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

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Muddy Waters Will Clear

From the Greenwood Tarot, the Queen of Cups; from the Shaman's Oracle, the "Ancestor of Hope:"
          I've witnessed herons standing still in water for long periods of time, watching below for food to swim past. They are a perfect representation of the Queen of Cups, who has no problem standing in her emotions (unlike me). When I feel anger, fear, grief or frustration, I want to act to make the discomfort go away. But Pema Chodron says I should embrace and watch it instead. What? You want me to stand in that icky, algae-covered, muddy water? "Acknowledge the feeling, give it your full, compassionate, even welcoming attention, and even if it’s only for a few seconds, drop the story line about the feeling. This allows you to have a direct experience of it, free of interpretation. Don’t fuel it with concepts or opinions about whether it’s good or bad. Just be present with the sensation," she replies. Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor, in her book My Stroke of Insight, notes that emotions run their course in ninety seconds. Only if they get rekindled by the story line behind them do they last longer. If I can pay close attention to the sensation of the emotion and let my thoughts glide on by, it will pass soon enough. The Ancestor of Hope card shows the painting of a horse and symbolizes the strength of perseverance, the ability to hold on to hope without any expectation around it. Movement and change is inevitable. As Chodron put it, "You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather."

6 comments:

  1. Emotions run their course in 90 seconds.
    Not agreeing with Miss Taylor on that one.

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    1. That's only if you stop fueling them with the thoughts/story behind them (ex. "I can't believe she said that." or "I'll never be able to be happy without him in my life."). But it's definitely easier said than done. :)

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  2. If only we could stop thinking for a moment if we wanted too.:)
    Again when we manage to stay in the present moment, we could be able to release unwanted emotions.
    (I love those blue colors!!).

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    1. We don't even have to stop thinking - we could watch them drift by without getting entangled in them. Observe without adding or subtracting. :)
      I love that blue too!

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  3. Another visually beautiful pairing! I think this combo of decks is one of my faves of all you've done. And it's so nice for those of us who will likely never own the Greenwood to be able to see it being used.

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    1. It is a good pairing. :) Chesca was such an excellent artist, not just with her skill in art, but with the meaning and feeling behind it as well. I wish she would allow them to republish her version (though I doubt that would happen now that the Wildwood is out).

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