The Progression of Understanding
This is a story about these three cards, and how they can be used as a complete story. This story talks about the stages and progression of spiritual unfoldment in a human being. Each of the cards represents a phase of this unfoldment, for no other reasons than its incidental symbolism and the order I happened to draw them in. None of the cards have any meaning in a sense. But we have used them to connect into this message.
In this reading the cards take on meaning for me by acting as a reflection of my own consciousness. Another way to understand it would be to say that the cards are a conduit for me to perceive through. This reading is a projection about my own sense of life, and I lay it before you in the hope that something will be transmitted, and some communion can take place.
Cards - 7 of Wands, 2 of Swords, 6 of Pentacles
The first phase of understanding life - Struggle
The depiction is of a man fending off many attackers. He has stepped back to strengthen his stance. The metaphor is simple, the strife and struggle of life. It's our instinctual strive to stay alive. We keep safe by securing our safety and contending with threats. Seeing the world in these terms ensures survival - for a time, yet it does not see much else in the world despite scenarios which somehow relate to this survival on either a physical, mental, or emotional level. It's largely unconscious or subconscious.
It seems appropriate that this first card is a wands card, because that fire or essence is our initial quality as we come into the world. Full of joy, full of hope, full of spirit. Our energy is abundant, yet we don't quite know what the game is and how we fit into it.
Consequently much of the energy gets wasted, although it doesn't seem to matter because we continue to receive that continual influx of power from the universe.
Eventually though, we come up against our first realizations that we will not be able to do everything that we want in this life. We also have to face up to the fact that this body as an organism will die some day. Our energy is actually limited, not everyone likes us - and depending on the actions we take, life will alter our energy levels and life situations.
We realise there is bigger forces than us at work in life, and there is feedback and karma. All actions have consequences - and we begin to struggle with the consequences we have made both knowingly and unknowingly.
We have severe limitations as human beings. We struggle against life, and we will continue to struggle without a wider understanding of who we are, why we even exist, or what we struggle against. The first phase is the realm of the young soul. This could represent our early life as children and young adults, similarly it could represent a fresh incarnate - one who has not lived through a vast succession of earthly lives - perhaps only a handful.
Being fresh and young means the enthusiasm of youth, yet it also means the inexperience and lack of wisdom. Lacking in wisdom, unfortunate decisions can be made, and unsettling patterns can begin to emerge. Strength and eagerness are not enough alone. We also need clarity to understand why we do what we do. Without seeing what life really is, it can be painful and confusing.
The beauty of youth is in the utter belief we have in ourselves. We have immense trust in everything around us, and we don't see in terms of human deceit. We come in with an untarnished heart, a heart that knows only the fullest expression of its self. It's from this place that we start our journey through the progression of Understanding. I want you to remember this quality I have just described, because we are going to come back to it near the end of this article.
The second phase of understanding life - Equanimity
The first phase of understanding life was characterized by struggle, it was the natural consequence of being housed in an animal body, and in going through the process of enculturation aka social programming. Struggle is also the natural consequence of not having a big picture of life and our place in it.
This is where the second phase comes in - as a means to the end of the first phase. Through struggling, and suffering really - our attention gets pulled into examining why we struggle. We have to look a bit more deeply into life, to see what is plugged in where and why it may not be working.
One great thing about struggle and suffering is that it gives us motivation and a kind of urgency that gets us off our asses. The continual questing and questioning provoked by asking "why must I suffer?" is what instigates the second phase.
If the asking is done truthfully an earnestly, then either sooner or later some understanding will come. Wise guides and teachers walk this planet with the knowledge of who we are and what our consciousness is. They come in the flesh, but also through books, videos, audio recordings and also through strange experiences where we might connect to that essence.
In eventually connecting to something that holds a great feeling of connection - (such as a teacher, a deity, or a practice) our striving and our mind are overawed monetarily. We let go a bit. The mind is naturally humbled by some strange power or feeling.
The battle is far from over, it has barely begun - yet this occurrence gives rise to the possibility of equanimity. When the mind perceives that it is not the top dog, it starts to concede its hold on our attention. We now have the potential to open ourselves up to more spaciousness inside.
I have called this stage equanimity because this is the effective method for progressing through this stage and coming into the third stage in a stable way. The second phase is marked by a swords card because it not passionate, it is more about assessment and analysis. The objective of the second phase is in seeking the real truth about life, and cutting away everything that seems to be obscuring it.
What I mean by equanimity is to regard all things in a reasonably equal and dispassionate way. Obviously reactions and responses are provoked by life, yet with practice and attention we can learn to not judge things either positively or negatively. This simple act is a magical process that starts to unclog the mind of it's compulsion to divide everything. We can say either that, or that there is a continual dis-identification with the mind and its antics. We give less and less of a hoot when our mind presents to us various dialogues that either condemn or aggrandize us.
The two of swords card depicts this perfectly with the image of a woman balancing two swords, there is a weighing up and a suspending of judgement. The white (pure) blindfold obscures the attention from investing in stories and taking them personally. This card symbolises inaction, taking pause, and not drawing any conclusions.
It's this quiet action that loosens compuslive bond we have in identifying with these stories, widening our gaze to much that is going on aside from our personal dramas and speculations. This is the mechanism for traversing into the third phase of understanding. By getting over our own drama, and ceasing our investment in it we start to really see life. Truly seeing life means that we can see it's magnificence without tainting it with personal projections.
The third phase of understanding life - Enjoyment
Quite a massive transformation has already occurred by traversing from the first stage through to the second stage. Yet now an even greater transformation takes place, having mellowed into the realization that nothing really has meaning - and that nothing is really good or bad either.
Coming through the equanimity phase, a gradual and almost imperceptible change occurs in our being. By means of this subtle change we start to embody that equanimity in a way that we don't even have to think about it. We just naturally see like that - without judgement.
There can be many indications that this has begun to happen, such as feeling incredibly relaxed about life. Feeling that nothing really matters or is worth worrying about, or perhaps finding all scenarios (including dark ones) quite humorous.
The third stage is enjoyment because there is a huge deflation of the massive importance that our ego gives to the specifics of our lives and how our personality may be playing out. When this no longer seems relevant and real, nothing much is a big deal.
I say that nothing much is a big deal, yet somehow things take on entire new dimensions - because in silencing our judgemental human aspect our perception really begins to open up to some true seeing. In this true seeing, incredible beauty and purity are experienced. It can seem overwhelming when we come into this place, because life is perceived as being a play of absolute beauty and perfection. I say it could seem overwhelming, yet any identity we hold as someone who is being overwhelmed is not something that we identify with or take to be real.
In the third stage, the human being beings to find their completion. We are now touching on the truth about our life, and are living in such ecstatic states that our usual preponderances hold no attraction whatsoever.
The stage of enjoyment does not mean a ceasing of life activities, although it can mean a great slowing down. What it actually means is that we now are only motivated by our great love for life and our gratitude. Quite naturally we start to drop all activities which seem to be motivated by a strange selfishness - and now bring us no joy. There is a shift in our motivations. This is actually experienced by many as a great feeling of inspiration, a joyfulness which needs some form of expression and manifestation into the world.
As an earth (pentacles) card for the third stage, we do not find that we are now some hyper-spiritual space cadet. Instead we find ourselves more grounded than ever, as an inextricably interwoven piece of the fabric of life. With an understanding of our true unity and holism, we are more inclined to involve ourselves with this life fully. We have no fear or life, and we can begin to enjoy it fully. The merchant with his scales is a good symbol for this phase. In knowing who we really are, we start to naturally give of ourselves - in measured and sustainable ways that benefit everyone.
Thanks for stopping by, top marks for anyone who actually read this whole thing. I hope it was helpful and made sense.
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