black tarot · major arcana XIX
The Sun in the Black Tarot
Compulsory positivity, radiance with the inside switched off.
Portrait of the shadow
The Black Sun shines seven days a week — that is the trouble. It is not allowed a cloudy day: the reputation of being the life of every room obliges, more harshly every year. Sadness, tiredness and anger are sent down to the cellar (see the Devil — they share cellars), while upstairs the floodlight runs without interruption. People are drawn to her light and never think to warm themselves on her — nobody warms themselves on a lamp. The card's shadow is a ban on half-tones: either I shine or I don't exist. But unexpressed sadness doesn't vanish — it accumulates, and one day comes out all at once, frightening its owner most of all. The way out is rehabilitating shade in the literal sense: permitting yourself an overcast day. A real sun differs from a floodlight in exactly this — it knows how to set, and nothing bad happens to it for that.
The trap
The smile has grown on. Sadness is banned — her own shames her, other people's she treats with 'cheer up'. The feed blooms; the pillow knows otherwise.
The shadow in love and at work
In love: A showcase couple: radiant in public, flatmates in private.
At work: Toxic positivity on the team: problems aren't solved — they're forbidden.
The way out
Tell one person how it actually is. No emoji.