Tag: Carl Jung

The Sun, Part I: The Major Arcana and The Hero’s Journey

Posted C. LaVielle4 CommentsPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey, Uncategorized

After the destruction of The Tower the hero, if he perseveres, will always find The Star, the bright spot in the nighttime that gives him hope, inspiration and the courage to travel the realms of The Moon and learn her secrets. Then and only then can he understand the true nature of reality. It becomes plain as day. The Sun reveals all. Unlike The Moon key, he shows not just a profile, but his full face. He still casts shadows, but unlike moon shadows that conceal, frighten, and mystify, sun shadows add dimension and interest. Sunlight shows everything in its true form. All mysteries are revealed in its warm, nourishing light. The Sun is everything to us. We are truly solar powered beings. His dazzling rays power the earth, bringing us food, warmth, weather, and life itself. His overwhelming presence attracts us and keeps us on our cyclic path. Sunlight also nourishes our spirits. As the days grow longer and warmer our souls blossom with… Read More »

The Moon, Part II: The Major Arcana and The Hero’s Journey

Posted C. LaVielleLeave a commentPosted in Goddess, Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

Continued from a previous post… The focal point of this card is, of course, the moon. But this isn’t just any moon. It is a full moon, crescent moon, half moon, and invisible dark moon all rolled into one. A woman’s profile on the half moon is the visual equivalent of saying “the Moon is a Goddess”. This way of drawing the Moon isn’t just Pamela Coleman Smith’s idea. Many of the earlier decks picture her this way. The artist is doing everything she can to make the viewer understand that this is the quintessential, archetypal Moon. It carries not only the brilliant power of the full moon, but also the vital, initiating force of the crescent moon, the crescendo of the waxing moon, the ebb of the waning moon, and the quiet, regenerative power of the dark moon. It reminds us that lunar energy is ever-changing, rising and falling, ebbing and flooding in a rhythm as regular and nurturing as a mother’s heart beat.… Read More »

Synchronicity Strikes Again

Posted C. LaVielle2 CommentsPosted in Synchronicity

The same day I published my blog about rites of passage, I went to visit a 93-year-old friend of mine who is dying of colon cancer. I asked her how she was doing. “Not well,” she replied. “I’m waiting for my sons to get here so I can say good by, and then I plan to do away with myself.” “Is it the pain?” “No, I have medicine for that. I’m just so tired. I do nothing but eat and sleep. It’s time for me to go.” The next day I went to visit another elderly friend in an assisted living center who had fallen and broken her hip. I worry that she won’t walk again and that this is the beginning of a downward spiral. When I got home, my husband and I went to visit my niece and her family. Zeus, the family dog who had welcomed both of their girls into the world, was feeble and in pain and had quit eating.… Read More »