Parting the Mists

Today’s card suggests we need to not push forward with things or to force it along. Take some time to look within and deal with your issues before continuing your quest.

Blessings!

The Mirror

Meaning: In many traditions, the initiator into hidden knowledge is a female figure that reveals insights and wisdom to those on the spiritual sojourn. In the ancient Arthurian cycles this is Morgan, who takes Arthur on his journey into limbo and healing on the isle of Avalon. The Lady of the Lake is another such primal figure who also acts as a holder and guardian of the sword Excalibur and as an arbiter of Arthur’s actions. Both these archetypes represent the unconscious journey of the soul into deeper awareness and wisdom. No action will can make the soul take this journey; it can only happen after much searching and questing. It is also a condition of this experience that some kind of wounding has taken place. It is through the pain and endurance of the wounding that wisdom comes, at which point the individual can cross the lake to the island of healing and protection. It is a natural state of surrender that allows the inner self to travel across the emotional sea to the Otherworld.

The mysterious figure holds the mirror that aids our inner reflections and the orbit of seeing that helps illuminate the shadows of our inner life. The heron stands both as a keeper of the mysteries and a guardian of the other world. In some legends, three cranes or herons were seen at the gate of this magical realm and croaked warnings to the unprepared or uninitiated visitor. The cauldron represents the vessel of his knowledge and inspiration. From it, the bright flame of insight and revelation illuminates the dark landscape, this is the card that in the traditional tarot is known as the Hanged Man. We have chosen to amalgamate aspects of this into the Blasted Oak, while the reflecting mirror offers the same dizzy change from one state of being to another. As the hanged man sees life from another angle, so those who look into the mirror see things reflected as they truly are.

Reading Points: Patience and prudence are the keywords here, although trust plays a large part in the process of crossing to the island where insights into our own unconscious workings may be revealed. This process differs from the journey of the Hooded Man who makes a conscious decision to withdraw and contemplate the universe. In the mirror, a surrender of oil is required. Insides may come from dreams and meditations, but now is not the time to force the pace or drive on with the plan or desire until you have heard what your soul has to say, and your bruised and wounded spirit has been healed. Be patient. Let the journey commence and awaken fresh and full of energy, ready to deal the world and the challenge it raises.

The Wildwood Tarot by authors Mark Ryan and John Matthew and artists Will Worthington