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, August 31, 2016

Reassembled Parts

From the Motherpeace Tarot, the Six of Swords; from the Toltec Oracle, Ehekatl:
          Sixes are generally about restoring harmony, and this card from the Motherpeace Tarot indicates different parts of the self have reconciled into a whole. I think of it as cognitive dissonance, the mental stress one experiences when trying to hold on to contradictory beliefs, attitudes or behaviors. The discomfort becomes so great that these ideas or conduct must be altered to restore balance. For instance a gay woman might work for a boss who constantly makes snide remarks or hateful jokes about homosexuals. She eventually decides to find another job with a more open-minded employer. The Toltec card - Ehekatl - can literally be translated as breath, spirit or wind (similar to the Hebrew word ruach). For me, this represents the part of myself that is greater than the ego; I prefer to call it the luminous mind. This part does not seek pleasure, power, fortune or recognition but perceives impartially with wisdom and compassion. When dissonance makes me feel miserable, the luminous mind can guide me in making saner choices that will reassemble me in a healthier whole.

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8 comments:

  1. Carolyn TindorAugust 31, 2016 at 9:37 AM

    I think the "why me" syndrome comes into play here as well. Why me? It can literally keep us stuck in misery, self condemnation, and despair. The sixes can help us with thoughts and energy to move beyond the pity party.
    Ehekati looks to releasing his deep breath of calm and keeping those six maidens afloat.

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    1. thesycamoretreeAugust 31, 2016 at 10:24 AM

      You are so right; it can keep me in stasis instead of doing something differently.

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  2. EllenAugust 31, 2016 at 10:14 AM

    I really like this card. it is so different from the boat with the six swords. This is a more internal change. You don't have to go anywhere to find peace of mind. It is all about how you perceive reality and what you do with it. Breath by breath

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  3. TriviumAugust 31, 2016 at 1:52 PM

    Cognitive dissonance reaching a level where the luminous mind makes changes. This expresses something of what I was grappling with in my push pull six of swords post but so much more eloquent than my clumsy attempt!

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    1. thesycamoretreeAugust 31, 2016 at 6:41 PM

      You express things very well! I think the only reason the cognitive dissonance idea clicked was the unusual image for the Six of Swords with the people as pieces of the self. :)

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  4. RoseAugust 31, 2016 at 5:02 PM

    Ruach is such a beautiful word and the Arabic, Ruh-Allah, is almost identical in both sound and meaning. Looking at these two cards together and I immediately felt the sacred wind of Ehekati as that which is keeping the six figures in the Motherpeace card aloft. The sense that the seeds of wholeness and integration begin with an awareness of the sacred breath that joins us all.

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    1. thesycamoretreeAugust 31, 2016 at 6:44 PM

      Isn't interesting that so many languages have this word for breath/wind/spirit? And I agree with you in that it is the thread that runs through the myriad of "beads." :)

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