Longa Rest

You don’t hear a song and think “it needs more notes”.

Yet all the time spent in traffic is a waste of time. All empty rooms have to be filled with furniture and plants. All silences shall be injected with voiced opinions and restless ruminations.

Modern living feels like a war on emptiness that isn’t empty in the first place. We run around trying to fill the holes in our lives and never once stop to admire the aesthetic of the hole. Its function, the way it fits and serves everything around.

What if we took a collective break and listened to some music? Not just the sound of it – sorry Julie Andrews – rather that perfect marriage between the sound and its complete absence.

In music theory, silence is not a mythological creature. It’s tangible, structural, regimented. You write it down with a big, fat square and it stands proud on the sheet, playing a part that is dignified and can make or break your composition.

When this card shows up in a reading, it’s time to find answers and solace within the negative space of your life.

If you’re desperately looking for a soul mate, maybe there’s something you should learn in solitude first. If your marriage feels stuck, try to reconnect to the pleasures of domestic life and reflect on the ways your love grew deeper instead of bigger. If your job bores you, find the part of it you’ve never explored and dive in. Revisit all the small things that make up your life and try to remember the subtle joy they used to provide.

In the midst of a life that can feel like a circus, give yourself some breathing room. Longa Rest is an invitation to find the essential by stripping your life of the heavy, unnecessary layers acquired along the way.

This card ensures there is a depth to every surface you’ve scanned and a use for all the boredom you’re experiencing.