"Vav is the power to unite everything that is separated in creation...As the connector, Vav contains the power to connect heaven and earth. It can be considered like a hose, or a tube, which connects and bestows all the energy of the shefa שפע abundance from above down to the created beings. It represents the ladder of Jacob Yaakov – rooted in earth, with its head in the heavens. It is the extension of the essential dot Yod י, which all of creation comes forth from. The Vav can teach us the state of constant presence needed to connect our own heaven and earth (physical and spiritual aspects)."~Kabbalist Samuel Avital
"The Hierophant is about bringing spirituality down to Earth, where it can be understood and accessed in a real, tangible way. Similarly, Taurus is a grounded, Earth sign who appreciates substance, no nonsense communication, and, of course, food!"~www.tarot.com
"May The Force Be With You"~Star Wars
I just can’t help myself! When May comes along, I get such pleasure out of the 4th day, as it’s celebrated by Star Wars fans with a play on the Jedi blessing. Maybe it comes from standing in the long lines as a child, to get into the very first Star Wars movie. Or perhaps it stems from attending a lecture by the filmmakers, some months later, with my mother and her friend who was in film school and somehow involved in the film.It’s likely because of my generation…Star Wars is in my psyche and my cultural foundation. Its mythic themes echo throughout our human origins, which is no surprise given that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg worked closely in the writing of those first 3 films with Joseph Campbell. Campbell, author of The Hero With a Thousand Faces, made it his life's work to trace the common stories, myths and archetypes of humanity through a multitude of cultures and times. The Star Wars films tapped into the pulse of an era ripe for a new story steeped in our collective myths.
Connections to the Tarot & the Hierophant Card
The beginning of May is in the astrological sign of Taurus, which begins April 20 and is traditionally related to the Hierophant card (note the cow sitting near the meditating figure at the base of the tree). This card contains the Hebrew letter "Vav", sometimes written as "Waw", in the lower left corner of the card. Vav represents the energy that connects everything in creation…I’d say that energy can also be referred to as “the Force” from Star Wars.In most traditional tarot cards, the Hierophant is portrayed as the pope sitting in front of large pillars. This represents religion and the foundation of the church connecting heaven and earth. In the Sun and Moon Tarot which works with me, the central figure of the Hierophant card sits cross legged at the base of a tree.This pose is reminiscent of the Buddha sitting in the roots of the Bodhi tree, receiving the realization of the suffering of the world and how to help, shortly before rising and walking out of the gates of his privileged upbringing in order to assist with whatever relief of suffering in the world might be possible.The huge tree behind the man represents the connection of heaven and earth from the perspective of the natural world and the inherent spirituality of nature. This, in the trees and forests, is where the earth herself connects to heaven.
Finding Our Spiritual Mission
To me this Hierophant card represents the download of one’s specific spiritual information, intended for this lifetime, and the updating of one’s spiritual mission. We recognize that each one of us, as a spiritual being having a human experience, came here for a reason. When the Hierophant shows up in a reading s/he is reminding us of that intention - dropping in and down specific information for this incarnation of this spirit so that this human being can fulfill their mission.And as I see it, part of the mission of every human being is to connect with and consciously anchor their spirit into their body in this lifetime, on this planet. This is how we connect heaven and earth. I love that the tarot card is also related to the Hebrew letter Vav, whose ancient symbolism speaks to that connection of heaven and earth, spirit and matter.And what better astrological sign to get down to earth than with that of Taurus, the bull? Taurus is known for its love of all things earthly, its loyalty and strength, and the ability to move through the world creating beauty.
I Walk In Beauty~Navajo Prayer Song
Beauty in front of me, Beauty behind me,Beauty Above me, Beauty below me,Beauty all around me,I walk in Beauty…..In the house of long life, there I wander.In the house of happiness, there I wander.Beauty before me,Beauty behind me,Beauty above me ,Beauty below me,Beauty all around me,In old age traveling, with it I wander.On the beautiful trail I am, with it I wander.In beauty, it is begun,In beauty, it is finished.
Heaven & Earth Connection
In my Waldorf Kindergarten teacher training, I learned (or was reminded) that it is incredibly important to provide for young children the capacity to recognize and experience Beauty, Truth and Goodness in the world. We must intentionally work to make these things obvious and evident, and reassure the young child that here, in this world, those three things not only exist but are a foundation worthy of full incarnation - that is, coming all the way into our earthly bodies and connecting the spiritual being with the physical body.For me, this is the definition of bringing heaven to earth. If we as spiritual beings have incarnated into these amazing human bodies, integrating our chosen ancestral streams of DNA and genes - that offer us up the perfect opportunities for the realization of our intentions in coming here - we must be able to recognize how much of that spiritual world is also inherently already incarnated here, and streaming outrageous beauty and goodness and truth all of the time.
Through our eyes, the Universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the Universe is listening to harmonies. We are the witness through which the Universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.~Alan Watts
This is important precisely because thingsdo get difficult here, in this challenging world of joy and grief, pleasure and pain, light and dark, and a multitude of other powerful dualities. And this Earth, she births us, hold us and sustains us and takes care of us…it is we who have challenges learning to take care of ourselves and each other in such abundance and generosity.It is from this difficult and painfully human place, that we reach out and pray for help, ask Creator, the Universe, God, Jah, Allah, Mother Mary, Yemaya, to help us, to intervene, and remind us and help us see that spirit light in ourselves and each other - to see God in everything and then intentionally anchor heaven on earth through us.
Prayer rises towards God, and once it reaches its destination is divinely transformed into a benediction descending from above. Prayer involves whatever we vertically and humanly express through our mind, will and heart. It comprises the definition of our intention, the request of connecting with Spirit, acts of will, hope and faith, as well as all our efforts and release in this respect, including sufferance, sorrow, pain and ultimately forgiveness. Benediction comes as a gift emanating from God, and the multidimensional realms, and provides grace, illumination, peace, love, consolation or whatever is appropriate to the type of prayer involved. It is unconditional and requires only the availability to receive it.~Franco Santoro
Joseph Campbell, when speaking to the new myth for our times, believed that this myth must be one of the earth as a whole, the vision of which was created as we went into outer space for the first time and were able to view the earth from a distance and see and truly understand that we are all in this together on this one sweet, small, beautiful, fragile, finite planet.
The only myth worth thinking about is one about the planet and everybody on it.~Joseph Campbell
Bringing Spirit & the Material World into Balance
I believe this story is writing itself now, as the visible and palpable consequences of climate change are increasing and we are realizing what a mess we’ve made of things with our human greed and disrespect for our home. I also believe that the next evolution of our human experience will be exalted as we come together to clean up the mess we’ve made, when we repurpose all of the resources and human-power we’ve used to divide and protect and fight and destroy, in order to reunite, clean-up, repair, regenerate and rehabilitate.This is the Force that is with us all now. It’s just a matter of time before it reaches everyone and brings us back into our right minds - back into balance with earth and heaven, and into right relationship with ourselves, eachother, our planet, creation and our spirits.Please stop by on the 4th Saturday in May, during Memorial Day weekend, and let’s look at the cards to see where the Hierophant is dropping in for you, where you are anchoring the light of your spirit, incarnating your specific spiritual information and individual alignment of heaven on this earth; where the Force is with you. Blessed Be.
