Wendywu
On first looking at this card I couldn’t see my “way in”. I could see the picture but the key to it eluded me. In those circumstances I fell back on the old technique of describing the scene in detail and waiting to see what insights came with the description.
The initial thing I noticed was the striking similarity between the people in the Sun and the Star. The difference, I think, is that Star is female and Sun is male. They could be brother and sister the likeness is so obvious. And so, of course, the Sun is also like the Empress, for it is she who is the Star.
The young man in this card kneels upon the ground staring at the somewhat dirty pages of a huge book. It looks like one of those ancient leather-bound tomes that are so big and heavy you have to lay them on a surface to be able to read them. He is only part way through the book which is a very used looking volume indeed. If this is someone’s life story then they are living a very full and rich life. However, in this card I really feel that the book is a holy book and not a life story. Although, thinking about it, most holy books comprise a series of stories or episodes of someone’s life, together with their sayings and statements of faith.
I do feel that this man is reading a holy book and is in the presence of Enlightenment. I say this because above him shines the Sun and at the centre of this Sun is the sacrificed Christ as a symbol of all the Enlightened Ones. The sun, as we know, is representative of the sixth sephirah, Tiphareth (meaning ”Beauty” in Hebrew”), and Tiphareth is the home of the sacrificed gods, and is the only sephirah below the Abyss to be in direct line with Kether. Thus we see that the Enlightened have reached a very important stage of the Path of Return. Whether they complete their journey or choose to help those of us who remain is just that – their choice.
The image of the Sun/Son on this card is incredible. At first sight I see the Sun, next I notice the face within it and finally the figure of Christ at the centre of the face. This card emphasises for me the importance of the Sun/Son in most world religions. It is certain that this cannot be coincidence. This is the collective unconscious of mankind bringing its most deeply held beliefs to the surface, as an almost irresistible force.
The Sun/Son blazes hotly in the fierce orange sky. The land below is parched and dried out to its bones. This shows me that you can in fact have too much of a good thing. The heat does need to be toned down just so that we ordinary folk can survive out there. Thus I recognise that if I draw this card, I should neither expect nor want to stay out in the bright light for too long. The sunshine is wonderful for the renewal of joy – we all go round happy and smiling even under the pallid English summer sun – but not many choose to live in the Sahara. But as a respite, a place of regeneration and hope – the Sun gives us what we need.
I see that in contrast to the pilgrim in the Moon, our young man has much more formed wings. His are not just luminous outlines but neither are they the full and beautiful wings of the Star. I must say though that in part they do look a little singed with the heat. The Sun positively blazes. Its energy fills the whole of the skies. There are neither clouds nor even a hint of blue sky anywhere on the horizon. The incredible energy floods the skies and shows us the awesome power that is so very close to us, both spiritually and physically.
The power of the Sun helped create this world and without that power we know our world will end. Here is an interesting thought – if we take it as Son and not Sun, will our world also end with the going on of the Son? When the last of the Enlightened chooses to complete his (or her) Return, will that signal the end of the world? Do we all have to complete our Return before that can happen? Are we as a species “improving” spiritually so that there is hope for us? Are we learning to overcome “I, me, mine” as an ingrained pattern of thought?
There is a series of rocky projections behind the young man. Are they really rocks or could they be bones? On close inspection I’m inclined to think they are bones lying across the top of the ridge. What bones? They are huge. I choose to take these bones as the symbolic death of that part of our nature which has blocked our path of Return. Has the man finally conquered and laid to rest some inner demons that encouraged him to be less than he knew he could be? We all have the demons comforting us with honeyed words that make light of our shortcomings and failures. I think here particularly of something lately occurring in my own country. So many of those in power have been proclaiming that they stayed within the letter of the regulations, but they ignored the unspoken moral obligations – their inner demons were encouraging them to let themselves down from the high ideals they profess to follow. It is good to think of the wall of dead bones as representing the end of that side of one’s nature.
The major figure in the card for me is the Sun/Son. It is a figure of great beauty, mystery and power. I would love a large picture of just that Sun/Son in a gorgeous frame which I could put where I would see it constantly. The echoes the Sun/Son sets up are amazing. The sheer enormity of it, dominating every aspect of our whole lives just as it dominates the card. All our food, power and the life of everything that lives is totally dependent on the Sun/Son.
Ra pours his essence out for us, endlessly. Interestingly, talking of essence, in one of the streams of energy coming from the Sun/Son there is what looks exactly like a single sperm. This is just further emphasis of the fertility and sheer necessity of the Sun.
In a spiritual reading I would see this card as encouragement to keep to the path I know to be right, and as a slight warning not to spend too long in the blazing heat. I would think of the importance of prayer and meditation, and the search for understanding. And I want to remember that as essential as the sun is, we have other vital needs and I should reflect on these. I am called to consider the wonder and beauty of the Sun/Son, and the significance of Tiphareth for me personally. I see there is a need for meditation and contemplation.
I should also appreciate that in the warmth of the sun – we can all go out to play! I need to realise the importance of play in our lives, and the joy to be obtained from simple pleasures like reading and conversation. I must learn to wallow in the golden light and let it touch the whole of me and so lighten every dark corner of my life.
This card also says to me that a lot of the “clutter” we all carry around in our minds has been burned away, and I am left with a new clarity of vision. I can see things as clearly as if I had stepped from dark shadows into the light (after taking a moment to adjust visually ie. taking a moment to grasp the situation first). The Sun tells me that for a time I will be able to see clearly, and things in my world will be bright and cheerful. The seeing clearly could refer to a specific problem or it could mean seeing with a new vision/perspective. Instead of looking on the dark side of things, I will see the bright side and a clear way to deal with problems. Things will go well and right for me.
In a more day to day reading I would take the latter two paragraphs as being the main considerations for the querent to take into account.
And for these last few paragraphs I heard “I can see clearly now the rain has gone, I can see all obstacles in my way …..) Such an amazing tarot.
The initial thing I noticed was the striking similarity between the people in the Sun and the Star. The difference, I think, is that Star is female and Sun is male. They could be brother and sister the likeness is so obvious. And so, of course, the Sun is also like the Empress, for it is she who is the Star.
The young man in this card kneels upon the ground staring at the somewhat dirty pages of a huge book. It looks like one of those ancient leather-bound tomes that are so big and heavy you have to lay them on a surface to be able to read them. He is only part way through the book which is a very used looking volume indeed. If this is someone’s life story then they are living a very full and rich life. However, in this card I really feel that the book is a holy book and not a life story. Although, thinking about it, most holy books comprise a series of stories or episodes of someone’s life, together with their sayings and statements of faith.
I do feel that this man is reading a holy book and is in the presence of Enlightenment. I say this because above him shines the Sun and at the centre of this Sun is the sacrificed Christ as a symbol of all the Enlightened Ones. The sun, as we know, is representative of the sixth sephirah, Tiphareth (meaning ”Beauty” in Hebrew”), and Tiphareth is the home of the sacrificed gods, and is the only sephirah below the Abyss to be in direct line with Kether. Thus we see that the Enlightened have reached a very important stage of the Path of Return. Whether they complete their journey or choose to help those of us who remain is just that – their choice.
The image of the Sun/Son on this card is incredible. At first sight I see the Sun, next I notice the face within it and finally the figure of Christ at the centre of the face. This card emphasises for me the importance of the Sun/Son in most world religions. It is certain that this cannot be coincidence. This is the collective unconscious of mankind bringing its most deeply held beliefs to the surface, as an almost irresistible force.
The Sun/Son blazes hotly in the fierce orange sky. The land below is parched and dried out to its bones. This shows me that you can in fact have too much of a good thing. The heat does need to be toned down just so that we ordinary folk can survive out there. Thus I recognise that if I draw this card, I should neither expect nor want to stay out in the bright light for too long. The sunshine is wonderful for the renewal of joy – we all go round happy and smiling even under the pallid English summer sun – but not many choose to live in the Sahara. But as a respite, a place of regeneration and hope – the Sun gives us what we need.
I see that in contrast to the pilgrim in the Moon, our young man has much more formed wings. His are not just luminous outlines but neither are they the full and beautiful wings of the Star. I must say though that in part they do look a little singed with the heat. The Sun positively blazes. Its energy fills the whole of the skies. There are neither clouds nor even a hint of blue sky anywhere on the horizon. The incredible energy floods the skies and shows us the awesome power that is so very close to us, both spiritually and physically.
The power of the Sun helped create this world and without that power we know our world will end. Here is an interesting thought – if we take it as Son and not Sun, will our world also end with the going on of the Son? When the last of the Enlightened chooses to complete his (or her) Return, will that signal the end of the world? Do we all have to complete our Return before that can happen? Are we as a species “improving” spiritually so that there is hope for us? Are we learning to overcome “I, me, mine” as an ingrained pattern of thought?
There is a series of rocky projections behind the young man. Are they really rocks or could they be bones? On close inspection I’m inclined to think they are bones lying across the top of the ridge. What bones? They are huge. I choose to take these bones as the symbolic death of that part of our nature which has blocked our path of Return. Has the man finally conquered and laid to rest some inner demons that encouraged him to be less than he knew he could be? We all have the demons comforting us with honeyed words that make light of our shortcomings and failures. I think here particularly of something lately occurring in my own country. So many of those in power have been proclaiming that they stayed within the letter of the regulations, but they ignored the unspoken moral obligations – their inner demons were encouraging them to let themselves down from the high ideals they profess to follow. It is good to think of the wall of dead bones as representing the end of that side of one’s nature.
The major figure in the card for me is the Sun/Son. It is a figure of great beauty, mystery and power. I would love a large picture of just that Sun/Son in a gorgeous frame which I could put where I would see it constantly. The echoes the Sun/Son sets up are amazing. The sheer enormity of it, dominating every aspect of our whole lives just as it dominates the card. All our food, power and the life of everything that lives is totally dependent on the Sun/Son.
Ra pours his essence out for us, endlessly. Interestingly, talking of essence, in one of the streams of energy coming from the Sun/Son there is what looks exactly like a single sperm. This is just further emphasis of the fertility and sheer necessity of the Sun.
In a spiritual reading I would see this card as encouragement to keep to the path I know to be right, and as a slight warning not to spend too long in the blazing heat. I would think of the importance of prayer and meditation, and the search for understanding. And I want to remember that as essential as the sun is, we have other vital needs and I should reflect on these. I am called to consider the wonder and beauty of the Sun/Son, and the significance of Tiphareth for me personally. I see there is a need for meditation and contemplation.
I should also appreciate that in the warmth of the sun – we can all go out to play! I need to realise the importance of play in our lives, and the joy to be obtained from simple pleasures like reading and conversation. I must learn to wallow in the golden light and let it touch the whole of me and so lighten every dark corner of my life.
This card also says to me that a lot of the “clutter” we all carry around in our minds has been burned away, and I am left with a new clarity of vision. I can see things as clearly as if I had stepped from dark shadows into the light (after taking a moment to adjust visually ie. taking a moment to grasp the situation first). The Sun tells me that for a time I will be able to see clearly, and things in my world will be bright and cheerful. The seeing clearly could refer to a specific problem or it could mean seeing with a new vision/perspective. Instead of looking on the dark side of things, I will see the bright side and a clear way to deal with problems. Things will go well and right for me.
In a more day to day reading I would take the latter two paragraphs as being the main considerations for the querent to take into account.
And for these last few paragraphs I heard “I can see clearly now the rain has gone, I can see all obstacles in my way …..) Such an amazing tarot.
