The World

It is always worth looking at The World when choosing a deck. We have repeatedly been convinced that it is exactly the level of execution of the Major Arcana The World that very accurately shows how deep it is. If in any deck all the Arcana embody the Path, then The World is how the outcome is seen, the highest bar that can be "reached" on this path. It happens that a deck would be good in every way, artistic, witty, and with its own interesting findings, but The World in it is still somehow a bit flat and simple-minded. And it happens that a deck seems a little strange, awkward, but The World in it is breathtaking. If, looking at the Arcana The World, you feel admiration and joy for the creators of the deck and for yourself personally, you should take it.

This Arcana merges with the Zero (The Fool), completing the circle. The beginning was Nothing, the outcome is also Nothing, however, this is a different "Nothing," filled with meaning. This is the end of the adventures and the reward. As the Russian proverb says: "all's well that ends well." And the crown is not only the crown of a King, but also the wreath depicted on the Arcana The World. In general, the Arcana is distinguished by symbolism that is rich in meaning, and its meaning is the constant and eternal renewal of life, a cycle containing the end of everything and returning life to its eternal source. By virtue of this unity of beginning and end, the role of this undoubtedly very positive Arcana in a spread can be unexpected—the highest cosmic good sometimes does not entirely coincide with our earthly ideas about favorable circumstances. But still, The World is a symbol of success, the fulfillment of desires, the achievement of a goal, a series of good events that will bear fruit. In a practical sense, this card is considered favorable in all respects (especially if it is additionally surrounded by good cards). It can be difficult to interpret only because the beginning and the end merge in its meaning: it can show both the initiation, the beginning, the birth of something absolutely new (although behind this birth lies a long path traveled, sometimes quite obvious, and sometimes invisible), and the end of the path. Most authors agree that The World heralds a good outcome of events, and the other cards merely show how easy or difficult it will be to achieve it.

A dizzying card!

In a spread for a situation, The World heralds the undoubted success of what was conceived (and regardless of the field of activity), the fulfillment of all desires, and the happy conclusion of the course of events.

The person will receive everything they dreamed of. The achievement of the goal (which may be even higher than what was intended), the completion of the path, the apotheosis, total success. Liberation, truth, peace. Life reaching its perfect form. Validation of the correctness of one's actions. The card says that the person can trust their judgments in the current circumstances, here they are an expert and hardly anyone will handle it better than them.

Under The World, a very interesting experience is lived, as if the right place for the center of the circle has been found. This is the most important point—the location of the ENTIRE circle depends on its location. And so, something like this is found, and everything else mystically falls into place.

Problems are solved, health is restored, people are drawn in on their own, and those who need to—fall away on their own.

Money, information—literally everything falls into place, and it seems that minimal effort is applied in doing so, everything happens by itself. This means that the person has achieved in their development everything they were supposed to achieve now—that goal which allows them to effortlessly (!) achieve success in smaller and simpler matters. Of course, one can try to "anchor" this state (to which, it seems, almost all of NLP is dedicated), but a path is a path, it is impossible to get stuck in one point, no matter how wonderful it may be.

Under The World, the person has this feeling that the puzzle has come together, the problem has matched the answer, something very essential in life has "slid into the grooves," and they feel harmony with themselves and with the surrounding world.

Under The World, something must always come into life, manifest itself, incarnate, make itself known. This is a very strong card. It makes sense to nourish the brightest hopes for the future.

Also, this card can mean international connections. The World gives a breadth of unfolding possibilities, a variety of perspectives. Distant travels ("going out into the world"), a journey, a change of place.

The World card determines the meaning of all other cards in the spread in a positive direction, its influence is very powerful. If negative cards are present nearby, their meanings are somewhat softened.

On the event level, The World embodies the peace of the soul found after long trials. A happy period when we sincerely enjoy life, joy, inspiration, euphoria.

Complete integration of the personality, acceptance of all its components, liberation from contradictions, reaching the heights of self-actualization. A complete understanding of one's own inner nature and the surrounding external forces. The ability to accept the world as it is, and to find one's truly own place in it.

This is an indicator of a person who has reached the heights of personal perfection, there is something special and incomprehensible in them, and looking at them, the thought comes to mind that "the world rests on people like this."

This Arcana often opens in a spread when a person has just taken very significant steps on the path to themselves, to truth and wholeness. Under this card, everything that has happened up to the present moment has the absolute culmination. In the inner life, this is the completion of the most important stage of the personality's formation. As Hollander wrote, "There is no possibility of failure here, because there is no longer a chance to make a false choice. Everything you do is right. And you have the right to everything you have. You know who you are. You know why you exist. And all the answers serve to confirm your destiny."

Fullness, happiness, and satisfaction. Victory ("yours is the Earth and everything that's in it"). And, continuing with the words of Kipling's famous poem: "Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, / And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son!" Constant forward movement gives the opportunity to enjoy all the gifts of life. This is the wholeness and integration of one's own soul, synthesis, and balance in all life manifestations, a feeling of orderliness and unity, when one action is entirely coordinated with another. The World also describes planetary consciousness, cosmic thinking, respect for all forms of life, mercy, and the striving for perfection.

A stage in spiritual development, symbolizing a complete understanding of one's own inner nature and the surrounding forces, mastery over them.

This is global integration, the achievement of the most perfect state possible at the moment. The state of a soul honored with the Divine Vision of things. Comprehension, liberation from illusions (and it does not crush, but truly liberates).

In a symbolic (and sometimes quite literal) sense—paradise regained, returning home. Associated with this Arcana is not only the concept of the end of everything, but also the concept of reward—the identification of man with the macrocosm. The completed image with which they depart into death is their fulfilled perfection, for the sake of which they lived in this world. This Arcana, like no other in the Tarot deck, symbolizes man's victory over their weaknesses pulling them down. In the highest sense, it is the state of the Soul that has flown away from the earth, soared upward, has already passed the crucible of the Last Judgment, and at this (!) Judgment received complete absolution. The completion of an endless series of incarnations, liberation from karmic dependencies, purification, rebirth. At the highest level, the Arcana describes an enormous, inexpressible Peace.

Perhaps this is the very peace that the Master received as a reward. This is the peace for which people pray upon the departure of the soul (the "requiem service"), coming when the paid karmic bills are closed.

If we speak about a stay on earth, it is the harmony and concord of body, thought, soul, and spirit. The card, like the Tenth Arcana, once again depicts the Tetramorph and the Hermaphrodite in addition, speaking of the complete integration of all sides of the soul into a single and unique whole. The person has come to terms with themselves, that is, they have gained an understanding of their true inner values. True values differ from false ones in that they do not evoke any protest or doubt.

The person no longer chases mirages, knows how to separate true desires from random ones. Most decks depict The World as a dancing woman, which in itself says a lot about Tarot as the heir to the occult views widespread in medieval Europe, elevating the sacred Feminine Principle. However, just as The Fool has no gender, neither does The World. The difference is that The Fool is a zero, pure potential, they HAVE NO gender, while The World is a hermaphrodite endowed with the traits of both sexes. In some decks, it can be seen that the fluttering ribbon encircling the hips of the dancing World in most depictions conceals male nature. The World speaks of the union of Anima and Animus, the Alchemical Wedding, the achievement of true inner wholeness ("the two are one flesh"). This is the Anima Mundi, the Soul of the World, the outcome of the Great Work (Magnum Opus).

The wreath can also be interpreted as the crown of the initiate, entering the gates of the Truth opening up to them.

The dancer symbolizes the Universe itself, and her dance is the constant and eternal renewal of life—the cycle containing the end of everything and returning life to its beginning. This is the alchemical union of alpha and omega. Mysterious is the symbolism of the two wands held in the hands of the dancing World in the canonical depiction in the Waite deck. The wand is found in the Major Arcana—for example, with The Magician—but why two? "And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock." (Book of Zechariah, chapter 11, verse 7). Beauty and Bands call to mind the Tree of the Sephiroth—the favoring, merciful Chesed and the strict, binding Geburah. The Twenty-First Arcana of the Tarot reflects the esoteric view of the nature of God the Creator as androgynous; moreover, it reminds of the feminine component of God lost in orthodox Christianity.

This forgotten "Divine Feminine" perpetually breaking back into consciousness—from the fervent cult of the Madonna to the nervousness surrounding "The Da Vinci Code"—is what the Tarot draws for us on the supreme Major Arcana, where everything comes from the World into the World. Saturn, associated with The World, is the planet of maximal realization. This planet is the patron of Saturday (hence the English Saturday). In Judaism, Saturday is considered a holy day; it is intended exclusively for spiritual growth. This is the day when the Creator Himself rests, therefore on Saturday everyday worries cease, and a person receives an additional Soul, the "Sabbath" one, with the help of which one can comprehend what is impossible to comprehend on weekdays (and at the end of the Sabbath, this special soul leaves the person, flies away). It is this special state that the Twenty-First Arcana symbolizes.

The World is also associated with the Wiccan circle, the creation of a sacred ritual space, in which symbolic actions can influence the entire huge world.

In this area, the dual meaning of The World card fully manifests itself—it can mean both absolute success achieved through hard work and invested effort, and the beginning of something completely new (and a situation where one does not exclude the other).

In the first case, it is akin to a fateful discovery in science or a victory in an important competition thanks to an undeniable advantage. Complete control over the situation, following one's calling, confident execution of one's task, great achievements. The person is in their place and doing what they must. The competition is not mentioned by chance—under this card come rewards, prizes, and all kinds of laurels with which laureates and prize-winners are crowned (the "laurel wreath" of The World). For a participant in the Olympic Games, one could not wish for a more optimistic card—and in this case, it remarkably accurately describes the essence of what is received! For an athlete, Olympic triumph is undoubtedly the euphoria of victory, world recognition, and a moment of serenity, the end of a certain stage in life, but it is also the beginning of a new path, to new heights.

In the second case, such meanings manifest as a good beginning, the founding of an enterprise, creative power, new ideas helping to realize previously adopted plans; inspiration that will lead to the solution of problems in study or work, enthusiasm, overcoming difficulties. Innovations, discoveries, patents, pioneering inventions, the revealing of something beautiful and valuable to the world. Favor of those around, official recognition, fame, praise, validation of the correctness of one's actions. The opportunity to find a job by calling.

Training in this area is completed (at least at this stage). The person is a true expert who has traveled a long way. And usually, this card indicates that in this area and at this level "the ceiling has been reached" and there is neither the possibility nor the need for further development. One should think about moving to a new level. Unhindered realization of undertakings.

Global business expansion.

Financial issues are resolved safely. Prosperity, abundance.

Finding one's home. Returning to the family nest, to the roots. In some cases—a change of residence and a long journey (ancient interpretations especially emphasize the meaning of travel, relocation, change of place, and even escape, emigration).

Inheritance.

Happy ending.

Reconciliation, disappearance of hostility or tension. Unification and coexistence of opposites in absolute peace and balance.

Forging new inspiring contacts. For single people, the card heralds finding a truly suitable partner (and usually the person intuitively knows that they will find them, and does not particularly look back at other possibilities). Union in a couple, spiritualized intimacy, the joining of lovers. Getting married (going "down the aisle," symbolized by the wreath of The World). Honeymoon. Sexual initiation. Conception of a child, or its birth. Sexual satisfaction. The fullness of happiness, an all-encompassing experience of love. The World can indicate a relationship developing slowly, at its own pace, and there is no sense in forcing events.

Describing the nature of a relationship, The World speaks of love on a cosmic level, where both feel free and happy.

Sometimes the card heralds a stage in spiritual development at which liberation from attachments and dependencies occurs.

The World, more than any other card, inspires hope for the fulfillment of a person's true heart's desire. But as a rule, it is precisely a cosmic experience in partnership, when there is freedom from pettiness and conventions, and at the same time both realize that this relationship is unusually significant (the "world rests" on them). They are usually strong, beautiful, and sincere.

An interesting feature of these relationships, actually manifesting in practice (although this situation itself is a rarity) is the supernatural, titanic, Olympic peace that these two people experience in each other's presence. They can say to each other "you are my home," and this strange phrase will be true, because they truly feel that way. As soon as a hand embraces—that's it, this is home, one can fall into a sweet sleep, even if it were in the cabin of an airliner shaken by turbulence. This is not just the conditional social certainty and security to which so much importance is attached. No, this is a genuinely existential feeling, "one flesh," where there is one, there are two. We are home because we are together. Alpha and Omega. The double helix of DNA. What the world stands on. These relationships look less like a "safe haven" and more like a cradle rocking over a starry abyss, in which newborn worlds sleep. And maybe one fine day they will wake up and start screaming. Although another interesting feature of the relationships described by The World is that they are self-sufficient.

In this couple, there might be no children, or the children have long since grown up and gone their own way. The worlds have flown apart, but the center of the Universe remained, and in it—spiritual comfort, domestic balance, sexual harmony, spiritual maturity, and mutual development and enrichment.

Vitality, excellent health, high energy. The birth of a child. Recovery, restoration of strength, healing. Processes of self-restoration, self-regulation.

For a seriously ill person, the card can become an indicator of the approach of death, a lethal outcome, and moreover as an unconditional blessing for the soul. Its highest esoteric and symbolic meaning is triggered—"return to paradise," the departure of the soul to its cosmic home, to its spiritual homeland (just as in a more mundane situation the card can indicate a "distant journey").

Reversed indicates a total disruption of health, its breakdown (by what—other cards will indicate), a sudden deterioration in well-being, accidents, miscarriage.

If The World exactly becomes the significator of an illness, then these can be spine problems concerning the general mobility of the body, back injuries, disability, osteoporosis, or a general weakening of the immune system (in the worst case, immunodeficiency virus)

In interpreting The World Reversed, three different approaches are possible. Apparently, when choosing the most suitable one, it makes sense to rely on your own observational experience. For one person, the harmless first option (see below) might work, for another, The World Reversed literally might describe the turning of life upside down, the loss of something dear, fatal events, a veritable doomsday (alas, not without victims). In the first approach, it is believed that even reversed, The World retains all its positive meanings, except perhaps with some delay in time (similarly, the Ace of Pentacles reversed is often interpreted—no matter how you spin it, it is still a blessing). The card says that the time for major changes for the better has not yet come, the expected results are still beyond the horizon, but you should not lose hope. In the second case, it is considered that such a position of the card unites success and disappointment (you dream of something, achieve your goal, and realize that it is not so great, and sometimes you completely regret and repent). In the third—the loss of a great good, of something dear, substantial (like the Ten of Cups Reversed). Sacrifice of a great goal or love. Loss of life's meaning or purpose. Other traditional meanings: Inertia, stagnation, unwillingness to change, loss of energy, apathy. Sometimes the card describes a state of emptiness after a great success, fatigue after the completion of a project, postpartum depression (literally or figuratively).

Immutability. Earth, plot, one's own place (no movements). This can be the experience of a very inert, limited, and protected existence that hinders growth and personal development.

Sometimes the card indicates the impossibility of travel or difficulties associated with it (by the way, large-scale problems like storms-hurricanes "turning the world upside down," cataclysms often manifest here, an Icelandic volcano also made its mark).

A bad start. A mistake, a blunder, or the need to redo something seemingly finished. A major risk putting everything in danger. Sometimes—losses due to spontaneous actions. Loss of harmony, chaos. Unattainable goals, intentions that turn out to be pipe dreams. Activity bringing bad consequences, problems due to wrong steps, criminal activity, scandalous, impulsive behavior (not having a good head on one's shoulders). Paying the price for the evil caused.

The World Reversed is considered a bad indicator for the whole matter if it becomes the last card in the spread.

With the King of Cups Reversed – the journey will lead to unemployment, you will end up destitute. After Justice – travel with a judicial purpose With The Hermit – isolation, spiritual solitude (not forced) With Temperance – synthesis, unification, combining, a very favorable combination. With The Star – an exclusively favorable combination of cards. With The Moon – the person has fully sorted out their own fears, overcome doubts, and learned to trust their own intuition. With The Sun – a wonderful combination, completion, achievement With Five of Wands – difficulties with unification, attempts to act in defiance With Nine of Wands – material need With Four of Cups - non-involvement With Nine of Cups – finding the heart's ideal Before Ace of Pentacles – travel expenses With Ten of Pentacles – complete happiness, great wealth, absolute well-being

Coronation Finding the Grail The Harmony of the Spheres The words of C.G. Jung: "To know yourself means to understand that you can never be anything other than what you are. This is the realization of one's own individuality, the absolute invulnerability and indisputability of one's 'I'. And so it will be when you understand that your inner 'I' is indestructible, that it has always been, is, and will remain the same, that it cannot be killed or replaced by a new one. Your 'I' forces you to remain yourself under any circumstances of life."