The Future's so Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

From the Tranformational Tarot, Alchemy (Temperance); from the Celtic Book of the Dead, "Island of the Cats:"

Alchemy is more than just blending, it is taking two elements and making a third that is totally different from the first. This woman mixes water with earth, but more than mud will be produced. She appears to be shedding a snakeskin, further emphasizing this transformation. All around her flowers grow that need both water and earth, not just one or the other. Perhaps these blooms symbolize the beauty that can be created with receptive compromise instead of "all or nothing" demands.
In the Celtic Book of the Dead, the voyagers came upon the Island of the Cats when they were exhausted and starving. Inside a fortress there, the men found a feast laid out on a table and a cat leaping about. Maelduin, the leader, asked the cat if the feast was for them and intuited that it was, so the men ate heartily. There was also great treasure all around, and one of the men secretly slipped a necklace in his pocket (though warned by Maelduin not to take anything). As they were leaving, the cat jumped through the thief, turning him to ash. This tale emphasizes the obligation of hospitality to others, but underscores the duty of those visiting not to take advantage of what has been offered. Adding this card to Temperance/Alchemy, I am reminded that such an accord doesn't mean the scales are weighted in another person's favor. The Middle Path is not a sneaky way for one person to fleece the other; it should bring harmony, not create more distrust.