Revisiting the concept of the obelisk, we begin by discussing what is engraved upon our psyches. Despite the deep etching, these stories can still be adjusted. Nothing is permanent, and we also have the option of creating an entirely new surface. The idea of giving away abundance becomes a guiding principle, especially when it helps to clarify the way in which we create legacies while also avoiding mindless gathering or accumulating. One of the practices that allows us to grow and evolve is a specific mindfulness about words. What we say has a tendency to fulfill itself, almost like magic spells, so we must be careful about the words we use to tell our stories. Just the process of purging property and ideas can itself be a regenerating process that allows a new version of ourselves to emerge. We close with a reminder that regardless of our desires, change is constant and inevitable. It is better to embrace the practices that invigorate our various metamorphoses.

Cycles are not circles, they’re spirals, moving inward and upward. The Celestial was eager to come out of the deck, just as we are eager to begin a journey. Sometimes cycles happen suddenly, unexpectedly. The journey starts from any point that you choose or discover. Let the journey become absorbed into you. They don’t stay superficial, the become part of who you are, you heal around them. Remain nimble as you heal, learn and evolve. There’s a difference between bravery and courage. What is knocked down is not ended. Sometimes life washes everything away. Consider where you’re building and what you’re building. Learn from past mistakes to be more evolved as you grow. We ourselves are the filters for our life and the information that flows through it. You need to feel discomfort while you are learning. You have to get out of your own way to be open to experiencing contradiction. In the shadow water, too much is happening, too many people are splashing around. You have to return to deep water, to stable emotions so you can take the time and space to find more information, better clarity. Part of aging is experiencing these deeper currents and finding ways to bravely engage with what you see. Being uncomfortable means you have a chance to take in something new, to deepen your journey, to reconnect with past lessons and find new material within them.

A familiar face appears with root touching crown and we are reminded of the obelisk that sits so grounded and yet reaches toward the heavens. We have the opportunity to rebalance ourselves, to connect root to crown and fill ourselves with the positive and balanced energy of a free-flowing system. Right on cue we rise to the second chakra and remind ourselves that we are the source of our emotions, and that we are not moved by them, but are the one doing the moving. Next we consider how we exchange energy with others as we work toward balance, how to not inflict ourselves on others, but to exchange and improve ourself and others at the same time. We return to the root as the 10 of seeds shows us that our seeds, our creations and creativity will continue on for generations, and that we must be in balance for those seeds to grow roses and not weeds. To cap it off, we rise to the 5th and 6th chakras and look at how we interact with others and how that affects what we see and say. The reading was a patient one that laid out a path to balance. And it is a cyclical journey, but a spiral moving ever inward and upward.

Here we find a bookended reading: Number 43 of 49 from Jack’s system opens and closes the reading, but in different manifestations of the concept. The idea threading through the cards is that we live an existential paradox. We are simultaneously so very important, and yet so very insignificant. But this is empowering in both directions: In the physical present, we can take responsibility for our actions as we hone our practice of sharing goodness. But within the cosmic context, we can also understand that we do not have to be perfect to be effective. The reading affirms that we have the innate ability to use our gifts, but that doing so may require a death of the ego to allow our legacy to fulfill its best potential.

The sassiest of Jack’s four decks jumps right in with a reminder to be curious and proactive about learning and discovery, given that this is part of the ongoing process of evolving as a person. Dean pulls next, and the reading segues into the idea that this journey of growth may seem fraught with peril – what if what I learn undermines everything I am and know? Good! It probably needs to. But once the study and practice transitions into actionable skill, it is very important to share the wisdom with others. Not only does the giving nourish you even more, it gives the world an opportunity to benefit as well. Something to consider in the sharing: When is it important that you take credit for the effort, and when is it more productive to remain anonymous? We are filters, and people may be reflexively closed to truth if they happen to have disagreed with us in the past. Transparency and honesty are not exactly the same, so deploy them mindfully.

The reading opens with a reminder that having honest conversations are an important part of maturing personally, intellectually, and socially. Source of Seeds. Planting these ideas mindfully in rows is similar to researching and deeply understanding concepts, and allows us to be able to keep those rows free of weeds when others’ poorly chosen words scatter misinformation into our field. It is important to remember that not everyone is willing or able to eat the fruits of our labor, so when we find our ideas being inappropriately attacked, it is vital to pour our efforts where they will be effective. Not everyone’s fields have fertile soil.

We begin with the shaping of a living plant, the pruning of wood and leaves to help create boundaries, to choose better people and define ourselves in a way that gives our love where it is deserved. As you delve into your emotions and the intersection with your heart, you must allow your waters, your metal to carry you home, back to safety and security. Sometimes the pruning is done by others, and there is ache and pain in their wake. When you are rooted again, you can reach up for the heavens, transmitting your legacy as vibrations in the now. Messages and experiences that others can receive from you as they are happening. Wonder and joy you thought lost are just waiting to be remembered, to be carried with you, leaving pain behind and bringing joy forward again. It then comes full circle, the intersection of your heart and your emotions, a reminder that even though we are injured by our shaping, we must still grow and shape ourselves, carrying the scars but living in the now, fully integrated and becoming what we are meant to be.

This reading started differently with Dean’s deck being very talkative, setting the stage of a ship returning home on the tide, laden with knowledge and ideas where upon you can set out on a journey of creativity and action. There is an immediate reminder to bring this into a practical, real sense, not to leave it in the mind’s eye, but to bring it down to reality and put it out there. That means there can be failure, and that you should fail. Fail to find your voice, fail to find your audience, fail to create what you see. Only through failure can you bring that which you see into that which is real. You are your own source of power, it lies within you, and it always has. The ever-burning flame is what fuels your creativity, your power to do, to make. What you have in your mind you can bring into reality, with time, patience and your power. Finally, shut-up and listen! You’ve got messages deep within you, just let them rise up. Your emotions and your throat chakra will connect and you will speak truth and knowledge. Be the Oracle, speak deep truths with your work. Create contemplation. Embrace intuition.