Women’s Empowerment
The secular message of late suggests that both political strife and despair about environmental calamities forebodes our inevitable demise.
At the other extreme is the new age message, that says we’re on the verge of a great awakening.
Neither presents a complete picture.
To contemplate the heaviness of world affairs, consider the Moon card in the tarot.
It appears at the end of the major arcana after a journey through heavy blows represented by the cards of death, the devil and the tower.
Akin to the dark night of the soul, the Moon card captures being exiled, where we are unable to find a home or to take on a spiritual path.
Looking at the symbolism of the card, what could be more forlorn than a lost dog howling at the moon?
There is a release of tension upon moving from the 18th tarot card (The Moon) into the 19th major arcana card (The Sun)
The Moon is a fitting card when it comes to summing up the mood of the moment.
Environmental catastrophe, divisive politicking, mercenary corporations and gross inequality to name just a few social issues.
Robert Louis Stevenson once said:
“Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.”
In one sense, the mess the world is in has been born from overdeveloping our egos and underdeveloping our psyches, or soul.
Wanting to expand beyond the domain of the ego and material concerns, the new age movement sprung up to encourage people to pay greater attention to the collective unconscious and that which is eternal.
It ushered in talk of the Age of Aquarius and a great awakening of consciousness.
But as Jung pointed out, balance is only to be found when we confront our shadow sides, individually & collectively.
When we find the courage to do so we move to the Sun card, one of the last in the major arcana.
The major arcana is an ancient exploration of the souls’ journey in 22 parts.
It begins with the Fool, expressed by someone who lives in ignorance and blissfully walks towards a cliff edge. An apt description of humanities disconnection from the earth and our need to support that which all life depends on.
Left - blithely accepting what is as divinely orchestrated Centre - Fool as depicted in the Rider Waite tarot deck Right - Donald Trump representing a purely materialistic, self-serving attitude to social issues.
Heralding Harmony & Universal Assistance
Should we embrace the developmental journey of the major arcana we can evolve into the balanced state of the child. It is trusting and a risk taker guided by pure intention, rather than blissful ignorance.
It wasn't long ago that Greta Thunberg was just one person holding a school strike outside Swedish parliament without her parents’ knowledge. From that seemingly small act, a vast movement has arisen spawning the extinction rebellion, clean energy movement and so on.
In the sun, the protagonist honours the physical world and lives in the here and now, while also being instructed by a sense of eternity.
Indigenous tribes thought about what impact their decisions would have ten generations down the line. It is that kind of connectedness with the earth and the soul realm that we need to return to.
Yes, we’re at a crossroads moment as a species but now is the time for courage & individual responsibility rather than inertia or despondency.
The pandemic highlighted the need for balance between the feminine and masculine. We saw divisiveness and old power structures capitalise on the fear and insecurity of people. But we also saw vast amounts of cooperation (feminine) complement the masculine endeavours of minimising the spread and producing a vaccine.
A similar response is also occurring in terms of political actions.
Our retreat programs are a way of helping you connect more deeply with your feminine power and give you greater clarity as to the part you can play in bringing about collective evolution.
