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

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Coming and Going

From the Shadowscapes Tarot, Temperance:
A fairy woman holds a sphere of yin energy and yang energy, while above her a water dragon and a phoenix dance. Temperance reminds me to take the middle path between extremes. Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) was raised in an environment where every wish was granted; he was never allowed to witness sickness, old age or death. He later left all his wealth behind to live as an ascetic, punishing his body and surviving on a few grains of rice each day. Buddha discovered that neither way would lead to happiness and peace. A balance must be struck between the "all or nothing" polarities, a compromise that negates neither but incorporates some of both.

From the Cedar Runes comes "Fehu:"
Wealth is a source of discord among kinsmen;
the wolf lives in the forest.
~ Old Norse poem
Fehu literally means "cattle" and symbolizes possessions and wealth. The mention of the wolf in most myths portrays him as a ravenous creature, always wanting to consume something or someone. It symbolizes the constant feeling of discontent and irritability of either thinking I don't have what I deserve or thinking someone might try to take away what I do have. The Temperance card above reminds me that I need to practice nonattachment when it comes to "stuff." I can appreciate what comes into my life, but like the ebb and flow of the tides, things change.
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7 comments:

  1. Sharyn Mallow WoerzOctober 1, 2013 at 9:34 AM

    We watched the Hobbit last night, what a great prequel to the Ring trilogy.
    This is the mark Gandalf the Grey writ upon Bilbo's front door, showing the band of the thirteen remaining dwarfs where the adventure begins.

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  2. EllenOctober 1, 2013 at 10:15 AM

    This is a wise lesson I know so well. But I have to hear it over and over again because it's hard not to want more then I really need. I practice in not buying every deck I like :)
    Thank god I already have the Shadowscapes Tarot. :D

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    Replies
    1. CarlaOctober 1, 2013 at 11:22 AM

      LOL Ellen. That is, as Thich Nhat Hanh would say, a deep practice! I try to practice it as well. Fortunately for me, I've managed to de-enable myself on Shadowscapes, but I enjoy what others write about it. Thanks, SycamoreTree!

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    2. thesycamoretreeOctober 1, 2013 at 12:55 PM

      That's the downside to reading other folk's blogs is seeing decks you're not familiar with and thinking, "I may need that one..." :D

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  3. Neopagan PriestessOctober 3, 2013 at 6:19 AM

    Weeell, non-attachment isn't necessarily about not buying the decks, more not being enslaved by them. Not that I'm saying I manage either, just that the buying per se isn't spiritually wrong ;)

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  4. EllenOctober 3, 2013 at 6:25 AM

    Perhaps I have to admit that I'm "a little bit " enslaved to :D

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