Embrace What is Coming
Symbolism
The Rising Sun signifies rebirth.
The Dead lying on the ground emphasize renewal and reincarnation.
The Holy Figure symbolizes the sacredness of the death transformation.
The black rider brings a conclusion on the white horse which symbolizes strength and vitality.
The flag announces harvest time.
The king without a crown respects the laws of life and death.
The bishop without a staff announces the coming ending.
Children accept death as normal.
The ship stands for the moment of death.
The gate is the heaven’s gate.
The city is paradise.
The gray sky warns against indifference.
Getting to Know the Death Card
People sometimes get upset when they see Death in a reading. I think every tarot client fears the Death Card.
Every Tarot reader knows this: Something important in your life is about to come to an end to clear the way for a new beginning.
Our opinions, beliefs, and fears about death encourage us to misunderstand this card.
Death is all about transformation for the better. It has a distinct message: Something is going away to make room in your life for something else new.
This card influences us all – regardless of age, station in life, education, beliefs. This is a break with the past – manifesting changes in home, relationships, or career.
However Death plays out, new opportunities are on the horizon. They may surface as an opportunity: relocate, connect, financial changes. This is transformation in action. One thing for sure: transformation cannot happen without an ending.
Transformations are sacred. They work for the greater good.
Embrace what is coming. There are things you can do.
First, remember past transformations, how they affected you, and how you benefitted from them.
You have an opportunity to do things you never thought you could do. You will survive. You will flourish. This is how transformation works!
Move on from what you are leaving behind now. Acknowledge what you lost and appreciate how you moved on in the past. Offer gratitude to your successes.
Is something toxic in your life to release? If so, you can add a new beginning.
What needs to go? What comes next? Embrace the change!
Story
Several years ago, right after Christmas, my oldest daughter, who lived in California, was ready to retire from her teaching job. She searched for a place to retire and begin her new life.
Jennette came to visit us over the holidays and house-hunt.
At the end of her holiday visit, two vehicles in the parking lot at the Albany Airport crushed her. In an instant, her life totally changed forever.
Bang! Her 20+ year teaching career evaporated.
This moment in time was a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual event not only for her but for the rest of us in the family that afternoon.
Everything was broken.
Thirty-five days in the Albany Medical Center Hospital followed three days in the ICU at Albany Med. A year of visits in various Albany Medical Center clinics in and around Albany came after the ICU and the hospital stay.
None of us gave up – not Jennette, not the physicians, not the therapists and not anyone in the family gave up.
Michele, my younger daughter and hospice nurse, flew in from Phoenix and taught Zoe Darwin, Jennette’s youngest child, how to care for Jennette in the hospital.
After a week, Michele returned to Phoenix and Zoe Darwin stayed in a nearby hotel and helped care for her mother the next two weeks. Then Zoe Darwin moved into her mother’s new home.
I drove Sophia and Zoe into Albany daily. Because Jennette’s visitors were limited, I sat in the Panera across from the hospital for several hours and waited for them to come out and then I got to visit for a few minutes before our time was up and we returned to New Baltimore.
This daily routine continued until she was discharged. When I sat at the Panera in the afternoons, the place was always full. Staff members were kind and sensitive to the reality that everyone there in the afternoons was connected to an ill person in the Albany Medical Center Hospital across the street.
After a couple of weeks, I got discouraged, wrote a healing ceremony for Jennette, and we held it in a quiet corner of the hospital lobby. I wrote prayers to Archangel Michael and called in all the healing beings I could think of.
Zoe Darwin, Sophia, Michele, and I gathered in a quiet corner of the hospital entrance lobby. Jennette’s real estate agent and her husband attended the ceremony. Everyone got a silver angel charm I ordered from Breakell to commemorate the ceremony. I felt better after this ceremony but each day was a challenge. I was acutely aware that I needed the healing ceremony as much as anyone else there that afternoon.
One day, when I went in to see Jennette, she was waiting for a meal to be served to her. With both hands and arms broken, she could not feed her self or anything else. She was getting tired of being fed hospital food.
I took that as a positive sign.
One day I went in to see Jennette and learned that the orthopedic team operated on her left wrist at 1:30 am the night before.
Then, thankfully, one afternoon a discharge nurse came into the room and told us it was time for Jennette to go home! We were grateful but, really, we were shocked! Jennette couldn’t even walk yet.
The next day, a man came to her room, packed up all the things that had collected themselves during the month, and wheeled Jennette out of the hospital and loaded her in the car.
That Prius was stuffed with wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and boxes of smaller items we needed to care for her bandaged and casted arms and legs. Jennette now functioned daily with a brace on her back and medical boots on her feet.
But Jennette’s bones weren’t the only injured body parts. Her liver was damaged and her spleen was not missing in action. She was in a back brace full-time.
We were grateful for our trip home but I was scared too. Jennette couldn’t even walk a step. How was I going to manage?
When we drove up, I called on several hefty neighbors to help us get her in the house.
Jennette camped out on the sofa in the living room for several weeks until she felt adventurous enough to go to her new home in New Baltimore. It was a good thing, too, because she collected scads of support equipment: walkers, crutches, wheel chairs, grabbers, and other things I don’t even remember.
Jennette has a new life now. So do Zoe Darwin and Sophia. So do Barry and I. That afternoon in the parking lot of the Albany airport was definitely the Death Card in action
Energetic Balance Activity
Go all out here: Sort through your things and donate your unwanted things to a shelter. Give up everything old, outgrown, or worn out. Ditch everything you don’t use anymore. Release everything to make way for the new beginning.
Follow this up with a medical checkup appointment.
Finally, do you have a crystal or other stone that you are attracted to? Wear it or carry it as you go into your future.
Meditation
Go to a comfortable, safe, and private place to sit or lie down. Get comfortable. Play some quiet music if it feels right for you at this time. Light a candle if it fits.
Begin slow deep breathing. Feel yourself relaxing. When you inhale, visualize that you are inhaling light. As you exhale, release tensions and worries. Encourage yourself to relax.
As you breathe slow deep breaths, visualize clouds. As they slowly drift by, feel your muscles and nerves relaxing. As you inhale, breathe in calm and positivity. As you exhale, release toxicity and negativity.
When you feel relaxed, pause for a moment to relax. In this moment, you are not searching for something outside yourself. Focus, instead, on reconnecting to your inner strength. This is the inner strength that has always ben with you.
Focus on how you feel in this moment. Notice how your body feels. Observe how the chair you are sitting in supports you. Do you feel connected to your surroundings? How does your inner strength supports you?
Connect to the inner core which supports you every day, even if you’re not aware of it.
Pause for a moment now.
Call up a moment when you discovered a strength you didn’t realize you had.
Perhaps this was a time of challenge or a time of change. What did you learn about yourself in that experience?
What inner resources did you rely on?
Call in that strength now. It is a force that has always been a part of your inner core. Let it rise up within you.
Pause again for a few moments.
Continuing to breathe deeply, consider challenges you might be facing now. Or, think about challenges you may encounter in the future.
See these as opportunities for growth. See how you can manage your way through each one.
Breathe in slowly now. As you inhale, breathe in confidence to manage your way. As you exhale, release any doubts or concerns you may have. Continue to inhale confidence and exhale doubts.
Pause now to reflect.
Continue inhales and exhales. Your breathing now is the breath of capability. Each breath grounds you. Continue to breathe the breath of capability as you become more aware of your inner strength.
You know it is time to return to your day now. You know you can return to this meditation whenever you want.
Thanks for reading this article. Please share it with your friends, relatives, and neighbors. Forward it to your social media network.
This book is available at www.thurmangreco.com
Major Transformation
Symbolism
The Halo symbolizes enlightenment and soul involvement.
The tree – The World Tree – connects reality to other realms.
The grey background shows he is pausing in a neutral state.
The greenery hanging above him represents the potential growth he will survive.
The Hanged Man’s Expression – He does not appear to be distressed.
The red leggings symbolize devotion.
The blue shirt stands for spiritual royalty.
The nimbus surrounding the Hanged Man’s head signifies a sanit-like status.
The Hanged Man’s eyes are open so he can learn what he can.
Getting to Know The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man is not afraid to be different. The Hanged Man represents an uncomfortable situation because he sees his situation from different angles and he asks us to see things from his perspective. The Hanged Man speaks to a deeper wisdom, a greater peace, and an expanded sense of self. He breaks free. His wisdom comes from his higher self.
Have you ever needed a time-out? The Hanged Man asks us to step outside our view of reality and see things through a different lens. It is time to consider possibilities. This is an opportunity to learn truths that lay outside the accepted norms of our times.
Embrace change in your consciousness now. Release those things that are no longer necessary. Lean into the intermission.
The Hanged Man experiences major transformations. In doing so, he operates beneath the surface for a long time – maybe decades.
When the transition finally happens, friends, family, fellow workers, and the community can be shocked at the final result: marriage, divorce, getting sober, sex change, quitting church, going to college, growing up, quitting college, adopting children, etc.
Seeking a more spiritual way of life and investing in the future is a major transformation. The whole experience can be a time of hanging in limbo – the place between the past and the future. There are all kinds of things we can do to understand the unseen, internal, unconscious parts of our lives. Words that come to mind are perspective, anger, acceptance, discomfort-comfort, validation.
And, at some point, the word “embrace” is front and center. It goes along with ending shame, and risking rejection. All these words include the recreation of your physical, intellectual, and spiritual self.
Finally, all these changes are authentic. When you experience the Hanged Man, three things come to mind. The first is to wait for the situation to unfold. Focusing on the bigger picture helps make the journey smoother. Finally, it’s important to know what can and cannot be controlled.
Story
Locally famous, semi-famous, and unknown talented people in the arts visited the food pantry regularly. Because Woodstock attracted artists, musicians, poets, and writers, many owned first or second homes in the area. Some of these creative and talented people saw their incomes evaporate when the economy tanked in 2008.
These talented people came to make a place and build their lives. They were happy in their Woodstock and Bearsville homes and times were tough.
A person would have a home in the Woodstock area in addition to a place, someplace else. As the economy tanked and the income dwindled, the person would look around, assess the situation, and try to unload the most expensive place, usually in the someplace else location. They cam to Woodstock to live in the cheaper second home only to find zero opportunity to earn money out of the city environment. Some sublet, others sold, and still others underwent foreclosure. They found themselves stranded because their support system was not what it should have been.
So here they were, down and out in Woodstock in Bearsville. Some even lost their Upstate New York home.
Eventually, some established new lifelines. A few ended up homeless. It was gut-wrenching to see the effect of foreclosures on them. It was difficult for them to leave Woodstock. For some, foreclosure impacted their physical, spiritual, emotional health.
A famous poet was the hub of the group in the food pantry line each week. He made himself a place in the pantry. Fellow creatives gathered around him. Intelligent, well-educated people, all. They made the best of it. What else could they do?
A published poet, his positive attitude and smile offered strength. Described by many as a Tantric Buddhist-Hindu yogi, he lives what he studied. Each moment is a spiritual experience for him. He describes himself as an artist, photographer, and poet.
Personally, I always felt his attitude toward life made him the grounding leader of the group. He never got caught up in material possessions so he had little to lose. His lifestyle and attitude set a spiritual example for us all.
He was one of the first people I met when I moved to Woodstock. About two weeks after moving in, I abandoned the unopened boxes in my new home and walked over to the Colony Cafe for an evening poetry reading.
The room was crowded with about 30 writers and poets. Actually, I was the only bona fide audience member in the room. Virtually everyone else was in the writer/poet category.
When he entered the Colony Cafe, everyone greeted him with friendship and respect.
Years later, I was happy to see him standing in the hallway. If it was okay for him to be in the pantry line, then it was okay for the rest of us who shopped and worked in the pantry, too. His positive attitude and smile strengthened others in the line and dignified everyone in the building and the parking lot.
It seemed he knew everyone. He had been coming to Woodstock since he was a young man and was accepted as part of the community.
His attitude was that life should be about compassion for all beings, helping others, and maintaining a positive mental and spiritual attitude. His core beliefs supported the line for the other creatives.
Somehow, I felt these talented people deserve better than a one-hour wait in a line to shop for food. Most people never imagined they would be in a food line.
He uplifted us all – whether we shopped or volunteered.
Energetic Balance
Embrace change: Try out new recipes! Enjoy fun new food. Take a different route to work. Study something you don’t know anything about.
Meditation
Go to a private, safe location. Get comfortable in a seated or reclining position. Begin deep, cleansing breathing. With each inbreath, your body softens. Release tension. Outbreaths release toxins and negativity. Within each inbreath and outbreath, you sink deeper into relaxation.
Gently become aware of your body now. Acknowledge whatever you feel.
Pause now for a few moments.
Now, notice your thoughts. Allow them to be whatever they are. Accept your feelings and thoughts as they come.
Recognize the challenges, and successes you have experienced in your life.
Pause again for a few moments.
Now, acknowledge a time when you were critical of yourself. See these moments with caring and compassion.
Pause for a few moments.
Now, remember yourself as a child. Speak to yourself as you embrace your strengths and imperfections. Accept yourself as a child.
When you inhale, feel acceptance.
When you exhale, release negativity and toxicity.
Positive feelings feel your mind, your body, your soul.
Accept yourself now. Trust yourself. You know that you are enough.
You return to your day now. You know that you can return whenever you need.
Thank you for reading this article.
Please forward this article to your social media network.
For more information, check out my books on Thurmangreco.com
The Woodstock Show! Let us know how you like the shows.
Restore Balance
Symbolism
The Scales signify the need to weigh all the factors. They focus on the balance of the past and the future.
The Sword indicates clear and absolute outcomes.
The Crown of Gold represents leadership.
The Jewel in the Crown represents the third eye. This stands for higher intuition.
The Sword and Scales are the symbols of the Justice. Decisions can be heavy. Opposing forces influence the situation.
The Robes and Backdrop are the same color referring to the impersonality of the outcome reaffirm her power.
The grey pillars and the floor represent neutrality.
Getting to Know Justice.
Justice is strong. She wears no blindfold and stares straight ahead at us. She challenges us to look at ourselves and our lives honestly. Because Justice is the complete truth. Justice at the intersection of judge and jury.
Trust your judgement now. Focus on moderation in all things.
Justice and equality are essential. Align yourself with truth and what is good for everyone concerned. This is a time to proceed as your best self. The timing is right.
Seek balance between yourself and those around you, especially when you relate to others. This applies to both your personal and professional affairs.
Where is the balance between your past and your future? Where is the truth? You will find spiritual justice in the answer to these questions.
With justice, you walk the ethical path now so you can weigh your options carefully. Make it your goal is to do the right thing.
When you are making a significant decision, see the situation from a different point of view. Learn from the past as you seek to change the future.
Calm your emotions so you can see the facts objectively. Better yet, remove the emotions.
Finally, use your intuition to overcome fear. This will allow you to learn the basic law of cause and effect which teaches that when you know the basics, you can trust what you see.
Now, pitch your ego. This may be a good time to take responsibility for mistakes.
Is a third party involved? Choose someone who can be fair, rational, and reasonable.
Honesty, truth, and acceptance are called for here. With these three attributes, you can see the situation for what it is, Let truth be your guide.
If you need an attorney, choose someone who can reason, think things through, and deliberate the situation. Rely on reason and thought here.
For a settlement, add mercy into the mix. Your inner compass will guide you here. Eliminate your personal bias and go for fair. Do you have a choice here? Make it informed because you need to know the fallout for both yourself and the other parties.
Finally, never forget the ethical component.
Story
My maternal grandmother, Lily Dale Thurman Cox, had a close relationship with a lady named Justice who reeded of strength of values. My grandmother knew Lady Justice kept score on what was right and what was wrong.
She didn’t play cards and never mentioned the Tarot, but she definitely knew about this strong woman who stared straight ahead and wore no blindfold.
Lily Dale Thurman Cox didn’t care a whit about football but she could go on endlessly about politics. My grandmother felt strongly that when the Russians came, neither guns nor ammunition would be used. “They’ll defeat us without ever firing a shot” she loved to say when anyone discussed politics with her. Her feeling was that the Russians would take over our country economically.
I remember my grandmother speaking often, in conversations with friends and family, about the fact that Justice traveled slowly and carefully and was never wrong.
Energetic Balance
Finding balance can be anything from visiting an art exhibit to scheduling time with a therapist.
Meditation
Go to your safe and private place. Select the best posture for your meditation. This may be either seated or resting face up on a cushion.
If this seems appropriate now, select music for this meditation. A Gregorian chant may be good for this meditation but the best choice will be any music which relaxes you.
Focus on your breathing. Your inhales bring balance and relaxation. Your exhales release toxins and stress.
This meditation is a safety zone for you, where you get in touch with yourself and the world, where you can feel positive and relaxed. This space, with the breathing and the music, leads you to your inner sanctuary. Take a moment to receive this sense of security and strength.
Create a space of your own now. How does it smell? What are the sounds? What shapes, colors, and textures are now in this place of special feelings?
This space is your creation. What does this space look like?
Focus on the floor. Is there a rug? Is the floor wood or tile?
Now pay attention to the walls and other objects in this space.
Which of these objects or images represent safety – security – tranquility – beauty – peace.
You are in a place of refuge and relaxation.
Explore the touch, smell, sight, and sounds of this sanctuary.
As you enjoy the comfort, protection, and beauty of this space, you leave your worries, stresses, concerns, and judgements behind. You feel relaxed and content.
It is time to return to return to your present day. Enjoy this moment knowing that you can return to this place anytime you want.
Continuing with relaxation, you notice your breathing. You slowly move your arms and legs now.
When you open your eyes, you bring the peace and power of your sanctuary to your day.
Please share this article with your friends and relatives. Forward it to your preferred social network.
Find out more at www.Thurmangreco.com
This book is available as an ebook on thurmangreco.com.
My latest book is “The Spirituaity of The Tarot” will be published by the end of the year!
I read tarot in the Mowers Meadow Flea Market in Woodstock, NY during the summer.
Winter readings are by appointment. Contact me at thurmangreco@gmail.com
We All Need Luck
SYMBOLISM
The Winged Figures in the corners of the Wheel of Fortune refer to the four apostles who wrote the gospels.
The sphinx is the guardian of the mystical secrets.
Angel represents autumn consciousness.
The Angel of the Lord is a messenger.
The Bull symbolizes winter.
The Lion represents spring and strength.
The Eagle embodies summer…
The Wheel is a mirror of the cycle of life.
The clouds in the blue sky symbolize hope, clarity, and a breakthrough on a spiritual path.
The Wheel in Motion is Destiny at Work: Divine Law rules.
GETTING TO KNOW THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE
You have a fresh start! Will you make this experience positive or negative? One thing is sure: Change is inevitable. The Wheel of Fortune offers you a chance to go with fate. You are the designer.
Accept the cycles of life with a positive outlook. Outside forces move you forward toward an unknown future. Chance, luck, and random events contribute their share. Fate intervenes in your behalf with a favorable outlook.
You don’t have total control over the circumstances of your life but you choose options, no matter what comes your way. Those choices create your future.
New chapters bring inevitable changes. Your past moves you forward toward the good, the bad and everything else.
New ideas and beliefs will transform how you live as you move to your future. Some major life changes will require inner healing. Your future is inevitable. Appreciate the good times.
Wisdom lies in knowing what you can and cannot change. The external world is always changing. One thing you can control is how you react to these changes. Therein lies your personal power.
The important thing is to always seek the best outcome because the change never stops. Remember, you are part of the bigger plan. Create your opportunities.
When the Wheel of Fortune appears in a spread, take a moment to decipher its t direction. Where does it lead you? .
STORY
On a sunny Texas day in April, 1962, I enjoyed a midday break between classes when I learned six American soldiers had been killed in Vietnam. I knew in my gut we’d crossed a line.
Life changed for us all that day. It wasn’t long before fellow students were drafted. Some did everything they could think of to avoid what they feared was inevitable.
Harry Edwards married my friend Marcy and they got pregnant. It worked for them. Baby Rachael kept Harry out of the Army.
Harry’s younger brother, Tom, got drafted but refused to carry a weapon. He wound up being a medic in Vietnam. I’m not sure he got much of a deal on that one. He didn’t carry a weapon but mental, emotional, and spiritual scars stayed with him through life.
Belmer Wright, Rick, and Rick’s girl Cathy went off the grid and ran dope up from Mexico. They made a good living until they got caught and ended up in the slam. Belmer put in three years in a Texas prison outside Dallas. Rick ended up in a Mexico City Jail for over 20 years. Cathy spent the next two decades visiting him. Although she never admitted it, I think she ran dope the whole time but just never advertised her career choice. The last time I saw her, she was still loose.
Tony Delong, Gino Garibaldi, Ernie Eggers, Bob Stevens, Larry Duncan, Jamie Dunlap, and Jimmy Swayze went on a weeklong drunk and sobered up on a government bus headed for National Guard Boot Camp.
One student, Ewe Irwin protested He headed for California and took candid photos of everyone on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. He sought the fugitives in public places, got his shots, assembled them in a book, and published it.
I saw his book once and the photos were professional. The paper, printing, and cover were good quality. In short, the book was a document to be proud of.
I searched and searched to find a copy of the book but could not remember the title. I’m still holding out hope but the chances of finding a copy of this book aren’t good.
Recently, Daria Peoples wrote a book about Angela Davis. “Be the Light. How She Became Angela Davis.” I loved reading it!
FOCUS IN
Journal your future. Write out the goal you want. What are you willing to do to make your future happen?
MEDITATION
Go to a quiet, private, safe space and get comfortable. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Encourage your body to relax. You want to be at ease and comfortable.
Your breathing allows you to gently and easily become quiet and still. Continue breathing for a few moments to get comfortable as you enter a deeply relaxed space.
You are in a quiet, private park. You are sitting in a comfortable garden chair.
When you are ready, your self will allow you to make the changes happen that will benefit you most.
You are in a quiet, private space which will allow and encourage you to express the insight you have in your situation. Take a few moments to ground your thoughts.
As you think about your situation, explore some ways that can help you move toward your future.
Examine your ideas now. Which one is the most practical? Which is the easiest?
Is one option more attractive than the others? Which option seems to be the most promising?
Spend a couple of minutes now as you affirm your choice. Consider some specific things you can do to make a practical plan to carry out your choice.
Take a couple of deep breaths now and relax. Get comfortable where you are. Allow your mind to become quiet and still.
Imagine your plan as it might work successfully. Take the time you need as you envision it as a successful project.
You are working on your future here.
You notice now that it is time to return to your day.
You are happy to do this because you know that you can return to this place and this project any time you want.. You know that return visits to this place will help you construct positive change. They will support your project at a pace which is comfortable for you.
Thank you for reading this article. Please share it with your friends, relatives, and neighbors. Forward it to your favorite social media network.
Find out more about Thurman Greco at www.Thurmangreco.com
Purchase ebooks at www.thurmangreco.com
