#jackson nathan

Chameleon. Art by Jackson Nathan, from the Etherea Illumination Deck.

#47: CHAMELEON Sign: Virgo Gift: Versatility Shadow: Bondage

Gift: Versatility At the higher frequencies of this gift, your fears lose their devilish grins and you see them for what they are: symbols. Every symbol in your reality has an underlying meaning - and with every meaning, a message. It is your mission to decipher the writings of your walls. From here, you gain access to all of life's mysteries. You release yourself from the handcuffs of self- imposed limitation: a fixed identity, a label, a career path, an image. You are no thing and no one. You are everything. The sunset and the chameleon.

Shadow: Bondage The collective unconscious slips into each individuated experience, coloring aspects of your lifetime in such a way that reflects our greatest and deepest fears. As unique beings within the larger whole, we each grapple with our own distinct, prominent shadows, and the more we attempt to deny or repress them, the more they loom in our peripheral. What occurs in your outer world is an extension of your inner landscape. What demons are you holding hostage? Witness them, hold the chains, and set your devils free. Making peace with your humanness - complete with its afflictions and darkness is the only route to salvation.

Adventure. Art by Jackson Nathan, from the Etherea Illumination Deck.

#35 ADVENTURE Sign: Gemini Gift: Adventure Shadow: Hunger

Gift: Adventure Enter the gift by exploring the great majesty of love. To move through love means to accept yourself unconditionally. You know that now, here, in this body, you are complete and have everything you need. Life is whatever you want it to be, and when you in fu s e boundless love into everything you do and everywhere you go, your experience becomes a grand adventure. You explore your inner world -- the mysterious labyrinth of you -- with curiosity and amazement. You adore all that you are, and from there springs forth inspiration and creation. Your experience is a story to be shared.

Shadow: Hunger Hunger, whether literal or metaphorical, drives this shadow; this is a deep-seated, insatiable appetite for fulfillment (that is, to be "filled up"). Such a yearning keeps us in a perpetual cycle propelled by plateau frequency: we feel empty, attempt to mitigate the pain with something or someone within the physical world, receive a brief period of relief, veer slowly back to emptiness, repeat. The outward search for lasting satisfaction produces an addiction for momentary highs, the clever yet superficial imitations of true wholeness.

Etherea. Art by Jackson Nathan, from the Etherea Illumination Deck.

#64: ETHEREA Sign: Virgo Gift: Poetry Shadow: Confusion

Gift: Poetry Like every high frequency state, you cannot merely bypass the shadow in order to claim the gift. Embrace your confusion and your inner turmoil first, then see how much of your pain is a fabrication of the mind; it's not so much about what happens to you, but about the chokehold of your thoughts surrounding it. When you break this chain and free yourself from your own mental entrapment, you can immerse yourself fully in your own experience - with its joy and sorrow and everything in-between - then emerge again with newfound imagination and artistry. Become the masterpiece. Live the poem.

Shadow: Confusion A sense of confusion marks your life when you are led by the shadow. In an attempt to figure out who you are and why you're here, you mistakenly look to the outside world for solace and direction, which ironically leads to more confusion and separation from self. In the repressive state, you may try to take on others' truths as your own, like a form of osmosis, by imitating their lifestyles, or careers, or paths as a way of obtaining wholeness - though this route is futile. In the reactive state, you reject everything associated within the status quo and try to reach fulfillment through a process of elimination, which leaves you feeling isolated and numb.

Golden Hour. Art by Jackson Nathan, from the Etherea Illumination Deck.

#63: GOLDEN HOUR Sign: Pisces Gift: Magic Shadow: Doubt

Gift: Magic Your Truth lies within you. A wonderful paradox exists within this gift: As you pursue your Truth (the profound inquiry of your lifetime) and delve into the deepest recesses of your being, you thereby gain access to the greater Truth of our interconnected nature. All of life is One. Such an illumination exists beyond the rational and logical faculties of the mind, and when you surrender fully to your own infinite m a gi c, there is no going back. Doubt is no longer internalized, like in the shadow state, but used as a catalyzing force for humanity to transcend the survival mind and remember our innate oneness.

Shadow: Doubt When you question your abilities, your perspective, or your dreams, this shadow is running the show. The cornerstone of both gift and shadow is the theme of doubt. When utilized well, doubt can drive inquiry, which drives a search for answers and purpose-driven action. Alternatively, on the lower rungs, this energy is internalized, leading to self-doubt and stagnancy, or projected outwardly, leading to nagging suspicions of those around you. The goal is not to eliminate doubt entirely, but to see it for what it is and move through it when the time is right. Your logical, conditioned mind will try to convince you that stability or fulfillment can only be achieved once you've arrived at that one, true answer - but, the Truth is, no such answer exists. The search for meaning nonetheless remains a bounteous quest. 

Essence. Art by Jackson Nathan, from the Etherea Illumination Deck.

#62: ESSENCE Sign: Cancer Gift: Knowingness Shadow: Intellect

Gift: Knowingness Awakening within the great expanse that is the gift requires remembering your truest essence. In this space, you recognize that all schools of thought - all disciplines and fields - are valiant human attempts to make sense of our universe and its phenomena, and yet they also fall short of fully encapsulating what it means to exist. This seed of knowledge presents a new opportunity for you to question the way we've understood our world, and this begins by poking holes in your own subjective viewpoint. You rediscover an intelligence, beyond the mind, that pulses through every facet of your being, every cell and every pore. You find yourself within the fabric of the cosmos and reconnect with an intrinsic knowingness that has always resided within you.

Shadow: Intellect This shadow centers on the mind and your intellectual powers in particular. Within the dominant worldview, mental abilities equate to superiority; we administer tests and give awards, rank students based on scores, and judge based on resumes and schooling. The pinnacle of excellence is to be labeled 'smart.' And yet, relying solely on this trait, this minute aspect of who you are, confines you. Within this box, you are limited to the man-made constructions of the physical sphere - all of its “facts," science, books, and theories. Of course, all of these tools serve a useful purpose in understanding our world, but if we discard our hearts and relinquish our intuition for the sake of glorifying “fact” and the current consensus about what holds value, we forfeit our chance for lasting transcendence. When we hold on so tightly to a single attribute, we deny the divine spectrum of who we truly are.

Truth. Art by Jackson Nathan, from the Etherea Illumination Deck.

#61: TRUTH Sign: Capricorn Gift: Inspiration Shadow: False Truths

Gift: Inspiration When we realize that all we've been taught about the world of form and the nature of reality is just a miniscule part of the picture, a new possibility awakens: Truth beyond the limitations of the mind. Here, in this heightened mode of being, creative inspiration strikes from the depth of your core. No longer is there "how?" or "why?" but only IS. A presence. A moment. A now. Allow your inspiration to take hold of you when it divinely appears, and nurture the silence when it does not. Patience is key. Curate your everyday experience in a way that will allow a sense of flow to propel you forward.

Shadow: False Truths This shadow manifests from an attachment to the question "why?" Why are we here? Why do we exist? In many ways, this inquiry has had profound effects on our collective evolution, like developments within the arenas of science and religion. The shadow appears when the exploration of meaning turns into an overemphasis on the human findings born of it (i.e. worshipping a church/idea/invention), which ironically takes us further from our ultimate objective of oneness with creation/the creator/existence itself. And so, in this way, our centeredness on the mind, intellect, and form becomes a crutch and we become separated from our true nature.

Form. Art by Jackson Nathan, from the Etherea Illumination Deck.

#60: FORM Sing: Capricorn & Aquarius Gift: Evolution Shadow: Restriction

Gift: Evolution The gift state is not absent of structure but, instead, utilizes form as a necessary jumping off point for something miraculous to occur. You have your roots firmly planted in the Earth while the dreamiest parts of you stay nestled in the ephemeral clouds of what could be. Music and language flourish here. You are both an abstract thinker and a realist, packaged into one. In many ways, you personify common sense: you know the "rules" of our world intimately, but simultaneously you also know just how to move past them in order to open the door to our continued evolution and the higher planes of consciousness that await us.

Shadow: Restriction Throughout our life-long conditioning, we're trained to think within certain parameters and behave accordingly. We're taught moral codes, social rules, and the laws of life. If we're not exposed to expansive influences beyond our limiting programming, we fall into the trap of thinking that these belief systems have a 11 the answers. We abide by the commandments of conduct yet still feel a pang of emptiness, a sense that there is more to this existence. When burdened by shadow, you may adhere too strictly to the systems and structures of our world, mistake them for fact or Truth, and subsequently relinquish your own innate wisdom for the sake of conforming to the social norms. In a repressive state, you may forsake any structure entirely and find yourself ruled by chaos.

Honeywomb. Art by Jackson Nathan, from the Etherea Illumination Deck.

#59: HONEYWOMB Sign: Virgo Gift: Intimacy Shadow: Dishonesty

Gift: Intimacy The magnitude of this gift is powerful, because sex itself is an incredibly consuming force. When you recognize your shadow and own it, you may harness its core, electrifying energy and move into authentic, all-encompassing intimacy. This is not about forsaking your fears but allowing them to be present, then consciously moving through them. It is only through the shadow that the gift can be accessed, which is why shame must be removed in the process. In true intimacy, it is not just your aura interacting with another's. Instead, your auras entwine and create a third aura. The energy between you shifts and multiplies, expanding beyond form.

Shadow: Dishonesty At lower frequencies, this manifests as a fear of relationships and a distrust of people. This fear is deeply embedded in our collective wiring, as it has propelled a sexual tension that has, in turn, allowed for procreation and the continuation of our species. If fear drives sexuality, as long as there is something still to be feared in the other, the friction remains. As such, you might unconsciously hide something of yourself from your romantic interest in an effort to keep that sexual tension alive. It is a dishonesty of which you may not even be consciously aware. This theme of artifice can unfold in both romantic and platonic relationships, leading to inauthentic bonds. When you repress this shadow, it shows up as feeling excluded. In order to regain a sense of control over your emotional world, you unconsciously guard yourself and keep others at arm's length. On the reactive side, you might attempt to control or dominate your relationships, which can often lead to unhealthy dynamics.