[Indigo Rose]

Being 'in the gap' can be disorienting and even scary. Nothing to hold on to, no sense of directions, not even a hint of what choices and possibilities might lie ahead. But it was just this state of pure potential that existed before the universe was created. All you can do now is to relax into this nothingness...fall into this silence between the words...watch this gap between the outgoing and incoming breath. And treasure each empty moment of the experience. Something sacred is about to be born.Osho Zen Tarot by Osho

For some reason this card is scary to me. I guess it's because I am still rooted in traditional thinking, but the black space is too dark and too empty for me. If there were even a hint of light; just a speck, I think it would be more comforting .

[Judith D]

This is one of my favourites! I look at it from the buddhist viewpoint where no-thingness does not equal nothingness. There is no-thing because we haven't attached to anything - haven't chosen, therefore everything is possible. Where there is no decision that one thing is right, there is no decision therefore that everything else must be not right; if my choice is good, everything not chosen is not-good. It took me a while to grasp the concept of emptiness and no-thingness, but once the light switched on I have found it quite comforting. In that 'gap' absolutely everything is possible and we choose the reality we wish to see. I have found it a way to keep my equilibrium and equanimity in stressful times, and to stop the sudden and useless bursts of emotion such as anger when something doesn't go my way (or when a car cuts me off on the road - you should just see how the taxis drive in this country!!!). I can remember that gap - the darkness doesn't feel empty to me at all, and I can choose to act sensibly, instead of reacting blindly. (don't always make it of course, but at least I can keep trying). And as a card to meditate on - just wonderful.

[pleroma]

Beautiful thoughts Judith. I love this card as well. I think it is a different expression of the Hierophant from traditional rws in a religious sense. While the Hierophant relies on tradition and time-worn symbols to understand God, no-thingness is the utter lack of an image for God, a more true representation of both the judeo-christian-islamic YHWH-God-Allah and the buddhist conception of the absolute. No-thingness reminds us that God is beyond all human constructions, including an image of the divine as 'no-thing', because s(he) is full of ALL things. So, contained within the void conception of the absolute represented in this card is its paradoxical opposite, the overflowing fullness--the pleroma. I see the pleroma throughout this deck, expecially in the maturity card, which may be part of why i am so attracted to these beautiful cards. This card is especially powerful for me because it speaks to the absence and presence of God or the Divine in a way that is less moralistic and commanding than the Pope often appears to me.

-Nick

[Indigo Rose]

Originally Posted by pleroma

No-thingness reminds us that God is beyond all human constructions, including an image of the divine as 'no-thing', because s(he) is full of ALL things. ....This card is especially powerful for me because it speaks to the absence and presence of God or the Divine in a way that is less moralistic and commanding than the Pope often appears to me.
-Nick

I like what both of you have shared on this card, Judith and Nick. Your words help me see this card differently. There is a peace when one looks at this void as the fullness of ALL things...where the Creator can't be put into a box called "religion".

Thanks for sharing these thoughts.

Peace

[squeakmo9]

When I first saw this card it just made me smile because it was such non-sense that made complete sense to me. It makes me question what I perceive to be my reality, and allows for some detachment.

[fyreflye]

I think Osho would say that Nothingness means among many other things no God, no pleroma, no fullness, no Creator, no void, no Divine, no buddhism...no CONCEPTS. The Hierophant manipulates his disciples through concepts. The Rebel rebels against a world ruled by concepts. The chains he breaks are the chains of conceptualization. To say anything at all about this card is to violate its meaning. We know this card only when we enter the silence between the outgoing and incoming breath.

[brenmck]

To stand where there is no place to stand.

~B~

[fyreflye]

Originally Posted by brenmck

To stand where there is no place to stand.

And no one to stand there. And no there even there.

[Grizabella]

In all organized religions, there are men who put themselves between God and man and elevate themselves above mankind---and/or convince the masses to elevate them---until they're actually looked to as God's mouthpiece. This card sweeps all that away, which is as it should be, and leaves us in the no-thingness void to meet God himself with nobody in the way to block our view.

[Indigo Rose]

Originally Posted by Lyric

This card sweeps all that away, which is as it should be, and leaves us in the no-thingness void to meet God himself with nobody in the way to block our view.

Beautifully said, Lyric! That concept really hits home with me. Since I first posted on this card, my feelings on it have changed. Your thoughts here, and others above....along with a spiritual growth period for me....all have helped alter my perspective.


Thank you.