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, March 15, 2015

Laps Around the Sun

This week I'll be using the Tarot in de Herstelde Orde (Tarot in Restored Order), created by Rob Docters van Leeuwen and Onno Docters van Leeuwen; it was published by Servire. The second deck I'll be drawing from is the Oracle of Kabbalah, a deck and book set created by Richard Seidman and published by Thomas Dunne Books. Since the Kabbalah cards are of the letter only and rather plain, I'll be using the botanical illustrations of Kristina Applegate. Today's draws are Wheel of Fortune and "Nun:"
          What stands out to me in the RWS versions of the Wheel card are the books the Fixed Zodiac Signs (or Apostles or Ezekiel's cherubim) hold. Books symbolize knowledge, and knowledge used with discernment leads to wisdom. Are there habitual patterns in my life that are keeping me in a rut? Am I failing to rightly apply the knowledge I gather each time I take a lap around the sun?
          The Hebrew letter Nun means "fish" in Aramaic. The story of Jonah and the great fish in the scriptures comes readily to mind. Though I don't believe in the literal version of the tale, I can say that at times I have felt swallowed up by events (internal or external) in my life. And like Jonah, who made choices that landed him in the fish's belly, my thoughts and actions have kept me contained in that dark place. The strawberries on this letter remind me of the Zen story of the man chased by a tiger who ends up hanging from a cliff by a vine. While one tiger waits above and one below the cliff, mice begin gnawing at the vine. The man notices a strawberry plant beside him, plucks a berry and finds it sweet. Climbing out of the belly will require me to look for what is good and beautiful in my life; changing my thoughts can get me unstuck.

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6 comments:

  1. Sharyn Mallow WoerzMarch 15, 2015 at 10:09 AM

    One of many bible stories that scared me spitless. Which was it's original purpose I expect. 2K years of scared kids, what a legacy.

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    1. thesycamoretreeMarch 15, 2015 at 10:36 AM

      Oh, that story wasn't nearly as frightening to me as the one where I was going to be declared a goat or a sheep, then might end up roasting on a pit in the fires of hell! :D

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  2. Inner WhispersMarch 15, 2015 at 2:32 PM

    Funny, I've never thought of biblical stories in that kind of allegorical way. Yes, savouring the sweetness life offers sounds like the perfect antidote to feeling stuck in darkness. Though sweetness must be allegorical for me, too, as I'm on a no-sugar kick :D

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    1. thesycamoretreeMarch 15, 2015 at 3:03 PM

      That is the only way religious stories make sense to me. :) Can you eat berries or apples (natural sugars)?

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    2. Inner WhispersMarch 17, 2015 at 10:32 AM

      Makes total sense, I just never really applied allegory to the bible, perhaps because so many people are so insistent on it being treated as "absolute truth", so I tended to dismiss it absolutely. As for sugars, yes, I eat dates and other fruit. But I find even having bread kicks off my chocolate cravings again :o

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    3. thesycamoretreeMarch 17, 2015 at 6:08 PM

      At least you know your triggers and can avoid them - self knowledge helps!

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