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

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

The Pause in the Middle

From the Revised Art Tarot, the World; from the Viking Lenormand, "Lilies:"
          The numbering of this card is unusual, as it has been given both numbers 21 and 22. The wreath represents a gateway - an ending and beginning in the dance of life. The guardians outside the wreath each have a minor suit emblem, implying all these areas must be used with skill and balance to successfully complete one cycle and begin another. The shield at the top holds a cross within a circle, a symbol of the ancient geometer's attempt at "squaring the circle" (constructing a square that is equal in area to a circle). In everyday use, the phrase means finding a solution to a problem that originally seemed impossible.
          The Lilies suggest maturity, wisdom and a peaceful, relaxing time. In adding this meaning to the card above, I am reminded how easily humans are bored in the space between finishing one task and beginning another. We are impatient to fill the time, to find some purpose that keeps us in motion. But perhaps the wisdom offered in that space allows for gestation. A time for inspiration to come naturally instead of chasing after it.

4 comments:

  1. squaring the circle. I've heard that but never actually understood it. Cool. At least a step above reinventing the wheel...:)

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    1. The booklet that comes with this deck has been helpful in deciphering what the little symbols represent; of course Google has been helpful in filling out the details. :D

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  2. Your post reminds me of the magic that might happen on a threshold, a windowsill or the middle step of the stairs, neither inside nor outside, but a boundary between the two. Some say it is the entrance of the Otherworld. Who know what wisdom we can find there :)

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    1. Yes, that's it; if we could just pause before jumping we might be pleasantly surprised by where we wind up next.

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