Parting the Mists

This card is one of may favorites, yet I noticed for the first time that there is a man and woman etched in the stones on the sides (which is sad, because it’s in the description). Remember that home is a place of comfort and grounding, a place to rebalance after journeys, work, seeking, and other adventures. In regard to the figures, we often forget that each person has both male and female aspects. Sometimes society doesn’t like us to exhibit one or the other, but at home we are safe to rebalance and be ourselves. Perhaps it is time to do that now.

Blessings!

TEN OF STONES – HOME

MEANING: The inner and outer community that sustains and supports the individual, not necessarily blood family but the trusted friends, comrades, and lovers who offer security and affection.

READING POINTS: The traditional concept of home and family has evoked and changed over the last few decades, but certain basic notions remain unchanged. In the traditional British family home, where the father went to work and the mother stayed home to manage the house and the children, home was the place we always came back to, where stability and a well-founded set of traditions and social rules applied. It was both guarded and guided by love, respect, and loyalty As children, we see home as a place of security and caring. As young adults exploring the world, it can be wherever you lay your hat or guitar case. In later life, it may become your own heart’s stronghold and sanctuary. For some, the concept of home is just that: an idea, a hope, a dream, not merely a shelter from the elements or an investment in bricks and plaster. For some, it truly is where love resides and is the final destination after a colorful or arduous life journey.

DESCRIPTION: A great arch made up of ten weathered stones frames the picture. Through this gate, we glimpse an Iron Age round house with a path leading to it. From the thatched roof of the house rises a mighty apple tree. Carved into the two lowest stones of the great arch are rough-hewn male and female figures.

The Wildwood Tarot by authors Mark Ryan and John Matthews and artist Will Worthington

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The World Tree card hints at the time of rental and personal achievement – what lies behind the World Tree’s door for you?

The World Tree

READING POINTS: The universe and all its blessings are available to everyone who seeks knowledge and wisdom with a sincere heart. On every level, the cosmos has a generous bounty and gives freely of its rich nourishment and fulfillment. No matter how long the journey of life may be, however many twists and turns the maze may offer us, in the end, if we persevere, we will reach the point of fulfillment. This may relate to material gain and wealth or to spiritual happiness and emotional security, but after the long process of learning, responsibility, and rebirth, it is now time to bathe in the light of renewal, attainment, and personal triumph. Breathe in the rich air, drink in the sweet water, and rejoice in the warming fire of the universal life force.

MEANING: As a symbol of the conscious bridge between the living macrocosm and the inner universe of the human psyche, the world tree marks the end of one journey for the wanderer and the beginning of another. The wanderer began the journey around the wheel with an innocent and childlike curiosity, but the subtle growing process experienced on the way has brought inner gifts of wisdom and awareness. The final step is to follow the path through the living maze and enter the heart of the world tree to become one with the wholeness of the universal mind.

Nothing is hidden and no misleading diversions are set to lead the unwary off the path, but to gain access to the tree one must walk the path and complete the journey. The unicursal labyrinth has no dead ends or false routes but leads on one wondering pathway from the entrance, inexorably to the center. Perhaps symbolizing the passage of the sun or guarding the souls of the dead ancestors and spirits in their place of repose, it remains a pathway to the core of the mysteries and and easily recognized image of the human journey. Though the doorway at the base of the tree is clearly visible and nothing stops the traveler from directly approaching it, walking the labyrinth in pathway is a ritual requiring patience and insight and enabling contemplation and meditation on the meaning of the journey.

What may be found behind that the door is both individual and universal, for encompassed within the branches of the world tree or the four seasons of the cycle of life. Through the rest for healing of winter to the fertile freshness of spring, the power and joy of summer and the wisdom immaturity of autumn, the cosmic light of universal understanding shines from the heart of the tree, creating a bridge to the source of all conscienceless and life.

The World Tree represents all individual life and all knowledge and one holographic field of consciousness and paradoxically, remains as one entity, a whole and complete. This complex concept is not Only stranger than we think; is stranger than we can think!

DESCRIPTION: The great World Tree marks the end of the wander’s journey. All four seasons are represented in the branches of the tree and added space is a labyrinth of the kind of found in many parts of the world and dating back to prehistoric time.

The Wildwood Tarot by authors Mark Ryan and John Matthews and artist Will Worthington

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