The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man is the 12th card of the major Arcana. This picture was taken in Santa Fe by the pond of a dear friend of mine who was sitting watching the fish, this inspired me to capture this moment. The following day I said to myself 'This is the picture of the Hanged Man!'.

If you could take a picture of your life up to now, could you visualize the effect? Now turn it upside down. Look deeply, see if you can have a fresh overview of your past. If you were to pick the Hangman it is a sign that you are rendered immobile by the force of your repetitive and destructive patterns and it is high time to look at why. You might feel stuck and even numb. You feel like a prisoner of your life, constantly restricted by the rational of your mind telling you why you can not move. If you free yourself from your tyrannical mind and observe without judgment you can create an energetic shift. It will free you from old patterns of survival. At this point your determination to become unstuck can release you from your self imposed limitations. It is a surrender to the authentic purpose of your life. Trust that your inner wisdom will illuminate what you desire deeply to express.

Your homework is to go to the children's playground and hang upside down. Or put your head between your legs...what do you see?

The Tower

The Tower is the sixteenth card of the Major Arcana. Like with the card of Death and the Devil, people often have a visceral reaction to the fire and chaos usually represented in this card. But here again it is about renewal via deconstruction. For a few months I was pondering how to represent the Tower. When I came upon a stock of photos where this one jumped at me. It was created by doodling on the Polaroid emulsion after it popped out. I remember my child like wonder when the picture came to life.

The Tower is a symbol of our social conditioning; our survival mode; a structured safeguard to buffer, distort what we perceive as the frightening realization that change is the only constant.

This visual symbol validates your desire to heal, refresh, and restore the clarity and wisdom for your journey on the planet. This card is a reminder to renew your commitment to actualize who you are. Your body is the temple of your soul, so it might be time to diet, exercise, and have quiet moments. See if shedding people and situations is becoming a must to realign with the authenticity of your essence.

The Star

The Star is the seventeenth card of the Major Arcana. This is the picture that I deliberately conceived prior to creating this card. The young woman is a dear friend of mine who lives in Santa Fe, where I go rather regularly. It is taken before sunset by a pond and she is holding a real ancient jug. I knew she would be perfect for the depiction of the Star.

The Star is a symbol of pure radiant energy manifesting in the world of forms. The card is a reminder that we are all potential vessels to contain and pour the precious light of this magnificent universe. The more we trust our destiny the more our destiny becomes a movement of balance and clarity in the world for all to see and benefit. This result in us experiences self sufficiency so that there is no neediness in our relationships. If all of this resonates in you, you are experiencing a deep recognition of your essence.

If you pick this card it is a reminder that you are both the director and the actor, so if you don't like the script you find yourself in it is time to change it. Know that you have the ability to do so. This card is about self esteem and loving oneself.

Strength

The Strength Card is the eight card of the major Arcana. Usually this card is represented by a woman standing by a lion, often she holding his mouth wide open. Which means the taming of the inner demon/beast in all of us. I decided on a collage I had done years ago. When I looked at it again recently it felt right, because in order to tame the inner demons you have to go within yourself and acknowledge them with compassion. The very going within creates the transformation of your demons into your allies.

If you picked this card during a reading it is time to clean up your inner temple! It is not easy to acknowledge ones weaknesses without judgment, but we are all human. We are the bridge between the beast and the divine. Only your longing for transformation will give you the strength, the courage, to look within.

The Emperor

The Emperor card is the fourth card of the major arcana. This is the card of the pioneer that enters into unchartered territories, inspiring others to follow. This picture was taken in Santa Fe in the garden of my friends at sunset. The tree at some point was dying and we had to cut quite a few big branches. After a year or so it looked so alive and vigorous. The trunk with two main branches seemed to represent victory. So when I was looking for a picture representing the Emperor I felt this one was quite appropriate because it looked like a noble giant with his arms raised in glory.

The Emperor represents vitality and eagerness to discover. The Emperor also has to be careful about becoming angry and impatient with those that are not ready to follow him. He might start ahead of the others, and let them realize that they also want to go into the unknown.

If you pulled this card during a reading you have to take charge of your life. Reinvent yourself, try to transform the anxiety into excitement for the unknown.

The Universe

This photo was taken at my home. It is a paper weight that a young man gave me as an exchange for his reading. I fell in love with it right away because as I looked at it I was reminded of William Blake's quote, "To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour". Looking into the glass ball, it reminded me of a picture taken in space. It happened that the very same week I had been wondering how to represent the card of the Universe. Since this card is also about synchronicity so I was delighted by the serendipity of the happening.

The card of the Universe is essentially about the art of seeing and experiencing the world around us. The micro reminding you of the macro and visa versa. It is about keeping your sense of wonder and excitement, about our journey literally and figuratively in the universe. If you were to pull this card you are in a phase of transition and ready to over come emotional blocks.

This card is a symbol of harmony between mind, body, and emotion. It is a reminder of the mysterious vastness that we are about. Celebrate your life and tune to the rhythm of your heart beat, your breath, and dance your problems away.

The Death Card

The death card is the thirteenth card of the Major Arcana. This picture was taken in the winter in Santa Fe at twilight in the back of my friends house. It shows a naked tree in a landscape where the sun is already beyond the horizon. The combination of winter and the sun being set reminds me of a beautiful passing. I prefer the symbol of the tree skeleton, dead in the winter, to a human skeleton for this image has been depicted so much.

In a reading the symbol of death is more about the death of old patterns in order to give birth to transformation. It is a powerful message for it is "not about pruning the tree but about uprooting the tree of our old habits that do not serve us anymore." I use this image often because people tend to relate and understand what I mean by pruning versus uprooting.

If you pulled this card during a reading it is time to question: Are you stressed? Do you need to end a relationship? Do you need to confront someone in a situation? Do you fear the unknown of what comes next, realizing you have chosen to imprison yourself in a lie?

Don't seek the answers to these questions, but rather land mark on the potential to look at your life as deeply as you can. Imagine standing at the top of well, looking down and seeing your reflection in the water...way way below. It might be scary, but you have to look, not trying to seek comfort of a friend, a yoga class, of a martini! Look in that place in you that never dies, even though the questions hopefully will. This is an opportunity to step again into your life from a new space.