Kundalini from behind the veil

Wow! This is one the more hallucinatory cards from Greenwood Tarot (Ryan and Potter 1996). It seems to me the deck is split into two, perhaps three, distinct styles: the colourful, soft focus style, and the fragmented trance style. This is one of the trance cards! (There are a few in the deck that I would call a 'warm fuzzy, soft cuddly' style, such as the stoat, the horse and the mama and baby bear cards...) I love both styles, but I am particularly fascinated by these fragmented ones. It's like Chesca Potter has painted energy, the aspect unseen. When I look at these cards, I feel like this is the true 'reality' of what's going on around us, the vibrations and energy and movement of all these atoms, all this energy -- all these 'strings' of string theory. :)

The companion book says of 3 of Wands: 'Nourishment from a spiritual source that gives inner security and joy. Goals and desires reached, making life rich with emotional security and a sense of completion.' And Chesca Potter has also written: 'A figure has stepped through the gateway of the two of Wands, arms open to receive the blessing of fulfilment. They stand in the healing radiance of the afterglow created after a loving polaric interchange. This is represented by the caduceus of intertwined serpents on their cloak (see Adder). This energised peace does not require another person, it can be achieved after an act of Creativity or Joy.'

The caduceus is also seen in two other cards in Greenwood Tarot: Adder, which Potter refers to, is the King of Wands, and also in my favourite card of the deck, Balance (aka Temperance).  The King of Wands shows two adders entwined beside a flaming wand. (It so happens that this card is done in the 'warm fuzzy' style I mentioned earlier). The Balance card is my favourite card in this deck. I would love to have a big framed poster of this image hanging on my living room wall. Temperance tends to be my favourite card in most decks, and this is probably my favourite Temperance card. It manages to combine elements from traditional tarot imagery (a robed human shape, water, an indication of two vessels, irises) with alchemical imagery (red and white entwining) along with hints of chakra balancing (the lotus-like suns), auras and an overall hallucinatory, shamanic feel. It is a remarkable card (and is a prime example of the 'colourful, soft focus' style I noted earlier). 

Three of Wands is the 'Lord of Virtue'. It's a word that has come to have many shades of meaning, but its root is the Latin 'virtus', meaning 'of man' or 'manly' -- strong, courageous, valorous, excellent, etc. When we view this card and contemplate it, it's like a snapshot of where 'virtue' comes from. I wrote about the 3 of Wands recently and said that the figure in the card is 'simply feeling the energy of her life and the physicality of knowing she is on the track that is right for her. It's almost like she is pulling energy up from the earth,' and today's card is like a snapshot of what that looks like from the point of view of the energy, instead of the point of view of the person experiencing the feeling. It's like a visual representation of the feeling of drawing energy into oneself from the universe and up from the earth, with the kundalini rising. Remarkable card. 

It says to me more than anything else today that I need to do some focused energy work. I think some meditation and perhaps even a nice long kundalini yoga session is in order for the day!