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, October 20, 2016

Sell No Wine Before Its Time

From the Japaridze Tarot, the Eight of Gardens (Pentacles); from the Holitzka I Ching, Hexagram 49:
          Japaridze describes this figure as an alchemist. Alchemy was both a philosophy and a protoscience with an aim to purify, mature, and perfect certain objects. In Europe the area of interest was mainly metals, while in Asia it was medicine. The alchemist as a symbol for the Eight of Pentacles seems a good fit, as he works hard with attention to detail in an effort to perfect his craft. Hexagram 49 is alternately called Revolution or Metamorphosis and refers to perseverance that finally brings about change. From an alchemical point of view, this in-between time (perseverance) would be the effort put forth for purification and maturation. Just as wine needs time to age so that it's quality improves, so does any movement or project.

8 comments:

  1. These cards go perfectly together. I admire people who can learn through trial and error. That amount of perseverance is not in my backpack this time around :)

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    1. I inherited a good dose of stubbornness, which can pay off in times where perseverance in needed. :D

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  2. sometimes quilts in progress spend longer on the wall doing 'think' time than the end up spending under the needle

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    1. This pair is more about practicing than thinking in order to get things right. But I've been held up by that thinking stage before!

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  3. Everything in its time. As they say, patience is a virtue.

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    1. So many people don't want to be patient enough to learn how to do something. Reminds me of Ellen's post today a bit - just let me pay for something that will give me instant results.

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  4. I find it strange to have the Eight of Gardens looking so mechanical/chemical... I guess you do have to process things from and for the garden. Still, it puts me in mind of the natural wine movement, against having so many chemical additives in what could be a natural product. Sometimes in purifying, less is more :)

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    1. It was a little disconcerting to me to, until I saw that some alchemists were focused on medicine. That made a little more sense! :)

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