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

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Deep Roots

This week I'll be using three decks, all created by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm and illustrated by Will Worthington. The Druidcraft Tarot and the Druid Plant Oracle were published by Connections; the Druid Animal Oracle was published by St. Martin's Press. I've combined the two oracles and will be using them as one deck. Today's draws are the Hanged Man and Earth Dragon:
          I was curious as to why this particular Hanged Man had his mouth stuffed full of oak leaves. The authors suggest it represents a vow of silence and imply that such an experience of absolute surrender goes beyond any words. Everyone comes to this point at some time in their lives: when our body is wracked with pain, holding a loved one's hand as they die, watching those we care about make destructive choices. It is both humbling and frightening to reside in that space where there is no control, where no words or actions make any difference. Nearby, the Earth Dragon lies curled in his cave. The treasures around him symbolize the young man's potential - not in some airy, fantasy world but in reality. I think it is only when we run out of options that we stop trying to outmaneuver life and accept life on life's terms. Then we find the hidden treasure of inner strength that allows us to adapt and adjust with grace.
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
― J.R.R. Tolkien

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7 comments:

  1. Carolyn TindorOctober 2, 2016 at 1:07 PM

    "Outmaneuver life" I really like that. I have had times in my life that I thought I could circumvent Life - ha. Sometimes acceptance is the hardest lesson.

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    1. thesycamoretreeOctober 2, 2016 at 2:17 PM

      We humans are like Wiley Coyote; we don't generally give up until we've expended all our energy and ideas. :)

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  2. TriviumOctober 2, 2016 at 2:51 PM

    I can remember a few times when nothing could said or done to make things better. As you say both frightening and humbling and sometimes strangely peaceful.

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    1. thesycamoretreeOctober 2, 2016 at 2:57 PM

      I think there is a sense of peace when we stop fighting and struggling to change what can't be changed.

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    2. TriviumOctober 2, 2016 at 4:00 PM

      So true

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  3. Sharyn Mallow WoerzOctober 2, 2016 at 4:29 PM

    I was reading up on Kudzu this afternoon, it has many valid uses, I think I'm out of Kudzu country here in Columbia MO, but if I get a chance I'm going to pick some leaves and try kudzu tea. Our black berries and scotchbroom are nearly as bad but much more useless.

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    1. thesycamoretreeOctober 2, 2016 at 6:56 PM

      Ack, you can go 100 yds. in just about any direction and find kudzu here. I don't think even napalm could kill it, and it grows a foot a day. We have the blackberry brambles, but no scotchbroom.

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