One of my favorite things to do with the tarot is to study the details, and learn what their hidden symbols represent.
Today I wanna share a bit about one of my favorite symbols- the infinity symbol, also known as a figure 8 or the number 8.
The Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno drew this symbol in 1584 when he proposed a theory of an unbounded universe, which he saw as innumerable suns with innumerable earths revolving around them, each inhabited by living beings.
Sadly, religious fanatics saw him as a heretic for this, and imprisoned him (for 8 years!) and when he wouldn’t touch their cross and ‘repent’ they burned him alive.
What’s amazing about the infinity symbol is it has even earlier roots in ancient Egypt- as serpent worship! The Egyptians used it to represent a snake coiled upon itself, symbolic of skin being shed, rebirthing, resilience, and an inner power that keeps going. This power can’t be born or destroyed, it just is.
There are lots of ways humans have tapped into this power over time, including recovery from physical illness, reinventing oneself in art, accepting challenges, moving through personal crisis, healing from addiction and being ‘reborn’ spiritually, and harnessing sexual energy through tantric arts.
In the tarot the infinity symbol appears on the Strength card, which is an archetype for this vital power which can be transforming when we tap into it.
Like the snake coiling upon itself, we must turn inward and be willing to feel growing pains, let the ‘shell’ of our personality die, and expose the new vulnerable self in order to rebirth.
This process is cyclical, and perhaps that’s why the infinity symbol has two circles connecting inward toward each other, circulating in a tight circuit of amplified power.
I love that the symbols are ancient, have stayed in the collective for so many years, and are still meaningful. I recommend the book “The Secrets of the Universe in 100 Symbols” by Sarah Bartlett- a wonderful resource which I use during client sessions to get more clarity on sacred symbols.
I find these sacred symbols to be portals into self knowledge and clarity. The more we get clear on things the stronger our self-trust muscle gets!
Helping people build their self-trust muscle is why I keep reading tarot professionally (!) and why I keep showing up every day, blogging, doing live videos, and making myself visible.
If you’re interested in a reading just click here and we can go from there! 🙂