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, November 14, 2015

Sustaining Strength

From the Ferret Tarot, Strength; from the Nature's Oracle Deck, "Hawk:"
          I had a late night last night; as I sipped my chamomile tea before bedtime, I turned on the TV. I was horrified to see what was unfolding in Paris, and I could viscerally feel the confusion, panic, fear and heartbreak that was being shown. I still remember all too well what the events of 9/11 felt like. A city, state or country is just an extended family of sorts. It hurts when they are hurt, and it is human nature to want to crush those who are the cause. It wasn't a surprise that I drew the Strength card with its posturing, Schwarzenegger-looking ferrets pumping iron this morning. "Yes," I thought, "use your strength to pummel and destroy those responsible for such death and destruction." But wait, those ferrets are doing any punching, only mindfully lifting weights. Like the slow repetitions of weight training, this strength is going to be calculated and deliberate rather than impulsive. Yet what about the power of Hawk, and its tearing, crushing force? I believe Hawk's main asset is the ability to wait and watch from atop a pole or tree. It takes a wide view, then strikes a specific target. There is no random or wanton acts of violence; it kills only for the purpose of sustaining itself. May Paris and all of France find the same strength and power in the days to come.
image by  Jean Jullien

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6 comments:

  1. EllenNovember 14, 2015 at 9:25 AM

    I was horrified too when I read this awful news. I always feel so powerless when something like this happens. The only thing we can do is pray or send healing thoughts to everyone involved and perhaps most important of all do not blame every moslim living in the neighborhood. In times like this it is so easy to let our prejudice prevail.
    Hugs

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    Replies
    1. thesycamoretreeNovember 14, 2015 at 9:43 AM

      I agree - to allow prejudice to prevail would not be helpful. I found a wise statement from George Takei (who was in an internment camp in WWII):
      I’m writing this backstage at Allegiance, my heart heavy with the news from Paris, aching for the victims and their families and friends.

      There no doubt will be those who look upon immigrants and refugees as the enemy as a result of these attacks, because they look like those who perpetrated these attacks, just as peaceful Japanese Americans were viewed as the enemy after Pearl Harbor. But we must resist the urge to categorize and dehumanize, for it is that very impulse that fueled the insanity and violence perpetrated this evening.

      Tonight, hold your loved ones, and pray or wish for peace, not only from guns and bombs, but from hatred and fear. If it is our freedom and joy they seek to destroy, give them not that victory. Against the forces of darkness and terror, love and compassion shall always prevail. ‪#‎JeSuisParis‬

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    2. UnknownNovember 15, 2015 at 8:51 AM

      It makes you feel the world is coming to an end seeing so much heart breaking world wide violence. Hard to understand such hatred. Much is lost youth, hysteria of the masses, and plain hatred. In spite of it all there is still hope and as George Takei so wisely said, compassion will always prevail.

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    3. thesycamoretreeNovember 15, 2015 at 8:55 AM

      It is heartbreaking and tempting to close off our hearts instead of opening them wider, making space for the pain but also the compassion.

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  2. Sharyn Mallow WoerzNovember 14, 2015 at 10:03 AM

    Arrugh. People.

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