Cracked Coverings

From the Sasuraibito Tarot, the Tower; from the Soul Cards, Surrender:

Most people in my area have had a tree struck by lightning on their property at one time or another. None of the trees that took a direct strike survived the massive jolt of electrical current. In the same way, the Tower reflects a moment when one of the ego's mental constructs comes crashing down. The 'protective' delusion it created might have lulled us into feeling safe and secure, but it actually served to keep us separated from reality. When the shock and numbness wear off, we may feel grief, anger or fear. We demand our old life back, now. We may blame, manipulate and try to control the situation, but this tends to have the same effect as banging our head on a tree trunk. Imagine a person prostrating themselves in the leafy litter under that struck tree, with forehead and palms pressed to the ground. If one took a picture from beneath the earth, this Soul Card image is what it might look like. While a prostration might show reverence or respect, it is also the physical embodiment of surrendering the ego. It is a way to acknowledge that like it or not, we all live according to the natural laws of life. Yet as the quote Burrington includes for the Tower card suggests, surrender can also bring a certain kind of freedom and growth:

For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely

undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes.

To someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete

destruction. ~ Cynthia Occelli