The literal meaning of Kung Fu is time spent on acquiring a skill.
We gain skills through repetition. That’s how we learned to walk and talk. And that’s how we gain excellence in any skill. It feels like a paradox that the excellence of a ballerina, diva, or athlete came about by something as simple as repetition, but that’s the truth of the matter.
Success lies in the relentless execution of the basics. – Leonardo da Vinci
The respective power of consciousness is formation, e.g., the establishment of habits and skills. Formation requires discipline. Not in the sense of strictness or punishment, but in the sense of focus, self-control, and persistence. No skill without discipline.
Formation and discipline limit. Naturally, we dislike limitation and discipline. In particular, children are poor at discipline. But no limitations, no society. No net, no tennis. No commitments, no relationships.
Forms resist change. Resistance is one of the two reasons querents come to psychological Tarot readings. But resistance is a blessing in disguise. Michelangelo could not have carved his wonderful David statue if the marble hadn’t offered such excruciating resistance. The same resistance that slows your undertaking maintains the results once accomplished.
In business, it’s common knowledge that limitations offer opportunities. Find a solution to a limitation, and you’re in business.
Further, limitation is the very basis upon which all sciences rest. Every science is a limited field of research. Science progresses with experiments, which are focused and repeated measurements.
Does this remind you of the Adversity card? The Adversity card represents the sense of bondage, which is a negative response to restriction. We are used to swearing when confronted with adversity. Instead, we should ask, “What skill do I need to gain to overcome this challenge?”
Without skills, our lives would be excruciatingly tedious. Just imagine that we would still have to focus on tying our shoelaces. For this reason, ageless wisdom assigned the dualism of dominion and slavery to this card. But that doesn’t mean external dominion or slavery, it means dominion over one’s personality or being a slave to one’s personality.
Dominion leads to freedom, the freedom to focus on that which matters more. It almost sounds like a paradox that we achieve dominion and freedom through limitation, but that’s another truth of the matter.
The dancer in the picture symbolizes the perfection of a skill, a craft, or knowledge. He-she is in a state of absolute dominion and freedom. He-she has mastered her craft and, with that, overcame all limitations to his-her creative intention. That’s why ageless wisdom assigned the epithet administrative intelligence to this card.
The pair of opposites assigned to the Skill card is dominion & slavery. We can measure the progress of human history by measuring the skills humans have gained to overcome natural and social adversity. Without skills, we remain slaves of circumstances. If you’re tired of being lonely, train the skill of dating. If you are unsuccessful, gain the skill of success. If you experience a lack, acquire the skill of manifesting.
It takes 10,000 hours to reach perfection, hence, the Skill card calls for patience.
The Skill card’s numerical correspondence suggests that gaining skills implies making sacrifices. The number of this card is 21. Reverse 21, and you get 12, which is the number of the Sacrifice card. We know from the Sacrifice card that sacrificing means giving up something lesser for something greater. Excellence builds on sacrifices, like sacrificing partying for athletic excellence.
The two spirals in the hands of the dancer represent the two movements on the Tree of Life: involution and evolution. As such, they represent creativity and the art of experiencing. When creativity goes wrong, we run into resistance. When experiencing goes wrong, we get adversity.
The two spirals in the hands of the dancer represent the two movements on the Tree of Life: involution and evolution. As such, they represent creativity and the art of experiencing. When creativity goes wrong, we run into resistance. When experiencing goes wrong, we get adversity.
An auspicious Skill card calls for gaining a skill that will allow the querent to overcome her adversity or resistance.
An inauspicious Skill card may indicate that a lack of skill caused her challenge.
On the Tree of Life, the path of the Skill card connects the spheres Energy and Materialization. The violet wreath (mastery/success) represents Energy. The 9 → 10 direction signifies the control of the mind over the body. The 10 → 9 direction stands for the internalization of experiences through the senses.
The titles and the five core meanings of the Skill card are:
Enlightenment Tarot title: Skill
Traditional title: World
Power of consciousness: Skill, formation, regimen, discipline
Constructive use: Habituation, routines, habits, rituals
Unconstructive use: Mannerism
Auspicious state of mind: Ability, dominion
Inauspicious state of mind: Inability
On the spiritual-intentional level, the Skill card stands for cosmic consciousness, the seventh and highest stage of enlightenment. The original title, The World, refers to that. When we achieve cosmic consciousness, the world surrenders (Lao Tse).
On the creative-feely level, the Skill card represents creative skills and the mastery/dominion of a craft. Perfection leads to a feeling of completeness and connection with the universe.
On the intellectual level, the Skill card symbolizes cognitive skills, like problem-solving, and cognitive disciplines, like mindfulness.
On the bodily-practical level, the Skill card signifies exercise, motor skills, and other bodily skills, as well as their perfection. Here, the two spirals represent the brain’s default mode network and the executive control network. The two spirals also represent the default mode network and the executive control network, two of the most important neural networks. The DMN rules internalizations and produces thoughts, ideas, imaginations, and desires. We use the DFN network to evaluate and select thoughts, ideas, imaginations, and desires for further use. When we get creative, the interaction between these two networks soars. As such, the Skill card represents the skilled use of the DMN and DFN, which leads to creative skill.
More Attributions:
Number: 20
Letter: Tau, meaning mark (the mark of mastery)
Astrology: Saturn
Color: Blue-violet
Body zone: Heart
Chakra: The chakra at the bottom of the spine