Liminal/New Liminal Tarot - Angel (Judgment)

[Bodhiseed]

 

20 – Angel (Judgment)

 

People rise from the ground as an angel, surrounded by a bright light, blows a trumpet.

 

After a day with the Sun, the Fool (Wise Child) sleeps deeply. He’s startled from his slumber by the loud blast of a trumpet and a great light. Watching with amazement and a little fear, he sees an angel summon people seemingly from beneath the earth. He stutters, “Are you here to punish me for my mistakes?” The messenger shakes his head and answers, “It is not the past but the present of concern to me. I am here to awaken you to a sacred view of the world, an understanding that you do not yet have.” He produces a vision of a net* that stretches infinitely in every direction and explains: “Each intersection contains a jewel; together with the others they represent all that has ever existed. Every jewel reflects every other jewel on the net. This web of life shows how our world is interconnected. No thought or action occurs in a vacuum; everything leans on or arises in dependence on everything else. Because everything ‘leans,’ all that we think or do matters. We are accountable for our thoughts and actions because they have a rippling effect on this net, though we might be unaware of it.” The Fool (Wise Child) is stunned and humbled by what he has seen. Determined to be more mindful of his actions and thoughts, he vows not to take this interdependent existence for granted. It also happily dawns on him that such a connection means any small kindness or service done for others might have a wider effect than he previously realized. He thanks the angel for sharing this wisdom.

*see Indra’s net

 

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”

—John Muir