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

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Safe on Base

From the Victorian Romantic Tarot, the Five of Swords; from the Dreaming in Color Deck, Family:
          Two older boys intimidate and tease a younger one. While bullying has always been around, it seems here in America it has become more prevalent over the last years. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we are training the younger generation to be this way. I've seen it when I've tried to talk to parents about their children's behavior in school, and they insist that little Johnny or Susie would never do or say something like that (and thus excuse their cruelty). It's beginning to seem acceptable to earn power and self-esteem by denigrating and destroying other people. An even greater example is our newly elected Tyrant-in-Chief. "Love your neighbor" obviously only counts when you're sitting in a church pew on Sunday morning. Sommers gives her card the keyword 'family,' but insists it includes any personal place or group that acts as a refuge. Like children playing tag who have a safe 'home base,' this is the place we can go to get away from the craziness and rest. Yet even here, I must be cautious not to allow the media to infect my sacred space. As one of the Five Precepts states (in Susan Moon's rendition): "I vow not to intoxicate body or mind but to cultivate a mind that sees clearly."


10 comments:

  1. Both cards have dominant colors of green, yellow, and purple and those happen to be the dominant colors of Mardi Gras next week. Coincidental? Cruelty is the mask that a lot of people wear to hide their fears. And we all know the only we have to fear, is fear itself.

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    1. You are so right; I think fear does drive a lot of cruel behavior.

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  2. Then again, it might just be the long woolen socks.

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  3. Power and self esteem by denigrating and destroying others. What managers don't seem to get is that this kind of behaviour doesn't just affect the immediate target but is detrimental to the productivity of the organisation. I'm taking a fools step this week and raising it as a problem...

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    1. We just had a case here where a manager was charged because of the suicide of a young man in her employ that she bullied. Yet I fear you are right - only when it affects the buck they earn do many businesses take notice.

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  4. Perhaps nowadays guilt laden parents who spend nearly enough time with their kids, take an rebuke of there children too personally, almost as if it is an attack on their parenting skills

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    1. That probably has a lot to do with it. I know a lot of parents who are willing to buy their kids almost anything, but rarely have an hour to spend with them.

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  5. I'm liking the color match ups between these two cards, too. Heard they may do a reprint of the VR. Fingers crossed.

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    1. The VR is in my opinion one of the better decks they've created; I hope they do reprint it. The colors of the oracle deck really matches the emotion it depicts well!

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