Pronouns: He, him

+ Success; travel; forward; ending and beginning

– Stagnation and despair; death

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This is where the Fool’s journey ends. In a way, the journey is really a circle—the end of one story and the beginning of another.  This deck was created during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic. At that point, each day was an opportunity to focus on that singular day. Any attempt at planning beyond that caused this illustrator extreme anxiety. Instead, I got a trial for Shudder (a streaming platform for horror films) and started to draw. Missing my regular figure drawings sessions, I focused on my continuing education online and let my brain wander. 

The World card is a promise that tomorrow will come regardless of what happens. It’s is hope that after all the crap we have been subjected to this year and long before that, there is still a reason to keep putting one foot in front of each other. 

As the world changes rapidly, our feelings oscillate between fear, excitement, and joy about the unknown. The World card embraces each of these things as he focuses on the celebration of new life. As I write this, results of the 2020 US Presidential election are known and decided but the work of building a better and safer tomorrow for everyone is still very much underway. We are exhausted and have survived some gnarly shit but to stop working and fighting for what is right at this point would mean giving up. 

The World is wise. Unlike the Fool he isn't starry-eyed or insecure. Instead he knows the seriousness of his role as a parent and is contemplative. This card asks us to rise above the bullshit and to be who you are—and take on everything that comes with that. In a reading the card is about the big picture. Make all the plans you would like but the world is going to throw a lot of shit your way. You are stronger than you think.

Just don’t give up!