Man of Soul

2038-01-19T03:14:07Z

Description: The Man of Soul strikes me immediately as a shaman of some accomplishment. His visage is wild and intense; his long hair flows out in all directions, reminiscent of Einstein, his single visible eye stares directly out of the card with a palpable orange fury. His right hand is raised in a gesture of some sort, and from it dangles a bone charm with what might be a sand dollar attached to the end of it. From his left ear dangles and earring. The man is dressed in furs.
Interpretation: As with all court cards, my caveat remains that this card likely represents an actual individual in the querent's life. That said, let's delve into exploring who that person could be based on what we see in the card. The Man of Soul has mastery over things spiritual and emotional. It's hard to separate these two things, so we won't. Instead we'll merely say that they are useful descriptions of the same thing. We can only see a single eye of this man, reminding me immediately of Odin from Norse mythology, the first of the gods who gave his eye for knowledge of the past present and future, which I think is present in the Man of Soul; the sacrifice and possibly the disdain for the physical form in exchange for power and knowledge of the spiritual and metaphysical realm that might not otherwise be possible. Does that mean that our Man of Soul is a sloppy dresser? Possibly. It's clear to me that certain things most people think are important don't hold much interest for the Man of Soul; he is seeing something entirely different than most of us do.
The rest of the card is unclear to me at this point. Is his gesture one of symbolic significance? Is he holding something invisible, about to bestow it upon the querent? Is he hiding something behind his arm, an ugly scar or a wry grin? It's hard to say, and perhaps that's a piece of this card: ambiguity and obstruction. The Man of Soul may have no clear agenda, and what agenda he may or may not have will likely not fall along conventional lines. Remember, this is a man who's sacrificed depth perception for depth of perception.
Application: I don't have a clear or immediate application of this card, so I'm going to go with the most superficial reading possible, which is that I am the Man of Soul. I've been meditating at least 45 minutes a day for the past week as well as putting in time practicing my astral travel (which I think has had a significant effect on my dream life). I don't think this card represents a real mastery over what I'm doing, but perhaps the sacrifice represented in the physical discomfort that I'm feeling from sitting for so long in such awkward positions. Perhaps this card is representative of the exchange of the physical world for the spiritual one, a transition which I'm currently experiencing.
Traditional Meanings: Aeclectic Tarot; ATA Tarot

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Man of Soul