In this card, I see all of the natural elements. We have Water in the waterfall. Earth in the ground and the tree in the front. Fire in the sunrise peaking at us from a distance and Air in the sky. The colors are calming. The land is smooth with some flowing hills. Trailing from between the hills is a river that flows unencumbered all the way to the edge of the surface of the ground that suddenly drops off unexpectedly. At the edge, the water suddenly splits into three sections and becomes three seperate waterfalls. There are no barriers in the water or along the edge of the drop off. The water simply spills over the edge.
This reminds me of the community I grew up in. We all grew up together with the same basic beliefs because we were taught the same lesson by people that chose to live together because they shared the same ideals. In the beginning, we see things the same way they do because they taught us all the same things. We remain together as one unit until we reach an age of reasoning in which we begin to decide for ourselves what to think or believe.
The sudden drop off in the natural flow represents the age of reasoning when we begin to see things from our own perspective. We begin to break away from the original source and go our seperate ways. We remain connected to the original source, but we are now on seperate paths.
In the forefront of all the beauty happening naturally in background, there is a single tree. To me this represents the person we become when we break away from the natural source of our origins.
It survives against the odds. It has no leaves to block the scene in the background. It is acknowledging the source of its origins that are clearly visible in the background.
What we do not see here is what happens to the individual waterfalls. It is not necessary to see what happens to each waterfall in this scene because this card focuses on a single individual. The tree in the front that represents the self and a moment of reflection on where we come from.
Remembering comes in the time we take to reconnect with the source of our origins be it is a literal coming together in a reunion with those from our past or a simple remembering of where we come from and all that this taught us about who we are and who we will be in the future.
This card typically is about a coming together as in a celebration or a reunion. It can be a planned like a class reunion or a family reunion. It can also simply be an unexpected meeting with someone from your past that we have not seen in a long time. It can also be a time of remembrance.
This card gives us an opportunity to see the gifts in this reconnection as it is happening. If you find yourself standing in the market talking to someone you have not seen in a long time know that there is a reason for this reunion. There is a lesson in it. Take time to enjoy the moment and pay attention to the memories you have before during and after the union.
Reunions are not always about remembering happy times. They stir up all kinds of emotions and feelings. Remember that the good times and the bad times in our lives teach us about ourselves. Like the image in this card nothing really blocks the flow of our lives. It just becomes a part of who we are and who we are still becoming. It offers us a conscious awareness of all that is going on within and around us.
The Mary-El Tarot; Landscapes Of The Abyss