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The 21 Paths of Life
by Zandra Escudero
Things come along in life that make you ask "What path am I on?" The Tarot will tell you... If you think of The Fool as the Gypsy Traveller, you can follow his way through the Paths of Life, recognize instantly where you are, see what follows... and how you can proceed.
Sometimes we travel backwards.. and sometimes we skip paths which we later find we have to return to, but we all end up on paths 20 & 21... This is our Destiny.
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0. THE FOOL. He is the Gypsy Traveller. A totally free spirit who goes where he will, does as he wishes... He can be anywhere in the Tarot Pack and wherever he appears you can expect the unexpected, but even our free Gypsy has to follow his path in life...
1. THE MAGICIAN. He is the Magician, starting out on the road and perhaps as a Joker does tricks for a living.. But he is in command / has knowledge of, The Elements, The Seasons, and all things ruled by The Tarot Minor Suites, but to advance in life he needs to meet stronger forces.
2. THE HIGH PRIESTESS. Gypsies call her "She who knows". Through her he gains Wisdom and learns hidden secrets. These are revealed when one is ready.
3. THE EMPRESS. Becomes his Patron and bestows material wealth on him, this can be great or small. She is by his side when he gambles with life's whims taking foolish / shrewd chances. In this guise she is known as "Lady Luck".
4. THE EMPEROR. Befriends him and helps him to attain his Goal / Ambitions.
5. THE HIEROPHANT. But nothing is attained without a certain amount of hard work, and at some point in life he seeks a Spiritual Teacher who teaches him the inner way, and by studying his Spiritual Path he finds his inner Mentor.
6. THE LOVERS. Bring a Setback... Love is not always a good adventure. An emotional event brings life changing new choices and directions which our Fool must deal with to be able to continue on his Way.
7. THE CHARIOT. Gives him protection, and takes him on a journey to victory / recovery.
8. JUSTICE. On this path one has to take time to adjust the balance of one's life. To do this our Fool must...
9. THE HERMIT. Now find solitude and take stock. He can't do this with the humdrum of daily living going on all around him, he has to escape to some place alone. Only by thinking things through can he find solutions which will carry him forward.
10. THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE. Shows him how life is, the ups and downs... There is always a way up! The best place is half way, because then he can't become a coconut that others try to knock down... But this may not seem like a reasonable option to The Fool.
11. STRENGTH. He will have to find an inner and outer (Spiritual and Physical) strength to cope with what he now has to go through... Working this Path helps him to do this.
12. THE HANGED MAN. Demands self sacrifice. Our Gypsy has to give up something in order to gain something better. This can be Material or Spiritual.
13. DEATH. This leads him to new beginnings, sweeping away the old to embrace the new. (This card does not usually mean physical death, though it can sometimes indicate an illness).
14. TEMPERANCE. She takes him to a life of Moderation, a deeper understanding of Right and Wrong. He can feel safe here.
15. THE DEVIL. Our Fool is Tempted! Decision time... does he have the strength to resist? Most of us don't.
16. THE TOWER. This leads to a crisis... of his own making... and he goes through a bad time.
17. THE STAR. Along comes a glimmer of Hope! and he can make a wish to get out of these troubles... The Star helps him.
18. THE MOON. But the moon deceives him... Someone else's fault this time. Not of his own making. This pulls our Gypsy down, gives him illusions. He may not see this at first and could believe in the person/project/whatever... But even when it's difficult, illusions can be banished...
19. THE SUN. He must turn away from the illusions (Moon) and give his attention to The Sun... which gives Health and Power. The Sun attracts growth, prosperity and leadership. Our Gypsy Traveller would want to be part of that wouldn't he? Surely only a Fool would want to stay on the previous path.
20. JUDGEMENT. Eventually there is a day of reckoning, when everything he has done is Judged... put in the Pot and Stirred...
21. THE WORLD. The top is creamed off and in the World he arrives at, all will be well! Of course there has to be some good to float to the top, if there is none... then he will end up at the bottom of the Pot and probably have to start all over again...
This is a Synopsis of the Major Arcana. (The last 4 words refer to Reincarnation)
FIN