94stranger
42. Self: group - Self (6 yellow)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Self/42.aspx
The Image
A large woman stands at a table holding a ladle, which she is about to dip into an earthenware pot. To the right of her sits a boy in green, to the left, a girl wearing pink. The presence of spoons and bowls (5 and 4 respectively) on the table makes it clear that she is about to serve the children. Behind her on the wall hangs a grey cloak to the left of the image, and a medallion on a lace to the right. The woman wears a yellow apron over an orange dress with red sleeves, a cook’s hat and various items of jewellery. She looks straight at us with a forthright gaze.
The Archetype
Self represents the point in the evolution of the psyche at which the individual, as a distinct unit of the whole, is born. The viewpoint of Rainring is that, like Form, Self is an integral part of the psyche, and must not be judged against on the basis that ‘in reality, we are all one’. Both unity and diversity have their place in the psyche, and Rainring incorporates each of them. The universe evolves towards differentiation; humanity likewise faces the task of nurturing and developing the uniqueness of each individual. It is not Self which is responsible for the conflicts we experience, but the history or conditioning that Self has been subject to since the dawn of consciousness. Self is not the villain of the piece, but the indispensable organising principle of individual identity in the cosmos.
Divinatory Meanings
Self: guardian of individual being, the unique nature of one’s own identity; the force which supports and guides multiplicity, differentiation, individuation
Once Self arises, it immediately threatens to abort the feeling of connectedness of the individual soul with the whole of life, the ocean of being.
Self is also rather like a house where you decide to stay for a while during a long journey. In this place you are in a state of centredness; not running here and there pursuing this and that. In other words, you know who you are and what you are about. You are in accord with your core, your true identity. Your inner experience is that of focus on yourself, an introvert emphasis. To know who you are -self-knowledge- is the beginning of wisdom. This is what is gained, the positive side of the coin. A sense of independence attaches itself to Self, because you have a good balance of male and female energies. You also demonstrate an exuberance of spirit, because to be yourself, to pursue your own agenda is a powerful motivator.
For Self, however, the shadow is always the other, and the relationship with that other. Not far behind your sense of separateness and independence comes need: the urge to be in contact, to be close to the other. And it is from here that the opposition to Self comes – from that in us which needs, imperatively, the interchange with other selves. Self, that is, ushers in the dilemma with which every human being is familiar: you versus me. In the company of another, and still more with numerous others, the members of the group, you find that you cannot be entirely yourself. So the tension is set up – to be totally yourself but alone, versus to be totally immersed in the group but to lose your identity, yourself. The card Self shows that for now you are right at one end of that spectrum. But to be self-centred (even ‘selfish’) is not automatically a moral failing, behaviour for which you ‘should’ feel guilty.
Ultimately, out of Self will come projection – when you lose touch with the Self of the other, and believe him or her to have the same motivations, feelings, neuroses as yourself. The paranoid dictator wants to have everyone killed because everyone (he is convinced) is out to kill him. Although this is prefigured by Self, this latter is nevertheless a highly positive card: not to have a solid sense of identity is to be in danger of plunging headlong into insanity. With all its attendant issues, Self is nonetheless an indispensable ingredient of well-being.
Divination summary
self-centred behaviour; strong sense of your individual identity; doing what you need for yourself; independence, pursuit of your own advantage, selfishness; motivation, exuberance, balance, idiosyncrasy, appropriate introversion; self-isolating tendency, difficulty recognising need for others; reluctance to get involved with others.
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Self/42.aspx
The Image
A large woman stands at a table holding a ladle, which she is about to dip into an earthenware pot. To the right of her sits a boy in green, to the left, a girl wearing pink. The presence of spoons and bowls (5 and 4 respectively) on the table makes it clear that she is about to serve the children. Behind her on the wall hangs a grey cloak to the left of the image, and a medallion on a lace to the right. The woman wears a yellow apron over an orange dress with red sleeves, a cook’s hat and various items of jewellery. She looks straight at us with a forthright gaze.
The Archetype
Self represents the point in the evolution of the psyche at which the individual, as a distinct unit of the whole, is born. The viewpoint of Rainring is that, like Form, Self is an integral part of the psyche, and must not be judged against on the basis that ‘in reality, we are all one’. Both unity and diversity have their place in the psyche, and Rainring incorporates each of them. The universe evolves towards differentiation; humanity likewise faces the task of nurturing and developing the uniqueness of each individual. It is not Self which is responsible for the conflicts we experience, but the history or conditioning that Self has been subject to since the dawn of consciousness. Self is not the villain of the piece, but the indispensable organising principle of individual identity in the cosmos.
Divinatory Meanings
Self: guardian of individual being, the unique nature of one’s own identity; the force which supports and guides multiplicity, differentiation, individuation
Once Self arises, it immediately threatens to abort the feeling of connectedness of the individual soul with the whole of life, the ocean of being.
Self is also rather like a house where you decide to stay for a while during a long journey. In this place you are in a state of centredness; not running here and there pursuing this and that. In other words, you know who you are and what you are about. You are in accord with your core, your true identity. Your inner experience is that of focus on yourself, an introvert emphasis. To know who you are -self-knowledge- is the beginning of wisdom. This is what is gained, the positive side of the coin. A sense of independence attaches itself to Self, because you have a good balance of male and female energies. You also demonstrate an exuberance of spirit, because to be yourself, to pursue your own agenda is a powerful motivator.
For Self, however, the shadow is always the other, and the relationship with that other. Not far behind your sense of separateness and independence comes need: the urge to be in contact, to be close to the other. And it is from here that the opposition to Self comes – from that in us which needs, imperatively, the interchange with other selves. Self, that is, ushers in the dilemma with which every human being is familiar: you versus me. In the company of another, and still more with numerous others, the members of the group, you find that you cannot be entirely yourself. So the tension is set up – to be totally yourself but alone, versus to be totally immersed in the group but to lose your identity, yourself. The card Self shows that for now you are right at one end of that spectrum. But to be self-centred (even ‘selfish’) is not automatically a moral failing, behaviour for which you ‘should’ feel guilty.
Ultimately, out of Self will come projection – when you lose touch with the Self of the other, and believe him or her to have the same motivations, feelings, neuroses as yourself. The paranoid dictator wants to have everyone killed because everyone (he is convinced) is out to kill him. Although this is prefigured by Self, this latter is nevertheless a highly positive card: not to have a solid sense of identity is to be in danger of plunging headlong into insanity. With all its attendant issues, Self is nonetheless an indispensable ingredient of well-being.
Divination summary
self-centred behaviour; strong sense of your individual identity; doing what you need for yourself; independence, pursuit of your own advantage, selfishness; motivation, exuberance, balance, idiosyncrasy, appropriate introversion; self-isolating tendency, difficulty recognising need for others; reluctance to get involved with others.
