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

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Wounded Distractions

From the Fairytale Tarot, the Chariot; from the Tree Affirmation Cards, the "Turkey Oak:"
          For me the story of "The Snow Queen" illustrates how easily our hearts and minds can be wounded, and from those wounds misconceptions and misunderstandings develop. We all have experiences that impact how we think and feel; prejudice and cold indifference can easily be the result. An example is the situation with the terrified refugees of Syria, and the way many politicians look at them as if they carry cooties. The Chariot suggests a need for focusing on truth and acting from reason without allowing distractions to sway me from my path.
          Lewis' drawing of a turkey oak shows a tree with heart rot disease; it's branches have been drastically pruned and a protective boundary placed around it to allow it to heal. This card fits nicely with the Chariot and implies a need for action and boundaries, if I want to hang on to the reins of reason and truth. It would be easy to avoid all people, the media, and situations that challenge my heart and mind, but I think that might just put me and my opinions on a pedestal. Neither discernment nor open-mindedness can be found there. But if I keep the lines of communication open with those who want to have a discussion rather than with those whose purpose is to twist facts into fiction, then perhaps I will  have found an alternative.
later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?
it answered
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere.
~ Warsan Shire

5 comments:

  1. I have to admit I am guilty of prejudice too. For instance after the attack on Paris it is hard not to fear moslim people. I have to consciously remind myself not every moslim is dangerous. I feel ashamed feeling this way but you can't change what you don't acknowledge

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    1. I think it is instinctual for fear to lead us to be protective. Hopefully reason will eventually prevail. I honestly don't think the Islamic State should even be associated with Islam; they are simply terrorists who crave power.

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    2. I fully agree. and I think it our challenge to see beyond our primal reactions

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