Confronting the Depths

For the April 'poem a day' challenge this year, I'm writing haibun to explore and reflect on my new Tarot deck, Forests of Enchantment. 

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Oh, this is interesting!

The Judgment card — which in Waite-Smith shows images of the dead coming out of their graves to meet the Christian Day of Judgment, as Gabriel sounds his trumpet to summon them — is usually interpreted these days as ascending to a higher level, rather than the older idea of being judged (and possibly sent to Hell). 

In this deck, the card is The Council of Animals. The text makes it clear that this Council is very much sitting in judgment on whoever comes before it. In these days of climate change, mass extinctions and the destruction of wilderness, I am not at all sure I’d like to be judged by representatives of other species! Just being a member of the human race might be enough cause for condemnation.

However, the situation is also seen as an opportunity for growth — after you have been faced with the terrible truths about yourself. It is an opportunity for your own reassessment of yourself, your life, and your direction … an opportunity to make changes for the better.

There is even a reading in the back of the book, based on this card, posing such questions as: What brings you delight? What do you covet? What is your madness? What is your song? etc. It looks like a fascinating way of getting to know oneself better, and I’ll be exploring it very soon. 

if you go

down in the woods today …

heavy steps