Inner Peace

This week I'll be using the Tarot of the Hidden Realm, created by Julia Jeffrey with Barbara Moore, and published by Llewellyn. I'll also be drawing from the Heart of Faerie Oracle created by Brian and Wendy Froud  and published by Abrams. Today's cards are the Four of Swords and the Hero:

          Moore writes that the stability of four creates a quiet resting place for the mind. In the chaos of yesterday, I didn't get a chance to do my regular sitting meditation or any journaling. It was a day when other matters took priority. But the butterflies around this young girl's head suggest I should keep things light today. There's no need for solutions to be found or ideas to be analyzed. My brain needs a break from being in stress mode. In the words of Harry Emerson Dosdick, "Peace is the gift not of volitional struggle but of spiritual hospitality."
          The title of the Faerie card seems to be at odds with the message of the Four of Swords. Yet the Hero is purposefully drawn as a young woman rather than a man to emphasize its feminine nature. Instead of seeing this card as representing the courage to fight, Froud recommends thinking of "love as a heroic force." I was reminded of another "hero," this one gray-haired and known as Peace Pilgrim. She constantly suggested checking to see if one's actions brought inner peace:

There is a criterion by which you can judge whether the thoughts you are thinking and the things you are doing are right for you. The criterion is: Have they brought you inner peace? If they have not, there is something wrong with them - so keep seeking! If what you do has brought you inner peace, stay with what you believe is right. ~ Peace Pilgrim