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

Sunday, August 31, 2014

The Future's so Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

From the Tranformational Tarot, Alchemy (Temperance); from the Celtic Book of the Dead, "Island of the Cats:"
Alchemy is more than just blending, it is taking two elements and making a third that is totally different from the first. This woman mixes water with earth, but more than mud will be produced. She appears to be shedding a snakeskin, further emphasizing this transformation. All around her flowers grow that need both water and earth, not just one or the other. Perhaps these blooms symbolize the beauty that can be created with receptive compromise instead of "all or nothing" demands.
In the Celtic Book of the Dead, the voyagers came upon the Island of the Cats when they were exhausted and starving. Inside a fortress there, the men found a feast laid out on a table and a cat leaping about. Maelduin, the leader, asked the cat if the feast was for them and intuited that it was, so the men ate heartily. There was also great treasure all around, and one of the men secretly slipped a necklace in his pocket (though warned by Maelduin not to take anything). As they were leaving, the cat jumped through the thief, turning him to ash. This tale emphasizes the obligation of hospitality to others, but underscores the duty of those visiting not to take advantage of what has been offered. Adding this card to Temperance/Alchemy, I am reminded that such an accord doesn't mean the scales are weighted in another person's favor. The Middle Path is not a sneaky way for one person to fleece the other; it should bring harmony, not create more distrust.

7 comments:

  1. Great post! I love how you've interpreted the flowers as the product of alchemy which is always more than the sum of the parts. Walking the Middle Path is in my opinion the most exciting balancing act of life. :)

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    1. If the "parts" can ever understand how great their "sum" can be (instead of "what's in it for me), I think something great can be created!

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  2. Oh I am so happy and excited to have met you online! You have a wonderful blog. Is this deck primarily Celtic? Being from Nova Scotia we are steeped in everything Celtic here as it is or history and roots. I have decided I must get myself a Celtic deck! These are such beautiful cards!!! I so love Temperance and Iris. Lovely post!!!

    I just wanted to say I love your profile picture of the beaver. I live on a tidal river in very rural Nova Scotia and have a tidal marsh, where the dikes separate the marsh from the river. I have a resident beaver who is a delight for the most part when he is not gnawing done my birch trees!!!

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    1. Catherine, I am so glad you stopped by, and I'm happy to have stumbled across your blog via Ellen's. :) The Transformational isn't Celtic, but the oracle deck (Celtic Book of the Dead) is by Caitlin Matthews and is based on the mystical voyage of the Celtic hero Maelduin in the Otherworld. I enjoy myths and stories, so this deck is one I really like using.
      I've always been drawn to the beaver, then several years ago someone gave me a card that explained the root of my name - Beverly. The literal meaning is "dweller at the beaver meadow." Heehee, what a meaningful coincidence that was! We don't have too many beavers this far in the south; I would love to have one for a neighbor!

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    2. Thank you Bev. That's good, the meaning of your name! My name means purity...Phifftt...that's a good one! I try a little once in a while LOL ;) I can be a bit of a purist occasionally, to my detriment.
      I am not familiar with the oracle deck. I must hunt it down!

      Thank you Bev.

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  3. The Transformational Tarot does make me laugh, with its quirky bits and bobs. Good luck walking that Middle Path, without manipulation or giving in.

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    1. It is quirky, isn't it? Which is why I like it too. :D It's quite a balancing act, that Middle Path.

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