Tag: Judgement

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: Judgement

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

Do you see It!? A sustained C natural played on a French horn sounds from a speaker hidden in the trees behind her. It’s everywhere. All around us. Inside us. Right here. Right now. And forever. Maybe you see a part of It? It will take lifetimes, but don’t stop until you can see It all. The note stops. The woman puts her palms together in front of her face and bows. Namaste! (Before the first seekers arrive we will ask The Tao, The Divine One, all the gods and goddesses, all the angels, saints and ascended masters, and all the spiritual teachers, guides, and power animals of every seeker to please be present, if appropriate; and to somehow reveal themselves to each seeker if and as appropriate. It is Judgement’s job to hold this sacred space for all the seekers. After the last group of seekers leaves we will thank everyone we invoked for their guidance, protection, blessings, and divine presence and bid them… Read More »

Judgement, Part III: The Major Arcana and The Hero’s Journey

Posted C. LaVielle6 CommentsPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

  Continued from previous posts… The letter Shin corresponds to the Judgement key.  It means tooth and the sharpness that tears apart the limitations of the physical world and our sense of separateness. It represents Divine power as it is the initial letter of two of the Names of God. Qabalists call Shin the “Holy Letter.” Shin, along with Aleph (The Fool, air) and Mem (The Hanged Man, water) is one of the three mother letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Its element is fire, a perfect metaphor for the passion of spiritual awakening. In my experience, Judgement seldom appears in readings, and when it does I sit up and reassess the querent. Its appearance means that he is, was, or will be at a significant crossroads in his life—note the cross on the banner. He has arrived at that point as a result of some great catastrophe, or because all his options have gone and he is faced with only these paths, or because of… Read More »

Judgement, Part II

Posted C. LaVielle6 CommentsPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

The Judgement key is an obvious depiction of Judgement Day. The Hierophant and perhaps The Devil are the other blatantly Catholic major arcana, although most of the keys have a Catholic feel to them. If you lived in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries when tarot decks were becoming popular you were either Catholic or you were in trouble. The Church had zero tolerance for heretics, and Jews and Muslims were treated like dirt. This was also the time of the infamous European Witch Hunts. So it is not surprising that, even though their message is universal, the designers of the early tarot decks used a Christian theme to make their work more widely accessible. (See previous post on tarot origins) The death, redemption, and rebirth into a blessed afterlife concept lies at the heart of nearly every religion. It reminds the faithful that there is more to this world than what meets the untrained eye and challenges us to let go of our… Read More »