Practical Responsibility

  From the Tarot of Dreams, the Queen of Pentacles:

This queen wears a pentacle inside a pentagon around her neck.  According to some sources, the pentagram was a symbol of the Pythagorean Order and was given the name "health."  This woman knows her body, mind and spirit are at their best when she is out in nature, involved in a creative project, or paying attention with all five senses.  She's practical, down-to-earth and resourceful, yet she's loves and appreciates things that are beautiful.  She nurtures those around her with physical gifts - a shoulder massage, a bouquet of flowers she grew, or assistance with planting a vegetable garden.  I would call her the "salt of the earth," but she wouldn't like that description, because plants can't grow in salted ground.

     From the MentorSpirit deck comes "Responsibility:"

 

In combining this card with the queen above, I think of how often society chooses to replace something they own rather than take care of what they have.  Whatever the latest shoe style, car, cell phone or computer is, they must have it.  We've become a throw-away society, but that stuff we throw away doesn't magically change into stardust.  We've got piles of this garbage everywhere, and eventually we're going to run out of places where we can hide it.  My grandparents, who raised me as a young child, lived by the saying, "use it up, wear it out; make it do, or do without."  At this point, it's not just about living frugally but being environmentally responsible.