After the shattering experience of Atu XVIII, the complete destruction of any ‘sense of certainty’, the rising dawn of light is an overwhelming relief! Atu XIX is rather a re-invigoration after the utter bleakness. Anyone who has been up all night out in the wild, feeling the cold increase as the night continues, until it is literally coldest just before dawn, knows the absolutely cheerful welcome of the morning Sun. Likewise, when the house is plunged into darkness, the handy flashlight is very much a best friend, and you feel a soothing sense of sanity after the frightful interruption. Thus you have the metaphors of “illumination” and “clarity”.
When I use the metaphor of the “Fuel Source” or “Fuel Cell” for Atu XIX, in relation to the Space-Time Vehicle that should be depicted with Atu XX, I am not just spouting a cute novelty. The ‘certainty’ derived from “clear perception” definitely drives our very living. After the Utter Darkness* of Atu XVIII which ‘complicates’ one’s otherwise ordinary condition, the “light of day” returns one to simplicity. What was ‘insanity’ has resumed ‘sanity’ — and it is not unwarranted to compare that to ‘sanitation’: the “light of day” has literally ‘cleansed’ the scene of all the “monsters”.
To me, the Core Idea of Atu XIX is not the “illumination” and “clarity”, but rather the Simplicity. After surviving a dangerous situation, the first sensation is to be glad to be simply alive. Atu XIX is like the attitude of “whew, I dodged that one!”; and for that first brief moment, all other considerations are like so much appended weight. You get a good glimpse at Just Being, even if it is only for a moment.
Remember that Atu XIX is toward ‘the end’ of the Trump Series, after a lot of ‘work-on-self’ has been performed, and many stages of transformation have transpired. With all of the complexities that have been experienced, Atu XIX represents a kind of ‘resting point’ (so to speak). The best manifestation of this ‘resting point’ is the overwhelming sensation of Be Here Now, in its full Simplicity. For those who have done the full working of the Trump Series, the resultant Be Here Now of Atu XIX can be said to ‘extend’ well beyond “the moment” — even though, paradoxically, “the moment” becomes ‘extended’.
O-A-Hum
OPD
*”Darkness” can be a rather misleading metaphor, when considered only as “absence of light”. When considered as “a blotting out”, it is completely appropriate. “Black” is called “an absence of color”, but it really isn’t — it is ‘a color’ as compared to the “nullification” that I remember. “Neutral grey” is also still ‘a color’ in comparison. Genuine “absence of color” cannot be described, only directly experienced.
“Utter Darkness” is my convenient metaphor for “complete annihilation of sanity”.
OPD Tarot 
3 Comments
I feel what you are saying…but, could you say it in another way? the “back-door” effect of engendering and, instruction of willful behavior – I don’t know what you mean? In reference to ATU VI Thankyouuu!!
Thus, you have in various traditions the “hoodwinking” of the young initiate — which is not merely a metaphor of “you were blind and now you see”. When done properly, this tactic has the “back-door” effect of engendering ‘will’ in a way that no instruction of ‘willful behavior’ can match. When done improperly, the ‘Teacher’ has merely “a slave”.
You meant this for another post?… but I’ll respond here….
Apologies for the confusion; let’s see if I can clarify. In the Hindu method (as I comprehend it), there is The Guru and The Chela. In the “Star Wars” mythography, there is the ‘Learned Jedi Master’ and the ‘Padua Learner’. The Learning Student willingly places oneself into a condition of “holy obedience” to the Learned Master. No directive can be questioned. This superficially appears to be a sublimation of Personal Will. What is operating in the ‘background’ is that the Learning Student must exercise a form of Personal Will to endure “holy obedience” — especially in the beginning! It is the suspension of what we commonly consider Personal Will, which, after training, is revealed to be merely a Series of willy-nilly Desires. The usual Series of Desires is commonly confused with “Continuous Will”. As the Learning Student continues in disciplined training, that Student is also training discipline. After a good period of this kind of rigor, the signs of Real Personal Will begin to shine forth — if done properly.
The conventional notion of “training willful behavior” rather tends to be like encouraging a whiney little brat to merely scream “no!” and act defiant to surrounding conditions. As absurd as this appears, you would be rather surprised how often this tactic appears. But when this tactic appears, it is a clear give-away that what is being trained is actually a compliant robot being trained to aggressively enforce the “will” of The Teacher.
When the Teacher is merely a Task-Manager, without engendering the Personal Will of the Student, that Teacher is a failure. If the Math Teacher merely floods the Math Student with countless formulae, and that Student never learns to take that flood of formulae and acquire the ability to make that formulae ‘one’s own’ to freely manipulate — even beyond the proscribed formulae — then that Student is no better than a ‘blind computer’, and there is No Progress. There may be no regress, but there is nothing better than ‘status quo maintenance’. The Real Teacher is not satisfied with such a condition — because the Real Teacher is cognizant of “time, evolution and progress”. The Fake Teacher merely propagates The Matrix, a pattern of perpetuating “what is” without any “progress”.
Did this help?
Awesome card!! Quoting you from the article on ATU VI, these ring true for me – “The Student” is placed in the unique condition of Being Oriented by ‘an experienced other’. – “What I thought I knew is now abrogate, and now I place myself willingly to receive new information.” – The mind-set of a real Student is hardly ‘passive’; it actually requires a form of ‘will’ that The Emperor cannot even cognize. – When done improperly, the ‘Teacher’ has merely “a slave”.
The Student is oriented by the relationship to the teacher to pick up and incarnate the new information in a way that releases the wisdom of the divine will.
Thanks for the reply