1. Discussion
Three unfortunates shiver in the snow at the door of a church,in hope of assistance,but it is clear that no such relief will be forthcoming. Indeed,the entrance is guarded by an armed soldier,and,as the sign in front proclaims,only those with the requisite five coins admission are welcome within. The tattered garb of all three bespeaks their abject poverty,as does the empty paper bag that represents their only possessions. The little boy looks pleadingly at the guard,whose expression reveals only contempt. The young girl explores a pile of dog feces in the vain home of some treasure,and the older woman casts her eyes toward heaven in a prayer for relief. The glowing blue ‘Aryan cross’ proclaims its message with unmistakable clarity:salvation here is only for the select few;the elite.
Nearby,within easy reach,but just out of sight,are heaps of gold coins and a basket of nourishing food,but the outcasts are too preoccupied with their victimization to notice. Despite how grim things may seem,salvation is within reach,if only they could find the courage to seek a little further. Sometimes despair itself is more crippling than the conditions that precipitate it.
All too often,our alienation,our exclusion,our outsideness is of our own making,at least in part. In whom can we put our faith,if not in ourselves Obviously not in any government,church,or charitable organization,for such is a recipe for betrayal. Ultimately,it must be understood that we ostracize ourselves by accepting that we are flawed,unworthy,because others have said it is so.
There is,however,an even deeper level of meaning to be gleaned from The Five of Disks.
A question frequently raised by so-called ‘people of faith’,is:“how can an all good,all-loving God allow evil to exist?”
The universal,all-encompassing Spirit represents the ultimate consciousness;that which creates not in the form of actions over time (for that would make It subordinate to time),but as an instantaneous act of volition. The purpose of this Spirit is to experience,and to do this,It has divided Itself into discrete souls through which to interact with material reality. You are one of those components,as am I.
So,with this in mind,we can ask ourselves:What kinds of things would have to be in this material world for spirits to experience? Well,we would expect to find love and joy,trials and tribulations,successes and failures,miracles bright and horrors so abysmal as to shatter the senses. Disease,catastrophes,war,famine,and injustice would also be intrinsic components of this environment.
Thus,when people wonder why a good God would allow evil things to happen,it’s because we really don’t understand that these are the very things we’ve come to experience. Is not our fear of suffering and death is predicated upon a tacit assumption that we only get one chance at life? The intense agony of a Martyr’s death in the arena,naked to the crowd,devoured by lions,or boiled in oil,is problematic only if one assumes they’re sacrificing their only pass through life. But if it is not,then this is just one of a rich array of physical,mental,and emotional encounters that constitute our wider experience.
Remember,you have all eternity to experience what life has to offer—do you really want to spend it blissfully sitting on a cloud strumming a harp? Like Job,we must come to understand that the human perspective is incapable of appreciating the true significance of material events,and that what seems to us to be evil or misfortune may actually represent our greatest good.
From a superficial perspective,we read The Book of Job,and see an innocent man,shamefully abused by his God. But this very despair of being righteous and afflicted is precisely the experience for which he has come. He simply can’t recognize the fact while ‘on the ride’. Difficult as it may be to internalize,if the point of material incarnation is to perfect the soul,then endless happiness and bliss would do very little to propel that perfection. Consider the following:If strength of character and courage are to be developed,then do we not need an environment in which we must grapple with hardship and react to disappointments? If service to others is valued,then must there not be opportunities to encounter social inequality? If hope is to be developed,then wouldn’t we need the opportunity to be confronted by insecurities and uncertainties? If faith is desired,then must we not find ourselves in predicaments where we know less than we can believe? If a love and respect for truth are to be developed,there must necessarily be a possibility for falsehood. If idealism is desired then we must struggle in an environment that stimulates us to reach for better things. If loyalty and devotion to duty are desirable,then we must carry on amidst possibilities of betrayal and desertion. If selflessness is valued,then we must live face to face with the incessant clamoring within the self for recognition and honor. And what would be pleasure if we did not live in a world where the alternatives of pain and suffering are experiential possibilities? How could we ever judge something good if we could not experience its opposite? (Adapted from The Urantia Book,1955,Chicago,The Urantia Foundation .) In other words,it’s all here for a reason;all here for our experience and spiritual development.
2. Divinatory Implications
This is the glacial winter of body and/or spirit. Isolation and hardship,either actual or anticipated,casts its pall on all aspects of existence. Nothing seems to make sense,and resistance will only exacerbate the situation. Contemplate,however,the gentle art of Aikido,in which hostile force is never opposed,but rather,redirected against the source.
Present calamities may be a direct outcome of our failure to heed previous portents,but deliberate malice of external forces is a definite possibility. There is a sense of abandonment by those upon whom you thought you could depend. Traditional sources of relief have become unreliable or irrelevant. Care should be taken to avoid missed opportunities.
The strength to withstand adversity is already within us,but we must reach deep to find it. Prodigious pressures have built up,internal or external. How they are released will decide the difference between useful output and cataclysmic eruption.
Many aspects of the AIDS affliction are exemplified by this card.
Be aware,however,that this exclusion may be deliberately self-imposed,as in the commencement of a personal vision quest. Remain open to communications from the inner self.
3. Keywords
Material difficulty. Deliberate oppression or exclusion. Destitution. Hardship. Loneliness. Loss. Despair. Undeserved scorn. Conflict. Loss of income. Insecurity.
4. Reversals
The end of a period of anxiety,hardship,or ill health is imminent,though complete recovery may be some time in coming. Beneath the frozen ground of deepest winter,the seeds of spring begin to germinate within the compost of autumn’s death. The process cannot be hurried,though. All things shall emerge in their appointed season. Help may materialize from within or without. Sanctuary may be offered.
For the shaman,this card indicates the point at which his or her work may profitably commence.
5. Artistic Interpretations
The Five of Disks suggests the infamous and dreaded ‘writer’s block’,or its equivalent in any other pursuit. I take this card as a facefull of icy water–a slap to the head,accompanied by a stern admonition to stop indulging in self pity,get off your knees,and do something . . . anything! Self discipline is the truest reflection of artistic maturity. Grim determination is the most powerful taskmaster of creativity. Don’t wait in melancholy longing for your muse to seduce you:seize him or her by the hair and ravage them!