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, March 28, 2012

A Different Kind of Freedom

  From the Golden Dawn Tarot, another major arcana card, Death:
Ever since I've read the Terry Prachett Discworld series that features the character Death in most of the stories, I just can't feel bad about this guy.  When the sand runs out of your hour glass, he goes to collect your soul and send it off to the next realm; no hard feelings, it's just his job.  If only I could feel that way about all the endings that happen in my life, especially those that catch me off guard, knock the breath out of me, and make my legs turn to jelly.  In this depiction, a flaming serpent (the creative life force), rises to meet a falcon (Horus, the Egyptian sky/sun god).  In the left corner, a solar eclipse is occurring - an encouraging sign that though things may seem dark now, the sun (clarity and understanding) will eventually return.  Disintegration first, transformation later...

     From The Circle, "Forgiveness:"
Some of the greatest lessons I've learned about forgiveness came from Jack Kornfield's  book, The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness and Peace.  Here are a few quotes that I refer to often; they remind why I need to make it a daily practice:

    Traditionally the work of the heart begins with forgiveness.  Forgiveness is the necessary ground for any healing.  Without forgiveness our lives are chained, forced to carry the sufferings of the past and repeat them with no release.
    It is painful to hate.  Without forgiveness we continue to perpetuate the illusion that hate can heal our pain and the pain of others.  The past is over:  Forgiveness means giving up all hope of a better past.
    Forgiveness does not happen quickly.  It may include a long process of grief, outrage, sadness, loss, and pain.  True forgiveness does not paper over what has happened in a superficial way.  It is a deep process repeated over and over in our heart which honors the grief and betrayal, and in its own time ripens into the freedom to truly forgive.
    Forgiveness does not forget, nor does it condone the past.  Forgiveness sees wisely.  When we forgive we can also say, "Never again will I allow these things to happen."  Forgiveness does not mean that we have to continue to relate to those who have done us harm.  In the end, it simply means never putting another person out of our heart.

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