Renewal

Life changing transformations happen. A long-standing job is terminated. A snap judgment is made to follow an inner calling. Transition can occur side ways due to sudden family problems or a shift in focus when an otherwise minor aspect becomes paramount. To navigate through a maze of changes can be demanding, particularly when a career ends and you need to start over from scratch. It takes a tremendous amount of willpower to not feel overwhelmed and get defeated. I am empathetic to those in this situation. I’ve been there many times and have pushed through. “Street Tarot” is a term I coined that refers to a frame of mind to view the world and glean deeper insights from your experiences. Awareness in the everyday waking state can expand if you take heed of meaningful coincidences, the symbols of our collective unconsciousness, and your individual psyche.

Armed with this inventory of traditional symbolic attributions and personal signs and wonders, you can better assess matters and make plans to shape your unique future.

Of course, in times of change you may feel stuck and do not know what the next step is. The human instinct is to resist change. It can feel like free falling, with no solid footing to build upon. Hope may turn to despair which can drive you to adopt unconscious strategies, such as self-sabotage, which lowers your self-esteem and makes change a painful experience. A method to this dilemma is to pay attention to the coincidences, and the unexpected. Street Tarot is a mental tool to sharpen your awareness. Its utility relies on your curiosity, willingness to do research, and to pay attention to your dreams and synchronistic occurrences, or those seemingly improbable but highly meaningful coincidences. Also, contemplate symbols which resonate with you. Do not feel threatened by the non-ordinary instead learn from it. Be willing to look deeper into your affinity to fictional or mythic characters. Notice when you well-up with a positive emotion. Permit these types of phenomenon and sensations to come to the forefront and then act on your insights and intuitions about them.

It is meaning to our lives that we look for and strive to give purpose to the circumstances we find ourselves in from moment to moment. I followed my inner voice of wisdom and symbolic trails to become a hand bookbinder and then mastered six divine directives; one of which was to become a lawyer. I fashioned my career as a federal criminal appeals attorney after Sherlock Holmes. If you do not already know, he is the world's first consulting detective and a fiction. Meanwhile, that legal practice of mine laster almost 14-years. So, whether you’re concerned about the next 5-minutes or have a long term plan, it is paramount to put your new found knowledge into operation. Talk to people and share with them your multi-faceted realms of experience. With details from your archetypical makeup, your dreamscapes, personal heroes, and symbols, you are more able to evaluate and discern the next step to create an authentic career and lifestyle for yourself. To enhance personal growth trust your intuitive powers and be open to receive from unexpected sources. The journey is a slow one, however it can be productive. Most importantly, in your discernments be ruthlessly honest with yourself. More examples of Street Tarot are found in my memoir, My Random Death. A link to the book’s website is on this site’s Home page.

I am reminded of the 20th tarot card in the suit of Trumps traditionally know as Judgment. It is often depicted as a resurrection where an angelic figure blows a horn to awaken the dead. Symbolically this card represents renewal, rebirth, an inner calling, as well as self-doubt, inner critic, or to ignore that special call. The Trumps in a tarot deck are numbered from 0-21, however I prefer their association to the Hebrew alphabet which goes from 1-22. Here, the Judgment card aligns with the 21st letter, Shin. Her symbolic meaning is teeth as in “to have bite” or strength, or lack thereof. A current example of this idiom is obvious in the character of convicted criminal, Donald Trump. Recently we’ve witness his penchant for lawlessness when he defied Supreme Court rulings regarding his illegal deportations. He gambles on the courts having “no teeth” to send the US Marshalls to arrest him and hold him in contempt. In addition, he can absorb monetary fines, as we’ve seen in E. Jean Carroll's New York State defamation cases.

Of relevance to this blog is the notion that teeth also act as a barrier between our inner and outer worlds, Ie. our ethical and moral compasses, and intuitive capacity to guide what you may say and might do. Furthermore, the letter Shin signifies change. In the mundane toothy sense to chew and grind down solid food in the mouth enables the body to convert it into energy for your survival. Similarly, the inner strength to overcome a sudden change can transform your distinct nature and sense of self. Metaphorically, when the death of a career is certain, or the road you travel abruptly comes to a dead end, you’ll need the courage to begin anew. Oh, you can stay in self-pity mode for awhile, but you’re expected to change and move forward, ready to take on the world to achieve your recently discovered ambition. Things may appear daunting and emotionally perilous. Life flows and it can also get brutal. Persevere, stay open, and be observant. Trust your intuition to get you to where you need to go, even if it will happen eventually and is not just around the corner.

Street Tarot