there. Your mind must now analyze and accept these pieces, for they will seem foreign to it. The mind is so used to the spirit being broken and vague that to find it whole means it must readjust and get re-familiar with the complete and perfect spirit. To do this is to remain authentic and powerful.
The High Priestess Whispering C
onsider the High Priestess as that voice in your head. Consider her a being whispering in your ear. To listen or to not listen is completely up to you. To listen is to be granted wisdom that will serve you well. To not listen is to deprive yourself of something that will benefit you greatly.
The High Priestess has the unique end enviable ability to be far-seeing and wide-seeing. She can see beyond what is mundane of a situation that an average and person will fixate on. She will see the situation and the concern holistically, seeing both the pettiness and the importance of whatever is going on. Where others stop seeing, the High Priestess is only just starting to see. She has no concern for the ego and operates completely outside of the paradigm that the ego creates. The ego builds too many walls, and the High Priestess has no use for such things.
It is not how you know what you know or why you know it. What matters is, you know it. It is not how you know what you know or why you know it. What matters is, you know it. Trust your gut. It has a language all its own, and when you tune into what it is saying, you become incredibly wise. Your gut is the center of your intuition. It has so much to share with you. Quiet your mind so you can hear it. Stifle your ego so you do not reject your gut’s message. The ego sets limits, but the High Priestess is limitless. The High Priestess may tell you things that you do not want to hear, but that does not mean you don’t need to hear it. Listen to the voice of the High Priestess. She will always tell you what you need to hear. Quiet your ego so she does not have to scream to be heard. She will speak no matter what. Can you hear her? Will you listen to what she says? She does not care one way or the other what you want to hear. Her job is to tell you what is pertinent and what is necessary. Endeavor to truly listen and benefit from the message she has for you. When you Do this, and life becomes easier. When you ignore it, there is always a lesson to be learned. Get past these lessons, and graduate from them. Listen to your gut. Pay attention to your intuition and take note of how your life changes for the good.
The Star Reversed
Whose dream is it, anyway?
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hen we look at the star card of tarot in the upright position we think of somebody who is absolutely living their truth. Here is somebody who is has found what it is they enjoy doing in life and they are doing it with passion and gusto. To be in the presence
of somebody who has truly embraced their star quality is to feel inspired by their dedication and their talents. This is somebody who truly shines. They shine because they have tapped into their passion which is also their power. They have a gravity about them that cannot be overlooked. To see the star card in the reversed position, however, brings to mind somebody who may be working hard, but are they pursuing their true, own ambitions? The reversed star card brings to mind somebody who puts forth effort to work hard and pursue ambitions, but not so much out of personal choice or out of personal desires, but out of a sense of obligation to others, maybe even out of guilt. To do this is to deny your real true ambitions for somebody else’s sake as you put your own ambitions on the back burner.
Maybe we are doing what we do, student who pursues not for our own a degree in business personal empowbecause that is what his erment and happarents expect of him. piness, but out of Is this his true interest obligation. though? What if in his Imagine the college
heart, he’d rather study film making? Imagine this person being groomed to take over the family business someday. Sure, financially this could set him up for life. But what about what is really in his heart? His true heart may be pointing him in a direction as far away from the family business as in imaginable. What does this person do? He could follow the upright star and pursue his art. He could follow the reversed star and please his family. This is a message of the reversed star card. It reminds us that maybe we are doing what we do, not for our own personal empowerment and happiness, but out of obligation. When the star card comes up for you in the reversed position, ask yourself: “Who am I trying to please by doing what I am doing? Am I living life to my own satisfaction, or I am acting out somebody else’s script?” To truly shine in your own star quality, you must follow the dictates of your own heart more so than trying to please others. It is that simple.
5 of Wands No Stagnation I
s it true, or is it not? We become complacent. We get comfortable in our comfort zones. We reach a point where we know we can rest and relax on our accomplishments. But guess what? Something or somebody will inevitably come along to challenge our perceptions of what personal perfection is. This is called competition. This is to be challenged. To be challenged is to find new routes to perfection and to realign your thoughts about how good you actually are. It is to reassess your limits and to redefine what it means to be on top. When you look at the Rider Waite rendition of the five of wands, we see an excellent dramatic depiction of this.
Is this battle a war? Is this a do or die proposition? No, not exactly. When we look at the Rider Waite’s five of wands card we see what appears to be a battle in progress. Is this battle a war? Is this a do or die proposition? No, not exactly. This is more of a competition. This is a group of challengers working to best each other, more so than a battle to the death. Sometimes, this is what we need. We need to be a challenged in order to be our personal best. When we become complacent, what better way to get out of the rut than to have to prove ourselves within the context of another who is also trying to be the best at whatever the common thread is between us? As you do whatever it is you do, it is easy to take it for granted. You are good at it. You do it all the time. You get into your groove and go with the flow of it. You hit your comfort zone within it and probably stay there. You are doing good, you are effective, so why worry about anything? While this is fine, it does not lead to further growth. You may need a spark to get you out of your comfort zone and onto new levels of mastery. Competition gives you that spark. The five of wands may also be interpreted as frustration. Ever have a hard time trying to figure something out? Ever feel stressed out studying for a test? Trying to figure out the instructions to something or other? Ever been pressured by a deadline and it seems impossible? The five of wands may in this case be telling you to get focused and figure it out. This is the challenge. This is the competition. This is what you must prove in order to stay on top. Competition kicks your ego into gear as you realize you need to be at least as good some other person doing what you do if you are going to stay in the game. Competition forces you to improve your skills to gain more and more mastery in your field. Use this impetus towards betterment to do better, more and more, to forge ahead, not just for yourself, but also as an example to others of what can be done. As you improve your skills, those that see you as competition will strive to be better than you, thus inspiring even more people, even yourself all over again. When the five of wands comes up for you in a reading, ask yourself, “Have I become too comfortable in my area expertise? Is the world moving on without me? Is there more I should be doing to stay on top of my field?” You may also ask yourself, “Am I focused enough on this?” The five of wands is an indicator of competition, be this be from an outside force, or from within our own selves.
The Devil and Magician Creating a Joint Reality
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e create our own reality. Yes. This is true. This is our magician quality. It happens though that sometimes we are seemingly trapped in a reality created jointly by others that have little or no bearing on a reality that we ourselves would create just for ourselves. This leads to disappointment and frustration. This invites us to explore our shadows. When the devil card comes up in a reading, it may be inviting us to consider this. What exactly is meant by “our shadows?” Our shadows are our hidden side. This is the side we tuck away rather than face. We would prefer to not have to face the reality that we have these aspects. This is often represented by our guilt and our shame. We consider these to be dark and negative. We don’t always want to face our negative side. It is easier to sweep this under the carpet, to pretend it is not there. Hiding it though does not mean that it goes away. No. It is still there. But, because we hide it, it creeps into our awareness at unexpected and unwelcome times. This is why we should accept what it is about ourselves we are trying to hide and integrate it into the totality of who we are. To do so brings balance and a sense of totality to us.
We don’t always want to face our negative side. It is easier to sweep this under the carpet, to pretend it is not there. Sometimes, the people in our life force us to explore this aspect of ourselves. Somehow, some way, these people trigger something within us that force these things out of the shadows and into our reactions. These people are said to “push our buttons” or “get to us.” They have a way of getting on our nerves and bothering us. This is human and we all go through it. It is how we react to it that matters. It is completely normal to perceive this as disappointment or frustration. Disappointment and frustration, of course are constructs of the mind, the ego. What then can we do to create a paradigm that is in more an alignment with the reality our spirit needs? We create a reality of our own no matter what. If this so called reality that you find yourself in that is incongruent with your needs is not desirable to you, remember, you put yourself there for a reason. Perhaps that reason is that being there allows you to explore these hidden contents of your character. Perhaps this is the best opportunity you have to explore your shadow side or to find within yourself reserves that you did not know you had but serve you well in the building of the content of character you came to earth to build. Remember, nothing is for nothing. Explore this collected reality you are in. If it is dark to you, find in yourself the light. It is not for nothing and perhaps you may even affect this reality with your own. As you find reserves to cope with this, to you, unpleasant reality, so may others, whether realizing that it is so or not, are finding reserves to cope with your reality that may be unpleasant or challenging to them. Keep this in mind- dual realities. It is easier, yes, to be with like-minded people who are aware of such concepts as reality creation, but to be adrift alone in a world of sleeping giants unaware of the dream can have the benefits of finding strength. Strength found can never be lost or squandered. Once you tap that reserve inside yourself, whatever level of conscious you find it, will remain always opened. Accept the lessons that come your way in life. Do not shirk away from for fear of the pain they will cause. Pain has a way of turning to strength. Strength becomes character. Character becomes soul. Remind yourself why you are here, why you incarnated. Take all the opportunities you have to build yourself. Experience all that life has to offer. Eventually, it all turns to bliss. Let the devil card remind you of this.
Featured Spread Synergy and Teamwork
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his is a good spread to determine compatibility of a team, a relationship, a committee, any situation where more than one person contributes to a common outcome. It can be done with any number of people. For the sake of this example though, we will use only two.
Draw one card to represent each person and ask “What does this person contribute to the situation?” Next, draw a card to represent the synergy of all involved. Ask, “What is the combined whole of all our efforts and energies?” In this example, let’s say that two people are considering going into business together. These are the cards they drew:
In this example we see that Person One is good at taking charge and influencing others. This person will be good at convincing others, investors and more potential partners of the worthwhileness of the venture. This person will emerge as an obvious leader. Person Two brings a great deal of passion to the project. They will probably have many of the ideas that grow into success. The combined energy of these two is represented by The Fool. What these two create sets the foundation for opportunity. As long as they are willing to follow their instincts and not let fear get n their way, they have created a great opportunity for themselves.
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The 7 of Swords Putting Yourself First There will be those moments when you absolutely must focus on yourself and let the needs and wants of others fall into place around you. These are those moments when what else can you do? There are the moments when you have to accept that your own problems and your own needs are significant too. As much as other people want to unload on you their problems, you really can’t expect yourself to take it all on at the expense of strengthening your own life situation. Sometimes in this strengthening of your situation, you may seem cold and aloof to others. This doesn’t mean you really are cold and aloof, it just seems like you are because you need to focus on yourself. In these moments when you really would like to be all you can be for somebody, but circumstances dictate that you must be there for yourself first, it is then that the best you can do is show compassion.
As much as they have needs, so too do you. Understand what these people are going through and show them some understanding. Let them know what you are going through and hope they can understand. As much as they have needs, so too do you. As much as they expect you to be there for their needs, are they there for you, even if the only need you have is for understanding? It is okay to expect balance here, and if these other people who expect things from you are unwilling or unable to provide it, then what choice do you have but to force it? Allow yourself to do that. Allow yourself to force it. It may seem unnatural and strange to you because it is against your natural impulses, but if this is what you must do, then don’t feel bad about doing it. Remember, when you are strong within yourself and for yourself, you will have much more to offer others. So, if you need to take time for yourself, it is ultimately for everybody’s benefit that you do.
Call for Entries
Our mission at Tarot Digest is to expand the lexicon of tarot. We want to go beyond what has already been written about and delve deeply into what the Archetypes mean. What do the Archetypes mean to you? What personal meanings have you developed? What insights have been revealed to you in your explorations of the cards? We would love to hear about these things and we encourage you to contribute your essays and articles. We would also love to receive original tarot artwork, cards, reviews, poetry, short tarot-themed fiction, interviews, and anything at all related to tarot. Each entry must be the original work of the contributor, and by the act of submitting, you attest that it is. We can only offer the exposure of your material to our readership in return, and we will offer a link to any personal website, on-line store, and/or listing at Amazon.com that you would like. Please send your entries to tarotdigest@gmail.com.