The Mirror of the Moment

Home > Other > The Mirror of the Moment > Page 8
The Mirror of the Moment Page 8

by Richard Palmer


  your own innate abilities; a lack of success in a relationship.

  69

  The Mirror of the Moment

  JUSTICE

  The Daughter of the Lord of Truth

  Libra

  DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM

  A crowned woman seated on a throne centered between two pillars

  gazes out at us with piercing eyes. To the rear of her throne hangs

  a purple veil behind which shines a brilliant yellow light - a

  symbol of the principal of Justice as the Higher Consciousness

  acting through her. In her left hand she holds a pair of balanced

  scales and in her right hand there is a raised sword – the pure

  embodiment of the law of Justice - that unyielding principal upon

  which all creation rests assuring that in the end every being will

  reap what they have sown. The sword of authority in her other

  hand enforces this law and cuts away all that which is excessive,

  unjust, harmful or obsolete so that the universal balance may

  always be maintained and life will always be able to move

  70

  The Mirror of the Moment

  forward on its eternal evolutionary journey.

  MEDITATION

  The balancing energy of Libra which informs Justice is the

  equalizing energy of the Zodiac through which we achieve

  spiritual and material balance in life. The balanced energies

  associated with this sign guide us on our path so we may balance

  and integrate the polarities of existence both within ourselves in

  our human relationships and in our relationship to the natural

  world. When we live as balanced individuals and act in a humane

  and selfless manner justice comes naturally as an outer expression

  of inner spiritual development. Justice invokes an atmosphere of

  balance maintained through a just and equitable approach to any

  situation and seeks to establish truth as the basis for all human

  actions and decisions.

  INTUITIVE CLOUDS

  When Justice is revealed Upright in your reading, its meaning(s)

  may correspond to: truth being revealed; the need to act in a fair

  and just manner in the situation you have inquired about; seeing

  both sides of a matter before you; the importance of eliminating

  the wrong ideas which are undermining your life;

  a need for

  honesty in a personal or business relationship;

  accepting

  responsibility for your actions; restoring balance, order and

  harmony by seeking to understand both sides of a matter; judging

  a situation with fairness, honesty and impartiality; basing your

  decision on logic and reason in this circumstance; maintaining a

  well balanced perspective on your work or career; the need to

  weigh all aspects of this matter before making any important

  financial, personal or business decisions; using

  reason and not

  emotion to discover the real truth of your situation.

  When Justice is revealed Reversed in your reading, its meaning(s)

  may correspond to: falsehood being exposed; acting in an unfair

  and unjust manner to the detriment of all; seeing only your own

  71

  The Mirror of the Moment

  side of the matter before you; clinging to wrong ideas that are

  undermining your life; a failure to take responsibility for your own

  actions; deliberately distorting the facts of a matter to benefit

  yourself; acting dishonestly in a financial transaction; harboring

  prejudice against all viewpoints other than your own; clinging to

  an unbalanced perspective; perpetrating injustice through your

  actions; supporting economic inequality; becoming too one sided

  in your personal or business relationships; making errors due to

  excessive emotionalism; being unconcerned with the moral

  consequences of your professional or personal actions; exhibiting

  emotional coldness in your social relationships; being overly

  judgmental towards other people.

  72

  The Mirror of the Moment

  THE HANGED MAN

  The Spirit of the Mighty Waters

  Water

  DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM

  The Hanged Man willingly sacrifices himself on a living tree and

  in doing so turns his self consciousness away from rational

  arrogance to commune with the living psychic waters flowing deep

  within him. Through this union he is freed from self-delusion and

  enters onto a path that leads to emotional security and creative self

  realization. The image of “The Hanged Man”is defined by both its

  simplicity and inner symmetry. His arms and head form a triangle

  while the legs and the torso form a cross superimposed upon the

  living wood from which he willingly hangs suspended. Greenery

  sprouts from the surface of the cross symbolizing that only through

  personal sacrifice is spiritual growth attained as a natural process

  of life. Through this symbolism one of the Tarot’

  s fundamental

  73

  The Mirror of the Moment

  principals is revealed: that which we term “Consciousness”is in

  reality dual in nature consisting of both an inner and outer

  dimension and that true spiritual enlightenment symbolized by the

  halo encircling his head can only be achieved by the recognition of

  this truth and its practical integration into the life of the human

  individual. The Hanged Man invokes the idea of forging a

  relationship with the fertile and creative spiritual waters of the

  Inner Self and through this relationship successfully evolving to a

  higher level of human consciousness.

  MEDITATION

  The

  element

  of

  Water

  symbolizes

  that

  aspect

  of

  inner

  consciousness related to the emotions, instincts and the creative

  imagination. Symbolizing the Primal Water of creation from which

  all life emerged in human life the Water element relates directly to

  the Inner Consciousness and its great reservoir of strength and

  wisdom upon which we may draw if we acknowledge it as a

  valued partner in our lives. Informed by the element of Water,

  “The Hanged Man” invokes an atmosphere of the self sacrifice

  necessary to achieve reunification with the Water of the living

  inner Psyche and the necessity to acknowledge its importance in

  our lives.

  INTUITIVE CLOUDS

  When The Hanged Man is revealed Upright in your reading, its

  meaning(s) may correspond to: a need for greater emotional

  involvement in your romantic life; voluntarily sacrificing your own

  egotism in order to attain a higher level of consciousness; pursuing

  a path of inner spiritual growth leading to wisdom consciousness;

  learning to value your watery emotional self; voluntarily checking

  your present advance; the need to acknowledge and value your

  inner self; making the self sacrifice necessary for continued

  spiritual growth; an indication of sincere emotional expression in a

  romantic relationship; the need for more adaptability in dealing

  with your present financial or employment situation; maintaining a

  74r />
  The Mirror of the Moment

  flexible viewpoint in your workplace; having courage in the face of

  personal suffering; being willing to sacrifice in order to attain a

  higher goal; liberating your imagination through the pursuit of

  artistic expression; rising out of instinct and attaining a higher level

  of aesthetic awareness; authentically revealing your emotions to

  someone who loves you.

  When The Hanged Man is revealed Reversed in your reading, its

  meaning(s) may correspond to: a lack of emotional commitment

  creating an obstacle in your romantic life; pursuing self seeking

  actions motivated by personal gain; persevering in egotism and

  ignorance; living blindly and without imagination; acting stupidly

  by charging forward when you should retreat; a failure to

  acknowledge and value your inner self; being overly selfish in your

  personal relationships; an expression of sham or insincere emotion;

  a consciousness dominated by arrogant rationality; the pursuit of a

  life of indolence and pleasure seeking; a preoccupation with

  materialistic ends; maintaining your status quo at any cost; a need

  for greater emotional detachment in your job or profession; too

  much emotional distance harming your relationships; the fallacy of

  worshiping reason and logic while under valuing imagination and

  emotion.

  75

  The Mirror of the Moment

  DEATH

  Lord of the Gates of Death

  Scorpio

  DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM

  Along the bank of the river of Life strides “Death” here

  symbolized as a skeleton clothed in black armor and riding astride

  a white horse. This is not a card of physical death but rather one of

  psychic regeneration. Before him Death carries the banner of the

  Rose Cross, a symbol not of dissolution, but one of transformation.

  Before his relentless march all fall: the young and the aged; king

  and peasant, princess and priest alike for all regardless of their

  station in life are destined to pass through the dark gate and

  undertake the passage of transformation from a lower to a higher

  state of being. In contrast to many depictions of this most dreaded

  reality Death carries no scythe as he claims his victims. Here the

  mounted skeleton of Death becomes an instrument of progress

  76

  The Mirror of the Moment

  bringing both transformation and renewal as the agent of transition

  from the realm of material form to the realm of Spirit.

  MEDITATION

  Nothing in the Universe ever dies. All is regenerated in the

  transforming waters of Scorpio so that it may continue upwards on

  the path of evolutionary progress. Death’

  s association with Scorpio

  mirrors the primal emotions that ebb and flow around the

  confrontation with our own mortality and our need to discover a

  path of spiritual development so that we may successfully achieve

  the transition from a lower to a higher state of being when Death

  strides towards us on its white horse and brings about the

  dissolution of our physical form. Informed by the power of

  Scorpio, Death invokes an atmosphere of an immediate need for

  radical transformation to get the energy of life moving again

  towards whatever may be its evolutionary goal - even if it causes

  the dissolution of business or personal relationships - so

  regeneration and further evolutionary progress may take place.

  INTUITIVE CLOUDS

  When Death is revealed Upright in your reading, its meaning(s)

  may correspond to: an atmosphere of

  radical transformation

  surrounding your inquiry; entering a transitional period before

  beginning a new phase of life; accepting destruction followed by

  renewal; a time of great change and transformative renewal;

  accepting decay and regeneration in your life so as to make

  further evolutionary progress; a need for a radical solution to your

  financial concerns; breaking free of stagnation and going boldly

  forward; an abrupt change of circumstances coming your way;

  accepting the death of a stagnant relationship; a need to let go of

  the past so your future can be born.

  When Death is revealed Reversed in your reading, its meaning(s)

  may correspond to:

  continuing on a path leading to spiritual

  dissolution; persevering on your present path of stagnation and

  77

  The Mirror of the Moment

  spiritual decay; just waiting around for the ax to fall; accepting

  stagnation instead of working to break free of it; refusing to accept

  the end of an already dead relationship; having a deep seated fear

  of change; a psychic paralysis that is undermining your life;

  accepting the death of a cherished dream; clinging to a false

  perspective on a relationship; an involuntary change coming into

  your life; an unnatural attachment to the sorrow and unhappiness

  of your past; being paralyzed by the fear of coming change.

  78

  The Mirror of the Moment

  TEMPERANCE

  The Bringer Forth of Life

  Sagittarius

  DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM

  The Archangel of the Sun stands astride a pool of clear blue water

  flowing upward from the depths of the Cosmic Consciousness. Its

  hand holds two golden cups - the lower cup symbolizing the

  watery lunar power of the Inner Consciousness and the upper cup

  symbolizing the solar power of the outer Self Consciousness.

  Between the two cups flows a vibrating current of water which

  illustrates the need of the Inner Consciousness and the outer Self

  Consciousness to communicate.

  The Archangel’

  s one foot is

  firmly planted on the land while the other is halfway immersed in

  the pristine waters revealing that it is simultaneously of both the

  Inner and Outer worlds. Beside the pool stands a growth of flowers

  sacred to Isis, the Goddess of the Rainbow. Over the Angel’s heart

  79

  The Mirror of the Moment

  is placed the golden fire triangle enclosed within the white square

  of the Earth – a symbol of the Spirit Fire revealing itself in Nature.

  On his forehead is centered a solar disk whose power radiates

  through his golden hair and outward into a halo of white light.

  Leading from the pool is a path that points to a radiant golden

  crown floating in the distance between the two mountain peaks

  symbolizing the two goals of enlightened consciousness - Wisdom

  and Understanding - necessary to attain the crown of Selfhood.

  MEDITATION

  The energy of Sagittarius which informs this sign is one of

  spiritual expansion and transformation by inward evolution.

  Through Sagittarius we experience the energies needed to guide us

  on the path of spiritual development. It is the energy of the Zodiac

  by which we create our own personal relationship with the Higher

  Self and through which we can communicate with the Divine

  Consciousness through prayer or meditation. Temperance invokes

  an atmosphere of equilibrium and moderation in which all aspects

&nb
sp; of Consciousness come into balance through meditation and the

  psychic waters of the Inner and Outer life flow together in unity

  and harmony.

  INTUITIVE CLOUDS

  When Temperance is revealed Upright in your reading, its

  meaning(s) may correspond to: a need to exercise more self

  control; successfully adapting to your present circumstances;

  acting with good judgment; working in harmony with others; a

  need to restore a sense of balance and equilibrium in your life;

  pursuing a path of greater

  moderation; exercising

  sound

  judgment in your present situation; remaining adaptable in the

  face of a financial or professional crisis; striving for a balanced

  judgment in the matter confronting you; finding the middle ground

  between the forces presently opposing you; exercising

  self

  restraint in your investment and financial strategies; continuing to

  make gradual but constant progress towards your career, business

  80

  The Mirror of the Moment

  or employment goals; maintaining your personal equilibrium in

  spite of workplace

  stress; living with

  moderation

  and

  self-

  control

  in spite of the numerous temptations confronting you;

  striving for greater balance and harmony in your romantic

  relationship; undertaking a personal quest to attain a higher level

  of spiritual awareness.

  When Temperance is revealed Reversed in your reading, its

  meaning(s) may correspond to: living with a lack of self discipline;

  letting circumstances control you; acting with poor judgment;

  remaining tangled in interpersonal conflict; being out of balance

  and exercising poor judgment in this situation; pursuing ill advised

  actions pushed on you by untrustworthy people; taking a one sided

  or narrow minded approach to the situation in which you presently

  find yourself; difficulties being caused by a lack of moderation and

  a life of excessive pleasure seeking; conflicting career interests

  causing an imbalance in your professional life; exhibiting a lack of

  common sense in managing your financial affairs; losing your

  personal or professional equilibrium due to workplace stress or

 

‹ Prev