21 – The World
The World, the final card in the Major Arcana, represents the final stage in our journey toward enlightenment. It has a very ambiguous history and imagery for a card so auspicious. In fact, it was not always the last card in the sequence, but preceded Judgment in some early decks. In that order, it seems to have represented the height of individual achievement prior to the reckoning of Judgment.
Like other cards in the Major Arcana, it was heavily influenced by Christian belief, often with an angel as its main figure. The earliest versions of this card featured a circular motif representing the Earth as the center of the universe. Later European versions removed this reference to the physical world and added the four Christian evangelists in the corners of the card, while converting the angel into a dancing woman. The result of this evolution is a card whose imagery and symbolism offer few clues to its meaning in a reading.
For my interpretation, I chose to return to the literal meaning of the card: the World. But even that presented a challenge, because the term itself has a number of meanings, based on culture and scientific knowledge. As human beings, we use the term in an all-inclusive sense. It is the “known” world, and by definition, its parameters change with our knowledge.
In the time that has elapsed since the first tarot cards appeared, we have learned that the Earth is not the center of the universe, but instead a speck within a vast expanse our brains can scarcely comprehend. We know that in addition to our world, our planet, there are many other worlds in the universe that may or may not be home to life forms similar to or unimaginably different from us.
That sparks the idea that gives this card meaning to me: perspective.
The World is about gaining that perspective through understanding, and a lifelong search for knowledge and meaning. Since the dawn of the Space Age, more than half a millennium after the first version of this tarot card was created, we have been able to see our world within the vastness that surrounds it. From that distance, we no longer see people, buildings, or any of the markers of human life depicted in the earliest forms of this card. Instead, we see a fragile blue planet spinning through space and time.
That is the idea I wanted to convey in my interpretation of this card. As humans, our definition of “world” will always be human-centric, limited by what we know. Our century is the first to see clearly, on a planetary scale, the consequences of our disregard for the health of the Earth. For that reason, I recolored my World to symbolize the increased heat from global warming and the importance of the oceans to our survival.
An ouroboros encircles the Earth, echoing the ouroboros on the belt of the Magus at the beginning of our tarot journey. It suggests the infinite nature of the cosmos and the cyclical nature of life. This card asks us to take our knowledge and wisdom and turn our gaze outward.
work in progress
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