Some Good, Some Bad

This week I'll be using the Ship of Fools Tarot created by Brian Williams and published by Llewellyn. Paired with it will be the Wisdom of the Four Winds created by Barry Brailsford, illustrated by Cecilie Okada and published by StonePrint Press. Today's draws are the Pope (Hierophant) and Whitebait:

          Now this card looks a lot like the church as I remember it. One fellow confesses his sins to the priest while two other congregants gossip about it. Whether a religious group, book club, PTO, community service organization or some other group of people with a common goal, there will always be challenges within organizations because they are made up of humans. Personalities may clash, and members may rank themselves and each other on scale of worthiness. But these groups aren't all bad, as I recently experienced. Not only do they give us a sense of belonging and purpose, but they can offer support, guidance and encouragement when needed.
          Whitebait is the juvenile form of inanga, a freshwater fish of New Zealand. During the high spring tides, these fish lay their eggs among the grasses; the eggs develop out of the water until the next high tide which stimulates them to hatch. The larvae are washed out to sea where they spend six months, then the fry migrate back to rivers and streams where they mature to adulthood. Whitebait are assigned the keyword "commitment" because of the challenges of their life cycle. Added to the Pope card, I am reminded that it does require a commitment to be a part of any group, including acceptance of the good with the bad.