thanks gorgeous! Your advice about not pushing things is so true-here i have been pushing myself to find the 'meaning' of this card when today i find myself humming a song from the old radio play Lord of the Rings:
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
Let others follow it who can!
Let them a journey new begin,
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest and sleep to meet.
-- J R R Tolkien
what could describe this card better? i think this is a truth we all hold deep inside, that each of us is on a journey- the analogy of life to a road is ubiquitous, and doesn't life always seem to be full of obstacles- bumps in the road, gates and guards where we want to pass?
but the guardian is a protector as well as a guard, protecting us from what we are not yet ready for, what we might destroy in our desire to know and love...(I am guilty of this in my insatiable desire to know or own something! i have to learn to let go...)
i have always liked the idea that most people just do the best they can with the resources they have, and that life doesn't throw anything at you that you aren't ready to handle. This is the guardian's role, sensing what inner resources you have and what new challenges you can face...and what wondrous enlightenments you are now ready for...
looking at the guardian i am reminded that life is a beautiful adventure, that the mundane roads outside link to beautiful green woodland paths and exhilarating mountain trails...when you step outside your door, who knows where life will take you?
Of course, the 'gate' which is most mysterious is the veil between our world and the Unknown- whether Otherworld, Faery or Hades...the guardian is the white light of near-death experiences...we can choose to turn away to life and the known, or move on to the final amazing journey...
i think when we use these cards we peer through the veil, just a little, and glimpse the other reality entwined in ours...a little scary, very exciting....but of course the guardian is here as our tour guide and protector, making sure we don't wander too far from home...