I use tarot and oracle cards as tools for reflection and contemplation. Rather than divining the future, they are a way for me to look more deeply at the "now."
"The goal isn't to arrive, but to meander, to saunter, to make your life a holy wandering." ~ Rami Shapiro

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Gathering Sunflowers

This week I'll be using the Tarot de St. Croix, a deck and mini-book set created and self-published by Lisa de St. Croix. Today's card is the Nine of Pentacles:
Occasionally when I choose a card, I'll have a random-seeming thought that flits through my brain when I see it. This morning it was "Plant your own garden." The woman seen on the Nine of Pentacles is often described as self-sufficient and financially independent, yet she takes time to enjoy life - the arts, friendships, hobbies and causes close to her heart. Her life revolves around more than just the daily grind. It is easy for me to get caught up in the day-to-day machinery so that I forget to live. In a few days, I'll be leaving town to go to a family member's 90th birthday. I'm so consumed with making sure pets and people will be taken care of while I'm gone, I feel no excitement about the trip at all. I know things will be handled - maybe not like I'd do it - but still, the world won't stop spinning. Time to gather and nourish myself with my own sunflowers.

The oracle deck I'll be using this week is the Archetype Cards, created by Caroline Myss and published by Hay House:
Growing up, I was raised in a fundamentally religious household under stepdad number one. Women and girls were to be submissive and of service. Hedonists? Not by a long shot. But I bet you can guess what happened when I went off to college. I raised so much hell I almost died from it. So I've experienced both extremes of this card, and neither were healthy or fulfilling. Yet Myss counters that having an appetite for life and enjoying its sensual pleasures is normal and necessary, not sinful. What use is all this beauty if I don't pause to appreciate and revel in it?

5 comments:

  1. It is often that our upbringing has given us a too excessive sense of guilt so it is hard for us to enjoy the simple pleasure of life. The "shouldn't's" are all around us tempting and luring :D
    I hope you can fully enjoy this time out for yourself from the daily hustle. Indulge a little; you deserve it!

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    1. Relaxing, enjoying and indulging is finally beginning to seep into my brain... :D

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  2. Oh, I love the Tarot de St Croix - gorgeous! Hmm, maybe there's a bit of hedonism in enjoying all these lovely decks ;)
    Hope you do manage to find the joy in your trip - 90 years is definitely something to celebrate!

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    1. Yep, I think lovely decks count! I tried to talk myself out of this deck, but when Mother's Day rolled around last month, I bought myself a present. :D

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    2. Bet you won't regret it, I think it's my favourite deck of the year so far :)

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