discovering truth

There is a ton of symbolism in this card, but I'm not going to interpret absolutely everything. I'm only going to interpret what stood out for me as soon as I pulled this card.

We're talking about discovering truth. We're talking about listening to your soul. Being authentic. Being true to yourself. Being honest with yourself. And, as we're talking about travelers here, "walking your talk".

What stood out for me when I first saw this card, was the guy in the front and the two gentlemen in the background.

I noticed the guy in the forefront was walking away from the two gentlemen. Look at the smile on his face. Such peacefulness. Such contentness about him. Compare that to the two men in the background. One of them is obviously asking for directions and is receiving guidance from the other person but there's a feeling of confusion, there's almost a feeling of conflict "Should I go this way? Should I go that way?" And then your eye gets drawn back to the guy in the foreground. There's such peacefulness about him. He's just walking his own path. He's finding his own direction.

This guy is very content in what he's doing - his whole energy drew me in. My eye got drawn into the colours he's wearing. We're seeing maroon and we're seeing yellow. What do those colours signify?

Maroon is all about confidence, about having courage and ambition. For him to not join the conversation between the two other men, for him not to seek guidance from someone who, perhaps, knows the area well, for him to walk his own path, choose his own path and follow his own truth, shows great confidence, shows great courage amd ambition.

And then we see he's wearing a yellow tunic. Yellow is the colour of positivity, self-belief and optimism. For you to be really true to yourself (something that's not an easy thing to do), you need to have a lot of self-belief, you need to feel optimistic and positive that you are walking in the right path, the path that is right for you.

In the background are herds of white sheep. White sheep symbolise purity. Whenever you're being true to yourself, whenever you're discovering your own truth, whenever you're walking your path unhindered by what anyone else may say and not listening to what others may think, especially when they don't agree with your path, you're being pure to your very soul. You're listening to your higher self and what your soul wants. You're being honest and you're being pure, uninfluenced by those around you.

If we look further in the background, we can see a few hills that lead to villlages. There's a clear path that would take you here. That would be the obvious choice to travel, especially if you're on a long journey. If you're on a long journey and you see a village in the distance, you might be thinking "I might be able to get some shelter there, some food". That would be the easy option, to head to the villages.

But what if heading that way is not right for you? What if that direction doesn't feel right in your heart? That's whenever you want to be like the guy on the card, you want to walk your own path, and follow your true self. You want to trust your own instincts. You want to follow what your soul is encouraging you to do.

There will be times when you're walking your path and you may be feeling a bit lost and need direction. If you come to a crossroads and you really tune into your heart, and listen to your higher self, you'll receive the guidance you need. When you ask someone else for help and direction and they give you directions based on their own experience, their own life, their own beliefs, their own point of view about your soul path, things can become quite confusing.

If you look at the two men it looks like they're in quite a deep conversation and they look a bit confused. If you asked for their guidance and followed it, you could find yourself walking for many miles ending up in one of the villages only to find out that you've walked so many miles in the wrong direction for you, along the wrong path for you.

This card is all about discovering truth and there's a lot of green on the card. Green, for me, is the colour of healing.

When you walk the path that is authentic to you and true to you, when you listen to your heart rather than listen to your mind or the opinions of others who may be encouraging you to follow a path out of love for you. Remember that they're not you.

When you follow what you believe is the right path for you and you have the courage, the confidence, the positivity, the self-belief to walk that path, you'll bring great healing to your soul because your soul is no longer being influenced by others. Your soul is being true and pure to itself, to you, encouraging you to walk the path that you are here to walk.

No-one else can tell you what path to walk. No-one else can walk your path for you.

Listen to your heart.

At times, when your mind is in conflict with your heart and you see, for example, that there are villages nearby where you could stock up on supplies and get a good night's rest, whereas you can't see the path ahead if you continue along the direction you're headed. At such times your mind might be encouraging you to take a slight detour. "Maybe it is the right path? How do you know? Take that slight detour and get a little bit of comfort while you can."

But what's your heart saying to you? Does that really feel like the right path?

You may not know exactly where you're headed on your chosen path, you may not be able to see your final destination, you may not even be able to see if there are any villages where you can stock up and rest your head for the night.

If your heart is really pulling you towards your chosen path, in conflict with your mind. At times like this, remember your head is only trying to keep you safe. It's trying to keep you safe in the way that it knows you will stay within your comfort zone. Whereas your heart is encouraging you to expand and grow.

At times like this always heed your heart because your heart is the seat of your emotions where you feel your higher self speaking to you, encouraging you, where the angels communicate to you and encourage you to step forward.

Discover your truth. Discover your true path. Don't let anybody else influence you. Have the courage, conviction, confidence, self-belief, optimism to walk that path every day.

Reference: This beautiful card is from The Sacred Traveler Oracle Deck by Denise Linn, artwork by Jesse Reisch