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

Thursday, July 21, 2016

In Need of a Mind Shift

From the Nigel Jackson Tarot, the Ten of Staves; from the Viking Lenormand, Bouquet:
          Jackson's Ten of Wands looks even more onerous than the Rider-Waite's heavy bundle on the back. His booklet states it suggests the "danger of an established power becoming oppressive." (At this point I'm chanting in my head "please don't let Trump get elected."). I'm purposefully not watching the Republican National Convention on television, yet I can't get away from its rhetoric. This particular card illustrates well the themes of this group:

  • Make America Safe Again - Be terrified! Arm yourself with guns and ammunition! Build a wall! There are people out to get us!
  • Make America Work Again - Don't give us your excuses; all Americans have the same opportunities! You're just lazy and don't have any ambition!
  • Make America First Again - We want to be the school-yard bully among nations! We want to have it all (we're God's chosen nation, and therefore we deserve it more)!
  • Make America One Again - As soon as you adopt our beliefs and our agenda, we'll all be on the same page!
I'm not a fan of Hillary Clinton, but at this point the election seems to be a decision between someone who is sane and someone who is so far off the charts even the DSM has no category to put him in. Thankfully the Lenormand Bouquet shows up to remind me to focus on what is good and positive in my life instead of being influenced by the fear-mongering. If I feel provoked or overwhelmed, I need to change the channel in my head and reflect on what is simple but beautiful.

10 comments:

  1. We had a person like Trump in the Netherlands too... He was shot... Sometimes I wonder what is worse Trump elected or Trump shot...
    Or does thinking like that makes me just like him...or is it just fear talking...
    The bouquet is a perfect card to focus on the beauty of life and the talents you've been given to make it even more beautiful

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    1. It is so easy to get caught up in that kind of anger and fear, which is precisely why he has the following he does. Stopping to enjoy the flowers was just the message I needed! :)

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  2. I'm glad I don't have a television. Being inundated with all the political hype is bad for our mind, body and spirit. That said I am a CBC Radio addict and I hear too much of it all. And then of course there is the social media. I've learned to not take it so seriously and like your post urged, to focus on the beautiful things around and more importantly to me is to always be hopeful.

    Trump and his tower will fall, one way or another, rest assured this types never last forever.

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    1. I agree - it is bad for your body, mind and spirit. I don't want to put my head in the sand and pretend it's not there, but neither do I want to get sucked in to their paranoia.

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  3. Hate mongering is not isolated to those other parts of the World, it simmering here in the US. Lets hope it doesn't become a full boil. A division so wide they will call it the US Civil WarII. We have to keep doing the same lesson until we learn. For me I am going to stop and smell the roses.

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    1. I think what may help it not come to a full boil is for some of us to remain calm and level-headed, and not jump on either side, and avoid shouting hate and blame at the other.

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    2. I think many of us are collectively trying to make sense of this political situation. I believe it's what John Bradshaw called the hysteria or insanity of the masses.

      I have found Chris Hedges' take is insightful, but mostly what René Girard says is his lecture about his ideas based on his book Scapegoat makes sense to me as does Alberto Manguel in his book The City of Words.
      It's the shadow side at it's worst. Troubling to say the least but nothing new historically.

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    3. I don't think we'll ever find solutions as long as we continue to point fingers and look for someone else to blame.

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  4. I'm more puzzled by the followers than the man.
    Mother told me when I was in my teens sometimes we have to vote for the lesser of two evils

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    1. I think they follow him because they've bought into the fear and blame he's selling them. George W did the same thing, but not at this level. Yes it will be the lesser I vote for too.

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