Picked Clean

This week I'll be using the Shadowscapes Tarot, created by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and published by Llewellyn (there is also a companion book written with the help of Barbara Moore). Today's draw is the Six of Swords:

An exhausted fellow escapes on the back of a swan, while five crows continue to caw. I had a flash of a cornfield picked clean when I saw this card. Whether the ideas I discuss deal with religion, politics, philosophy or ethics in general, I can begin to feel drained and "picked clean" when I talk with certain people. When everyone involved has their mind set in concrete, only debate and argument will ensue. I guess some people feel energized by such an exchange, but it only leaves me with a migraine and a resentment. I don't need to change these folks' minds, I need to move on and find some peace.

The oracle I'll be using this week is a set of cedar runes created by Alaska Laser Maid. This morning's rune is "Algiz:"

The Elk-sedge is mostly to be found in a marsh;

it grows in the water and makes a ghastly wound,

covering with blood every warrior who touches it.

~ Anglo-Saxon Poem

The Algiz rune is like a shield of protection; it doesn't actively attack anyone, but it does put up a barrier. It reminds me to respect other people's boundaries and to defend my own when necessary. In pairing it with the card above, I get the impression that there are some folks I don't need to have certain discussions with, no matter how many buttons they push. It is better to walk away unharmed while they snarl and foam at the mouth like rabid animals.