The Hierophant
Hello everybody! Welcome back to my column. Each month I will draw a Major Arcana tarot card which represents one of many possible paths to follow. Major Arcana cards represent the archetypical themes of life, presenting the overall possible experiences.
Deck: Mermaid Tarot By Leeza Robertson Illustrations by Julie Card: 5 The Hierophant
The Hierophant relates to traditions, being a keeper of the records and a teacher of life. “The Hierophant knows more than most just how important it is to document important people, places, and events. WHO WE ARE TODAY IS A PRODUCT OF THOSE STORIES. Without them, none of us would have any sense of purpose or identity.”{A Guide to the Mermaid Tarot pg: 35}
When we think of our individual histories, we tend to have different emotions and thoughts about each moment. Sometimes we cringe, sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry, sometimes we smile, and sometimes we feel anger. Each of these has brought us to this exact moment in time; brought us to who we are today. Our histories have provided lessons and experiences for growth, even when we were so stuck in the moment we couldn’t see it. When we take the time to look back, by stepping out of the emotion associated with the memory, we are able to see things from a broader point of view, and see more clearly.
This following month, we are guided to review present moments in correlation with the carousel of life lessons as they return. We can allow ourselves to see the patterns and assess the moment with a clearer understanding by paying close attention to our dreams, to our instincts, to the way our body feels in any given moment, and to the memories that arise in a “deja vu” kind of way. Stop, take a moment and breathe. When these moments happen for us, they give us power. They give us a moment of control by deciding how we will respond or handle history repeating itself. Sometimes, when history repeats itself it is so we have the opportunity to see how far we have come.
I recently had one of these moments in a way that hit me like none other before. This time it was a physical lesson, that carried into the mental. A little back story; about five years ago I severely injured my back. It became a very painful chronic back condition I lived with for three years. It caused a lot of nerve and muscle trauma on the right lower side of my body that carried into my leg. There were days where if I were to even stand for five minutes, I was in excruciating pain from the instability of my spine. A year and a half ago, I received a corrective surgery to help fuse it back into place. YAY! The surgery went amazing and there was no more “pre-surgery” pain or any “post-surgery” complications. I healed faster and be]er than the surgeons had even expected. Now, back to the present; These last few days I have been learning to scuba dive, we have spent three hours a day in the pool learning all the skills needed to be certified in the ocean. Today, actually, after class, I was relaxing and I suddenly had a severe cramp and nerve attack in my right leg. As I was quickly handed a jar of pickles with a straw, to drink the juice, the extreme pain from before the surgery engulfed me and brought tears to my eyes. Just as the tears were falling, an enormous wave of gratitude washed over me. I was suddenly transported into a state of relief as the thought, “Thank goodness this isn’t my daily life anymore” took over my mind. Having accepted the pain in the moment, and knowing that I had lived through it before, allowed me to step out of the fear of what was happening and switch into “functioning mode” and embrace that it was only for those few minutes. The pickle juice took immediate effect, I stretched, walked around a bit afterwards, and the pain was gone. These lessons appear in various ways.
This time for me, it was a reminder of how much I had taken my body for granted before and how much I appreciated the strength it has everyday. There are times in life when we may not be exactly where we want to be, but we are further along than we realize. These moments come along to show us just that. To step out of the feeling, or the day-to-day, to see all that we have accomplished, giving us a chance for celebration!