thunderstorm

There's such a beautiful energy about this card. However, before we look at some of the detail on the card, I want us to step back and consider the scene on the card, a thunderstorm and what a thunderstorm is all about.

Whenever you think of a thunderstorm, a real full-on thunderstorm, sometimes you can think it's coming to the end of the world. The trees are blasting about, sometimes there's really large hailstones that come with a thunderstorm. Then you've got the thunder itself rumbling and rolling, and the flashes of lightning. It does feel very violent and it does feel like the earth can be coming to an end. Thunderstorms, themselves, can symbolise and signify the ending of something.

Think of the after-effects of a thunderstorm, how it clears the air. The days running up to a thunderstorm can be really hot and humid and then the thunderstorm comes along and feels so violent, and all of a sudden the air is just cleared and you feel you can breathe again. That has such significance on this card because, whenever you're facing a thunderstorm in your life, things can feel all over the place, things can feel very confusing, things can  feel not-violent but upsetting and you're wondering "is this the end?" And sometimes coming to the end of something in life isn't always pleasant because when we come to the end of something, it means something else is going to begin, which means there's going to be change coming in our life. And not all of us enjoy and embrace change.

So thunderstorms can be really challenging.

But think about it. It's going to clear the air. So, if you lose something as a result of a thunderstorm in your life, your life is better off without that thing having gone. It creates space for new and better things to come into your life.

With the thunderstorm there's always rain. Sometimes there's hail but there's always rain. I have yet to see a thunderstorm where there is not rain because it's the clashing of the clouds together, the heat and the cold. So rain does come. And rain is cleansing, it's refreshing. You need to look on the positive side of any thunderstorm and any apocalyptic event that could be happening in your life; that it's actually happening for the best, it's actually happening for the good. Because it's bringing something to an end that, possibly, you couldn't bring to an end without this nudge and this push forward, without this thunderstorm actually happening. And, as a result, you're starting something new, you're inviting something new to come into your life, but you're also being cleansed and you're being refreshed. You're able to pick yourself up again and move forward.

So the thunderstorm is something that is really positive if it's happening in your life.

What I love about this picture is the lightning which is striking him right in his heart. You might think, "Wow, if lightning strikes you in your heart, that's going to be painful". But look at his face. His face is full of peace. It's almost full of enjoyment. It's not that he's a masochist and he loves the lightning striking his heart and bringing him pain, it's like its striking his heart, it's lighting him up, it's putting a beat back into his heart, it's putting more electricity, more life back into his heart. And he's so incredibly thankful. He's opening his chest and his opening up to receiving this lightning, "thank you for striking me because it's re-igniting me, it's re-igniting my passion for life, it's re-igniting my life". He's really happy about this, he's really content. There is no pain involved. This is not supposed to be a painful experience because we are being encouraged to look ahead of the actual happenings.

If you stay stuck in the happenings of a thunderstorm, it can be scary, it can be frightening, it can be painful if you get struck. But we're being encouraged to look beyond. Because thunderstorms, they never stay forever, they're always traveling by. So you want to look for the blue skies that come after the thunderstorm, whenever you're feeling revitalised, refreshed and ready to start over again. Everything has cleared. You can see things clearly now because the thunderstorm has brought clairty to the situation and you can look forward and see things clearly.

The card is full of colours and it's the background colours that I'm really drawn to: the greens, the dark blues, the violets. Such beautiful colours, such strong colours. And I feel that, not only are they strong colours but they're also saying you've got the strength to go through this. We've got the dark blues of strength, we've got the violets connected to your crown chakra: transformation, illumination, enlightenment. This thunderstorm is transforming you and your life. It may not be enjoyable in the split-second that you're going through it, but keep your eye on the ball at the end, keep looking ahead because the blue skies are going to come whenever all these dark skies and all these dark clouds have moved on.

And then green, the colour of healing. Whenever something comes into your life and it may come like a thunderstorm and it may be tumultuous and it may be pushing you all over the place, it is still healing you. And it feels like it's encouraging you, almost forcing you to finally heal. You may be living with a situation, you may have a situation, you may be surrounded by something that hasn't been healthy for you and you haven't found your way out of it on your own. Now, all of a sudden, nature is taking its course and its forcing you to move forward into a brighter future.

The final thing that stood out for me on this card was his dreadlocks. Whenever he's throwing his head back, he's obviously throwing it back with speed because his dreadlocks are flying behind him. What do dreadlocks symbolise? Well, how long is a piece of string? Dreadlocks can symbolise so much stuff. They're very personal to the person who wears them. The symbolic meanings that I have chosen, that feel right for this card are, firstly, strength. There's a story in Christian religion in relation to Samson who was really strong. And it's believed that Samson had dreadlocks. Once his dreadlocks were cut, he lost his stength. So we have strength connected to dreadlocks. You have the strength to make it through to the other side of this thunderstorm. Do not fear that. Do not doubt that. You have the strength.

Dreadlocks also represent freedom. Freedom from the demands of society, freedom to stand up to say, in a very gentle and loving non-violent way, I'm not going along with that. So it's being true to yourself, it's being honest to who you are and true to yourself. Whenever you're coming out the other side of this thunderstorm, it feels like you're going to shine your light brighter, because you're going to know better who you are. All this stuff, all these things, all these situations, perhaps people as well, that have been around you that you have been with, that haven't been serving you, whenever the thunderstorm clears them away, you get greater clarity and understanding of how you should be living and where you should be going in your life.

There's such freedom and you begin to become your true self. Nobody's going to tell you what you should do, nobody's going to tell you how you should live, how you should behave, how you should look. You're being yourself, you're showing your true essence, you're standing up to say, "this is who I am, take it or leave it. This is who I am. I am being honest, I'm being true."

The final thing I want to mention about this card is the shape of his body. Yes, he's being struck by lightning but it almost feels like he's dancing. Think of dancing - it's such a high vbrational act. Whenever you want to raise your vibration, it's one of the easiest things to do: put on some music, have a good dance, move your body, get the angels involved. Dancing brings you, again, such freedom, such light-heartedness, it raises your vibration. Whenever you dance as if nobody is looking at you, you can dance in the way that's true to you, that feels good to you. You don't have to worry about anybody else's judgement. That's what the picture feels like as well. And it feels like whenever he's open to dance, whenever he is enjoying his life, in the midst of this turmoil, that's whenever the lightning strikes because he has raised his vibration. It's as if he's saying, I am ready now, I am ready fro clarity, I am ready for the lightning to strike, I'm ready to move forward and to change and to receive the transformation I know I am worthy and ready for.

Whenever we think of thunderstorms, quite often we think of the end of the world, turmoil, devastation, fear - a lot of people and animals are scared of thunderstorms. But this card has nothing to do with the negative side. It's totally positive. Because it's saying, because of this thunderstorm, be grateful becasue it's bringing great change into your life - it's transforming you, it's changing you, it's helping you to shine your light brighter, it's bringing you strength, it's bringing you healing, it's bringing you freedom to be who you are.

So, take the message of this card today and move forward in life as if you're walking  on air because you should be. Because whatever you may be going through, the end is nigh, and the future is so much brighter. The blue skies are on their way.

Reference: This beautiful card is from The Earthcraft Oracle by Juliet Diaz and Lorriane Anderson, artwork by Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné