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

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Rising, Falling and Reconciliation

   From the Ship of Fools Tarot this rainy morning comes the Wheel of Fortune:

"He who sits high on the wheel of fortune / Waits only to fall, hurt, / And take an inevitable bath."
Three figures in various donkey/human forms hang on to a wheel being turned by a mysterious hand.  The Wheel card reminds me that life is all about change, some of which I have no control over (indicated by the hand) and some that I do.  An interesting addition to this card is the ditch on the left that looks like a freshly dug grave - a not-so-subtle reminder that eventually my space on the wheel will be vacant.  No matter what is happening, life is a gift, and I should remember to accept my good fortune with humility and my struggles with patience and perseverance.  I need to take a hard look at what I'm holding on to as I make my trips around the sun, and make sure it's worth the effort.

     The card pulled from the Wisdom of the Four Winds deck today is "Greenstone - healing:"
 
Greenstone/Pounamu is a durable stone also known as nephrite or New Zealand jade.  It is a sacred stone to the Maori people, and why it is illegal to sell raw deposits.  Greenstone has been used to create tools, weapons and adornments, but it is also treasured because of its link with peacemaking.  Heirlooms made of nephrite were exchanged as a peace pact between warring parties.  It symbolized a closed door between those who wanted to shed blood, and has now come to signify the lessons of healing and reconciliation.

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