As the weekend rolls around, I thought I might bring us back to the suit of Vessels. As a reminder, the suit of Vessels is not the suit of Cups, but is a fifth suit unique to the Terra Volatile that is focused on breaking down the inner-self into its most raw components and rebuilding into an improved, enlightened self. Its purpose is aimed at "shadow work," or dealing with ugly bits inside you, be that past trauma or negative behaviors, and breaking them down through acknowledgment, self-reflection, meditation, and other means of self-healing. Personally, I feel this suit fits better into personal Tarot work, but it could be included in a routine reading if you feel comfortable with it, and you feel it's warranted.
When we look at the journey through the suit of Vessels, we started with the Ace of Vessels, a representation of ourselves and the seed of intuition. It represents the vessel that holds our "quintessence," a collection of the four elemental energies (and what they represent), and combines them into a harmonious mixture. Next is the II of Vessels, the recognition that change is needed and a willing desire to begin the process. This is the first step in purification. Next, we move to the III of Vessels.
The III of Vessels card shows a tall fruit-bearing tree. A man holds a ladder against the tree with the intention of picking the ripe fruit. A scene also unfolds behind the tree, a glimpse of a man at work underground, beneath the tree, digging out some type of raw material in search of valuable treasure. Symbolically, the tree is a representation of the connection we have between the physical world and the spiritual world. The underground material makes up the soil that feeds the roots of the tree and ultimately nourishes and prompts the tree to bear fruit. The golden fruit in the tree is unreachable and represents knowledge that is not found elsewhere. The story here, however, is the ladder. It's a symbolic cycle of ups and down, with each rung in the ladder a step in our journey of personal evolution.
The III of Vessels playlist is available on Spotify.
Message of the Day: I love the concept of shadow work. So many people think of Tarot as just a resource for telling them about a situation and don't realize it's amazing as a tool for mental wellness. Tarot for mental health and self-betterment is exactly what the suit of Vessels is about.
The focus of the card is obviously the tree, but there are so many parts of the tree, it's sometimes difficult to know where to start. I guess the underground is best to begin. The underground is representative of our subconscious, the behaviors and biases and thoughts that are ingrained in us and establish a core piece of who we are. It's interesting living in a time where being "woke" is a thing that is looked down upon by some. But most likely, those same individuals who punish others for being "aware" are the ones who would have the most to gain from deep-rooted introspection like this.
We all have parts of ourselves that we have chosen, as adults, to weed out, dig up, and cut out of our root system so that we can grow to be taller, healthier versions ourselves. I think this type of development can be seen in kids as they grow up and their brain develops to include more executive function and empathy. I mean, high school is a cesspool, right? But by the time you reach 18 and you're ready to graduate, a lot of the bullshit you thought as a freshman (who truly know it all...) has no meaning or importance or bearing on your life. It's like that scripture in the New Testament:
In a sense, this is the subconscious digging that needs to occur; where we recognize there are parts that truly don't serve us and really hold us back, whether that be in having healthy relationships (romantic or platonic), finding stable/successful career growth, establishing a physically healthy lifestyle (related to food, exercise, alcohol/drugs/sex/other vices), or finding social equilibrium in the acceptance of others as fellow human beings and not some disjointed aspect of gender, age, sex, shape, color, or sexuality. Granted, with teenagers, this comes with literal physical brain development. With adults, it's recognition and choice. If only rooting out problems (like homophobia or xenophobia) was as simple as digging them out with a shovel. But getting to the point where you ask yourself, why do I think this way, or why am I triggered by such and such, is a good step forward in the extraction process. Once that recognition is in place, it's time to move up a rung on the ladder.
And I must say that I really love the concept of the ladder in this card. We are always in search of refinement and a better understanding of ourselves - like we have this secret knowledge squirreled away high in the tree that is just out of reach. But the ladder is a bi-directional tool: it goes up and down. And since we're human and perfection is unattainable, we constantly find ourselves in retreat; the parts we cut out can sometimes resprout, and we have to revisit the whole process. That's life. But hopefully, the step up from rung to rung gets easier each time we have to do it.
So as you find yourself with some downtime, maybe watching the news (do people still do that?) or reading an article online... pay attention to your biases. When you're driving down the road and you feel the urge to tell the old woman in front of you doing 30 in a 45 to fuck off, ask yourself why you feel that way. (Will gaining an extra 30 seconds really improve your commute?) When you're forced to endure political campaigns and grandstanding about hot topics like the segregation of the trans community and removing their access to gender-affirming care, what are your feelings? Do you feel complacent? Do you agree? Disagree? Why? Dig around in the underground and find out where those notions come from.
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