At a first glance, this image shows us traveling the moonth with a sense of adventure. It could be a great card to set off on a summer vacation. The colorful trees and jaunty stride of the person walking through the card fits that meaning—and haven’t we had enough of the intensity of life today?
But intensity hasn’t had enough of us. Heat. Fires. Sudden political shifts that change the story we thought we were stuck in (the full moon post was quite prescient!). Smoldering wars rising to flame.
These are not isolated incidents, but part of a larger pattern to be seen. And when we do see it, we know we live in times of upheaval and chaos as a society, as a planet—even if we individually get a break every once in a while to recharge ourselves—and how we work with this great change will determine the direction it takes.
That larger perspective is there in the Six of Trees, if we take a closer look. Buried in the land is a snake, the face of an owl, and geometric shapes. Deck creator Rachel Pollack says they are the “forms and symbols of the underworld.” The trees have eyes that seem to be opened in startle. Looking at the world these days is a startling experience.
So despite it being summer vacation time here in the Northern Hemisphere, this new moon reminds us to keep our eyes open to the fullness of life. To see the beauty and adventure while not ignoring the chaos and upheaval. To do that requires a special kind of strength, the kind we see in the Tarot’s Strength card, our path of the moonth.
The name clearly states the card’s meaning – no enigma here – but the iconic image of a woman tenderly holding open a lion’s mouth invites us into a deeper exploration of what constitutes true strength.
When I do Tarot sessions or e-readings, I often start with the prompt of: What aspect or detail of the image most captures your attention? As I consider the current lunar patterns, I am most captivated by the lion, the open mouth, teeth, and tongue. And find myself pondering the lion as both an inner and an outer force.Outer lions are dangerous. Lions in nature are territorial, keen hunters, and known to even kill humans. A lion is not to be trifled with. Looking into a lion’s mouth is recognizing danger – and not looking away.
There are many outer lions in our collective life. The autocrats. The supremacists. The war makers. The rights takers. They are in our news feeds every day (every hour on the cable news!). While they may be far away from us or not part of our daily lives, the actions they take and the policies they make impact our everyday. To ignore them is dangerous. We need to work with the reality of their existence while not giving in to the story they are trying to trap us in.
But as we walk amidst these outer lions, our inner lions move with us – and invite us to their power.
The inner lions give us the courage to persist in necessary work, to care in difficult situations, to be the voice that people don’t want to hear, to persist against the odds.
Among these inner lions are a commitment to values, heeding the call of the soul, caring for others, and devotion to the Divine. They are quieter lions than aggression, force, and dominance. But these inner lions can be powerful companions when we consistently tend and gently nurture them.
In the Shining Tribe Tarot, just the lion appears standing before a Tree of Life to guide us. Rachel Pollack writes in the companion guide that this lion shows us “the strength that comes from the harmony with life.” This card counsels us to connect “our own actions and feelings to spiritual sources.” The Shining Tribe shows us a fierce and powerful inner lion that can move us along on the journey of life.
And perhaps this is what keeps our Six of Tree’s figure appearing so jaunty on the journey. Instead of ignoring the underworld reality or the startle of the trees, this traveler takes that energy inside, mixes it within and uses it to move forward. The underworld can be scary because it is unfamiliar, but the ancestors are there sending their support to us. There is a lot of energy in the startle—it is as wild as a lion—but that can become fuel for the journey.
When we take this approach to the journey, we can become Speakers of Trees, the wisdom workers of fire’s energy.
In this image, I see the heart of the tree being at the throat so all that is spoken of comes through this muscle. Inspired by this expressive heart and a line from the poet Joy Harjo—Here there is a singing tree— I’ve been considering the trees and what they are going through in this time of climate chaos. It’s inspired a poem.
singing trees
trees become fire in the west
ravenous spark
fed by heat and tinder
takes its life into its own hands
makes lightning from within—
white strikes scorch
orange’s wavering walls
trees speak rain in the east
echo of yesterday’s deluge
in today’s dripping leaves,
fallen drops float
on swollen surfaces
without a root
to hold on to
trees return to the earth
rotted roots release
and the trunk goes down
to its needle bed
in the old forest
so alive
with death
trees raised in the air
there they make our breath,
sing lives into our lungs
so we can run from this day
into the next and beyond
ever filled with
that surprise:
their song
the crack and the weep of it
the last aspirations
swelling our throats
with these songs howling healing
for the trees–and ourselves
So even though we live in startling times, may you find the strength to sing. And in your singing gather out of all the broken and beautiful parts of your life and our world something beautiful because it is truthful. You may need strength to face the necessary beauty of these times, but the fullness of your song is needed for the healing for the Whole.
In the US we need all the voices singing for an election outcome that protects trees and freedom as well as steadies our multiracial democracy. There are 93 days left to make sure we send a clear message about the future we want to move toward.
There are lots of ways to be involved. If you are ready to work directly for a political party, campaigning for Kamala Harris actually, suddenly, surprisingly seems like it could even be fun as we work toward freedom. If the Democrats haven’t earned your vote yet, you can work with other groups focused on the elections. I, for example, phone and text bank with Working Families Party that, rather than running as a 3rd party candidate with little chance of winning, endorses candidates for local and national offices who are aligned with progressive values. Or ensure that elections happen by being a poll worker (there is a shortage) or curing ballots to make sure all votes are counted. The outer lions are roaring so we need a really loud song. We can do it, if we all show up singing!
REFLECTION QUESTIONS / READING FOR THE MOONTH
These questions are offered for reflection and to spark practice throughout the moonth. Pulling Tarot and oracle cards in connection to these questions is appropriate, but not absolutely necessary. You might carry a question with you on a walk for example and observe what is happening in the natural world as a way to find insight into the answer to the question.
SEEING: What is most important to open my eyes to as I travel through this moonth?
STRENGTH: How to connect my actions with spiritual sources as I respond to what I see?
HEART: What message can I then bring from my heart to offer to the world?
I do offer this as an e-reading in my collaborative initiative format for $32. Sign up with Pay Pal or email me about sending a check. I am off to Omega for my week of teaching and gathering with the Tarot tribe. I start working on any e-reading requests on Monday, August 12th.
Note: If you’d like to learn more about the Shining Tribe, you are invited to follow along in the Shining Tribe Exploratorium and if you want to go deeper, join us for our monthly interactive sessions.