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

Friday, April 17, 2015

Down, Kitty

From the Tarot of the Masters, Strength; from the Key to the Kingdom, the "Two of Clubs:"
          "No matter how calm and peaceful they might look, there is a killer inside each one," stated a National Geographic biologist studying lions. The same could be said of humans; everyone has a trigger that will wake up the beast inside. And though I believe that inner beast can be useful in protecting oneself and those who are vulnerable, it can also cause destruction and chaos when loosed in other arenas of our life. Some of my favorite verses on anger and hatred come from the Buddhist Dhammapada:
  • “Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.” 
  • “Conquer the angry one by not getting angry; conquer the wicked by goodness; conquer the stingy by generosity, and the liar by speaking the truth.”
  • “A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.” 
The Two of Clubs card has been paired with the "Little Robin Redbreast" poem with a cat and bird playing "catch me if you can." Being owned by a pair of cats, I can attest to their hunting instinct. But because I'm also a bird lover, my two stay inside. Just because an instinct is "natural" doesn't mean I have to let it have free reign.


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4 comments:

  1. Sharyn Mallow WoerzApril 17, 2015 at 9:16 AM

    I've enjoyed your week with Keys to the Kingdom. I traded mine to Griz ages ago, in my hands it was a non-starter.

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    1. thesycamoretreeApril 17, 2015 at 12:14 PM

      Thank you friend; sometimes the poem is my inspiration, other times just the image.

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  2. Neopagan PriestessApril 17, 2015 at 10:22 AM

    Those are some lovely quotes. I like Ricklef's card, with the two lions looking almost somnolent. Yet, you know they could prick their ears and leap in a moment… In the same way, we have to be ever-vigilant, else that anger can return.

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    1. thesycamoretreeApril 17, 2015 at 12:16 PM

      I liked the use of the lionesses (the hunters!). The Dhammapada is one of my favorite texts to read besides the Bhagavad Gita. :)

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