Of course, such a disclaimer will not appear on every single post that reflects views of mine that have since been revised – but with regards to some posts (such as this one) I feel it is especially important to make that point particularly clear. I find insertion of such notices to be more intellectually honest than simply deleting the post.
This time, instead of an actual Tarot card, I present an alternative oracle card. After all – there’s no particular reason why an oracle deck has to follow the Tarot sequence. Nonetheless, this card is not Tarot in that it is not one of the 78 cards on the Tarot list – but it is illustrated with the same iconographic principles that an actual quality Tarot card would be with.
This card is called “The Youngling” – and it is a reference to Jedi Realism. True, Jedi Realists might use the term “Initiate” rather than “Youngling” because among Jedi Realists, not everyone begins their Jedi training when they are that young. Still, the one portrayed on this card is not merely new to the Jedi discipline. She is, in fact, very young – so I am going ahead and using the term “youngling” to name this card.
Now – in the title of this card, I named it the February/March rendition – for the simple reason that I wrote the card in February, but never got around to blogging about it until March.
We can see that the world and the road ahead lies just outside the temple walls – but she still, for now, sits inside it, training in it’s relative security. On the top of her head glows the mathematical symbol of infinity, signifying her infinite potential. The irises and pupils in her eyes are replaced with four-pointed star-like shapes signifying her fascination will all the new stuff she is being introduced to.
Between her hands, she holds a flame, signifying the Force, in which she holds suspended an atom-symbol, signifying how she is training to work with the elements of the Universe. The flame is color-coded with a full rainbow of colors signifying the full spectrum of all aspects of the Force. This because at this stage, it is not yet determined what way her training will end up going. However, on the temple wall is a mural with another flame color-coded with a smaller set of color signifying the healthier ways in which the Force can be channeled. This is because even though her training could still go in any direction, her instructors are doing their best to nurture her so that it will go in a positive direction.
On the floor are the hilt and blade of a sword in separate pieces (drawn as though one is designed to screw into another – which we know isn’t really how swords are built, but for the sake of iconography let us suspend disbelief on that one). We use a sword in this iconographic system because lightsabers are a bit difficult to portray in certain media. However, the blad of the sword isn’t glowing, as she hasn’t yet reached the stage of her training that would give it it’s glow. Anyway – the sword is in pieces because, at this stage in her training, she hasn’t yet built many of her Jedi tools.
Also on the floor is another atom-symbol and a book open to some text, as well as a picture of the world. This book signifies that though she is not yet experiencing more than a tiny, sheltered part of the world – she is already at the stage of learning second-hand about the world outside the temple walls. The atom symbol on the floor is larger than the one she is holding via the Force – signifying that as much as she has learned, she has much more that she has yet to learn.
Divinatory Meaning:
I have said this before, but persistent reminders of this are still, I believe, always appropriate considering the environment of today’s day and age. I do not specify the divinatory meanings of the cards for the simple reason that the power of cartomancy does not lie with the cards themselves, and is not based on the notion that the cards will shuffle in a way that reveals anything. Rather, the power is in the one who reads the cards, in who’s subconscious actually lie the answers that the cards merely help bring out.
