Carpe Diem #210, Mijikayo (short night)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to start a new month of Carpe Diem. As I started this daily haiku meme last October I hadn't thought that it would exist after a few months, but as we all have seen ... Carpe Diem is still there and its a joy to host this meme for you. Carpe Diem is still alive and kicking (smiles).
In May we were busy with Tarot-cards and now we are going back to our normal way. This month (as I did with Winter and Spring) the prompts are all classical Japanese kigo (seasonwords), words with a reference to the season in which the haiku is written, of Summer. In the other months of kigo it wasn't easy to prepare the episodes and it was also not easy to write haiku with those classical kigo, so another challenge for you all and for me.

By the way: I have already started with the preparing of our prompt-list for July and in that month our Specials will be written by Jane Reichold, one of the most and well-known haiku-poets of our time. And I think that will be a joy. Because she is still alive I have to ask for her permission to use her haiku. So I hope to contact her about that and maybe I will ask her some questions too. We will see ...

Credits: Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

Today our prompt, the first Summer kigo is Mijikayo (short night). As I did in the other months of classical kigo I have chosen kigo for 'early', 'mid' and 'late'Summer. Short Night, and I think that's no surprise, is a early summer kigo, because it's about the shortest night of the year, the Summer Solstice (this will occur on 21th June 05:04 GMT, so in my country, The Netherlands, that will be two hours later on 07:04 CET, because we have daylight-saving time or summer-time).

I found a really nice haiku by Buson (1716-1784), one of the four greatest haiku-masters, which I love to share here with you all.


the short night -
broken, in the shallows
a crescent moon


A wonderful haiku don't you think too?  Another 'short night'- haiku, but now written by Issa (1763-1827).


in the short night
the dew works fast -
blades of grass


A last example, now a haiku by Basho (1644-1694):


washing my feet
I fall asleep for the short night
with my clothes on


All wonderfully composed haiku by those classical haiku-masters. It's really a joy to read the old masters and try to be as good as they were, but ... if I can as good as them? I don't think so ...


in an eye-blink
I lay down asleep
and awake


finally Summer
this shortest night of all
I love the most


I hope you liked reading this first episode of June and I am looking forward to all of your wonderful haiku. This prompt will stay on 'til June 2nd 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our next episode, koromogae (switching clothes), later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Carpe Diem #209, Future

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

"What will the future bring us?" That's a question which a lot of people ask themselves. The future, the time which lays in front of us, what will it bring? Where do I stand in my life, say ... over ten years?
I think I am still at work as a nurse, for sure I will be writing haiku, because haiku is my life. Will I live in the same city than? Will Carpe Diem still exist? Nothing can be said about that, it's all in the future. As Ilook to the near future than I can say already 'June will be a great haiku month, because we have all classical kigo (seasonwords) for Summer. It will again be a joy to be your host here on Carpe Diem and I am looking forward to all your wonderful haiku. As I look a bit further in the near future I see the nice prompt-list for July, which I have already prepared. By the way that list I will share with you somewhere around June 15th. And ... I have already some ideas for August, but that's all in the near future.


fortuneteller
touches the heart of Honeysuckle
the way to wisdom

Credits: Fortuneteller

As I was preparing this episode I thought 'Maybe I can lay the Tarot to see the future of Carpe Diem, but than I thought no I can't do that, because the Tarot is Divine (as we have seen and discovered) and not suitable for occult matters such as fortunetelling or divination'. But I have to say that I was tempted to do it.

The near future looks great, so I don't need to know what will come in the future. I only will say this: "I hope that I can be your host here on Carpe Diem for a long time. I hope that our haiku-community will grow and that more haiku-poets will find their way to Carpe Diem'.

The future what will it bring us? I don't know, but that we have a future that's for sure.


the future
hidden behind a veil of clouds
just like the moon

Credits: Bright Future Ahead

When I was preparing this episode, it was already late in the evening the moon was hidden behind clouds and you could only see a thin line of light ... the future lays behind the veil ...

This prompt will stay on 'til June 1st 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our new episode, the first of a new month of Carpe Diem, mijikayo (short night), later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Namaste

Carpe Diem #208, Divination

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are busy with our last two days of this wonderful (enlightened) Carpe Diem month May 2013. We have taken a journey and quest through the Tarot in which we discovered the Divine knowledge hidden in the cards. We can say that the Tarot is really Divine and still it's used for Divination, or fortuneltelling, but what is it 'Divination'? That's our goal for today to discover what divination (fortunetelling) is. Is it possible? Or is it impossible? We will see that today.

In one of my posts on the Tarot-cards I have told you that I have used the Tarot for divination, but there are a lot of ways to look into the future. For example there is the I Ching, an ancient way for divination from China or what to think of the Ogham Tree-oracle of the ancient Celts? And I am sure you will know other ways for divination.

Let us take a closer look to the word DIVINATION.

We can read in this word Divine, divinity and nations, but if we look closer and 'through' this word we can say that it states that DIVINATION means: granting a look in our divine future, the hidden secrets of God (or how you would like to call it). So divination is also divine and I think I can 'proof' that.

Maybe you know 'The Bible-Code', a book in which is stated that hidden in the Hebrew texts of the Torah God has given directions for future happenings. In this book there are several examples of divination e.g. the Death/Murder of J.F.Kennedy. The Bible-Code was a revelation and a 'pain in the ass'. It gave a lot of discussion and there are people who belief it's true and of course there are others who say it isn't true.There are even sources who say that the 9/11 attacks were forseen in the Bible. I will show here-after the part of the Bible in which that should be hidden.

Credits: 9/11 fortold in the Bible (or Torah)-code

I couldn't retrieve the Bible-verses which belong to this example, but ... could it be true?

The Bible-Code is a form of Divination and I think we can say it's divine too. I think it is possible that God has given all these in the Scripture, but if it is really true I don't know.

As we have seen in this month of Carpe Diem, The Tarot is divine and is a divination for how mankind will live and enter the New Jerusalem. Is it not a wonder that we already know, when we use the Divine Tarot, how our lives will become? Yes it's a great idea ... and maybe DIVINATION is COOL ...


divine tarot
gives insight in our earthly life
led by Gods Hand

led by Gods Hand
we came into this world as children
sharing His Love

sharing His Love
during our journey through life
divine tarot


Well ... not as strong as I hoped, but it was a joy to write this episode. I hope it will inspire you to write haiku and share them with us. This episode will stay on 'til May 31th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our last episode of this Carpe Diem month, The Future, later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Namaste

Carpe Diem Special #39, Kyoshi Takahama's 'shutting my eyes'

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

After a journey through the Divine Tarot we are now welcoming the last Carpe Diem Special written by Kyoshi Takahama for this month. After this day we have still two days to go which will be in some way connected with the Tarot, but first this nice haiku written by Kyoshi for your inspiration.


me tsumureba wakaki ware ari haru no yoi

shutting my eyes
I find a young me found
in the Spring evening


A wonderful haiku, full of Zen I think. We all do this once or more in our lives ... looking back, e.g. as I did back in April's Carpe Diem month. I think everyone has sometimes the need for looking back and ... there's nothing wrong with.

Credits: Kyoshi Takahama (woodblock by Jun-Ichiro Sekino)

Kyoshi sees himself as a youngster, maybe he was lost that Spring evening and his parents were seeking him. Finally they found him ... what a joy his parents have found him. Feels like the parable of the Lost Son.
His parents were glad that they found him back and celebrated it.


in my dreams
I see myself in classic Japan
clothed like Basho

clothed like Basho
I go on a trip to the Far North
in my dreams


Well ... I hope this haiku by Kyoshi will inspire you all to write haiku in the same tone, sense and Spirit as the one by Kyoshi. Have fun and share.

This Special will stay on 'til May 30th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our next episode, Divination, later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Carpe Diem #207, The World (XXI) or The Universe (XXI) Tarot

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Here we are the last card of the Divine Tarot, The World (XXI), sometimes called The Universe, but on the RW-Tarot-deck this card is named The World (XXI) so this will I use. We started days ago with our journey and quest through the Divine Tarot and now we are at the end. We have reached our goal,we have made it. We were on a journey of Life and learned a lot. Now we are resurrected and inhabitants of a whole New World in which there is no pain, sadness, and so on, there is only joy and celebration. This card, The World (XXI) ... let us take a look at it.

... shows us: A naked woman hovering or dancing above the Earth holding a staff in each hand, surrounded by a green wreath, being watched by various creatures. In older decks, these are usually a human face or head, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, the symbols of the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.. It also holds reference to the vision of Ezekiel of the "throne" or "chariot" of God in the Old Testament. The four figures in the corners of the card are also referenced in the Book of Revelation, 4:7, where the throne of God is described: "And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle."

What we see here we can read in Revelation 21 (no coincedence that The World is numbered XXI) in which is described The New World. I will share here a few parts of this chapter and a part of chapter 22 from the Book of Revelation (NIV):

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”  for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.


finally His Gift
granting The World to His children
paradise re-gained

22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.


paradise
land of milk and honey
completely new


As we see The World (XXI) after a long life, after our journey and quest for the Divine Tarot, the circle is full. God send us into the world when we were born to Shine His Light upon it and now ... we have overcome death, we are resurrected, we are totally new, reborn, pure and good like children and we may live again in the Garden of Eden. With The Fall we lost it and with our Resurrection we have found it again.

full circle
as we came as children on the earth
His Light upon us

His Light upon us
as a beacon for our journey
finally home


With this we are at the end of our journey through the Divine Tarot and we have learned a lot and we shared wonderful haiku with eachother. I hope that this last Tarot card The World (XXI) will inspire you all to compose wonderful haiku.

This prompt will stay on 'til May 29th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our next episode, our last Special haiku by Kyoshi Takahama, later on today around 10.00 PM (CET). I cannot share that special haiku right now, because I haven't decided yet which I am going to use. Sorry ...

Carpe Diem #206, Judgement (XX) Tarot

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are almost at the end of our journey (and quest) through the Divine Tarot. As we saw in our yesterday's post we are all reborn in innocence and are like children again as what is said by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark chapter 10 verses 14 & 15:

[...] He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. (NIV) [...]

So we can only enter the City of God by being reborn again and be pure as little children. Our next step in our journey is the final step before we are entering the Home of God, The New Jerusalem (Revelations 21: 1-5a NIV). This final step is Judgement (XX).

In 1 John 4: 16-18 (NIV) we can read the following:

16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We are now 'in the world in which we are like Jesus', that's the meaning of Judgement (XX). Let us take a closer look at this RW-Tarot card Judgement.

What do we see? 

Very clearly, it is modeled after the Christian Resurrection before the Last Judgment. An angel, possibly Gabriel, is depicted blowing a great trumpet, from which hangs a white flag bearing a red cross, most likely the St George's Cross. A group of humans (man, woman, and child) of grayish complexion stand, arms spread, looking up at the angel in awe. The people are apparently emerging from crypts or graves. There are huge mountains or tidal waves in the background, which almost seem like glaciers as they are so white and blue. These may be a reference to the sea giving up its dead on the day of judgment, as described in the Book of Revelation.

Revelations 20: 11-15

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

through the Tarot
the route to resurrection
like a phoenix


All of the cards that we have seen up to this point discuss aspects of our own personal growth, as well as aspects which apply to every human being.  None of us is alone.  So the pathway that we have seen leading from the pre-manifest Fool to the homecoming of the Sun, is a journey which every single one of us, in one form or another, must take. 
The card Judgment continues this process and shows us something which each of us must individually engage upon.  However, this card does something which none of the others have.  It shows visibly all of the other souls of God uniting with us on our pathway.
This card indicates several things.  First, is the process of divine Judgment.  This occurs in two ways, before and after death.  Before death, God is constantly watching, guiding, judging and supervising our actions to determine the next step for us.  The laws of--as you give, so shall you receive; as we forgive, so shall we be forgiven; as we seek, so we will find; as we knock, the door will be opened to us; as we ask, we shall receive--these laws are immutable and create the framework for our spiritual growth.  The nature of the homecoming is to recognize God's eternal presence.

shaped like Him
formed in His Hands forever
the Divine Potter


This is were the Divine Tarot is all about. It shows us how our lives are shaped in the hands of God, like clay in the hands of a ceramist as is written in the Book of Isaiah chapter 64 verse 8 [...] Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. [...]

God has made and formed us with His loving hands. From the beginning on He already knew all about us, even before we were born. We are all His children and He loves us. He has guided us from the moment we were born and were placed in this world to let His Light shine until the day we had overcome death. Now we are in front of Him and He will look at us and shall say: 

"Come to me my Child I am glad that you have come home. Take your place in my house, regain your room which has waited for you to come home all the days of your life". This we can read in The Parable of the Lost Son in the Gospel of Luke chapter 15 verses 11 to 32 (NIV):

The Parable of the Lost Son

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ 

Credits: The Lost Son

I don't think there is such thing as Judgement before entering The New Jerusalem (Revelations 21: 1-5a NIV). We all have fulfilled our journey through the Tarot, through the life which is given to us by the Divine One. We came on this world as a child pure and innocent and now we have returned a child, reborn, pure and innocent ... yes I believe that we may enter the Heavenly Kingdom, and that we may sit next to the Lord our God at the same table enjoying His presence ... 


celebrating
our final homecoming
in His Home

Rejoice ... we have entered  the Home of God, the New Jerusalem and all we have done in our life has become forgiven and forgotten and so we look over The World .... but that's our last step, the last card, in our journey and quest through the Divine Tarot. The Divine Tarot is just the directions-card for our lives. God Almighty did send us into the world to let His Light shine, but He has given us the directions ... and we could follow those, but ... well we have free will ... and sometimes we went of the road He had planned for us, but we always came back on track, by His guidance and His Guardian Angels, which we saw in the episode of Temperance. And now we are home, really HOME ... let's celebrate ...

We are almost at the end of our journey the only step we have to take now is step into The World (XXI), but that's our next episode.

I hope this episode inspires you to write haiku and share them with us all here on Carpe Diem, the place to be if you like writing and sharing haiku.

This prompt will stay on 'til May 28th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our next step, the last card I draw from the Divine Tarot, The World (XXI), later on today around 10.00 PM (CET)

Carpe Diem #205, The Sun (XIX) Tarot

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Let us celebrate The Sun, our new Tarot-card for the next step in our journey through the Divine Tarot. After The Moon, in which we had to overcome death, we may now celebrate, because we are entering in the Holy Embrace of the Lord of the New Jerusalem.


celebrate Light
with all your friends around you -
Summer Solstice

As I was preparing this episode the first thing which came in mind was a song 'Let the sunshine in', as I can recall this song is from the Musical Hair.

It's a joyful song and it is the right song for this celebration with The Sun (XIX). Let us set this next step in our journey starting with:

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1: 3-5 NIV)

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. (Genesis 1: 14-19 NIV).

Sun and Moon unite
in celebrating the Divine Light
Stars join in


These are really nice verses from the Holy Scripture. As we saw in our earlier episodes of The Star (XVII) and The Moon (XVIII) there is a special meaning in these 'Lights'. As I read the story of the Creation it amazed me that God, the Creator, made the lights of the skies on the fourth day and Light on the first day. Why? I asked myself did God created the Sun, the Moon and the Stars on the fourth day? I couldn't find the answer immediately, but after some contemplation and meditation I got a revelation.
I saw the Tree of Life (the Kabbalistic glyph) looming and I thought: "That must be the answer". First God created Light (and Darkness), or in other words Day (and Night), than He created the Beauty of our world by splitting the Waters and Land. He let grow vegetation and than He created the Sun, the Moon and the Stars. With those creations he made the first triade complete, so that's why He made the lights of the skies on the fourth day. The vegetation needed the Sun to grow, (the photosynthesis) and that growing is the (in my opinion) greatest meaning of the Sun.


at sunrise
sunflowers stretching out
to the Creator


We saw in our episode of The Moon (XVIII) that we had to overcome death to enter in the Light of God and now we are in His Light and in His Light we may grow, not physically, but spiritualy. After death we are only Spirit nothing less, nothing more, but we are all renewed, newborn, as we can see on The Sun (XIX) card of our Divine Tarot.

An infant rides a white horse under the anthropomorphized sun, with sunflowers in the background. The child of life holds a red flag, representing the blood of renewal while a smiling sun shines down on him, representing accomplishment. The conscious mind prevails over the fears and illusions of the unconscious. Innocence is renewed through discovery, bringing hope for the future.


a child is born
rebirth of a departing soul
tomorrow's hope


I was searching for a different angle to bring this card up and I thought of the Egytian Pharaoh Akhenaten (pron.: /ˌɑːkəˈnɑːtən/; also spelled Echnaton, meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV (sometimes given its Greek form, Amenophis IV, and meaning Amun is Satisfied), was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He is especially noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, which is sometimes described as monotheistic or henotheistic. An early inscription likens the Aten to the sun as compared to stars, and later official language avoids calling the Aten a god, giving the solar deity a status above mere gods.

Akhenaten tried to bring about a departure from traditional religion, yet in the end it would not be accepted. After his death, traditional religious practice was gradually restored, and when some dozen years later rulers without clear rights of succession from the Eighteenth Dynasty founded a new dynasty, they discredited Akhenaten and his immediate successors, referring to Akhenaten himself as "the enemy" in archival records.

Akhenaten reorganized the Egyptian religion from polytheistic to monotheistic. His monotheistic god was the Sun.

Eye of Horus
brings the Spirit back in mind
the Light has won


He also founded the Mystery school of the Right Eye of Horus, which had a kind of initiation rite in which the initiates had to swim through a dark water filled with crocodiles. By using their knowledge, which they had gained through the 12 and a half years of study, they had gained i.a. to produce Light through deep meditation and Spirit.

This Mystery-school is very similar to the deep mysterious teachings of the Kabbalah and has also a Crown, a highest level of consciousnes and spiritual knowledge which is similar to Kether, the first sephira of the Tree of Life, the place where God Consciousness is settled.

Akhenaten, was in his vision as in the ancient (before Akhenaten) Egyptian religion The Sun. And there we have our Tarot-card for today, The Sun (XIX). Akhenaten was very spiritual and had also done the Mystery-school of Horus, so he had a great spiritual consciousness which is similar with our spiritual consciousness which gain in this phase of The Sun.

The Sun (XIX) is the Light of God which shines on us and which gives us strength, growth and power (in the positive sense of the word of course). We are like children again. In this we can see what Jesus once said: He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Mark 10: 14-15 NIV).
That's why there is a (sexless) child depicted on the card of The Sun. It's riding on a white horse, which stands for purity of mind and all good. In his hand the child holds a red flag which is the blood of renewal, the symbol of being reborn. It's done, we have arrived in the Realm of God, but we aren't there already in His House, The New Jerusalem (Revelations 21: 1-5a NIV). This we can see also on the card. Behind the child there is a brickstone wall, this is the equivalent of which is called The Abyss this is the last obstacle we have to take before we enter the Kingdom of God. This last obstacle is the theme of the next Tarot-card Judgement (XX) which we will visit in our next episode of Carpe Diem.

For closure of this episode I love to share another nice music-video about Sunlight. It's a kind of meditative piece of music and I think it's really a nice piece.

With this we are at the end of our episode on The Sun (XIX) I hope you enjoyed the read and even more I hope that this episode will be an inspiration for you all to write haiku. Namaste.

This prompt will stay on 'til May 27th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our next Tarot-card, Judgement (XX), later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Carpe Diem #204, The Moon (XVIII) Tarot

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

The wonderful 'Moonlight Serenade', played by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, is a really a nice piece of music to start this episode with don't you think so?

As I was starting my research for this episode I realized that we have full moon today, how is that possible? I didn't intent to post this article on purpose on the full moon day of May, well ... 'the hand of God?' By the way the full moon of May is called Full Flower Moon because in most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time and as I look around me ... that's quit true. It's also a good time for working on commitments, both in Spirit and in Love. What a coincedence because this card in the Divine Tarot has to do with Spirit and Love.
This card, The Moon (XVIII) is our last obstacle in our journey towards the Heavenly Realm, the New Jerusalem (Revelations 21; 1-5a. NIV). After The Moon (XVIII) there are three stages left: The Sun, Judgement and The World (in the meaning of the Universe, in some decks The World is called The Universe, however not in the RW-Tarot-deck which we use this month), all of which are glorious celebrations. But, in order to gain them, we must overcome the final enemy. The Moon (XVIII) is the great ultimate challenge. Let us take a look at The Moon (XVIII).

The face on the moon looks sour with eyes closed facing the earth. There are 32 rays (22 + 10) referring to the Tree of Life, the Kabbalistic glyph. On that tree there are, as they call it (including the ten sefiroth) 32 paths which stand all for growth. The Moon is shown in it's first quarter as the Moon is getting brighter. There are 15 yods (the 'spark' of God) between the Moon and the earth.
We see two pillars or towers which we already saw at the horizon on The Death (XIII). The Moon (XVIII) represents our incarnation, the final dying gasp of our individual consciousness and of our Ego. There are a Wolf and a Dog and a lobster is trying to climb out of the water onto the land.

howling at the moon
the tribe of the Wolves
goes on hunting

The night of the Full Moon is a paradox. On the one hand, the Full Moon represents the highest part of human achievement, wherein we are 100% reflecting all of the Light of God and illuminating others. At the same time, when The Moon is its fullest, the temptation is greatest for The Moon to proclaim itself the light of Heaven in the way of 'Look at me; see how glorious I am'. In this we can see that humankind would still love to be as God as we saw in e.g. The Tower (XVI) the equivalent of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11: 1-9 NIV).
Just before sunset on the night of the Full Moon, and just after sunrise the next morning, you can see both the Sun and the Moon together at the sky. You have a choice as to which you will look at. You can focus yourself in the direction of the true Light and worship the Creator, or you can turn your focus from the Creator to the creation and watch the Full Moon rise.

Sun and Moon together
both lights of heaven in one sight
a point of choice

The Moon is trapped in an orbit around the earth, yet it is not fixed to the earth. Therefore, the Moon doesn't rise and set at the same point or at the same time throughout the month. As we look to the Moon in a symbolical way, she's the equivalent of the nature of the individual soul. our consciousness is trapped to the earth, to matter and material. We must be able to renounce the Moon and its illusory light and the illusion of Ego. The Moon (XVIII) symbolizes that we have to overcome all final limitations, and we become completely free from all ramifications of our divine consciousness being placed inside.
The two Towers (wasn't that also the title of the second part of the movie triology of Tolkien?) are similar with our rational (male) and our creative (female) side, both the left hand and right hand pathways of consciousness. They, the Towers, stand guard to make sure that only if we are sufficiently purified, can we pass between them. They are guard-towers, because as we travel through this pathway that we see winding up into the mountains, we have finally reached our homecoming, the New Jerusalem (Revelations 21: 1-5a. NIV).

Credits: Full Flower Moon (woodblock)

The Moon is just a dead piece of rock. The Moon is dead, she needs the light of the Sun, the Light of God, to look alive. Death is the final obstacle to overcome. And that's the Divine meaning of The Moon (XVIII) only through a physical (and spiritual) death we can go on on the pathway towards Heaven. After death there is New Life, than we will be resurrected being again one with our Creator (we are before we were born already part of our Creator and as we were born He sended us into the world to let His Light shine) as we have seen in the life of Jesus Christ.

the final frontier
to become newly born -
conquering death

It's an intriging card The Moon (XVIII), but it's message is clear. Be the Light of God in your world, let the Divine Light shine out of Unconditional Love for all and everything, only than you can go on and experiencing the last three cards of the Divine Tarot.

I hope you are inspired to share your haiku with us all here on Carpe Diem.

This prompt will stay on 'til May 26th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will draw our next card of the Divine Tarot, The Sun (XIX), later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Namaste

Carpe Diem #203, The Star (XVII) Tarot

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I will thank you all for your patience with me according to The Tower (XVI) I was late with publishing that episode, but I am glad that you all were so kind to respect that. Second I have published our new prompt list for June than we will have all classical Japanese Kigo (seasonwords) and third I have read some really wonderful prompt-suggestions and I will take a look at those. Oke back to our today's prompt, here we go ...

As we now have entered the realm of the Spirit the cards are becoming lighter and more colorful. It seems like we are in the Divine Light of the New Jerusalem (Revelations 21: 1-5a.) although we are still a long way away of It, but It's Light reaches us already. It's Light reaches even to the boundaries of the realm of the Spirit.

divine light
caresses my cheeks
almost there

As I stated in our Zodiac days, back in April, that we are now living in the time of Aquarius , the time of spiritual growth, the growing of the universal consciousness.

now is the time
Aquarius rules the world -
Honeysuckle blooms (*)

(*) Honeysuckle's deeper meaning is: The path of wisdom to find the Inner Self

Honeysuckle, the path of Wisdom to find the Inner Self.
As you all will know Chèvrefeuille, the French translation for Honeysuckle
is my 'nom de plume'.

All over the world people are standing up to the common rules e.g. Islamic women are standing up against the female unfriendly interpretation of the Qu'ran or what do you think of the worldwide economic crisis, which I even could have used in our episode of The Tower (XVI). Those are all signs that we have entered the realm of Spirit, the time of Aquarius, so maybe ... this whole journey through the Tarot and our quest for the Divine meaning of it brings prophecies out in the open. Who can say?

rebellion
all over the world visions change -
metamorphosis

The first thing which came in mind as I was doing research for this episode, this new step in our journey through the Divine Tarot, I think I can already say that the Tarot is Divine, was the Star of David, which we saw in the card of The Hermit (IX) and which lead the three Kings, the three Wise Man (or Magi) from the East to Bethlehem's stable in which (Mother) Mary gave birth to our Lord Jesus (Matthew 2: 1-12 NIV). Also that stable I could have used in The Tower (XVI). Jesus was born in poverty and had already all divine knowledge and wisdom He needed to do what He had to do. His birth in poverty is all back to base, back to the Spiritual Self, back to the time before The Fall (Genesis 3: 1-24 NIV).

Star of David
shines on my path
finding my way

finding my way
David's Star dispels the night
enlightens my spirit

Another thing which came in mind was, don't ask me why, because I don't know it, was 'Stardust', the song composed in 1927 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics added in 1929 by Mitchell Paris. This song, 'a song about a song about love', played in an idiosyncratic melody in medium tempo and is considered one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century with over 1500 total recordings. I love to share here the 'Stardust'-versions sung by Katie Melua (2005) and by Nat King Cole.

In this song there is a line which brought another thought in mind: 'The Nightingale tells his fairy tale of paradise where roses grew. Though I dream in vain in my heart it will remain'.
We have entered the realm of Spirit, we are back in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2: 8-9 NIV) where roses grow and bloom.

no fairy tale,
but a new reality
Paradise regained

Let us take a closer look at The Star (XVII) from the RW-Tarot-deck. What do we see?

We see a naked woman kneeling by the water, one foot is in the water, one foot is on the land. Above her head a star shines out. In each hand she holds a jug. From one jug she pours a liquid into the water. From the other jug she pours a liquid onto the land. The jugs in both hands are very familiar with the balance in Temperance (XIV)

The pool of water refers to the subconscious or the universal, the cosmos. The land refers to the material world. The naked, natural, woman or Mother Nature renews both. The two pitchers represent integration of the two opposite sides of our nature. Usually divined as hope for the future, it may indicate good things to come in the things represented in the next cards.

nature regains
a fragile balance
Mother Earth's care

The Star (Jesus) represents a moment, a time, of renewed hope, inspiration and discovery. (The time of Aquarius in which we are living now?) We have escaped The Devil, as we saw in The Devil (XV) and The Tower (XVI) and we are now in calm waters. It's a major breakthrough, a new opportunity to rise to a higher state of consciousness. (In The Tower (XVI) there is a third window. That window means 'super consciousness' which is just granted to a few. It stands for the secret, ancient, deeper knowledge as hidden in the Crown of the Tree of Life, the Kabbalistic glyph, Kether or God Consciousness. And that knowledge is now in reach tthrough the spiritual growth, through this Aquarius era.In some  Tarot-decks The Star depicts Aquarius pouring the water into the water and upon the land.)

gaining insight
re-balancing the Inner Self
the Crown is in reach

The Star (XVII) is the first of three cards of increasing light. A higher pathway will become visible, the way to Calvary. A way we have to go to enter the City of God (Revelation 21: 1-5a. NIV). The Star is indicating that we are approaching the goal og Enlightenment, the goal of our journey and quest through the Divine Tarot.
The Star (XVII) is followed by The Moon (XVIII) and The Sun (XIX) all three cards full of light, God's Light. The Light that shines upon us and is part of us (2 Corinthians 4: 6 NIV).

divine sources
the sun, the moon and the stars
lightning our path

As we travel on we can rejoice the Love of God, we feel lightfooted and we may dance on our way to the New Jerusalem. That will bring us eternal life as we can see in the little flowers on The Star card, they are all depicted with leaves in the form of the lemniscate, the sign for 'Eternity' as we saw in earlier episodes of our journey and quest through the Divine Tarot e.g. The Magician (I)

It was really a joy, and this time no struggle, it flowed just out of my pen, to share this episode in our journey and quest through the Divine Tarot. It feels like my Inner Self has guided me. I hope you enjoyed reading it as just my thoughts on The Star (XVII) and not as a sermon. It's not my intention to preach, it's just my gift to all of you ... the Tarot is Divine and not occult.
Be inspired to compose your haiku and share them with us all. Carpe Diem is one big family and I hope that you all feel free to say what's on your mind and heart. I hope that Carpe Diem gives that safety.

This prompt will stay on 'til May 25th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post (if I can) our next episode, The Moon (XVIII), later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Namaste.

Carpe Diem Specisl #38, Kyoshi Takahama's 'a gold bug'.

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I am so glad that I can publish a new Special haiku by Kyoshi Takahama, our haiku-master of this month, instead of preparing a new episode in our Tarot-journey. No research, no seeking for words, no struggle to get it online, but just sharing a nice haiku written by Kyoshi.


kogane-mushi nageutsu yami no fukasa kana

a gold bug -
I hurl into the darkness
and feeling the depth of night


A nice haiku of Kyoshi for your inspiration. Be inspired and share your haiku in the same sense, tone and Spirit as the one by Kyoshi. Have fun!

Credits; Firefly

My haiku inspired on the one by Kyoshi is:


firefly party
their fragile light caresses me -
no lonely night


This Special will stay on 'til May 24th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will draw our next card in our Tarot-journey, The Star (XVII), later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Carpe Diem #202, The Tower (XVI)

Dear haijin, visitors and travelers,

Our new episode was really a struggle so I couldn't publish it yesterday, but here we go ...

With our last episode, The Devil (XV) we entered the last phase of our journey through the RW-Tarot-deck and our quest for the divine meaning of the Tarot.
As we started our journey (and quest) I stated that the Tarot is in his original form divine, but through the centuries it has been used by occult movements or groups as e.g. The Golden dawn for divination and occult work.

once divine
than magical and occult
again divine

This month has been, so far, a revelation for you all, but also to me. It's a joy and a struggle to prepare and write the posts of this month. And as we are going further on our journey we are coming closer to the spiritual realm of the divine Tarot.
With The Devil (XV) we entered that realm and now we are at the next step, the next card, The Tower (XVI), it's the equivalent of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11: 1-9 NIV). Mankind builded a Tower to reach Heaven so they could become one with God and like Him, but as we all know, God scattered the Tower and gave humankind all different languages and dispersed them all over the world.

reaching for Heaven
building the Tower of Babel -
broken Sunflower

Is this the true meaning of The Tower (XVI)? Let us look closer at this card.

What do we see?

The Tower stands alone on a very high rock. It has three windows which were previously occupied by two people. Upon the very top of The Tower was a crown (Kether, the first sephira on the Tree of Life). At the moment we see the Tower, several things are happening. First, the lightning bolt is coming from Heaven and has hit the Tower. The crown is flying off. The Tower has burst into flames. The two occupants have jumped from the Tower and are falling to unknown depths below. There is a rain of Yods all around the Tower. (Yod is the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet it represents a divine point of energy. Yod is used to form all the other letters, and since God uses the letters as the building blocks of Creation, Yod indicates God's omnipresence. Yod is the starting point of the presence of God in all things, the 'spark' of the Spirit in everything. By the way Yod is part of every Hebrew letter and is therefore omnipresent in every word of the Old Testament.)

yod the tenth letter
base for all Biblical words -
a spark of Spirit

The Tower (XVI) is a multiple layered card with a lot of symbolism in it. The Tower stands alone and symbolizes our individual consciousness, exclusively in the realm of mind and thought. In other words, it symbolizes the spiritual realm. The Tower is our mind, and represents all that which we have learned during our life.
The ligtning bolt stands for the flash of intuition, the flash of recognition, the dawn of consciousness, wherein we finally see absolute total divine light. We are using our minds and beginning to radiate with the glow of God's truth. The lightning bolt is the fire, the Light of God (John 9: 12 NIV), that touches us.

transformed to gods
as we reach for the Light of God -
Summer Solstice

Than starts our transformation which in the card is depicted as the burning tower. However that burning is not a destruction, it is a transformation. We have dealt with the temptations of the nihilism involved in the pathway of death as it pertains to the transcendence of ego, the transformation of our mind. This refers to Roamns 12: 2 NIV 'Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is'.
As the tower is burning it releases different chemicals. Some of the energy will be released from the wood and rise up into the air, to Heaven, as a kind of sacrifice. E.G. the pure thoughts and unconditional love we have learned through our lives. Other parts will turn to ash and charcoal, these are the 'bad' 'evil' thoughts who are of the Devil, which we have already conquered in our last post.

sacrifice
burning the ships behind me -
a new day rises

This separating is also seen in the two figures jumping out of The Tower. They represent our conscious and our sub-conscious minds which are purified through God's Power.
Back to my first thought, the tower of Babel. God scattered the tower and made humankind diverse through their languages. This says: 'We call by many names what is truly one'. (All Gods Are One).

As we overcome the barriers of language, we recognize that we are, and always have been, one family (as e.g. Carpe Diem is). We are talking here in the Tower about awareness, past language. This is extremely difficult. Part of the power which The Tower is transferring to us is the ability to rise above and beyond the limitations of language, to be able to perceive things as they are in their pure prelinguistic state.

no boundaries
all humankind gathered
as water in the seas

The Divine Light, which strikes the Tower, seeks to enable us to see people as they are, to love them all unconditonally, to leave the darkness of our solitude, to transform that conscious energy into its original pure state and be able to recognize things as they are.

open your eyes
like the compassionate Buddha
see the real world

The Tower, as we have seen, is all about purification. When we are purified the pathway towards Gods Realm, Heaven, the New Jerusalem (Revelations 21: 1-5a) is open in front of us.
The Tower can be seen as a 'watch-tower' from which we get a glimpse of Heaven, the new Jerusalem, but may we enter? Through purification, the message of The Tower, we may.
Moses wasn't purified. He could not enter the Promised Land, Heaven, the New Jerusalem was forbidden. We can read this in Deuteronomy 34: 1-4 NIV.

purified we stand
eye in eye with the Father -
a newborn child

This was The Tower (XVI) and I have struggled to write this episode. Blood, sweat and tears I shed, but I had to write this to fulfil our journey and quest trhough the Divine Tarot. I hope this post inspires you to write and share haiku.

This prompt will stay open 'til May 24th 11.59 AM (CET) and I hope to publish our next episode, a Special haiku by Kyoshi Takahama, later on today around 10.00 PM (CET). That Special haiku I will share here already.


kogane-mushi nageutsu yami no fukasa kana

a gold bug -
I hurl into the darkness
and feeling the depth of night

Carpe Diem #201, The Devil (XV) Tarot

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

The last few episodes weren't easy to write, but this episode will be tougher. Why? I ppersonally don't believe in the excistence of The Devil as an equivalent of Evil. In my opinion The Devil is an imagenary creature to give Evil a face, but the next step in our journey (and quest) through the Tarot is the card of The Devil (XV) depicted as a horned and winged creature, with a dragon's tail and goat's legs. This image looks more like Pan, the flute playing god of nature, so it's in my opinion more an image which tells us that we are bound to earth, as an equivalent of matter and materialism. The Devil is more a physical creature than a spiritual creature, but on the other hand, The Devil is very spiritual. Why? I will try to explain that through the ancient mystical knowledge of numerology. First I will share the RW-Tarot deck card The Devil (XV) with you, so you have an idea of it.

As you maybe know our body has seven chakra's, seven energy points, in some scriptures even more some say 13 some say a lot, but that isn't of importance for this episode. As we look at the seperate numbers of The Devil (XV), 10 + 5 = 15 = 1 +5 = 6. In Numerology we can take the sum of the digits together. Fifteen becomes so 6. Six refers to the 6th chakra, there were the Third Eye is located, in the middle of the forehead. It's the chakra of wisdom and ancient knowledge. This is the place in which you can start an astral trip through all times. (I have done that once and I can say it was awesome). In sanskrit it's called: Agnya.

agnya
the Inner Eye
to beat the devil

"The sixth chakra is the chakra of forgiveness and compassion. Forgiveness is the power to let go of anger, hatred and resentment and to discover, in humility, the nobility and generosity of the Spirit. It is the one that dissolves all our conditionings, ego, habits, false ideas of racialism, and all our misidentifications. It is the narrow gate which opens the way for our consciousness to ascend to its final destination, which is the seventh center."

Agnya is the last stage before the life-energy, the Chi, reaches the Crown-chakra upon the middle of your head, your skull. To reach that chakra we need to gather all ancient knowledge and wisdom and become free of all anger, hatred and so on, say in one word "all Evil", but ... we have free will. So you can decide if you will go on or not. That is also the meaning of The Devil (XV). The Devil "asks" you to choose between Good and Evil action. As is said of the Snake in the Garden of Eden whom seduced Eve to eat from the Tree of Good and Evil, hoping that she became as wise as God. (Genesis 3: 1-24, NIV).


temptation
looking around in the jewelry-shop -
the devil's laugh


He, The Devil, did ask that also of Jesus Christ when He (Jesus) was tempted in the desert (Luke 4: 1-13 NIV). He, Jesus, had also free will and He choose to be Good and Righteous.
Before I go on I have to share something different. In the Old Testament (of the Hebrew Bible) there is never spoken about the Devil, not until the Babylonian Exile before that exile their was only God (the agent) as we can read in the books of Samuel. When the Israelites returned to their land, which is written in the books of Chronicles, than The Devil is named. Why? Well ... in Babylon the religion was different and was called Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrian was a prophet, who sought for God.  Around the year 580 B.C., he came to a revelation that everything that happens in the world that is good is the act of God, and everything that is bad is the result of a single controlling underlord, the evil mind, Anya Maynu.  This is the evil one; this is Satan. Through the Babylonian exile, the Jews encountered Zoroastrianism, and became familiar with the idea of the Devil.  When they came back, the Devil was intimately a part of their religion. After the Babylonian exile the scribes of the Hebrew Bible started to use this Devil (or Satan) to describe Evil and deeds of Evil.

OK ... back to the Temptation of Christ. The temptation of Jesus by the Devil is astoundingly illustrative.  Regrettably so few seem to recognize what these temptations are.  Temptations are not simply Jesus being able to prove that he is really the Son of God.  There are three temptations, and each one represents a very specific danger on the pathway of spiritual existence.  As we learn, as we grow, as we are able to harness strength and manifest the divine will, and as we begin to overcome the temptations of ego, there are three definite temptations which the Devil gives to us. To overcome these temptations that's the true meaning of this Tarot-card. Which three temptations uses The Devil to tempt us? Let us take a closer look at those temptaions as The Devil used to tempt Jesus.

Temptation #1:  If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.  The temptation here is to use the spiritual powers which the adept acquires for the purpose of satisfying his own flesh and his own needs and wants. (Luke 4: 3 NIV)

Temptation #2:  The devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all of the kingdoms of the world and all of their glory.  He said to Jesus, "All these things I will give you if you fall down and worship me."  This temptation is the final and most difficult.  This is, in some respects, the last dying gasp of the ego.  As the ego becomes cleansed and spiritual abilities are granted, and as the soul begins to recognize that it is a manifestation of God, the temptation is to harness those energies to control the entire world. (Luke 4: 6 NIV)

Temptation #3:  If you are the Son of God, stand upon this high pinnacle of the temple and throw yourself down.  The temptation here is, as one overcomes the limits of normal humanity and begins to glow with the celestial light of God, to make a spectacle of one's self and point to one's self as an object of worship and adoration. (Luke 4: 9-11 NIV)

Can we overcome these temptations? How can we overcome these temptations?

To overcome temptation #1, we must always seek to serve others and recognize that we are all one. 

For temptation #2, we must recognize that we are, in fact, nothing more then a conduit of the divine light and a channel of God's presence in this world.  

And for temptation #3, we must recognize that the totality of manifest creation, as glorious as it is, is simply the dancing of shadows upon the face of God.  We are to live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  We shall not tempt the Lord our God, and we shall worship the Lord our God and serve Him only. All this we know is part of the Lord's Prayer ( Matthew 6: 9-15 NIV) and of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 1-17 NIV).

The Devil must be overcome, and these temptations must be overcome as we return on the pathway.

Jesus, through his passion and his death on the cross, states quite clearly, "It is finished."  The struggle between good and evil, God and man, the spirit and the flesh, is over.  The bonds of sin and death have been broken.  The chains which ensnare the human race have been cast aside.  We are now free to worship God and no longer be cast about and plagued by the Devil, yet the Devil is still alive and still well.     

This is the symbolism of card #15.

Credits: temptation

So what is this saying? The Devil (XV) is the turning point on our spiritual, Christian, path to Eternity. We have to conquer the temptations we all see around us in the world e.g. alcohol, drugs and so on. We have to learn from eachother, love eachother unconditionally and we have to learn from the ancient knowledge and wisdom to reach our final goal ... the Heavenly City.

Where do we find The Devil (XV) on the Tree of Life, the Kabbalistic glyph? We find him on the Path 25, which is the path between Yesod (the 9th sephira) and Tipharet (the 6th sephira). And the meaning of that is:

Yesod is the water of the Moon and magic of belief. It is also the beginning and the end as symbolised by the number 9. The beginning of a spiritual journey and the end of your material ties. (The choice we have to make as The Devil is tempting us.)

Tiphareth is the heart centre of the "Tree of Life". It is the Sun which all the planets revolved around. It is the Buddha, Krishna Mohammed, Christ Child within us all. With Tiphareth we all have the power to heal ourselves.

Tiphareth is the love we have for ourselves, not the passionate love of Geburah ( Mars ) nor the romantic love of Netzach ( Venus ) it is the self love we have for our own God within us. It is our Faith. It is our own understanding of ourselves and such is the centre of our universe, as the Sun is the centre of astrological universe.

through the Devil
love will lead us towards Heaven -
spiritual growth


In this we see how important The Devil (XV) is as depicted in the Tarot. We could look a bit further into this card and than we will see Adam and Eve, after The Fall, chained to the throne/altar of the Devil, but as we look closer the rings around their necks are big enough to pull them over their head, but they don't do that. It's another image for 'free will', will they (Adam and Eve) choose to free them self or not? As we now know The Fall was the fall of Ego and The Fall of our Lord Jesus, His Crucifixion, is The Fall of the physical and the step to spiritual growth.

I wonder what will The Tower (XVI) the next card of the Tarot bring us? We will see it in our next episode.I hope you enjoyed the read and I hope it inspired you to compose haiku. Namaste.
This prompt will stay on 'til May 23th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our next episode, The Tower (XVI), later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).