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

Monday, August 10, 2015

Guides Rather Than Gods

From the Tarot of the Cat People, the High Priest (Hierophant); from the Sacred Geometry Oracle, the "Double Square:"
          My first impression of this fellow (with his arm outstretched and holding his staff) was that he reminded me of a crossing guard, a person who stops traffic in order to let the school children cross the road safely. Yet isn't that what our teachers are supposed to do, whether we call them a priest, guru, professor or anam cara? They help us learn how to navigate the impermanence and chaos of life with purpose, joy and love. They are our guides rather than our gods.
          The Double Square may seem to be simply a mirror reflection of one square and diagonal attached together, but this is an illusion. As Greer explains, it represents the square root of five, or regeneration: "the transforming process by which a pattern transcends the limits of its own nature and opens up new potentials." I have not been put here on this earth to be a carbon copy of anyone. I may learn from them, but I must take the knowledge I receive and walk my own path. While the wisdom may stay much the same, I can pour it into new vessels and change its shape.

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10 comments:

  1. RoseAugust 10, 2015 at 9:09 AM

    This pairing works quite well doesn't it. I like your idea of a guide helping us to navigate our perceived limits.

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    1. thesycamoretreeAugust 10, 2015 at 9:51 AM

      I am just now coming to realize I can accept the wisdom of teachers and follow their practices without necessarily swallowing their dogma. It can be a fine line to walk sometimes though!

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    2. RoseAugust 10, 2015 at 10:25 AM

      And sometimes, with a really great teacher, it's not even their practices I'm interested in but their heart. It can't be taught but it can be caught ;)

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    3. thesycamoretreeAugust 10, 2015 at 10:39 AM

      I think that is why I love Pema Chodron so much. :) Those kind of teachers just radiate compassion.

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  2. Sharyn Mallow WoerzAugust 10, 2015 at 9:51 AM

    How do you get around with that enormous brain? I envision a sort of baby sling affair :)

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    1. thesycamoretreeAugust 10, 2015 at 10:05 AM

      You are too funny woman. :D My brain has plenty of potholes. For instance, I am directionally dysfunctional. I've been known to wander in parking lots for extended periods of time in search of my car. :)

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  3. EllenAugust 10, 2015 at 10:17 AM

    It is indeed a fine line between teacher and despot. Even the Bible advises us:
    "But test everything; hold fast what is good." When we get rid of all the dogma's of every religion maybe only Love remains.

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    1. RoseAugust 10, 2015 at 10:21 AM

      You've gotten to the heart of it with that last beautiful sentence, Ellen!

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    2. thesycamoretreeAugust 10, 2015 at 10:37 AM

      Yes! I was just speaking with a friend about how she feels worse after going to church than before she went. I told her to find a place where she feels love and is encouraged to love - love always trumps the law in my book. :)

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    3. RoseAugust 10, 2015 at 10:44 AM

      I like your book :D

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