Not on the Couch

From the Hoi Polloi Tarot, the Nine of Pentacles; from the I Ching Pack, Hexagram 1 (Creative Action):

True contentment is a thing as active as agriculture. It is the power of getting out of any situation all that there is in it. ―Gilbert K. Chesterton

Hard work and discipline have produced contentment in the Nine of Pentacles, which should not be confused with complacency. Complacency is stagnant, a state of self-satisfaction that has lost its curiosity and desire to grow. Contentment, on the other hand, is fully engaged with life; it maintains its inquisitiveness and enjoys adding skills and knowledge. When things go wrong, complacency feels like someone shoved us off our cozy couch. When content, we're just curious about how to deal with it. Hexagram 1 (Creative Action) is dynamic power that guides and inspires. Yet it understands that there is a right time for the right action - it works in harmony with what is - planting in the right season. Such awareness fosters contentment. 

Evaluate, Contemplate

From the Hoi Polloi Tarot, the Seven of Pentacles; from the I Ching Pack, Hexagram 20 (Contemplation):

Find your passion, set a goal, go to work, evaluate, reassess, and repeat. 

―Elana Meyers

Once we have a project or objective that we're enthusiastic about, it's easy to get started. But often we spend more time focusing on what we imagine the results will look like than the task at hand. Meyers has a good work plan; rather than fantasize, we work a bit, evaluate, then adjust as needed and get back to work. Hexagram 20 is called contemplation, which involves considering a concept in a thoughtful and introspective manner with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding. To flip Socrates words, an examined life is a life worth living, but only if we are focused on what we can do to make things better rather than stewing in anger and blame. 

No Magic Cleaver

From the Hoi Polloi Tarot, the Lovers; from the I Ching Pack, Hexagram 9 (Restraint):

Those who regard the mundane

as a hindrance to life and practice

only understand that

in the mundane nothing is sacred;

what they have not yet understood

is that in sacredness

nothing is mundane.

— Dogen Zenji

The woman gazes up at the angel, as if she could spiritually bypass all the grittiness of life. The man gazes at the woman, as if he might indulge every selfish pleasure without reaping any consequences. Yet there is no magic cleaver - the sacred and mundane cannot be separated. Hexagram 9 - Wind over Dragon - suggests "gently stroking the dragon's back." It implies restraint rather than choosing one extreme or the other. As Dogen explained, "Sacred and mundane, just as they are, intermingle freely." It's a package deal.

Winds are Blowing

From the Hoi Polloi Tarot, the Two of Pentacles; from the I Ching Pack, Hexagram 59 (Dispersion):

A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.

―Catherine the Great

This fellow juggles two pentacles connected by an infinity ribbon - a reminder that our lives are a constant adjustment to change in the physical world. His tall sugar-loaf hat is symbolic of the sailor who wets his finger and holds it aloft to see which way the wind is blowing. It's easy to get so caught up in keeping things in the air that we forget to be aware of approaching shifts. Hexagram 59 (Dispersion) indicates that a transformation is afoot with the impending removal of obstacles and misunderstandings. It might at first feel like the sky is falling, but this clearing out will eventually allow us to make progress and grow.

Accept Responsibility

This week I'll be using the Hoi Polloi Tarot published by Hoi Polloi Inc. The oracle I'll also use is the I Ching Pack created by Richard Gill and Anthony Clark and published by Thorsons. Today's cards are the Hermit and Striving Upwards (Hexagram 46):

No one can accept responsibility for the spiritual life of someone else.

―John Beckett

It is telling that this Hermit has very little color in a brightly colored deck. I was talking to a friend the other day about how churches must entertain rather than teach these days. People seem to want only fun and excitement on their spiritual path, not the hard work of looking inward or doing service for others. Hexagram 46 reflects the seed's effort of pushing up through the earth. Effort and perseverance are required for any path. Beckett (a pagan) offers "Five Reasons You Can't Find the Right Spiritual Path," which may not sound like a vacation checklist but is definitely worth a read. Here are the bullet points:

• You don’t know your core values. 
• You’re so busy running away from something you can’t run toward anything.
• You’re looking for perfection. 
• You’re looking for external confirmation.
• You aren’t sticking with something long enough to see if it works for you.

New Doors

From the Shadowlands Tarot, the Six of Cups; from the Brownie Wisdom deck, "Early Train:"

Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. 

―Corrie ten Boom

George Foreman once said that learning to enjoy today has two benefits, it gives us happiness now and becomes a good memory later. Ten Boom suggests the important part our memories can play beyond nostalgia - by being a key to our future. I find that as I age, it seems easier to slip into blue funks. Memories of good times past remind me how to move forward: gathering with friends, visiting family, or taking a risk and opening my heart to someone new. The Brownie card warns us not to procrastinate when we get into such a state. We need to use the keys we have to open new doors.

Too Much

From the Shadowlands Tarot, the Four of Cups; from the Brownie Wisdom deck, "Muzzle the fiend:"

It is possible to have too much of a good thing. – Aesop

Our brains evolved to prevent us from holding on to pleasure for too long, making sure our basic needs aren't forgotten. A dopamine hit brings about pleasure and then is quickly followed by a come down. When we're repeatedly exposed to what brought us pleasure, the brain adjusts; eventually we need more and more to just to feel normal. This cycle can lead us to a dopamine deficit state, which can cause depression, anxiety, irritability and insomnia. The Brownie card warns us that our little habits can turn into monsters quickly if we don't break the cycle and restore balance. As Aesop said, "“Much wants more and loses all.”