July Affirmation: I walk through the darkness without fear and discover the Light that always surrounds me and enfolds me.

We continue our soul’s journey through the major Arcana of the Tarot with the thirteenth card, the Death card. This card can invoke fear and panic in many people, but this is simply because our culture has such a misunderstanding of the meaning of the death process. Death is not the end of life for the soul. It is simply a transition from one level of consciousness or dimension to the next. We may physically leave our body, but our soul awareness continues on to learn and grow.

In the Inner Child tarot deck this card is represented by the story of Sleeping Beauty, which is a perfect expansion of this process of soul evolution. Sleeping Beauty pricks her finger and falls into a deep sleep which can be seen as our soul journey here on earth. But as we sleep, we journey and we dream and we learn. This is not wasted time, but part of our education. And as we grow, we open to a new awareness of our soul and who we truly are at our deepest level. Sleep can be described as a “little death” and thus as we sleep we let go of most of our tethers to the physical world, but not all. Our silver cord still connects us to the physical plane and that will continue until we reach our ultimate transition to the Other Side. But once again, even that is not the end. In one of the Gnostic Gospels, the Gospel of Philip, we are reminded of our true journey and our true challenge: “Those that say that the Lord first died, and then was resurrected are wrong; for he was first resurrected, and then died.  If someone has not first been  resurrected, they can only die.  If they have already been resurrected, they are alive, as God is Alive.”

From this perspective, then, death becomes part of our chosen path to the ascension of our soul. What a difference it would make if we came to believe and embody this! Death is not an ending but a beginning; a continuation of a long and beautiful journey of growth and expansion. The caterpillar becomes a butterfly!

And remember: “Far too many fear death and regard it as the worst disaster that can befall them: they know nothing of what they speak. Death comes as a dissolution from an exhausted body…Just as the body leaves the mother’s womb when it is mature in it, so also does the soul leave the body when it has come to perfection.”

Asclepius, ancient Greek philosopher and physician

Holy Mother, as we celebrate your Light we begin our journey to darkness. We acknowledge the perfection of your Plan and your continued Presence in our world. Show us the good even in the darkness and teach us  to reverence life as it manifests in all its glory before us. Remove our judgments and our assumptions, and open our hearts simply to allow and accept. May we walk gently upon your good Earth and live in harmony with all your creatures. Show us how to heal our wounds so that we may be called your children and your stewards. As we seek balance in our lives, we seek your Truth and Justice for all. In the Light or in the dark, as male and female, we unite in your Love and Compassion. So it is.

June Affirmation: I surrender to the power of Light and Love, and discover the heart of my soul.

We continue our journey through the Major Arcana of the Tarot with the Hanged Man. The  image on this card traditionally shows a man hanging upside down by one leg, encouraging us to be open to a different perspective on our life and the world around us. This is also the card of surrender, which has such negative energy in our culture, but is truly a key to spiritual growth and transformation. Surrender is not about weakness and it is not about giving up. It is about letting go of control and allowing a Higher Power to slide into the driver’s seat of your life.

Take a moment this month to go within to your sacred heart space and feel yourself and/or your life turned upside down. Imagine what that would be like, or perhaps remember! How did you react? Did you see this as a positive or negative change? What was the result? And did you eventually surrender control to a Higher Power? All these questions take you to a place of inner knowing. The hard truth is that we find our deepest core when we encounter our deepest challenges. We may not like the path to get there, we may never have chosen it, but we can learn and grow and transform once we’re there.

We are surrounded by a chaotic and violent world. We desperately need to reframe that reality. This is not to deny what is actually happening around us, but to change our perspective so that we change and transform our energy. Then we can infuse Planet Earth with our Light and Love. We can make a difference, but before we can make a difference we need to invert our viewpoint and remember that the sun is still shining even on a cloudy day!

“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust ~ we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.”
Albert Einstein

Source of All, we come to you often as we struggle with our need to be in control of our lives. And yet we know that is an illusion. Teach us that the true control is in letting go and letting you take over the pilot’s seat. Help us take that deep breath of release, knowing that your Will for us is always the highest and the best. So it is.

May Affirmation: I bring balance to my life as I work for justice and peace.

We continue our soul’s journey through the major arcana of the tarot with the card of Justice. This card is ruled by Libra, which brings us the challenge of balancing the scales in our lives as well as acting with justice and integrity. A tall order! It brings to mind the powerful call from the prophet Micah to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. But how do we do that? The story of King Midas provides a clue.

This card shares the story of King Midas in the Inner Child cards. The king had a great love of wealth and power and one day a stranger arrives to grant his fondest wish. Of course he wishes that everything he touches be turned to gold. The next morning he awakens to his wish coming true. The furniture in his home, the roses in his garden, everything that surrounds him is gleaming in gold! However, the king had a beloved daughter who loved the roses very much. She was grief-stricken by the change and, running to her father in tears, he embraced her, and she turned to gold! The King is heartbroken and pleads for his wish to be reversed. The stranger returns and tells the King to dive into a pool in the garden and fill a vase with the water. Cleansing himself of his pride and love of the material, he is able to pour the water on everything that his gold lust has tarnished, including the roses and his daughter, restoring them to their natural state.

The lessons in this story are profound and obvious. The King’s life was desperately out of balance and he had to learn the hard way what was of true value. How many of us have lives that are tilted out of balance? Maat was the goddess of wisdom of ancient Egypt and Justice has often been portrayed on this card as a female figure with the scales, “balancing the accounts” of our life as we travel towards the afterlife. Before we get there, it is wise to take a moment to reflect on our priorities and whether our actions are a match with our values. Do we walk in integrity?

And of course the second lesson is to be careful what we wish for, because it just may come true! Thought creates. We are powerful creatures, more powerful then we often understand and remember. What we manifest in our world becomes our reality and our responsibility.

And remember: “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

O God of Light and Darkness, it is so easy in our world to see only the dark and believe in only the night. But when we keep our gaze fixed on you, we see only Light, and it is too easy to ignore a world in need. Empower us to be like stained-glass windows with your light shining through us so that we become instruments to bring Light and Love to the world. Open our hearts to the reality of the needs of others, and teach us that we are here not for ourselves alone, but as ambassadors of your Love and Compassion. So it is.