Lessons from the Eleventh Hour
By Jenny Griffin
Risk is a big word, considering it’s only four letters long. And it involves a big leap of faith, requiring, perhaps, that you put aside what you may have seen as a safety net for the promise of a potentially more soul-aligned or abundant future. After taking the steps, making the changes, what then? That’s where the true test of faith begins, because that is the eleventh hour, that time between action and desired result, the time when it feels some days like you’re literally balancing on the knife edge of giving it all up for the old, easy, safe, pre-risk route. The eleventh hour is that time just before the results you want start to take shape, and they will, they do, if you can just hold on a little longer.
Inspired by my last post on the Seven Deadly Sins, I consulted the tarot to find out what would be most helpful to people who are feeling a little anxious in that limbo time, the time between, the eleventh hour. What came up was a five card reading that, upon examination was outlining 5 quite distinct stages, each bearing a lesson or theme. I also pulled angel cards for each stage, as support cards. (I use the Llewellyn Tarot deck and Doreen Virtue’s Healing with the Angels oracle cards.)
Stage 1: The Gamble
Card: 3 of Wands
Send out your ships, your wishes, your dreams, and stand firm in the knowledge that whatever comes back to you is what you most need to move forward. It may not come to you in the way that you imagined, or expected, so as you send out these potentials, trust that whatever comes back is right for you and the situation. This is a time of speculation, adventure, and expansion, and a time to trust.
Angel Card: Answered Prayer
The risk you are taking is an answered prayer, the opportunity for growth through the experience is an answered prayer, the discomfort, the fear, the feelings of uncertainty, are all a part of this answered prayer. Stay focused on the potential of the things you send out, and imagine them reaching distant shores filled with exciting gifts that will be returned to you.
Stage 2: Receptivity
Card: The Empress (3)
This is a time of fertility, of possibility, and of huge receptivity. It is trying to help you to open up to the idea of simply allowing things to come in. It is difficult sometimes to detach ourselves from the ‘what-if’s or the ‘shoulda-coulda-woulda-been’s, especially in this stage, because all our plans may not yet be coming to the fruition we had envisioned. So, what can we learn? What can insecurity teach us about security? What things in our life do we appreciate, and does the not having of them make us appreciate them more?
Bamboo, it is said, can take up to four years to establish firm roots underground before it starts to send shoots into the scary world above. Take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. And be open to whatever form your own delightful shoots will take.
Angel Card: Friendship
Our own vulnerability is a connecting point to which others are drawn. In this time of receptivity and openness, be aware of friendships that arise, and know that many of these may have special meaning as your project develops. Like-minded people are drawn to your courage and sense of adventure, and may be inspired by your leap of faith. These are people for whom you can provide support later, as they provide support for you through your transition.
Stage 3: Trust
Card: The Fool (0)
Okay, here’s the hard bit. Keep on trusting, even when others doubt you, laugh at you, or feel angry with your choices. Stay on the path of the Fool, trusting, oblivious to the dangers, optimistic, and open to new possibilities. This is your path, your version of right, of the truth – it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s. You started out this journey knowing you were going towards something better, so when things get tough, why do you stop believing that? You’ve started the journey as the Fool and even if you become jaded by circumstances, this card suggests continuing on that path.
Angel Card: Archangel Michael
Ah, he’s a good one for clearing the fear. Just call on him to help you release any discomfort you feel on this Fool’s journey. It is especially hard to trust when the things you hoped to accomplish or receive have not yet started to manifest in physical form. This is where the fear can sneak in. And we’ve become pretty used to the idea of instant gratification, so if things don’t come quickly, it can be tempting to leap off this path and try out one that is a sure thing, or in some way better. Don’t do it! Work through the fear and stay with it, because the rewards are more than you can imagine. It’s just a matter of patience and perseverance.
Stage 4: Hope
Card: Page of Cups
The page here is standing firm on his rock as waves crash all around him. He holds up his cup, which is filled with fish – he stays where he is, and they just jump right in. I always feel an overwhelming sense of hope when this card comes up. There’s a positivity to it, a joy, and it shows that rewards are starting to show up even as the turmoil continues around you. At this point there should be some gifts arriving – maybe not the huge ones you envisioned, but enough to tell you you’re on the right path. You’ve had the courage to take this risk, trusting you’d be supported, and you are. Use this time to be creative, to envision for yourself all the things you’d like to create, and all the gifts that are coming. Again, the idea of trust is key (in fact it’s the underlying theme of this reading).
Angel Card(s): Listening, Ideas & Inspiration
All the trusting has gotten you used to being open to new ideas, new perspectives and to receiving information from different sources. Follow the guidance in whatever form it arrives, and continue to put in the work. There are always actions to take, no matter how small or ineffectual they may seem. If you feel it is the right action, take it, and see where it leads. You may be surprised by a fork in the road or a complete change in direction from where you thought you were headed.
Stage 5: Arrival
Card: King of Pentacles
Hallelujah! The rewards are steadily flowing in, and you’re enjoying the spoils of your hard-won victory. Not only can you see material rewards, but you realise that this journey has taught you so much that can be of use to others, it has allowed you to plumb the depths of your own fears, misgivings and vulnerability. It has taught you what doesn’t work, and hopefully, what does. And your empathy and compassion for others has grown enormously, allowing for you to make connections in a whole new way. You come out a changed person, the king of your own domain, with renewed confidence that comes from knowing you did this yourself.
Angel Card: Dreams
This seems to be a reference to the fact that all the dreams you harboured for yourself when you started along this path are now a reality. It gives you the courage to put larger and larger dreams into the world, allowing for them to be nurtured through the same process of dream, act and trust that you followed to get here. Your internal changes may also be reflected in your dreams, as the changes you’ve made have given you new perspectives on life.
A small caveat: if you feel huge resistance coming from inside and outside of yourself, you are not on the right path. It’s time to refocus and change direction. It may only require a small tweak, or it might take a complete strip-down overhaul, but if you continue along the path of resistance, you are only hurting yourself and delaying the inevitable arrival stage in favour of struggle. Who needs that?!
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Jenny Griffin, the ‘Catharsis Coach,’ is passionate about helping you to find the beauty, power and possibility in the midst of transformative experiences. She combines her skills as an intuitive coach and healer with her amazing organizational abilities to provide an environment filled with creative and enjoyable ways to move towards your own unique vision for your life, and offers you the opportunity to use all the parts of your story as fodder for personal and spiritual growth.
