The Hero and Your Journey - Part 2

[[This is part 2 of a series - please scroll down and read part 1 first]]

You head toward the second castle. It is a dome. It has not a single pointy edge. Inside the sphere, the EMPRESS rules. She is the ultimate mother archetype. She nutures everyone and everything, including you when you pop in for a visit. As she plants seeds and tends to her luscious gardens, she reminds you that it is necessary to allow ideas to germinate, allow room for things to grow. You need to be patient with your plans and yourself. Everything needs space and time to grow.

You're confused. To go ahead, or to stay. You can't decide. You need help. Maybe a shrink or a priest to tell you what to do. You seek out the HIEROPHANT. This wise counsellor is a bit of a stodge-podge, but he tells you what you need to hear and you decide to move forward after all.

You're walking toward your chariot when you fall head over heels in love. You can't help yourself. You've met your perfect match. They are absolutely everything you have been looking for in a mate. Your soul mate. True love has found you - but you're on the move. So as LOVERS, you both hop on the CHARIOT and continue on.

The CHARIOT is swift - it carries you much further down the path than you might have gotten otherwise. While you ride it you can think only of what you want - which is the holy grail. But this is the first time you have realized that perhaps it is not the grail that you seek, but something more profound. You get your first little bit of insight into yourself.

Life on the road (as any rock star will tell you) brings a few insights. One of which is that your life is not nearly as balanced as it should be. It's a good time to weigh your priorities (inspired by the scales of JUSTICE). I guess you could also say it's a great period of ADJUSTMENT (Crowley Tarot).

The nights on the road grow colder and you're starting to doubt yourself and your chosen path. You are no longer desiring the grail, but rather something more intangible. You find a place to stop and tuck your love in for the night while you wander into the woods. With only the light of your lantern you have a good long think about the nature of your life, your spirituality and your desire. You are no longer the Fool. You have now become THE HERMIT.

Suddenly life, the universe and everything in it is starting to make more sense. The cyclical nature of everything, the ebb and flow of your desires and your FORTUNE. You begin to see that destiny is much more complicated and beautiful than you had dreamt about in your philosophy. You begin to understand that this journey has been about karma. As has your life. You begin to understand the cycle of rebirth and the means through which you might escape it.

You notice something in the trees - how long have you been here? Something stirs. It is a lion. The lion turns into a beautiful naked person (of the gender of your choice). Overcome with LUST (according to the Crowley Tarot), you give in. By giving in, you admit that you are not above your "baser instincts" but that they are a part of you that you might master and later channel as power. This gives you STRENGTH (according to other tarot decks)

But like all good one-night stands, you wake up in the morning hand-cuffed to the tree. Naked.

[To be continued...]