The Magic of Gentle Love

This week I'll be using the Art of Life Tarot created by Charlene Livingstone and published by U.S. Games. Today's draw is the Queen of Cups (from a detail of Mary Cassatt's painting Breakfast in Bed):

"Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another." ~ George Eliot

Put a sleepy adult in a comfy bed, and it automatically becomes a magnet for kids and pets. This image reminds me of growing up with my grandmother. Every morning I would rise at some ungodly hour and pad into her bedroom to see if she was awake. Of course she would play "possum" as long as she could, but eventually she would gather me into her bed. We would snuggle together while she told me stories about her own childhood. That memory of feeling so close and loved by another human being is still fresh in my mind many years later. Eliot had it right - the unconditional love one person can have for another can truly work magic.

The other deck I'll be using this week is the Tao Oracle created by Ma Deva Padma and published by St. Martin's Press. This morning's draw is "The Gentle:"

This painting looks soft and fuzzy, like seeing it through sleepy eyes. In our society, not much could be described as gentle. We expect people and situations to act or change quickly, as if they were a car with the gas pedal pushed to the floor. But it is an impossibility in many cases, and this card encourages me to take the opposite approach. Just as a gentle stream can polish the rocks it flows past over time, I need to commit to the long haul of taking the path of least resistance. Circumstances might not change overnight, but following the way of kindness and tenderness can leave relationships intact instead of broken.