Baby It’s a Wild World- Re: The World Card
Upright (Social): Unification, Completion, Vulnerability, Creation
Reversed (Internal): Inner Cycles, Reflection, Resistance to Change
Hi folks, it’s Fox.
It's been a while since I've had the chance to write a longer Tarot reflection, so I hope this one finds you well, aware, and engaged in building the life you want. This month's reflection is on The World, after all: a card that asks for creative action, a hovering awareness, and a sensitivity to how we fit into nature's systems.
In early January while the LA fires raged in nearby neighborhoods, my Tarot deck was picking up on my energy. Lots of reversed swords cards (fear & anxiety, inability to connect with emotional parts) and one particular card kept coming up, both upright and reversed: The World. I was being asked to admit/surrender to the fact that not only was *my* world changing, but The World overall was in transition as well.
The World is a powerful moment in the Major Arcana. Traditionally the last card of the deck, The World speaks to the ending of a cycle and the beginning of a new one. Think of it like a loop though, we’ll soon jump off a new cliff again as The Fool, The World's grand circular wreath once again becoming The Fool's humble "0".
If we look at the Major Arcana as a pathway to psychological integration, The World represents the freedom of having made it through the major archetypes of human experience: The Magician, The High Priestess, The Hierophant, etc. Now with these lessons learned, one can experience a more worldy idea of freedom, different from The Fool's tender and fresh-faced independence.
But we are not here to simply watch the Old World end, and the New World begin, we're here to take action. We're here to admit what World is ending, and do the work of buttoning-up that space. We're meant to grieve.
Over time, we're meant to plant the seeds of the next world, and do the consistent work of training those first vines around the scaffolding of your life. What's meant for you won't miss you, so the saying goes. But if you're not ready, that energetic spirit may need to circle a few times until there's a safe space for her to land and share her secrets.
Tarot scholar Jessica Dore also connects The World card to the idea of Anima Mundi, The World Soul.
While my city was burning, I certainly was feeling it too. I was thinking of the animals in the forests, the toxic chemicals being released into nature, and the terror of families evacuating in neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles. I felt their fear & pain. Drawing The World card asks us to examine our connection to the natural systems we are a part of. No one gets to escape Mother Nature.
And what about The World reversed?
When we draw this card upside-down, it can allude to an inner cycle that must be completed, a psychological framework that's coming to an end. Maybe our love for someone is fading, and we're scared to admit it. Or perhaps our outlook on life is due for an overhaul, and we need to welcome in new ideas and teachings. If we see the reversal as a volume dial turned all the way down, maybe we're scared to address an outer world that needs to end, preferring to live in ignorance instead.
I'm wondering, Dear Reader, what Worlds of yours may be nearing completion? And what New World, as you dream, is one you'd like to actively build? What Worlds are ending on a global scale right now, and what Worlds would we like to see instead? If The World card is also about unification, what parts must we gather for the next (hopefully better) place, and what must we leave behind?
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my latest reflection. As always, if you'd like to book a one-on-one reading, or inquire about lessons or an event booking, reply directly to this email or reach me at foxempresstarot.com
In Love & Wonder,
Fox