from which it is difficult to withdraw. After all, in order to draw a chariot forward, you need horses, and you can’t easily change these in midstream, can you?
The Chariot, because of its link with the astrological sign of Cancer, also touches upon the principle of our defences, because just as a crab protects itself wherever it goes by carrying its shell on its back, so in this card we are looking at the defences which we each of us employ for our own self-protection. What are your defences? In what way do you hide behind them? Do you still need all of them, or can some of them be thrown away?
8 STRENGTH
Great power is given under this placing. The Strength card has come up for you and is saying that through the conflicts which you have had with your own weaknesses, you have gained some degree of mastery over others. And vice versa: that through the conflicts you have had with others, you now stand much more in control of yourself, of your own energies, and are more single-minded.
This card was traditionally represented in old Tarot decks as showing the battle between Hercules and the Nemean Lion. In more recent decks, the same principle has been shown by the image of a beautiful woman, serenely opening and closing the mouth of a roaring lion. The symbols are different in that in the former it shows the domination of one power by another, while in the latter it shows the transcendent influence of reason over passion.
This latter image is more in keeping with what the Tarot is trying to say to you. It is saying that it is by keeping your cool that you will be able to come out in top of whatever situation of conflict you are going through, or are about to go through.
Remember that the strongest weapon you have at your command at this time is the fact that you are not to rise to the bait of whatever provocation is made towards you.
Above the head of the woman in this picture, we see a figure of eight on its side, the symbol of infinity, which means that no matter what is occurring on the outer level of action in your life at this time, it too will change and move on to become something else.
Remember, just as the serenity of the woman is more powerful than the lion, so your own spirituality is a stronger force than the animalistic passions of yourself and also of others.
This card is calling upon us to examine where our real strength lies. We are so often used to thinking of ourselves as ‘strong’, especially when in perfect bodily health. But are we? All it takes for us to be reduced to whimpering wrecks is to step on a nail and get an infection. Or to develop a soar throat. Many people get very angry when a loved one is sick or ailing, basically because it is a reminder of their own frailty.
What are you doing with your own strength? Are you using it positively or are you wasting it on irrelevant jousting tournaments, left, right and centre? What are you doing that is helping others get in touch with their own strength?
9 THE HERMIT
In this card we can see that you have led something of a solitary life, always holding yourself back from other people, seemingly letting them into your life but not really doing so. This card suggests that you are a very private person, or have been up until now.
Your path has led you through some very solitary experiences and, symbolically, has been akin to a path that has run through a mountain range. Now you stand at the top of this same mountain and you hold a lantern outstretched in front of you.
You are just finishing a period of relative isolation, in which psychologically you have gone through a slimming process. Unnecessary layers of personality have been sheared away and you are probably feeling slightly worse for wear.
Now, this card is telling you, you must begin to think much more in terms of how you are going to find your way back down the mountainside, to the valley below where the rest of us live.
Your presence is required here, in the real world, where the rest of us can enjoy your company and get the benefit of your wisdom, of your experiences, no matter how isolated from us they may make you seem or feel. This is your next step.
The Hermit also touches upon the value of just going off by ourselves every now and again, just to clear our own minds. Some people find that they get real benefit from going to a monastery or ashram, for a period. Others are content just to go for walks in the park, alongside a river or to an ancient site such as Glastonbury Tor. If people aren’t able to get away by themselves every now and again, they will resort to other, less positive ways of ‘escaping’ from the mental proximity of others, such as drugs and drink. The Hermit teaches us the need we each of us have to ‘vanish’ and the value in terms of heightened insight which we can derive from the experience.
Are you getting away enough, the Hermit is asking you? Are you making some time for yourself, forsaking all others? How else do you expect to hear that still small voice of the Higher Self through all of that din and racket that you call social life?
10 THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE
On the great Wheel of Fortune we see the sum total of life and death, with all the ups and downs of life, short-term and long-term.
Here, we are looking at the principle of expansion, of things growing and taking off right before our eyes! But without some element of control or direction things can get out of hand. After all, if everything in the garden is growing, then so are the weeds as well! And if you didn’t do any pruning, you wouldn’t even be able to get into the garden after a while, either! So, just as this card is talking about growth and abundance, recognize that there is a potential negative aspect even to this. A prescriptive measure, in looking at this card, is to recognize that it is important that we ascertain exactly what are the things that we want to see grow and develop, both in our own personal lives and in the society in which we live. There is certainly the need for some element of discrimination.
You are going through a period of increase, of abundance. This will have an effect of increasing whatever it is that you value. If your own values are purely on the material level, the set of influences which you are going through will make you very wealthy. If it is land that you are intent on buying, for example, then this card will enable you to grow and to prosper in that direction. If your values are also on the spiritual level, then this card will give you a sense of abundance here also.
Positive people will be entering into your life at this time. You will benefit from their contact and they will from you also. You may even be meeting people who are rich or even famous at this time. But don’t fall into the trap of associating with people just because they are well-known or well-to-do or because they can provide specific help in your career: you would actually be missing the main reason for life having brought you into contact with them in the first place.
The best way of utilizing this experience is to learn from these people. That will require some element of humility on your part to be able to so do.
It is important to avoid excessive pride under this influence. You could well misrepresent yourself to others as being wilful, or too puffy or proud. If so, it would be a shame, because you may well tend to cut yourself off from valuable sources of support which would come in useful at a later point.
Some of what you consider to be important discoveries at this time may well represent a milestone in your own development. But others may well have already learnt for themselves these same things.
What are the things which you would like to see more abundantly available in your own life? What sort of things would you like to see growing more abundantly in society?
11 JUSTICE