there are three decks that i use most frequently. the wild unknown is generally for my daily pulls, and then i switch between the mesquite tarot and the wooden tarot for longer readings. (because of its size, the mesquite tarot is usually the one i grab when i’m going to do readings with friends, too.) in both the wild unknown and the mesquite tarot, judgement is a beautiful card, somehow quiet yet triumphant.
not so with the wooden tarot.
it’s one of the more unnerving cards in the deck, between the flower-trumpets replacing the bird’s head and the skulls at its feet. but it may not surprise you to know that i somewhat prefer it. judgement in tarot signifies forgiveness and healing, and i think we would like that to be a gentle, peaceful process. the truth is that both are frequently ugly.
in astrology, most of the things on one’s natal chart are planets, though there are some exceptions. one such is chiron, an erratic comet. chiron is named for the noblest, most civilized centaur in greek mythology. he was a healer. in a battle between herakles and the centaurs chiron had left behind, he was caught in the middle and hit with a poison arrow. the physician could not heal himself.
the wound that will not heal: this often feels like a truer meaning for chiron than what i wrote on my chart when i was learning astrology (wisdom, patience, mastery over darkness, understanding of suffering). what is there to understand of chiron’s suffering? he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that left him begging for death.
of course i have my own wound that will not heal, that i have been carrying since i was a child. it is also true that this wound has helped me understand suffering, that it has provided me with a certain sort of wisdom. as always, there is a balance to be struck. (what can i say? i’m a libra, i’m obsessed with balance.)
darlings, this week let’s be gentle with our wounds, let’s let them be as ugly as they need to be.
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this week’s deck: the wooden tarot
this week’s crystal: milky quartz