(Questioner) What do we currently think and feel about Death? 5-Hierophant-Orange Calcite.
Most people hold very traditional, accepted ideas about
death. In many cultures, including our
own, people who pride themselves on their clear and independent minds, as well
as people who avoid religion and spiritual ideas all their lives, are still
tradition-bound when it comes to dealing with funerals and the death of friends
and family. It might be superstition, or
an inability to buck societal norms at a vulnerable time, or an unwillingness
to seem disrespectful, but traditional funeral practices and related religious
rites are still usually the norm. For
some people, the death of a friend might bring openness to spiritual,
religious, or, as Jane Austen calls them, “serious subjects.” On the other end of the spectrum, but just as
in line with the Hierophant, some people don’t think much about death, except
to believe what modern scientific culture teaches, that when you’re dead, you’re
dead, and it doesn’t mean anything except that you’re an animal just like other
animals. As with most extremes, I think
you’ll agree the truth is somewhere in between!
(Issue) What do we
need to know about Death?
21-Universe-Onyx.
Death is universal. Not
only do living things die, but everything in existence is guaranteed, sooner or
later, to be in non-existence. Death, as
the impermanence of all things, be they animals, plants, mountains, works of
art, cultures, etc., is a fundamental basis of the universe. The Buddhist three marks of existence are
impermanence, suffering, and nonself. This
great philosophical truth, one of the greatest of “serious subjects” to be
contemplated, can be simply summed up as “nothing lasts forever”! Easy to say, much more difficult to
understand, know, and act on.
(Outcome) What will this
new understanding lead to? 0-Fool-Clear
Quartz.
As we turn from the fullness of the Universe to the
emptiness of the Fool, a greater understanding of the truth of impermanence leads
us not only the Fool’s openness to new “serious” ideas and feelings, but also a
family feeling with all other beings of the universe, whether conventionally
categorized as living or non-living, for we are all caught up in the dance of
existence and non-existence. “Ask not
for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for
thee.” And thee, and me. “This too shall pass” is a comfort to those
in trouble, and “nothing lasts forever” can be a key to the freedom of thought
and action of the Fool. Whether one
believes in the current new age teachings of reincarnation or not, it’s hard
not to be inspired by the idea of a Foolish newly-about-to-born soul gaily embarking
on a new, fresh life, simply for the joy of learning from all the happinesses and sorrows that
every life contains. A greater
understanding of death inevitably leads to a greater understanding of life and
all it holds.
(Advice) What should
we do about this new understanding? 16-Tower-Red
Jasper.
Tower as advice.
Always an interpretation challenge.
But I look at its positional relationship with the Hierophant and see
that just because a teaching is traditional doesn’t mean that it isn’t true, or
at least good advice. The Tower
catastrophes of life, especially the Death ones of indefinite, often devastatingly
unexpected, separation from friends and family, or even compassion for the similar
suffering of strangers, are opportunities to appreciate and enjoy what we have
now, without grasping on to wanting it to last forever. It’s such a difficult lesson to learn, but it
does make us think: What would I do
today if I only had six months to live?
As you know, none of us are guaranteed even that. And you know the advice: Live each day as if it were your last. Be just as happy, good, loving, and
compassionate as you can be every day!
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