It’s been raining for a couple days straight here in the desert, which is unusual. We’re used to showers that come and go. Even though it doesn’t look like it at the moment, I know that behind all those clouds and fog that hugs the beautiful mountains, there still is the same bright sun, ready to wake up the wildflowers and grasses that will turn the desert green for a little while come springtime. This Judgement card shows a dark planet surrounded by a thick atmosphere, with a star peeking out from behind it. As we live, we find ourselves surrounded by clouds, by rain, by ice and by vapor. They make things hard to see, and we may end up forgetting that the usual climate is one of sunshine and not of rain. By sunshine here I don’t mean a blindly optimistic view of things, but simply clear awareness that allows us to see truth through anything that rises up to meet us. The point is: above the clouds a star is always shining. Underneath the noise of mind and emotions there is a quiet song, a call that is gentle yet persistent. It is the call of awakening that tethers us to the perfect unity from whence we came, but that we may have forgotten about. As we listen to its notes, the fog begins to dissipate. The mental chatter becomes more still. The emotional flutter becomes more quiet. We begin to remember who we are: sojourners in this world, having arrived from faraway lands and bound for a return. The many moors that tie our identity to impermanent things start to come undone. We awaken to Presence, to pure Being, to the soul within us and in everything. As we sing along the ancient song of Judgement, we wake up to a new day. In this new day, the clouds and fog are no more. In fact, they seem to have never been. What we feel is the same old warmth. We wake up to the sunny lands which are often forgotten, but that now will be remembered forever.
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