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

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Cold, Dark Night

From the Prairie Tarot, the Five of Coins; from the Medicine Cards, "Deer:"
          My idea of hell is not intense temperatures, fire and brimstone; it's a place where it is damp and the weather is freezing. Looking at this card, I wonder what in the world would make someone leave their warm shelter and slog through deep snow in the dead of night. Did a horse or livestock animal disappear that they depend on? Neither person has a torch to light their way, but a fire in their cabin burns brightly and acts as a beacon.
          Deer, according to Sams and Carson, represent gentleness. What a welcome message to receive when one is suffering physically or financially. I can get frustrated with my body when it gets sick or becomes injured, even though it serves me quite well for most of the 365 days of each year. A speaker I was listening to the other day told us to raise our hands and clench our fists. Then she said, "Now notice your breath." Like everyone else, I was holding my breath as tightly as my fist. Tough times come and go; if I apply gentleness, I won't add to stress to the problem. That is the beacon that shines its light in the cold, dark night.

4 comments:

  1. Sitting here in front of my laptop with clenched fists and holding my breath...... What a relief to breath out again and to let go :D

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    1. It is amazing how easily my discursive thoughts can totally disconnect me from what I'm doing to my body!

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  2. As someone raised in Canada I can attest to the hellish experience of -35 temps. And yet as a child it was a delight...only in adulthood did I learn to put on the heavy coat of aversion to it.

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    1. After living in the Deep South for so many years, I can't imagine surviving the winters of places like Canada! :)

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