Cards by Brian Froud
Book by Jessica Macbeth

Unity
Portrait by Brian Froud
© Painting copyright 2000 by Brian Froud
All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission of the artist.

Card 1. Unity

Union. Mystical experience. Spiritual home.

Unity comes first and last. In between we have the illusion of duality, which we all believe in for a very long time. This apparent duality is ultimately shown to be an illusion, but it is an illusion through which we must pass, through which we learn and grow, and then once again return to Unity.
You may have had mystical experiences where you have had true union with other beings or even with the Unity, the One Who Is All. Such experiences change our lives, effectively showing us that the saying "we are all one" is not just a pious belief but is a statement of actual fact. We are not separate, like the threads in a tapestry, but are one. The only way to reach this awareness is to surrender the small everyday self to the larger spiritual Self, which is Unity. Experiencing full oneness with the Unity is transformative.
Looking at this painting, Jonathan notes, "All the power is focused in here, vast energies. It is as if all that power is looking for a place to happen." This is exactly what is going on--Unity is the energy of the cosmos still unmanifest, still without form. Here we see the dark and the light, masculine and feminine, active and passive, and other polarities, all expressed in balanced, energy-filled, vibrant union. All That Is is one, and that One is god/dess. From this, all else derives. This is the source from which we draw our strength, our very being.

Starter Reading

When this card comes up in a reading, it is asking us to remember the mystical concept that we are all One, unified in a holistic universe. It reminds us to look at the needs and goals we have in common with others, and to seek cooperation and community action rather than attempting to do everything on our own. To achieve our goals, we need the active cooperation of others—and to get that cooperation, we must be helpful to them and willing to work with their ideas as well as our own. It suggests that we think of things in terms of equal partnerships rather than in lines of hierarchical authority.
Unity also tells us that we have much to gain by remembering our own wholeness. Resolution of inner conflict is often necessary before we move ahead. It is important at this time that we work toward cooperation and reconciliation, within and without.
Seek the highest good of all involved—and not merely your idea of highest good. Ask for the divine energy of Unity to permeate and guide you.

Reverse

We may have become overly focused on the differences and disagreements that seem to separate us from others, and this may be preventing us from achieving our potential for fulfillment and happiness. We may feel alienated, unwanted, and lonely. If this is so, we need to refocus on what we have in common with those around us, far and near. We may need to heal our own attitudes and our beliefs that contribute to these feelings of separation, and we could usefully consider how we might find reconciliation with others. Forgiveness may be a key. Prejudice and judgmental and critical attitudes all push us farther into the delusion of separateness and loneliness.
Move toward allowing others be closer to you, gradually dropping the defensive attitudes that hold them away and keep you alone. Don't wait for others to make the first move toward reconciliation and connection but reach out to them with compassion and selflessness. This may be difficult, even very difficult at first, requiring self-study and inner work, possibly with the help of skilled teachers or therapists.
In meditation and prayer, ask to be in communion with the Unity deep within yourself. In Unity there is trust, love, and ecstasy.

A personal view:
There is a deep
dark note,
the slow breath of a timeless god,
played on a bansuri flute.
This song
wants to play me,
but every time
I am almost attuned,
it shakes me apart.
No rigid places, no bones
in my spirit, no shadow
can live
in that sound. I need to be
pliant and hollow, a green reed
in the wind,
so that slow descant
can breathe through.

Click here to read the observations on Unity made by the FaeryOracle group.

The first part of this page, the quote on Unity from Faeries' Oracle, is
© copyright 2000 by Jessica Macbeth and Brian Froud. All rights reserved.
The poem under "A personal view" is © copyright 1990 by Jessica Macbeth.
All rights reserved. It first appeared in Moon Over Water