I thought that Truth and Honesty would be a great subject for my first series of posts on my blog. It is not my intention that this blog become a space to flog merchandise, yet I found myself so inspired by this subject I have also created a powdered incense blend to go with it. This incense is a blend of star anise, lavender and storax. It is a great blend for self-reflection and to aid in speaking your truth into the world.
I have always liked the word Truth. You know with a big old capital T at the front of it. In many ways my path can be summed up as a search for Truth. Not just transitory truths but eternal ones. I have found Truths about myself, my role on earth, about others and about the nature of the universe. These Truths are often more feelings and experiences than they are concrete things I could put into words.
In order to find Truth I think we have to be honest – mostly with ourselves but also with others. Now as you likely know I make my living by telling others the Truth that I see in the cards. What I am talking about here is not about the places in our lives where we might be called on professionally to speak the Truth. I am looking at the much hazier world of daily interpersonal interactions and in the shadowy corners of our own minds and hearts.
Truth in the Tarot comes up in many places. There is the stark Truth of the Justice card, the Truth of Self-Knowledge in the Magician, the Seeking of Truth in the Hermit, and the destructive Truth of the lightning strike in the Tower.
True to self
The Magician is said to have the ability to manifest what he intends by virtue of his self-knowledge. It is by understanding who he is, that he has power in the world. The Truth in the Magician is an inward not an outward one. The Magician uses truth and illusion to accomplish his ends yet never loses his authenticity in the trade.
It is a human condition to seek to be seen by others in a good light. For many people though having their truth be seen is a whole other question. I am often asked if I have people I can’t read and the answer is that some people are harder than others. Generally speaking the people who are hard to read want to be hard to read either due to fear of what might be seen in them or their futures. Face it we all have secrets that we would rather not have brought to the forefront or worse still shown to the world. I think that if all of the niceties and masks in the world were dropped at once chaos would ensue. The lesson in the Magician here is to not fool ourselves while playing slight of hand with the world.
It is fascinating to me to think that the Magician does not care if he is seen correctly but instead that he manifests what he needs. This may seem like dishonesty at first glance but the Magician is not a liar. The challenge for the Magician is that he ends up believing his own hype and loses his connection to his own Truth.
One of the problems that the Magician cannot solve on his own is the danger of losing himself in the material world. In fact the answer to this loss of inner connection can’t be easily found in the world at all. To correct this problem the Magician must withdraw and seek the light or Truth within himself or more to the point become the Hermit for a period of time. This is the defense against the shadows and vagarities of the world of human interaction. Meditate, pray; turn your sight inwards to find your own touchstone of truth.
Pull the Magician and the Hermit from your deck and sit with them asking gently to find your truth as you gaze on them.