A figure sets out on a journey, leaving everything behind. This card speaks to a willingness to walk away from comfort and material things and to explore the unknown pathways of spirit.

I liken this card to The Hobbit, when Bilbo Baggins decides to leave the comfort and certainty of his life in Bag End to go on adventures that changed him forever. Two things drove him. One, was an internal dissatisfaction and desire to find something more that may have just been a part of his heritage. The other was the urging of someone he trusted that he was capable of more. Regardless of why it happened, Bilbo allowed himself to break free of his day-to-day life of relative ease and embrace the unknown.

From time to time we must all let go of our established pathways and explore other possibilities. Often these times are an impulse, a sudden departure. We hesitate and worry that the call is false and that we are simply being irresponsible, but that worry is precisely why we must make the journey. We must learn that the world can carry on without us, for we must all eventually make an ultimate journey from which there is no return. It’s good to train ourselves and the people in our lives that we may not always be around for everything.

This is also a call to be open to new things that we might encounter on this journey: new ways of living, new skills, new people in our lives. This need not be a literal journey. It might simply be allowing ourselves to rearrange our days to detach from routine and explore things that call to us. However, an actual journey might be exactly what is called for.

For me, this card makes sense. There are a few areas where I need to be bolder and to be ready to let go of current comforts and stability. Frankly, the idea terrifies me. What happens if I let down the people who depend on me? What if this departure doesn’t bring success, but a mess? A journey into the unknown is exactly that—unknown! I cannot tell what I will discover or achieve, which is precisely the point of doing it. I can see a few things that relate to this card’s meaning. I know I must be more active on them. It is a matter of gathering my courage and setting out on the journey.