The Wild Unknown Tarot - The World XXI

victoria.star

Just a thought...

The poppies can represent dream-time...A dream within a dream, how our waking and dreaming lives merge to solidify an experience of the world...dreaming might be the gateway to the understanding of our 'world'. I definitely get a "gateway" to the "flash" "opening" "moment" when the worlds open (blossom?) into understanding or at least a spark of recognition...
 

BSwett

The eyes are the windows to the soul, they say.
I see here the eye of mother earth revealing the world's soul and everything and everyone in it, represented by the whole gamut of colors.
It's like if we unmasked the planet, this is what we would find underneath...
 

Yasmin

The snake skin in the circle reminds me of Ouroborus.

From Wikipedia:
The Ouroboros often represents self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the eternal return, and other things perceived as cycles that begin anew as soon as they end (compare with phoenix). It can also represent the idea of primordial unity related to something existing in or persisting from the beginning with such force or qualities it cannot be extinguished.
 

Ildrinn

Besides many of the wonderful insights already shared on this card I also see it as a portal of sorts. I'm drawn into the white center as if it was an inviting light pulling me from this realm/world/chapter and into the next unwritten part of the story. A transition that feels completely comfortable and without fear. The world you leave behind is complete and you know it and it feels right to step into something new and unknown.
 

Sulis

Besides many of the wonderful insights already shared on this card I also see it as a portal of sorts. I'm drawn into the white center as if it was an inviting light pulling me from this realm/world/chapter and into the next unwritten part of the story. A transition that feels completely comfortable and without fear. The world you leave behind is complete and you know it and it feels right to step into something new and unknown.

I really like the idea of a portal pulling you into the next chapter or part of the story :).
 

theboomz

Reminds me of "the mortal coil"
 

UrbanBramble

This thread is old but I wanted to add something.

If the flowers are dogwood, then the snake / flower combination is present also in the Daughter of Wands. So new beginnings are present in this card. The contained circle to me is completeness, harmony, and a circular notion of Time.

I drew it today in a 2 card draw along with the Three of Pentacles. When you stack the World on top of the Three of Pentacles, it looks like a planet or star far away in outer space, like you are looking up at it from the mountaintop. So it is situated in space among the stars. We are not standing in the "world" depicted in this card, we are viewing it from below.

From this angle I see it as blessings from above, a representation of the Universe, or a guiding light.
 

Pixna

I appreciate your insights on this card, UrbanBramble -- thank you! (And please don't hesitate to post in the study group. New insights (even on older threads) are always welcome and valued!
 

flipperjane

Again we see the different colours - chakra, rainbow? I've noticed this in two other cards: Wheel of Fortune and The Star. Not sure of the significance of this.

I see wholeness, completeness with this card. I feel a sense of being unencumbered by the trivial - everything you need is there.
I feel that I'm not very good at explaining myself -

edit
eek - I've just seen that wholeness and completeness are written on the little bit of fold out paper that comes with the deck - I hadn't looked at that when I wrote my first response I promise :)
 

happyfish

I've been blogging through this deck and the World has certainly been the most enigmatic for me. Here's what I came up with on my own (after reading this thread I have some new ideas! I will need to update my original thoughts!)

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This card speaks to me in a wordless way. I can feel the energies of wholeness, interlocking, and integration that are traditionally associated with this card, but I have a hard time breaking down the image!

In the center of the card we find a complex sphere made up of interconnected rings. In the background is a dark, starry sky. The sky gets lighter as we reach the bottom of the card, suggesting the duality of light and dark, conscious and unconscious. The imagery makes me think of life and spiritual energy concentrated together (much like our literal planet earth) and surrounded by a vast, mysterious Universe.

The sphere’s core is a bright, emanating white. This reminds me of an energetic center of spirit, bursting forth to infuse all of creation. The second ring is comprised of flowers and seems to represent non-sentient life (plants, water, earth, fungi, etc). The third ring looks like snake skin and could represent sentient life (animals and humans).
The final ring is the hardest for me to interpret. It looks like an energetically colorful piano! This could represent the senses of unity, purpose, and LOVE that protect and complete the previous layers.

The circle itself invokes a sense of wholeness. It has no beginning and no end. Regardless of our current challenges and emotional turmoil, we are always, already complete beings. We only need to shift our perspective, to zoom out and see the whole picture. We are perfect in our imperfections. Everything will be okay, everything is okay. Everything have purpose, everyone is cosmologically significant, all are connected. The Universe is creating a story, and we are essential to the plot.