Angel of Zen, my yoga teacher Mary Dana Abbott, told our class we’d be finding space within the shapes we were making. Space within the structure of our yoga postures. Down dog, cobra, flying crow pose – find space. Okay, so after two years of practice at Sankalpah, I can’t get to flying crow without smashing my head onto the floor and collapsing like a lump of jelly but my athletic ability (or lack there of) is beside the point. The simple shift in awareness of finding space within our shapes changed the context of how the class was experienced.
Mention the word structure in regard to Tarot and the card that leaps to mind is the Emperor. The Emperor creates the stability of the entire deck. The four suits are the framework of Tarot, the bricks and mortar, but The Emperor exudes rules, order and stability. He whips the Tarot deck into shape like the a five star general.
The Emperor can represent the commanding part of you, that obsessive, unwaivering part of yourself insisting, “I want it now and I want it my way.” If the Emperor is not representing you, he represents a person who places strict rules over your life. A boss, a commanding spouse, a father figure . . .
Your parents/caregivers where the architects of the structure and space you dwelled within as a child. The Emperor often appears in a reading to represent an issue you have with authority or lack thereof.
But what happens when, like in my yoga class, we begin to look for space inside the structure? When we examine the space reverberating within the Tarot deck we discover the massive expanse of human experience. A space of no end, the space of infinity.
What happens when you take a deeper look at the very people who gave your early life structure? You may find room to move as well. Could that too be infinite, like the Tarot?
We walk around, weaving the tales of our life story over and over, ad in finitum. We are all mini Stephen Kings or Jane Austins depending our outlook and personal style. What happens when we take the Emperor from our lives and look for space inside the structure of what we have been telling ourselves? We may find more than we expected. In looking for space, we may find forgiveness and with forgivess, we may set ourselves free.
Making peace with your past is the only way to guarantee you won’t repeat it.
This early Madonna video, stark and haunting, illustrates the story of a woman who finds the space inside herself, the structure of her life and her Emperor.
The video has been disabled but you can click here and watch it on youtube.