Our spiritual expansion can be accelerated by volunteering for the ‘Liminal Space Exploration Program’. Transformation occurs when we abandon our comfort zone and enter liminal space. By actively pursuing growth, we have more control over how our life lessons come to us.
Liminal space is that threshold that separates the old “normal” from a genuine soul-directed new existence. When the cocoon metamorphoses into a butterfly, it undergoes a pupal dissolution stage, an internal melting down. This creates room for a new creature to be born.
Together let’s explore how we can direct our own internal transformation according to the four worlds or ways of being. We shall be playing with four randomly drawn cards from the Shining Tribe deck by pre-eminent Tarot scholar Rachel Pollack. We are looking at self-directed soul discovery in the realms of Physicality, Relationships, Thought Patterns and Creativity/Spirituality.
Physicality: ‘0 The Fool’
I leap from the cliff, believing that I can fly. My safety net has been tossed aside. I am unencumbered and free. The territory above which I hover is strange and uncharted. I know neither fear nor limitation.
This situation forces me to scramble spiritually in order to survive. I draw upon resources that I never knew I had. Imagination and creativity flourish.
If we find that we have become stagnant and uninspired regarding where we live, how we support ourselves, or how we feel about our bodies, we may wish to devise a way to shake things up big time.
My own personal risk-taking has propelled me into a spiritual adventure of unexpected challenges and rewards. Several years ago I precipitously decided to sell my mortgage-free, beautifully renovated home with built-in rental income. Kissing my carefully engineered retirement plan goodbye was crazy from a financial perspective. Yet something was calling me to relocate half-way across the world to an uncertain future in an alien culture. Things remain fairly insecure from a practical point of view. Yet I feel fully alive and relish each day.
The familiar life horizon has been outgrown; the old concepts, ideals and emotional patterns no longer fit; the time for the passing of a threshold is at hand. – Joseph Campbell, Hero With a Thousand Faces
Relationships: ‘Ten of Stones’
This Ten of Stones puts a different twist on a card that traditionally represents a successful, comfortable retirement through wise investment. Here we are asked to take a portion of our wealth and invest it in sacred items, spiritual/religious totems, in order to create spiritual wealth.
How we spend our money demonstrates what our real priorities are in life. When we truly grasp that our success does not come from our own hard work, but from Source, we recognise how important it is to create a beautiful and holy atmosphere that draws in the presence of the Divine.
It takes a leap of faith to make a sizeable purchase to be used for devotional purposes when it can be argued that we have so many other pressing needs. How can acquisition of new priestess garb, a crystal singing bowl, or a beautiful fountain for our meditation space affect our relationships? Sacred art elevates the vibration of the space where we spend time together. God/Godddess adornment makes sacred our body temples, permeates our beings, allowing divine light to shine through and around us, infusing holiness into our important relationships
Regally clothing our bodies and beautifying our work and play spaces affirms our birthright as sons and daughters of the Divine. People are attracted and inspired by this light. We become more effective conduits for compassion and truth.
From the sacred center of the world streams forth an irrepressible desire to overcome the silence between things. Art, the ever flowing fountain, reveals the secret of life through word and gesture, color and sound.
― Hermann Hesse,\The Seasons of the Soul
Thought Patterns: ‘Nine of Birds’
Many of us may be surprised when our minds are hijacked by a repetitive cycling of thoughts about a lost person, relationship, job or opportunity in our life. Much time may have passed. We may have moved on past the stages of denial, anger, bargaining and depression. New people, interests and avocations engage us. How then can we achieve greater closure and peace of mind?
Rachel Pollack’s Nine of Birds is an eerie, dark representation of the land of grief. We are being prompted to fully experience feelings of sorrow and loss so that we can safely navigate the territory of grief and come up on the other side, resilient and reborn. Devastating experiences never come at a good time. To survive we sometimes deny or bury our feelings just to be able to get through in the moment.
The power of personal ritual can help to confront and normalise these feelings. This intentional confrontation takes courage and pushes you out of your comfort zone. Identify what you wish to process. Begin with a simple act to delineate the opening of sacred space such as lighting a candle or a stick of incense. State your purpose i.e. ‘I wish to heal my grief concerning my aborted athletic career.’ Do a symbolic act such as burning photos or writing about the subject; or read a poem; or sing a song. End the ritual with an act that clearly marks completion, such as ringing a bell or clapping your hands. Doing this once may be sufficient, or you may find that repeating the ritual periodically for a period of time helps you to arrive at a place of mental peace.
Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom ― Jalaluddin Mevlana Rumi
Creativity/Spirituality: ‘Place of Birds’
Liminal space, in the geographic sense, is the border area where two distinctly different areas meet. Examples are shoreline, twilight, and the observation tower atop a skyscraper. Contrasts can be disorienting in these limbo zones. The lack of predictability frees the mind to move back and forth between states and areas, enhancing creativity and spiritual awareness.
Rachel Pollack, creatrix of the Shining Tribe deck, uses ‘Vision’ cards in place of the traditional court cards. Like court cards, these represent stages of development in the respective suits or elements. The ‘Places’ are mental constructs for self-discovery within the elements. Here the element of air celebrates the mind’s ability to see forms and construct ideas.
Spacing out in nature, especially in border spaces, supports our ability to recognise and augment the inherent sacred properties of a place through our interaction with it. The bird’s eye view of the Place of Birds is high and remote, affording us a large view of our situation. We are being encouraged to seek out and spend agendaless, unstructured time in actual liminal spaces.
Creativity is a state of mind, a way of being, and it comes from a sacred place within. ― Bonnie Kelso,\Vitalize Your Creative Life
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The Shining Tribe deck is reproduced here by permission. http://www.rachelpollack.com/index2.html
Juna Berry Madrone, Natural Mystic Guide, is a mystic and Hebrew priestess residing on the sacred island of Bali, Indonesia. Her highly effective long distance work supports you through Tarot, spiritual psychotherapy, and transformative ritual. Call Juna at (541) 973-6030 and visit www.naturalmysticguide.com