Between these cards and beyond these stars.

7 billion people later here we stand, wonderfully unique, independently individualistic, and radically expressive. We are a walking burst of abstract creativity experiencing ourselves through the lens of all else. Making impressions that last as long as they can before they are washed away by the memories that have tried time and time again, to remind us why we even came here in the first place. Love-based motivations ask us to face the cold and heartless moments with warm and generous sentiments, though that is not always our immediate response. Of course, fear has a way of unifying most of us under the pretense of self-preservation, and many of us will have a certain "try-me" kind of attitude ready to test specific traits that have been pre-designed to represent the very definition of our individually marked desires.

Eventually, we ask ourselves, do our favorite hobbies and preferred musical tastes define the grace from which we came, let alone where we are going? or are these things we do just another facet to the masks we wear when we lose our sense of home? Talk it out with us, is this an obligation or a requirement in which we are being taken along for the ride? And are we authentically being ourselves? or are we fulfilling a niche with orders on the side?

A deeper question provokes a further investigation, are we able to respond to the twists and turns of fate that have been wrapped so tightly around every movement challenge? which is to say, are we allowed to swing the ax of destiny and split the logs of virtue while carrying the waters of our integrity?

Many of us have been forced to accept what's in the stars, or what's in the cards, and we are told to shine brightly with everything we are made of while dealing with the hand we've been dealt. Some more fortunate than others, not by as much as it may appear, but at least enough to notice a difference. After realizing these differences were meant to make us stronger our similarities will continue bringing us closer together. Once we get close enough we might begin to wonder, how any of these stars and cards ever came to be at all.

The closest star has a pretty big say over what we see, and in some other subtle ways so do our closest planetary bodies, not to mention whatever other celestial bodies we are able to connect with. Though, above all else, it is important to remember that the layers of information surrounding us are responsive, and in flattery, the subtle energy within us will attempt to imitate the information that is enveloping us. We hardly ever even notice it as it peals casually through these outer layers of ourselves and ventures off into the realms of infinite energetic expression. Simultaneously we are experiencing the direct influences caused by the new occurrences of this data and what knowledge it brings, however, this influence only carries on for as long as it is being frequently re-interpreted.

The constant interpretation and reinterpretation of all the information surrounding us seems to suggest that our personalities take up a lot of headspace. External evaluations can help, however, one's level of self-awareness can only be determined by one's level of participation in that process of self-discovery. It might even be easier to see this as a recovery process and recognize the form that we are in right now as a final formula resting at the end... of a very long function.

From here we may find the request to remember a bit more fluent than the request to be bombarded with macrocosmic data so infinitely large that 12 charts and a series of trend monitoring graphs with ven diagrams would have a hard time even scratching the surface of an individual's existential developments.

Remember how really hot things burn us until we forget all about how it happened, and then we get burnt again? This should remind us of how easy it is to forget something, but it's hard to accept until we recall a time where we were once forgotten about, whether it was a color preference of ours, or a place in a car for a ride somewhere, or an invitation to a celebration that made it seem like no one really ever cared...

Yet no matter where our thoughts wander, when a loud noise goes off we usually remember to jump, in retrospect, we may even wonder, why we jumped... until a light silky touch caresses the backs of our necks and we imagine spiders descending from the ceilings getting ready to make their new webs in an effort to replace the cobbed remainings of their ancestors, which we so hastily swept away the year before.

Our personalities are a personal study, experts on the outside looking in can only guess, but we always know best, which can make asking for help very difficult. The byzantine complex of our minds represents the bodily temple of our greatest commitment to our emotional growth. A pinnacle moment in the personal study of ourselves can be found in mortality as we look certain death in the face while saying: If you were so certain then how come I'm still strumming? how come the beats are still buzzing? how is it that our programs are still running?

We could even drift a bit further and wonder: how are we still up against the throws of our own self-rejection in a state of constant denial? How are we held back by the potential failure of an apparent success that was certain to whither away at the limits of boredom or a dark familiar feeling of empty nothingness?

The answer has always been: trust. However, we've been launched into some resemblance of perpetual chaos, which appears to have been fixated on us. This fixation can seem like an obsession that leads us to assume the entire world itself revolves around us. But this is misleading and causes us to overlook all the other inquiries along the way, wandering in wonder, right back to the beginning again, while screaming out loud in some kind of cathartic agony: why me?

Some of us may take a knee on the sidelines and break down at any moment during any situation as we become overwhelmed by a series of circumstances that lie far outside of our own perceptive measurements. Others will be breaking down and crying right in front of everyone and nobody would even ever know it, while others will hold their composure together as they make their way to a closed room or a sealed cabinet where they can release all the aspects of their break down in a passing moment only to suddenly re-emerge as if they just won some kind of emotional lottery.

Even as young children we demonstrate a need to examine our personalities, climbing the highest trees, collecting rocks and sticks with feathers, pushing and pulling each other along the playground, exercising on the uneven bars, and hanging out on the rope ladders. Walking up the slides, sitting in the coves, conversing about all the rules that have been broken from generation to generation. In fact, some of us will even attempt to do all of this without getting our clothes dirty, or we may even just prefer to observe from afar, moving front to back on the swings reminiscing on all the friends we could have made and all the games we could have played. Doing all of these different things in a similar way, wondering if anyone else really gets us... or if anyone else has ever really felt the same...

Still, we go on, blissfully unaware of the worldly woes nurturing adults into some unexplainable sense of crisis over some of the most unnatural concerns this world has to offer. Certificates of debt, credit building preapproval processes, inflated costs of living, stagnant wages, and of course the 97 different taxes and fees that come with a 189-page tome and over 2,000 publications with downloadable instructions walking us through each code applying rhymes with themes to match every little reason hidden behind every little scheme commonly referred to as: an International revenue service.

We grow up so fast, knowing that no one thing really ever lasts. Between our varied personalities, we are asked to go against what the majority of us might think they want and put to question the sacrifices we make for some greater good. Sometimes we are even dragged into starting an argument where we are eventually expected to each admit how we were wrong. Many of us have considered putting ourselves down for the benefit of someone else. In silence though, while refusing to even talk to each other we may go as far as accidentally betraying the ones we love most and hold the closest. This may even drive us into doing something impulsively without knowing all the facts and just act out based on something someone else said. Over time if we repeatedly ignore our instincts then our sense of what is natural will be reduced to cycles of acceptance and forgiveness, leaving us with a very small allowance... just barely enough to afford some time by ourselves, to be ourselves.

We may never openly say that we have no idea what we are doing, and things that reveal us to ourselves, like love, will terrify us. We may even end up being really angry all of the time, making it even harder to let others know we could really use a hug right now. We become so self-critical and so deeply entrenched in these kinds of trust issues that every commitment we make elicits a lingering sense of impending disappointment.

We eventually end up procrastinating, and soon after that, we procrastinate some more while mastering our previous procrastinations. This may even leave us in a state of detachment that has us feeling like an outcast; knowing, secretly, that if we didn't think like this then we might become too attached to quickly and then fall from one mistake off onto another, entirely too easily.

This brings us back to the subject matter at hand, the stars, the cards, the elements we have been dealt, that which we must deal with. Sometimes we like the easier explanation, and all of these traits we have just discussed are based on attributes in which we all differ, yet still, we notice so many relatable similarities. The experience of a lifetime can be summed up with how we may have been born in the month of the Orangutang during the year of the Unicorn, or how we were birthed under the constellation connected to Regulus and in the year of what Ophicius bears. It's so much easier to call ourselves a platypus or a river fish or a mountain goat than it is to call ourselves Island folk who were raised to appreciate the joys of the summer just before the final fall harvest... not to mention how hard it would be to refer to ourselves as mountain people bred to understand the dangers of winter waiting out the great hibernation.

With ease, we look upon those identified as Airies in the light of an emperor, for they are the ones to take action immediately, and directly. Fearlessly they lead us through their actions which were meant to represent the greatest intentions of our highest kingdom. Those identifying as a Taurus may find a likeness in sequence, though it would seem they hold a greater space for spiritual traditions in morality and wisdom. The ones referred to as Gemini's become lovers of duality, and live for the qualities that make up stronger partnerships in the thrill of decision making. Those who might be known as Cancers carry a heavy nurturing mentality with lots of protective armor to establish a solid sense of home, amongst safe spaces, however, they may come to be.

The ones who correspond with a strong desire for independence and a balanced sense of power come to a warming generous heartfelt passionate representation of what we call a Leo. The ones known to thoroughly think things through with an analytically detailed view and a nonstop processor running with deep contemplations and a mindful approach that is determined to do things properly, or not at all, might be identified as a Virgo. In likeness with the same kind of sequencing, we see a sign constantly seeking out harmony in the fairness of justice upheld between others. There they balance the giving and taking aspects of life with both the pros and cons of an unbiased scale in a pair of hands belonging to those known as Libras.

Those known as Scorpios tend to bring with them a need for an intense and potent change referring to a deepening transformation or new beginning. Being unafraid of the truth they seek allows them to facilitate the very embodiment of renewal that we all need. Moderation and mediation come to those on a quest for spiritual enlightenment, a similar truth-seeking mentality can be observed in the ones we identify as, the Sagittarius. Philosophically inclined with a mind made to align by the divine center of all honesty, we might say they can't help but connect to a need for a deeper meaning, which oftentimes requires them to bear the mark of temperance.

The ones seen as Capricorns carry with them the cost of consumption and frequently they ask us to evaluate what we're signing away to others in both the energetic sense and the financial departments. Wealth and success become a big focus as they engage in hard work and make great sacrifices to remain conscious of this kind of materialistic indulgence. Though perhaps for many of us it's even easier to see the stars that exist in those known as the Aquarius. Rebirth and rejuvenation with the ability to have faith and gather wishes in a forward-thinking vision. They are truly dedicated to the benefits of our collective wellness. Though this realization is only to be released as we reach these fresh new areas of self-reflection which are being carried in the waters of our most unimaginable possibilities, the bearer of these waters will care for them in our favor until we are all ready to receive them.

Unfortunately, if the time is not now, then we may never truly be ready. Impatient emperors, traditional practitioners, divided lovers, broken chariots, undeveloped strengths, lost hermits, complacent judgments, misunderstood growing pains, disenfranchised temperances, antagonized devils, and fallen stars. Each and every one of us knows these images all too well, and many of us have seen the doors associated with them in the back of every room, yet few of us dare to explore further than what we have become so familiar with.

The first story starts off with a pilgrim, and it goes on to describe how the pilgrim finds their way to what they've made for themselves. The listener sees what the pilgrim has made as keys, which fit into locks, that have been fixed around these doors which sit at the top of a great mountain. A misguided door lord tries to stop the pilgrim but did not anticipate that the pilgrim would have made so many good friends along the way and so the door lord fails to stop them but instead successfully deconstructs what would have seemed to have been the last breath of light they had left.

The pilgrim makes a great sacrifice of self and bears the remaining embers in an effort to keep these doors in place, this was a very painful process. To bring honor to the pilgrim's sufferings each friend dedicated themselves to opening a door and completing their explorations with a promise to return from their tour. However, with twelve friends and over 24 doors, the pilgrim stands, in pain, at the top of this mountain awaiting their promised deliverance. However the problem with that promise was that their return was never simultaneous, and as each one of them makes their way back to the pilgrim to tell their stories they always go into another door looking for the others, eventually, the pilgrim considers deconstructing the very same breath of light that was carried back into life from the last remaining embers leftover from the previous misunderstanding.

Until today, right now, where we come climbing up this mountain of personal trial and universal tribulations with whatever good friends who survived along the way. Here we see the pilgrim, though it would appear to us that the pilgrim is actually a giant beast lording over the lands maintaining the remaining doors by holding the breath of light in this peculiar place between our ever colliding worlds. With heavy kaleidoscoping swirls on the pilgrim's shoulders, we are reminded of Atlas, who might be waiting to shrug the weight of these doors off the side of our greatest achievements. The pilgrim lets out a sigh of anguish and defeat, so naturally, we run over to the pilgrim and we attempt to apply some logic to help relieve the pilgrim's burdensome reasoning, but the pilgrim becomes increasingly unreasonable, and this is exactly where the second story starts off, with us, in this dialogue: between these cards and beyond these stars.