Welcome to Tarot for Scholars, a resource that helps you weave the deep wisdom of tarot into your daily life and work. In each post, we offer reflections and prompts for exploring your own inner world and unlocking the unique creative power of your scholarship.
The World
About this card
A satisfying culmination that integrates the threads of what came before. The moment of publication. A triumph! A promise that growth and progress are real, even when you can’t see them from inside the middle of the process. The strength to show yourself to the world, to reveal who you are and what you think. Transitioning from one chapter to the next in the continual unfolding of the cosmos.
Other interpretations
Margy’s cards, clockwise from top left: Radiant Tarot; New Chapter Tarot; Cosmic Slumber Tarot; Shining Tribe Tarot; Elemental Tarot; Navigators Tarot of the Mystic Sea; Spolia Tarot; Tarot of the Spirit.
Helen’s cards, clockwise from top left: Moon & Stars Tarot; Light Seer’s Tarot; Japaridze Tarot; Canes Arcanae; Star Spinner Tarot; Muse Tarot; Tarot of Mystical Moments; Forest of Enchantment Tarot.
Questions and prompts
Does this moment in your work feel like a “World” moment (completion, triumph, and/or transition), or does it feel more like you’re in the middle of a process? How can you hold onto some piece of the World’s promise throughout the middle of your writing process?
Have you ever felt as comfortable showing yourself to an audience as the figure in the World appears to be? Could you imagine ever feeling that comfortable? Think of a practice or affirmation that can help you work your way toward the level of comfort that you want to have in front of audiences.
When crafting an ending to a work that you’ve written, how might the image of the World card help you envision an ending that is also a beginning?
Thanks for joining us for Tarot for Scholars! Your hearts, restacks, and comments brighten our day. 💫
Yours in scholarship,
HELEN SWORD is a scholar, poet, award-winning teacher, and founder of the WriteSPACE, an international writing community with members in 30+ countries. Her research-based books, articles, and online tools empower scholarly writers to write more clearly, confidently, prolifically, and with greater pleasure.
Visit Helen’s website here.
MARGY THOMAS is the creator of ScholarShape, a body of work dedicated to elucidating the patterns of Story-Argument across genres, disciplines, and life itself. Through services and DIY resources, Margy helps scholars use Story-Argument patterns to design their work — and to find its deeper meaning and higher purpose.
Visit Margy’s website here.
If this free collaborative resource adds value to your life and work, please consider contributing to our “Helen & Margy IRL fund” so that the two of us (who live on opposite sides of the globe) can meet up In Real Life one day. An annual subscription costs just $1 per tarot card and earns you our eternal gratitude!
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