A New Age Mash Up? Well, I love a good plate of mash.

Today's card, Awakening, from the Gaian Tarot (Joanna Powell Colbert, Llewellyn 2011) was the centre card in a 5-card draw in which I asked the question, 'What do I need to know or focus on today?'

I find this card very appealing. Major Arcana 20, traditionally known in Rider-Waite Smith decks as 'Judgement', usually shows various versions of the dead rising from the graves at the trumpet call of an angel, on Judgement Day. The image of a naked figure, viewed from the back, looking up, arms outstretched, is traditional. I like this card better than most versions of Judgement that I have seen.

First, I just enjoy the colours and the balance of the composition. The pink across the middle echoed by the pink of the lotus blossom, the orangey yellows in the sky reflected in the candles, the dark opening of the crypt at New Grange, the figures in silhouette outlined in white, and the cranes flying over--I like it all, I like the way it is all arranged. I enjoy symmetry of design. I like the way the card looks like it could have been made from magazine clippings during a therapy session. I like the mosaicy composition of the Buddha/Kwan Yin face in the sky. I just like the whole thing.

Universal Waite (US Games)

You know, people have criticised this deck as being too New Agey, and I suppose the New Age aspect comes through pretty strongly on the Awakening card in particular. It's like a spiritual mash-up: Celtic paganism, Buddhism, neopagan rites and ultimately a Christian concept of rising from the dead all converge here.

 Celtic paganism
The rock formation is New Grange, in County Meath, Ireland. It is a mound of about one acre across, originally classed as a 'passage tomb', but now thought to more likely be a temple of some sort. It dates from about 5,000 years ago, so it is older than Stonehenge. The bit featured on the card is the most famous aspect, carved with spirals. The remarkable thing about New Grange is the placement of a roofbox-type structure which allows the inner passage to be illuminated by the Winter Solstice sun each year on 21st December. It is like a celebration of the end of the longest night of the year. One could say, the rebirth of the sun.(New Grange is also featured in the Druidcraft's version of the Judgement card, 'Rebirth'. See below.)

Buddhism/Eastern imagery
The Buddhist aspects of the card are in the face in the sky, the lotus and the cranes. When you look at it, you can see it as either Buddha or Kwan Yin, or both. Kwan Yin -- sometimes Avalokiteshwara, Avalokita, Quan Yin, Guan Yin, etc -- is the bodhisattwa, 'the lord who looks upon the world with compassion. Sometimes depicted as male (Avalokita), sometimes as female (Kwan Yin),

Druidcraft (Worthington, St Martins Press)

either way, you can certainly see the compassionate aspect of this energy, figure or force, looking down on the activities of the people below. The cranes flying across the face of Kwan Yin are an ancient symbol of longevity or immortality, and remind us of our connection to the eternal. The lotus is a classic symbol of enlightenment, which is the realisation of both impermanence and essential oneness. The candles, at least in my mind, are closely associated with both meditation and magical rites.

Neopaganism
The image of people gathered in a circle holding hands has a strong sense of the neopagan for me. Even though a fire is not in evidence on the card, there's something about them being in silhouette that makes me feel that there is a fire in the middle of the circle. The white outline on their bodies reminds me of auras and raised energy.

Christianity
The original versions of the card showing human figures being raised from the dead by a divine power is definitely based in Christianity. As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52  'Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed' (Bible, English Standard Version). It is this scene that is depicted on the traditional RWS Judgement card, and in many other decks.

So what do I make of it in a reading? And what did I see in it today? It can be so many things. Fresh starts. A new beginning after a really rough time. Shedding outworn patterns or beliefs and opening up to the new. Heeding the call of a new path. It can even be something as simple as turning away from what troubles you and saying, 'Yeah, whatever. 'Cause look what delight there is in shere existence!  Look at all the love and compassion that surround me. So many good things, so many ways to start again.'

And that's the lesson I'm taking from it today.