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

Sunday, October 5, 2014

What's the Point?

From the Ship of Fools Tarot, the Five of Coins; from the Wisdom of the Four Winds, the "Kingfisher:"
Here is an odd twist of fate (or turn of the Wheel): the Fool lives in a comfortable home and has a chest full of coins while a former king sits outside with a begging bowl. The Narrenschiff verses explain:
He who has riches, and delights in them,
Paying no heed to those in need,
Will be forsaken, so that he too shall beg.
If that's the kind of king he was, then it is hard to feel sorry for him. Should the Fool help him? We have quite a few homeless people here; the majority of them are veterans, addicts and alcoholics, or people with mental illness. We fed many when we still had the restaurant (we would find them eating out of the dumpster). Yet most of them never seemed to get better even when a variety of aid was extended.
The Kingfisher is a bird I've grown to love; I see them around the local ponds here. They chatter nonstop from a treetop, then suddenly dive in the water and out again before I can hardly blink. Brailsford describes this bird as "the epitome of vigilance transformed into swift action." That message seems to encourage me to do something (no matter how small) when I see suffering. The point is not to get the sufferer to change, but to keep my heart open and compassionate. 

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6 comments:

  1. EllenOctober 5, 2014 at 10:22 AM

    I agree with you. When we help someone and expect then to change how we see fit we are help out of arrogance which is for me a contradiction in terms

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    1. thesycamoretreeOctober 5, 2014 at 12:57 PM

      Yes, exactly! What might be a solution for me might not be for someone else. And to do something out of love means to put no expectations on the person we're doing it for.

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  2. Neopagan PriestessOctober 5, 2014 at 3:45 PM

    Oh, I love the name of that oracle deck: the Wisdom of the Four Winds!
    I love the Kingfisher as symbol of getting some perspective, and then acting from that place. As you say, it doesn't need to be a big act, but a small nudge at the right time can work wonders :)

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    1. thesycamoretreeOctober 5, 2014 at 3:54 PM

      It is a beautiful oracle deck, based on the natural world in New Zealand. :)

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  3. UnknownOctober 6, 2014 at 5:53 PM

    What a thoughtful post Bev. Thank you <3

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