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, December 6, 2015

Truth and Dare

This week I'll be using the Dark Goddess Tarot, a deck created by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince and published by Arnell's Art. Along with it, I'll be using a digital set of Tattwas Cards. Today's draws are Death and "Ether - Seed of Water:"
          La Santa Muerte, the Saint of Death appears in her red form. She has three faces: La Blanca, the protective one; La Roja, the passionate one; and La Negra, the dark, mysterious one. Like the lyrics of the religious song, she too has the whole world in her hands. This goddess represents the truth of impermanence, the natural cycle of beginnings and endings. Wayne Muller writes: "Will we interpret this loss as so unjust, unfair, and devastating that we feel punished, angry, forever and fatally wounded - or, as our heart, torn apart, bleeds its anguish of sheer, wordless grief, will we somehow feel this loss as an opportunity to become more tender, more open, more passionately alive, more grateful for what remains?"
          The keyword associated with Ether - Seed of Water is "daring." There is great potential here for freedom, if I am willing to venture outside my comfort zone in spite of my fears. Yet loss can make me want to do just the opposite; a cocoon to crawl inside and hide is normally what I seek. I feel too raw and exposed to face anything, as if I have no protective skin. I think even La Santa Muerte would give me a brief respite to grieve and work on acceptance. But life will be moving on whether I do or not. I'll never discover a new shore if I'm not willing to step on the boat.

6 comments:

  1. A brief respite is often too short but I get what you mean. There has to come a day we have to step out of our protective bubble and start living again. It is almost as if we die a bit too when we loose a loved one but we have to be reborn again like you've said: softer stronger and wiser :)

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    1. I've got a friend who lost her husband almost seven years ago, and she's still in that bubble. I've tried to entice her out multiple times, but she seems content with her isolation. I think that's part of the problem with staying in our bubble for too long - it makes it even harder to come back out. Hugs to you my friend.

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    2. Please don't give up on her yet. It took me years too and when I finally found the the courage to step out my bubble a lot of friends and some family members had left beforehand.
      Hugs to you and your friend

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    3. I give her space, but I won't give up on our friendship! :)

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  2. This combination speaks to some visceral depth I can't quite name but can feel in my body...a wonderful pairing!

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    1. It wasn't until after I posted that I noticed the blade on Death and the crescent moon were perfectly paired - one that brings down and the other that lifts up. :)

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