The Sun of the 19^th Tarot and the 19^th Tehillah

A standard deck of Tarot consists of 78 cards. Twenty-two of the cards are known as Major Arcanna, or Greater Secrets. Of these, 21 bear Roman numerals, I thru XXI, and one, The Fool, bears the numeral 0.

Depending on the type of deck, the 22 characters of the Hebrew alphabet can be found on the Major Arcanna, Alef, the first character, appears on The Magician, and Tav, the last character, on The World. The 19th card of the Major Arcanna, indeed, of the entire deck, is The Sun, associated with the Roman numeral XIX and the Hebrew alphabetic character Resh (pronounced: RAYSH). Interestingly, in the Book of Psalms, or Sefer Tehillim (T-HEE-LEEM), the sun figures more prominently in one psalm, or tehillah (T-HEE-LA), than in any of the others. And in what psalm is that? You guessed it. The 19^th !

Tehillah / Psalm 19: 5-7 says of the sun:

The Divine placed in the heavens a tent for the sun, who is like a groom coming forth from the chamber, like a hero, eager to run his course. His rising-place is at one end of heaven, and his circuit reaches the other. Nothing escapes his heat.

Astonishingly, the Hebrew alphabetic character, Resh, long used to designate The Sun, the 19^th Tarot, appears 19 times in the 19^th Tehillah / Psalm. Depending on the type of deck and / or the cartomancer (card interpreter), The Sun means different things. According to the British occultist S.L. MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918), upright the card signifies happiness, contentment, and joy, and reversed it signifies these states but to a minor degree.

Worse Than Trailer Park Trash?
If the American middle class (which, economically speaking, is closer to the lower than to the upper class) views those who live in mobile homes as trailer park trash, how does the 1% view them, indeed, the remaining 99%?

Sri Chinmoy Lives!

Months ago, I began reading The Divine Hero by Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007), which spoke to me on many levels. Upon finishing it, I ordered other books by this well-known spiritual master. Right now, I am reading his Meditation: Man-Perfection in God-Satisfaction, and I am engaging in morning breath meditation, due in part to him, for the first time in more than twenty years. While meditating this morning, the image of my keys flashed before me; the keys to both home and office were glistening. Two hours later, while sitting on the 2 Train, I came across this passage in Sri Chinmoy's Meditation:

Question: Is it really necessary to seek help when we are suffering from mental problems? Can’t we just meditate by ourselves and find the answer?

Answer: Suppose you say, “I am suffering from certain mental difficulties, but I know the answer is inside. Now it is all night, but I feel that there is light inside my heart.” This is what you feel, but you find it difficult to go deep within and discover the light. Then you have to go to someone who can bring to the fore the light that you have within you. It is as if you have misplaced the key to your own house and don’t know how to open the door. But a friend of yours comes with a light and helps you look for the key. After you find it with his help, you open the door and then he goes away. If you are ready to search in the dark for the key that you have lost, then you can try. But if you have a friend who has a light, then you can have more confidence in finding the key. So the teacher is a helper, an eternal friend who helps you in your search. When he helps you find the key, he won’t keep it. He won’t say it is his key. No! It is your key, your house, your light. Then you will enter into the house and get everything that you needed and wanted.

As I thought of myself helping clients find their keys, keys to doors leading to their highest selves, I was filled with deep gratitude!