The World, The Hermit, and The Hanged Man

My first day away from FB and I was fine. I did find myself pondering my future. What now? What next?  Sure. I had a laundry list of "to dos" for work and home. I have school starting back up in the fall to finish that graduate program. And I have plenty of bucket list and project like items to attend to. Perhaps the challenge I was having was deciding WHAT to do. Where to start? Sometimes there is just so much to do, it's hard to pick something TO do. Having gone through both the Franklin Covey and the David Allen organization training for work, I had a general idea of HOW to triage things. And I had lists upon lists of WHAT to triage but still, I was struggling with kicking things off. Once again, when I find myself floundering and not quite able to focus, I'll pull out the cards and see what they say. I don't believe they tell a future or have any magical properties. I simply find they often help me create a bench mark of the current situation and help me ascertain the next step to take. They were very helpful when I was making the decision to delete FB and I figured it couldn't hurt to try them again that night, so I did.

The ideas and questions in my head that I focused on as I shuffled and dealt the simple layout were:

Who's that girl? And, What now?

The cards I received were:

Past - The World
Present - The Hermit
Future - The Hanged Man

I did some research into the card meanings and was pleased (and admittedly a bit amused) at what they indicated and the thoughts they provoked.

The Past card was "The World". I like working with the interpretations provided by James Rioux at this site: http://www.ata-tarot.com/resource/cards/
I will quote his interpretations of the cards then add how I applied this to my current situation and questions.

"After every obstacle has been faced and surmounted, after every path has been travelled and charted, there remains only the last step to the next level of existence - the World, the final gateway. This journey is over and the next is only beginning. The cycle is complete as last, with the vindication of the traveler and the immortality he has gained through development of the self.

The World could be thought of as a time of rest, the time between death and life where the soul awaits reincarnation in the material world and - for the briefest of periods - becomes one with the universe from which it came. All the lessons learned have been put to use. All the tasks accomplished have born fruit and brought prosperity. Every cause has had its effects and all of the diverse threads of effects have been woven into a tapestry of your life as you have lived it. Now is a time to enjoy your wisdom, savour your prosperity and admire the personal artwork you have created, for soon you will start it all over again.

The journey may have stopped for the moment, and it may have transcended the plane on which you started, but the journey of the soul never ends. A new beginning is found in the end, the pieces are in place for a new journey to start, and after that one is completed, another will surely commence. After a glimpse of the Divine you return to manifestation, sure of your convictions and in your ability to someday see the face of God again. The cycle is as endless as the wreath that surrounds the scene, tied together by the ribbons of Divine force, and spiraling around the universe until the end of time.

The World card marks a time in your life in which one cycle is over and the next is just beginning. It represents the final achievement of all your worldly expectations and desires, and the immenent approach of new desires to follow and new goals to puruse. The World itself remains the ultimate goal, because it is an affirmation of life and an arrival at a perfect state of harmony and bliss. This is the confirmation of success and the reward for all your trials and ordeals. With the coming of the World comes assured success and material well-being, as well as emotional fulfillment, and growth in the spiritual sense.

In the material world, this card's energy often manifests as a promotion to a higher position or an initiation to a new level of knowledge that was only dreamed of before. But this time of rejoicing and happiness, this peak of ecstasy, merely gives us a glimpse of the next mountain on the horizon. So once again you must step up ot the cliff and leap off, ready to start a new Fool's journey and find what secrets lie in this new level of existence. The cycle of the Major Arcana begins where it ends and ends where it begins; start and finish are no longer the ends of straight line, but coincident points on the circumference of a circle that encapsulates your life. The present is now. The future is now. Eternity is now."

As I read this, the following words LEAPED out at me:

This journey is over and the next is only beginning.
Every cause has had its effects and all of the diverse threads of effects have been woven into a tapestry of your life as you have lived it. Now is a time to enjoy your wisdom, savour your prosperity and admire the personal artwork you have created, for soon you will start it all over again.
The journey may have stopped for the moment, and it may have transcended the plane on which you started, but the journey of the soul never ends.
The World card marks a time in your life in which one cycle is over and the next is just beginning.
In the material world, this card's energy often manifests as a promotion to a higher position or an initiation to a new level of knowledge that was only dreamed of before.

This all made perfect sense. That journey of my marriage and it's collapse was over and here I was now READY to start a new journey. I have gained much practical experience and wisdom these last three years and I can use all that moving forward. The deletion of FB has sort of felt like a sudden lurching stop in that I have essentially deleted that entire portion of my life and am left with a blank slate but this does not mean the journey itself is over, just that particular leg of the adventure has ended. One cycle is over and the next beginning. The promotion to the higher position and initiation to the new level of knowledge is incredibly accurate and applicable to those who know what I am studying in school. Yes, this card made me smile as it was so incredibly spot on in summarizing my past up to that moment.

The Present card was the Hermit! I do confess to laughing out loud at that one.

" When questions about the nature of existence and the purpose of life start eating away at your mind, answers will not be found in the physical world. They can only be found inside of you. You have risen above your desires and emotions because they will no longer help you on your journey. Now you must become like the Hermit, who seeks the answers alone. Only the whispers of his Inner Voice, and the light of his lamp, will guide him now. Eventually even that lamp shall be cast away, because it is artificial and will not help the Hermit forever. His own inner light must learn to shine in the absence of the light of others.

For true wisdom to emerge, there can be no distractions. Any preoccupations of the world, no matter how small or inconsequential they may seem, will be heard as shouts that drown out the still voice within. It is not enough to rid yourself of inner turmoil, though that is a step in the right direction. The next step is to eliminate outer turmoil, through isolation and withdrawal from the world. This is the path of the Hermit, who slips into darkness in order to have the light revealed to him when he is ready. Like the Fool, he is once again alone, separated from all others. But this time it not only by choice, but by necessity.

Once he has learned the lessons and seen his true wisdom, the Hermit will often pick up his lamp and return to the real world, in order to help others see their own potential as well. But the Hermit is not a teacher; he will not lecture his students and tell them all about his experiences of solitude and isolation. They must experience it themselves, for wisdom earned simply by listening to another person is not really wisdom at all. True wisdom and true enlightenment always come from within. A teacher may tell the student how he found wisdom, but the student must go and find it for himself. Wisdom is not a gift presented to you on a platter. It is a gift you give yourself.

The lessons of life cannot be rushed, or forced, or made to happen before it is time for them to happen. This statement, in fact, is one of those lessons that everyone must learn. But simply reading it on a page, or hearing others tell you about it, will not give you the experience of the lesson. Only by doing - or not doing - can we ever hope to understand. Knowledge only becomes wisdom when we earn it, through the sacrifice of our familiar surroundings and all the people we hold dear. If you think about it logically, everything you leave behind when you follow the Hermit's call will remain when you return. The only thing that will have changed is you.

The appearance of the Hermit is a call to learn more about yourself and the nature of your existence, and everyone experiences this call at some point in their lives. Take this as a sign that your worldly problems and affairs can safely be put on hold; there is greater, inner work to be done now. Often this will refer to a problem you must solve or a part of your nature you must deal with before a situation can progress. Only in rare circumstances will this refer to a spiritual transformation, but when it does, know that it will be a powerful change requiring much effort and commitment. A more long-term withdrawal may be needed.

The Hermit can also show you that a mentor is entering your life. This is a person who will not teach you overtly, but who will show you how to find the answers you are seeking within yourself. Perhaps you will be the mentor who is indicated by the Hermit, in which case you must be careful not to preach to your student, but guide him. Your wisdom will not be your student's, and you must accept that before any teaching can be done. If you are ever in doubt, know that all the wisdom you will need is already inside you, waiting to emerge. This light will not come unless sought out, but when it does, you will see that you had the answers all along. "

Did anyone else just murmur to themselves, "Wow" like I did? Wow. Talk about creepily spot on. I interpreted this card to mean that I had made the right call but before I had not been quite clear exactly why I felt to driven to withdraw but now it was like the reason had become more clear and focused. The words that resonated so strongly were:

Now you must become like the Hermit, who seeks the answers alone.
His own inner light must learn to shine in the absence of the light of others. - While this is kind of scary it is necessary if I wish to figure out who this girl is.

For true wisdom to emerge, there can be no distractions. Any preoccupations of the world, no matter how small or inconsequential they may seem, will be heard as shouts that drown out the still voice within...The next step is to eliminate outer turmoil, through isolation and withdrawal from the world. This is the path of the Hermit, who slips into darkness in order to have the light revealed to him when he is ready. Like the Fool, he is once again alone, separated from all others. But this time it not only by choice, but by necessity....  FB was definitely a distraction. As was the myriad of little projects Josephine was working on. I knew I needed to put all those on the back burner but now it made a little more sense as to WHY I needed to do that.

The appearance of the Hermit is a call to learn more about yourself and the nature of your existence.... To learn who this girl is.

The future card was the Hanged Man.

" The Hanged Man is the only Tarot card visibly based on a mythological figure. He is Odin, the Norse god who hung from the World Tree for nine days to earn the knowledge of the Runes. Of all the cultures who embody the search for knowledge in their myths, only Odin carries out his quest without moving, at least in the physical sense. The true quest is seeking within, not without. This may be confusing at first, but only because the Hanged Man is the card of the paradox. The Hanged Man's mysteries are some of the oddest yet most enlightening the Tarot has to offer, and they cannot be learned by searching for lessons in the physical world - you must turn within.

Even the appearance of the card is paradoxical. Simple in design, it is one of the more complex Arcana. The lessons it offers are easy to understand but hard to accept when they apply to you. The most obvious answer to a problem may be the simplest, but it is rarely the best. To admit that you are afraid will give you the strength to conquer your fear. When you relinquish your desire for control, everything begins to work as it should. In a world in which you must run as fast as you can to stay where you are, the Hanged Man tells you to stop struggling - and you can move forward. Tell this to others and it seems obvious; try to do it yourself and it will become impossible.

Why is this? Telling others that they have to hang from a tree is simple, but no one wants to hang himself. The Hanged Man, however, has hung himself, and see how much wisdom he has found! Despite his obviously uncomfortable position, he is often pictured as smiling, and with a golden halo around his head to show divine inspiration and power. He is totally vulnerable to the world, and in his vulnerability he has found strength. The sacrifice he has made is his own freedom and power in the physical world; in exchange, he is granted real freedom and power on the spiritual plane. He gives up his old ways of looking at things and is blessed with new eyes.

Not all sacrifices have to be like this, of course. Each moment of your life you make sacrifices. By choosing to eat with a friend rather than eating alone, you sacrifice your solitude. Choosing to play a sport professionally means that you cannot play another as frequently. Choosing one job means that you have to sacrifice any desires for another job, at least for the time being. The only thing in common between all sacrifices is that you give up something you have in exchange for something you want, of equal value. The sacrifice is meaningless unless there is balance and purpose behind it. To give without intent is worse than giving too much or too little.

As the card of the paradox, the Hanged Man also urges you to look at things in a new and different way. If your mind is yelling at you to do something, then doing nothing could be the best thing to do. If something is important to you emotionally but it no longer serves a purpose, you might want to think about letting go of it. And don't try to force anything to happen while the Hanged Man is about. By trying to force changes, you ensure that they never happen. Relax and let things happen instead of trying to interfere. Instead of fighting against the current, let it take you wherever it is flowing.

When the Hanged Man appears, know that greater wisdom and happiness is at hand, but only if you are prepared to sacrifice something for that wisdom. Sometimes it is something physical you must be deprived of, but in most cases it is a perspective or a viewpoint that must be left behind. For example, a fantasy that you can never fulfill, or a crush on someone who's out of your reach. Inevitably, sacrificing something you value will always lead you to something even more valuable. In the wake of an unattainable dream you will find something else within your reach. Forgetting about one love will allow your heart to open to someone else."

This card tickled some thoughts that some will recognize.

"Of all the cultures who embody the search for knowledge in their myths, only Odin carries out his quest without moving, at least in the physical sense." This card reminded me of Stillness and it's importance.

"To admit that you are afraid will give you the strength to conquer your fear." I think I have mastered that over the last few years. I am brutally honest about my fears and weaknesses. I do think this has given me a kind of strength though. The strength that comes with being honest with the most important person in my life. Me.

"He is totally vulnerable to the world, and in his vulnerability he has found strength." In baring my soul and my vulnerability to you all, I have found strength. The energy it takes to hide your vulnerabilities can be better used to address them. And if they are openly addressed, there is no place for excuses or slacking off. I own my fears, my weaknesses and my vulnerability. I shout it to the world and am not ashamed. And because I own them, no one else can have that power over me that comes from hiding them or being ashamed of them.

This was a powerful reading indeed and it prompted me to decide to sit down over the next few days and look at what my goals were in my new life. I will most likely use a modified version of the Franklin Covey system in that I will identify a set of short term, midrange, and long term goals. Then I will also look at my roles in life. As me, mother, daughter, friend, artist, athlete, etc etc etc and look at how those roles align with my goals. In some cases I think I will need to strengthen connections and in other cases I might find connections that no longer have value that can be deleted. (I don't mean people by this, by the way, but more actions, behaviors, practices, or habits). And still in others, I might uncover connections I had not considered to make and explore those and their value if I put them into place.

And then I shall go from there.

"And don't try to force anything to happen while the Hanged Man is about. By trying to force changes, you ensure that they never happen. Relax and let things happen instead of trying to interfere. Instead of fighting against the current, let it take you wherever it is flowing."

I think that focusing so much on "who's that girl" might be the wrong approach. Would that be "forcing it"? Perhaps it's not that I will stumble conveniently over her all packaged with a proper label identifying her as such. I think by identifying what's important to me and what desires I wish to fulfill, and focusing on those, in a round about way she will peek out and reveal herself as time goes by. She will happen.