Wednesday, November 1, 2017

November First Tarot Challenge #thenovembertarot

It's national novel-writing month.  Many people across our nation are writing the great American novel - here's a link https://nanowrimo.org/

I'm not writing a novel, but I am inspired by https://www.instagram.com/lionharts/ and their November tarot challenge, so here I go.  #thenovembertarot

@lionharts says, "My new challenge starts November 1st, the themes for this challenge are Acceptance, Gratitude and Harmony. If the prompts resonate with you and you have a deck laying around, regardless of your experience, feel free to join.  My challenges are for both beginners and more advanced Tarot readers."  You can read more about it on their instagram page.  Go for it!

Or at least that's what I thought until I drew my DAY ONE of November card! The Death Card.

Death, and how perfect is that as we head into fall and toward the dormancy of winter.  Mother Earth takes a moment of rest before the rebirth of spring.

Because of my indomitable positive outlook, I will forge ahead.  Okay, actually, I love Death, partly because I draw this card ALL THE TIME (and so clearly it contains a message for me) but also because it doesn't fuck around.

The first thing I see looking at the Aquarian Deck's Death card is a warrior and a kind of rebirth mentor.  He shows us what we need to see in order to grow.  He is a champion of the harvest.

I decided to compare a few very different versions of this epic and powerful Major Arcana card.


Tales of the Mystical Cats Tarot Deck, Ancient Italian Tarot Deck, and The Aquarian Deck, respectively.

Tales of the Mystical Cats Tarot shows The Big Sleep, a sweet reminder that death is a resting place, not a place of violence, and a new beginning.

I love Il Tredici of the Ancient Italian Tarot.  He gleefully shovels all the material concerns that fall away with death.  You can't take it with you, and you shouldn't want to, death here is the ultimate liberator.  Death works hard.  Practicing freedom from earthly concerns takes effort.

Such different imagery to help guide us toward a new productive path!

Here is another very ancient version of the Death Card, the Cary-Yale from the Italian 15th Century.  He's rocking a head scarf, maybe he's battle-scarred in the pursuit of souls.  He gathers up the peasants and the royals, with no regard for socio-economic bias.  Even in the middle ages Death does not discriminate.

Death is freedom, death rips us from everything we love, death is a reminder, death tolls to get our attention, death is happening now, death is a guide to our true nature, death is a chance to begin again.



And one last bit about why Death is such a transformational, beautiful, fucking thing...

"There would be no chance at all of getting to know death if it happened only once.  But fortunately, life is nothing but a continuing dance of birth and death, a dance of change.  Every time I hear the rush of a mountain stream, or the waves crashing on the shore, or my own heartbeat, I hear the sound of impermanence ... These are death's pulse, death's heartbeat, prompting us to let go of all the things we cling to."

Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.

Peace, Out

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