OshoZen 9 of Rainbows (Pents)

9 of Rainbows ~Ripeness~

Up until recently, I just noticed that not all the apples were on the tree, one is falling off. Not sure why I overlooked this important detail, but I did. I guess I was too focused on that moon hanging in the sky and the stars. Seldom do I know when I crossed a certain point in my life and see the world in a different light. By the time I realize it, the change has happened, I'm not the same as before. I'd say that's a happy discovery, when you stop and realize you're a tad bit better person than the day before.
For a long time I thought I had nothing to share, and with the friends I once held court, had nothing in common. So I would always poop out at parties, never quite fitting in. I remember a guy I was once seeing say that it wasn't so much me in as much as me picking all the wrong parties, lol! That was sweet.
As I venture along, I do see where the moment wasn't all that right, and the mix of people, wrong, and I, unprepared to see the difference. With this card, it seems all the elements have aligned, and the time has arrived for Cinderella to go to her ball.

There are a few different ideas in this card, although all connected: ripeness, completion, letting go, death, timing.
It is a very rich, lush looking card, the colours deep and glowing, the night sky full of stars, but also the sun only just disappeared or about to appear, and a new moon(is it new or old, I can never tell the difference).
The idea of a ripeness making possible the letting go is encouraging, but also scary. When we finish something, we should be able to let go of it rather than hang on and go over and over the same stuff. We should also be able to recognise that completeness, which is another whole story. It is like the monks making a sand mandala, only to destroy it as soon as it is finished - it is the process that counts, not the finished product.
I also like the reminder that all processes, of any kind of creation, are cyclical (we've seen that in a previous card) but come to an end naturally and this is death, whether of a life form or an idea. We need this death in order to move along, otherwise we hang on to unfinished business and never really complete anything. Then we have to store it somewhere.
So ... everything is in the process of ripening, the timing is always perfect for that ripening, and we should always be ready to just let go. That is easier said than done, I fear - I tend to go over and over things, over-analyse, over-think, instead of accepting the right moment.

I don't have the book nearby, but I think these are plums or some other fruit - not apples. Not that that takes anything away from the interpretation!

Speaking of apples though, a girlfriend sent me an email about women and apples. It was along the lines that the best women are like the apples at the top of the tree and sadly, there are few men that are caring enough to reach up to select them. Instead, the men go for the apples within easier reach which are often the ones that have fallen and are rotting on the ground.

I love the gradient sky in this card. It moves the eye up, to the better fruit on the tree.

with love
purple_scorp

I love the beauty of the gradient sky on this card. Is the sun rising or setting here? I think it must be setting, because this is a card that hints of completion, or the approach of completion. I do question whether the fruit on the tree is "better" fruit. Perhaps all fruit is the same, and we just don't realize it.

I'm intrigued by the distinction this deck makes between "ripeness" and "maturity" (the Ace of this suit). Why is "maturity" a stage before "ripeness"?