Sunday, May 26, 2013

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)







2 comments:

  1. Ah judgement... wonder if how narrow the needle's eye is... my camel is pretty small

    ReplyDelete
  2. Intense...but I think my four years of Theological Reflections in the Education for Ministry finally clicked in...
    Thank you for your hard work on this one...it was very interesting.
    Peace
    Siggi

    ReplyDelete