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

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

The Lion has Landed

From the Tarot of Durer, the Eight of Wands; from the Philosopher's Stone, Freedom:
          Have you ever made plans and gotten the ball rolling on some project or event, but when the the goal day arrived, it caught you unprepared? Imagine someone who planned a bridal brunch, then forgot to set her alarm clock and woke up with one hour to clean house and prepare the food. Or consider someone who's applied for a job in another city by first sending in an impressive resume. After a few phone conferences with the prospective employer, he's asked to come for an interview; half way there, he realizes he's forgotten to look up the address of where he's going. The guy in this card obviously put things in motion, but wasn't ready when it was time to take that final step. The Freedom card reminded me of something written by Os Guinness: "Freedom requires order, and therefore restraint." It's so easy to get excited and fired up about something that we drop some pieces and tools we need to complete what we're building. Guinness went on to say that "the problem isn't wolves at the door but termites in the floor." That firm foundation is a must.  

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10 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 22, 2016 at 10:15 AM

    Well, I've got three rooms ripped apart at the minute, I see myself in that guy on the Eight of Wands. The stone on the Freedom card has his eyes shut tight, he doesn't want to see that mess he made.

    I also think of mindfulness meditation--when things aren't right, instead of squinting and refusing to see, creating that tension, you could examine it.

    Maybe there is a suggestion here too of going with the flow when all the plans are getting away from you? Adapt--true freedom lies there!

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    1. thesycamoretreeJune 22, 2016 at 10:20 AM

      Mindfulness definitely could have kept him out of the mess he's in! I know I get so enthused about a project, I'm already living in anticipation of the completion of it at times, rather than in the present with what I need to be paying attention to.

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  2. Sharyn Mallow WoerzJune 22, 2016 at 10:26 AM

    Humans are so funny, I have several of these type of events in my repertoire...

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  3. Carolyn TindorJune 22, 2016 at 10:34 AM

    That eight of wands looks like that lion pelt was put that on his door to scare the wolves away cause he hasn't been diligent. The other is his higher self in silent observation; we all can be our own worse critic.

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    1. thesycamoretreeJune 22, 2016 at 11:33 AM

      I think in this deck the lion (and subsequent pelt) represents the will and how we use it (or it uses us!). :)

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  4. EllenJune 22, 2016 at 10:39 AM

    Freedom without restraint often leads to chaos. That's what teaching young kinds has taught me :D

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    1. thesycamoretreeJune 22, 2016 at 11:34 AM

      Anyone who thinks freedom should have no restraints should be dropped into a classroom to teach for a day! :D

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  5. Inner WhispersJune 23, 2016 at 1:33 AM

    Ha, my week definitely started in that kind of Eight of Wands way. Realising I had stuff to organise, but was already past the cut-off-date for several things I had wanted *palm to head* Still, I have the freedom to just say "Something else will do instead" :D

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