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

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Don't Waste Your Breath

From the Art of Life Tarot, the Ace of Swords; from the Tao Oracle, Waiting:
I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship. ~ Louisa May Alcott
Hexagram 5: Clouds ascending into the sky.

          What a wonderful thing to mature to the point where we learn to think for ourselves instead of blindly following what someone tells us is true. Hopefully such maturity will also be accompanied by the ability to be honest and admit mistakes. I see such a wide divide in this skill with our two presidential candidates. One is willing to say she made a mistake, while the other continues to try and put the blame on someone else or use 'bait and switch' tactics. A true leader shouldn't be afraid to navigate those storms, in my opinion. Waiting suggests using this time not in frustration, but as planned inaction. There is no need to force a situation in order to make progress or cause change; right now one's own well-being should be the focus. In regard to the Ace of Swords, some people are not ready to see what the evidence is trying to show them. If I am trying to tell them the truth, they will not be able to hear it. Until they see through their illusions and untangle themselves emotionally, I will be wasting my breath. Sometimes the Titanic has to sink before people wake up to reality.  

10 comments:

  1. "waiting is planned inaction" I like that. It feels good
    I hope America doesn't have to sink before it realizes who it should vote for. I think the rest of the world will keep its fingers crossed

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  2. I always wondered and now you can let me know. Why are there so many bare chested women in the tarot and oracle cards? We don't see the masculine cards with their junk hanging out. Well I have seen one. I read one review somewhere back that deck designer did not have any bare skinned women and the reviewer indicated the designer must be uptight and couldn't express herself properly. Do we really have to bare it all to get the message?

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    1. More seen in the decks designed and published in Europe I think, particularly LoScarabo. When we were overseas we found European media and public made no deal at all about nudity but backed away from the violence portrayed in our media.Personally I 'think' I'd prefer no violence OR Nudity..but what is life without all it's partners? Now I've forgot what my response to Beverly was...my poor mind.

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    2. Heck, it happens. Start here and end up some place else.

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    3. I think many folks might consider the nude female form more beautiful than the male. :) I surely don't mind either if it is an art form, not meant to objectify the subject. I'm not sure LoS does very well (intentional or not); their images seem to be more about sex than art.
      As far as tarot goes, I think the nude form is supposed to represent taking off the masks and roles we hide behind. Bare honesty, both to others and ourselves.

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    4. I am new to all this but do see a gendered divide amongst decks. Male artists more often using sexualised idealised images of women (usually star, moon and world) Female artists not as much. It is a broad generalisation as female artists fall in with this habitual depiction and there are some male artists/deck authors who do not. I also observe males in cards are more often depicted as active/ doing something whereas women depicted as more passive/contemplative.

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    5. Part of tarot involves the symbolic use of the masculine and the femimine, and how we learn to use them appropriately. But I have to agree with you concerning the connection between the gender of the artist and the way females are portrayed.

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  3. I remember when I got this deck how unusual a depiction of a naked pregnant woman was. God forbid in our society that you mention pregnancy. Things have changed a bit, but I recently read about a poor woman breastfeeding, being shamed and ranted at. On it goes.

    Those debates--I can hardly sit through them. The "Orange Turnip" as I saw him described, never seems to answer a question. He's going to get rid of your current health care plan, and then what? And then what--he never said. I discern that special prosecutors and internment camps were more on his mind. When you're planning a totalitarian society, I suppose health care policy is a secondary item on the agenda.

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    1. I have visions of Hitler with an orange tan every time I hear him speak. I'm not a fan of Hillary, but at least she is qualified and sane - a big difference from Trump.

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