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

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Swords to Ploughshares

From the Wheel of Change Tarot, the Knight (King) of Swords; from the Oracle of the Dreamtime, the "Seal:"
          This fellow is obviously a scientist who looks like he was just about to dissect a brain. He believes that if everything is taken apart and analyzed, the answers to questions will become clear. Even the sunlight coming through the window has been separated into rays of color by a prism. Through observation and experiment, he gains knowledge that he hopes will improve the lives of others. Objective thinking without emotional fuzziness is necessary in his profession. I just hope he has a life outside that lab where he can enjoy the world without always scrutinizing it.
          The myth of Seal tells of an idyllic time when seals lived undisturbed on an isolated island. When man discovered them, he didn't hunt just a few but killed them all. Exploitation is the message of this animal. The spears in the illustration reflect the sharp instruments of the scientist, and the seal seems be swimming away from him. Knowledge is power, yet it can be used to heal and help or to damage and destroy.
They will walk behind the ploughshare,
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.
~ from the musical Les Misérables
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6 comments:

  1. EllenSeptember 5, 2015 at 8:45 AM

    You are so right. Often discoveries of honest men are claimed by men lusting for power at the expense of anything what is in their way. I think our scientific intelligence doesn't go hand in hand with our moral and social intelligence

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    1. thesycamoretreeSeptember 5, 2015 at 9:49 AM

      Amen. Just because it makes logical sense doesn't mean it makes moral sense.

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  2. Sharyn Mallow WoerzSeptember 5, 2015 at 9:24 AM

    I read Plague Dogs many years ago, and listened to it on audio this past week.
    I was so worried about the dogs I'd forgotten how many other experiments were detailed in the name of science...

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    1. thesycamoretreeSeptember 5, 2015 at 9:50 AM

      Ack, I can't read or watch things like that - it is just too upsetting.

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  3. RoseSeptember 5, 2015 at 4:51 PM

    I've really enjoyed your week with these two decks. Today's pairing has me hoping the scientist/doctor has paused to consider new ways to nourish his much neglected (persecuted even) intuitive side. With that left hand pointing towards the poor seal and the rainbow mediating between them I'm encouraged to think that some integration will unfold.

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    1. thesycamoretreeSeptember 5, 2015 at 5:49 PM

      I like your version of the ending of that story much better than the one I had imagined. :)

      Delete

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