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T.21 The World

Activity

XXI. The World

Name: The World
Hebrew Letter/Meaning: Tet (ת) / Cross, Power-Servitude
Element/Planet/Zodiac: Saturn / Capricorn, Aquarius
Name of Path: Administrative
Type: Middle Pillar
Connecting Sefirot: Foundation (9) & Kingdom (10)


Tidbits: Like the Wheel of Fortune, this card is absolutely packed with symbolism. The four same elemental Cherubs are in the corners. The young woman (who will become Temperance and the High Priestess) is clothed in the royal violet of a spiritually mature old soul. Surrounded in a wreath of celebration, overlayed with 4 circles representing the Four Worlds, lemniscate marking “as above, so below,” and holding town rods of polarity, The World is the manifested, diverse, completion of the pure potential ignited by the Ace of Wands.

She is the Omega to the Fool’s Alpha (their Hebrew את indicates the direct object, the thing itself). She is the multi-colored complexity to the Pure White Light’s simplicity. Saturn’s dual nature again plays a role, being both the highest of the high and the lowest of the low. This is the realm of kundalini awakening and the beginning stages of concentration meditation (jhanas 1 & 2).

The World in readings calls forward ideas of ends/beginnings, completeness, accomplishment, maturity, crystallization of the situation, and a healthy stubbornness to see things through.

When unsupported, she can point to delay (it’s not time yet), inertia, failure to see/be seen, stopping prematurely, and grief for loss instead of enjoying the blessing.

Reference Note:

Spend time with each of the Trumps below to generate your “tarot encyclopedia” notecard for each.

Working with the Trumps is slightly different because they represent forces of subjective experience instead of forms and objective structure. The symbolism in the cards is more complex, subtle, and profound. For this reason, we will slow down our pace to only one Trump per day (except today when we do two).

You are encouraged to only engage with one Trump per day. This will hopefully allow you to relax a little, spend more time exploring each trump, and catch up with any minor arcana you had to skip over the last few weeks.

In case it’s still helpful, here is the recommended process.

  1. Look at the image on the card and examine its details.
  2. Read the page in the companion book for that card.
  3. Read the description provided here.
  4. OPTIONAL: Read other descriptions of that card online or in other books.
  5. Reflect on the questions posed.
  6. Write down the details of the image that have meaning to you and the 2 or 3 interpretations (perhaps 1 heavenly, 1 upright earthly, and 1 reversed earthly) that resonate most strongly for you.
  7. Reflect on whatever correspondences you can find, such as relationships to other cards, astrological associations, and anything else. Include notes on anything specific that stands out.

    Feel free to write down your own interpretations based on what comes to you!