KEYWORDS: Change, birth, regeneration.
This is the final burning of karma preceding the rebirth process. The transformation is now almost complete, and something new emerges from the ashes of the old.
To represent this Scorpio-ruled trump, I chose the Egyptian image of the Phoenix. This legendary bird self-immolates yearly and is reborn from its own ashes. I feel that the “grim reaper” version of Death associated with traditional decks doesn’t adequately show the regenerative, positive side of this card. The Phoenix is a metaphor for reincarnation, as well as the highest evolution of the astrological sign Scorpio.
The ancient Indo-Europeans universally believed that souls could take the form of birds. Latin aves meant both ‘birds’ and ‘ancestral spirits’ or ghosts or angels. Roman Emperors achieved godhood in the form of an eagle which was released above an Emperor’s funeral pyre to carry his soul to heaven. A bird call, a magic formula, and singing were expressed by the same word in Germanic languages.
Becoming a bird in a visionary or trance state was a widespread symbol of initiatory death and rebirth. Shamans and prophets in the South Pacific, Indonesia, Central Asia, and Siberia claimed to transform themselves into birds. According to the Chinese, women knew the secret of flying before men; for that matter, women were long known to be the source of all magical powers in China, as well as in the rest of the matriarchal world.
The central focus of this card is the Phoenix, depicted as a brilliantly feathered bird emerging from her own ashes. A blazing sun rises, reminding us that each death and each transformation creates the space and is the breeding ground for new life.
On either side of this magical bird, women and children of all races raise their arms skyward; they acknowledge the transformation of their status in the emerging New Age, as well as a positive change in attitude toward global unity and sustainability.
Shamans, or more appropriately “she-mans,” glide effortlessly on feathered wings through the air, illustrating the transformed consciousness. The earliest images of shamans were female. See Marija Gimbutas for remarkable archeological work on and numerous images of the many “bird-headed” preColumbian or Neolithic Goddesses. We can only guess that originally rituals were performed by women and later appropriated by the conquering patriarchs.
Now the Wheel turns again, we see people becoming more whole, with less need to dominate. Not all beings readily accept these shifts in the wind; but whether experienced as a dance or as a grueling torture, change and transformation are in process.
When receiving this card in a spread, expect dramatic changes and transformation in your life, values, or just your plans. The changes indicated are usually not the type that take you totally by surprise; rather, they come to term and bloom into new growth.
Rarely, if ever, does this card indicate a physical death. Sometimes a psychic death or a complete letting-go is in order. This may seem like a frightening process, but the end result is a newly regenerated consciousness. What a joy and gift to yourself this can be!
