“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”
– Horace Mann

Completion, fulfillment, integration, achievement

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Overview

You came, you saw, you conquered. Completion in the highest form, and the universe is giving you a standing ovation. While all endings are sad, you wear the wings of a champion on your shoulders. Cry if you must, be proud of everything that brought you here. This is your moment to be moved by, but don’t forget to carry this success with your wherever you go.

Symbolism

Four clouds corner the card with a blue background. On each of the clouds is a head; one of a man, a bull, eagle and lion. A nude woman sits in the middle of a circular wreath. It is tied by two red infinity shaped ribbons. The only thing keeping the decency of the woman is a flowing purple scarf. Her legs and shaped in the number 4, and she holds a wand in both of her hands down by her hips, each having points that face up and down.

Again, the bull is Taurus, the eagle Scorpio, the lion Leo, and the human Aquarius. Or the four Archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Ariel, and Raphael) depending on your belief systems what you believe.

Meaning

Depending on the card surrounding The World this card can take on different meanings. Use your intuition to decipher what is means to you.

Totality

Another ending but the most satisfying of them all. The lights are off, you locked up, and are completely finished with this chapter in your life. There is satisfaction know that everything is done, and even if you had forgot something it’s all over now. Everything there was to gain has been obtained and experienced all the quests there were to experience. There is nothing left to do, you have leveled up in life and are moving forward.

Life has come full circle, and you worked so hard to be here. It’s ok to mourn goodbyes if it is an experience that resonated with you. You nurtured this from conception to completion. Shed some happy tears and move forward to the next great endeavor. Allow the glory of this moment to imprint your soul.

Fulfillment

Perhaps, you weren’t the winner, and you didn’t take it all. It doesn’t mean you didn’t walk away more victorious than those who actually took home the trophy. In this sense, the world comes in the form of satisfaction, fulfillment, and all the things that achievement cannot satisfy. You are comfortable and at peace that you have given it your very best effort, and are done with this battle you’ve fought for so long. Congratulations on finding inner satisfaction, even if the trophy didn’t have your name engraved into it; you received something much greater: The holy graill

Integration

In this moment you are godlike, every part of you has integrated perfectly. Every fracture has found its place within you. You are fully integrated, whether through your personal healing journey, into a family, society, or something else. Your eyes are open, your breadth of vision is at its peak. This is a time to be whole on your own.

Recognition

There maybe an award, or in the very least a pat on the back. You are being recognized for pulling the team and the weight of the world. You are a master of your domain.

As William Ernest Henley puts it:

“I am the master of my fate,

The Captain of my soul.”

Influence on the Suits:

During a reading, pay attention to the majority of the cards that are present. Depending on the number of Tarot cards of each suite, the meaning of the card can take a different shape.

If the majority of the suit of cups occupies a spread with The World: You have reached an optimal level of emotional fulfillment. Comfort and fulfillment are strong here, but there is no significant growth without conflict. New levels much be reached, one way or another.

With wands overwhelming the reading: Successful completion in a business or creative pursuit. Your desires have been fulfilled, and you are in new phases of planning

If Pentacles seem omnipresent in the spread: Solutions to our resources are coming soon. There may be a raise, recognition, a promotion, or another advancement in your career.

With swords surrounding the spread: Flashes of knowledge will be coming to you. Record them, and don’t forget them. They will leave as quickly as they came 

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The World Reversed

“The unfinished business will always come after you. Whatever you fail to kill will hunt your children, or the next…”
Samuel T. Padmore”

Denied closure, delays, unfinished business.

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In the Reversed position, you can turn the meaning of The World upside down and inside out, or it can be perceived as something else. Reversed cards can be read a few different ways. If you want to know the source of the concept of why this card is defined the way it is, check out the article “Reading Reversals” in Chapter 6 of this knowledge base.

If you simply want to know the reason and not the method of deciphering, here are some possible ways to read the card in reversed.

Meaning

Close to the conclusion

By all accounts, the card in this position indicates that based on the path you’ve been on, you are about to win it all. This isn’t a delay or an obstacle, it’s an omen that you have done the work and that you deserve everything that you aspired to achieve. There maybe just one small obstacle, or a little more work to be done, but The world is in the bag.

No Closure

In this scene the ending credits never rolled. It seems like everything simply stopped. Like the aftermath of a natural disaster where everyone just up and left, leaving fully set dinner tables, and houses that still felt lived in but not a soul in sight. It’s like everything has frozen in time, and as a result it seems like you’ll be stuck in this moment forever.

This isn’t merely a lack of goodbye, it’s like an entire section of your life ghosted you without so much as a backwards glance. If Justice reversed appears near the world reversed, rest assured— you did nothing to deserve this ending. You it all; the dream, the wish the happily ever after; You worked hard—you deserved the world.

Falling Short from insignificant constraints

The World reversed is an uncanny resemblance to twelfth card of the Major Arcana : The Hanged Man. It also flips the zodiac from having the Eagle (Scorpio, the 8th sign) and the man (Aquarius, the 11th sign) on the bottom of the card, while the Bull (Taurus, the 2nd sign) and the lion (Leo, the 5th sign).

This could indicate that you have to re-do an earlier part of your journey. Due to the fact that Taurus symbolizes materials; Leo can relate to confidence. This can indicate that your setback is related to the inability to continue moving forward with your path due to apprehension or material constraints.

Don’t sacrifice everything for the sake of comfort; the world is yours for the taking.

Incomplete Journey

The World reversed can indicate that you were forced to eject completely due to an outside influence. Something entirely out of your control has come between you and finishing strong. Whether you have enemies that sabotaged you at the home stretch, or that your actual conclusion involves cooperation or compromise that another party is unwilling to concede to.

Just as previously stated, you can return to a middle-ground and start again— relying only on yourself. Don’t let other people ride your coat tails steal your spotlight or your acclaim. Karma will reward you trifold for your dedication to your path, especially if Justice is present.

Taking the Journey too far

Remember why you started. Were you hungry? Tired? Poor? Sick of surviving and not thriving? Now you’re thriving and you’re still pursuing higher ground at the expense of everyone else (Especially if Five of Swords is in the same reading). You have proven that you are more than willing to destroy everything to keep reaching higher, from your health, to your friends, to your own family. While it’s always good to reach for more there comes a point where more is too much. It could cost you all the things that makes life meaningful, and all the things that make reaching this point in the first place worth doing so.

Mountains out of molehills

The obstacles in the way of your success are wildly insignificant. This is a bunny hop, not a great leap over a crevasse. This obstacle is not your ending, it’s merely a small insignificant speed bump. In all likely hood, you’re so eager to reach the end you’re over inflating the signifcance of this tiny bump in the road. You are already great, you have already won, you have already proven your proficiency and ability. Let it go and move to the finish.

Perhaps this can be because you have an underlying fear of what could be on the other side. Take a moment to consider where you’ve come from. Sure, the grass isn’t always greener, but you’ve seen the other side and you know for a fact it is. Stop psyching yourself out.