Now I have absolutely no idea why this image is of a woman with spirally hair, flying through space wrestling a giant snake. Of course I know the traditional meanings of the World card (or in this deck The Universe). But what the images in this card have to do with them I am not entirely sure.
The card signifies wholeness and contentment, completion, oneness with the All. In an actual reading, no doubt the curious elements would act as a trigger to the intuition, regardless of what Crowley might have meant by them. That's the magic of tarot. When a reader makes a sincere petition to the universe for connection to the client's life and needs, that insight comes in a flash from the most unexpected details of a card. Happens over and over.
I'm going to keep blogging with this deck next week, because there is so much here for me to explore. Some days my musings may be deeper or more detailed than others. When the Lon Milo DuQuette book arrives, I will also be sharing ideas from it.
I hope everyone keeps safe and well during the snow storm this weekend. :)
I so adore this world card. Yay for more thoth blogging from you :]
ReplyDeleteWell, this card reminds me of a song "The End", by The Doors:
ReplyDelete"Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake...he's old, and his skin is cold"
I feel it's related to connecting with something great and ancient... the universe, perhaps.
I always thought the lady was kind of dancing or making out with the snake, not wrestling it. LOL!
Bonkers, I would love to know what you adore about it!
ReplyDeleteSATURNESS! Yay, you are back! I have never heard that song but it is perfect for this card. I'm going to see if I can find it on You Tube...I love associating songs with tarot cards! x
Carla - I hope you don't mind excerpts from some older posts of mine about the...i'd write something proper here but just woke up/not feeling very coherent yet ;]
ReplyDelete"In contrast, the Universe dances with with the world around her, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the terrible. She dances with a serpent, bathed in golden light. She is dynamic, fluid, fully involved. She finds joy, pleasure in everything and around her, behind her, the cosmos opens up in the most intimate of ways and she, of course, knows what that means, can take advantage. She basks in her natural state, in freedom, fully a part of all that is around her."
"The answer was a bit of a surprise - the Universe, you say? But isn't that a card of completion, of success, fulfillment, attainment and all of that? Well yes, but here again we have some of the nuances of the Thoth deck that I just absolutely love - it isn't a woman standing or dancing a bit inside a wreath of laurels. It's a woman engaged in a passionate dance with a SNAKE. The snake, for life and death, beginnings and ends, the end is the beginning, beginning is an end of something else, and they dance, joyfully. End things that need to be ended, start things that need to be started. Give yourself credit for the things you have already accomplished, and set new goals for yourself, reasonable small goals and pipe-dreamy big goals, and work for them."
Also, unlike you, I actually really, really do like the art style of this deck, and find the color palette of this card particularly pleasing (especially on the 1986 edition I have...such rich tones!)
Thanks for your thoughts, Bonkers. :) I may never be a true fan of the deck's art work, and it may take me some time to acclimate to the imagery, but I am genuinely intrigued and strangely attracted to this deck, so who knows. I may end up a full-on convert before it's done!
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ReplyDelete