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

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Two Forms of Fear

From the Delta Enduring Tarot, the Devil; from the Southernisms Oracle, 'Hissy Fit:'
          There are two fears represented by this Devil. The first is the very real fear of an innocent black youth being trailed by a police cruiser. The second fear comes from the cop himself, watching someone who doesn't look like him out walking in the evening. His fear isn't based in fact, but in layers of assumptions, generalizations and prejudices. If the young man runs, the policeman will think his beliefs are justified. Fear based in ignorance can be dangerous; in this case, it primarily hurts others in its periphery. As Edmund Burke stated, "No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear." The Southernism phrase is "Don't pitch a hissy fit." The descriptor 'hissy' is tied to the word 'hysterical' and indicates an outburst or temper tantrum. It generally happens when someone feels entitled and doesn’t get their way. The 'entitled' part of this definition is important. Add power and privilege to fear, and the results can lead to great harm. Unfortunately, if the mind is full to the brim with fiction, there's often little room for fact.

8 comments:

  1. A lot of wars started with a fear based assumption and the notion of being right

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    1. I agree; fear is one of the hardest emotions for logic and rationality to cut through.

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  2. I doubt it does great harm but is that Charles Schultz drawing credited to him?
    An example of little harms building up to many little harms until we have a burden we can't support any more.
    Wonderful post, thank you for sharing your thoughts

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    1. All clip art came from Google images and other clip art sites. Do you have a link that attributes this to Schultz?
      Either way, this is one for personal use only, not publication.

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  3. At 61 I still through the occasional 'Hissy Fit'

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    1. I think if everyone were honest, they all would say the same. :)

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    2. It's not pretty, but there it is. I believe this weekend with the Women Marching, it is an organized gentle hissy fit.

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    3. I think that one might have more to do with equality than entitlement. :)

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