Compassion may be the most difficult, most necessary and most rewarding spiritual lesson of them all. Many people don’t understand compassion.  Compassion can be a difficult concept. Common misconceptions of compassion are expressed in ways like this.

• I’ll save my compassion for the people who deserve it.
• That person will never change so compassion is wasted on them.
• I can’t have compassion for that person because that person is dangerous to me.

Here is some truth about compassion.

• Everyone deserves compassion, just like everyone deserves air.
• Compassion is not in limited supply.
• Compassion may or may not heal a difficult person. Compassion always heals the compassionate.
• It is possible, and often necessary, to practice detached compassion. That is, we sometimes need to practice compassion from a distance for a person with whom we avoid contact.
• The people who are hardest to love are the people who most need compassion.

There are many tarot cards that teach and describe different aspects of compassion. Here are twelve of them.

The Empress:
The Empress teaches the unconditional love of the mother. The Empress also reminds us that people who are raised without a mother’s unconditional love will almost surely become people who are difficult to love.

Strength:
Strength reminds us that love is our greatest strength. Love is more powerful than our wild and animalistic nature. We must use our strength to control our anger and act with compassion, even when dealing with those who have the power to hurt us.

Justice:
The spiritual lesson of Justice is simple. We must treat others fairly even when we have not been fairly treated.

The Devil:
Often the behaviors in other people that hurt us most are the behaviors that trigger our own dysfunctions. The Devil holds a mirror for us to see our own wounds and our own behavior.

The Star:
The Star reminds us that healing light is available from a limitless source. There is no end to the abundant healing power that is poured onto the Earth.

Judgment:
Judgment reminds us that we all have the opportunity to make closure with the past and be reborn into something new.

Ace of Cups:
The Ace of Cups is the healed heart and the open heart chakra. The Ace of Cups suggests the ability to give and receive unconditional love and compassion.

Two of Cups:
The Two of Cups reminds us of the healing nature of love and compassion.

Eight of Cups:
The Eight of Cups teaches us to walk away from the things that no longer serve us. Sometimes this is the most compassionate act possible.

Page of Cups:
The Page of Cups teaches us to speak kindly of  and to one another.

Four of Pentacles:
The Four of Pentacles teaches us to protect ourselves against those who would hurt us. This is an act of compassion towards ourselves. When we choose not to let someone hurt us we are holding them in compassion as well.

Six of Pentacles:
The Six of Pentacles is the traditional card of charity. To be charitable is to be compassionate.

As a book of wisdom, tarot offers important spiritual lessons that are relevant and applicable in our lives. When we learn and practice these twelve lessons of compassion we help to heal ourselves, heal others and heal the planet.