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 25, 2016

The Dullness of Discipline

From the Restored Order Tarot, the Chariot; from the Oracle of Kabbalah, Beit (Bet):
           The charioteer learns self-discipline in order to control his instincts and emotions. He doesn't want anything interfering with the drive to succeed. Armor protects his heart from being vulnerable to anything that might distract or deter him from the goal. But I'm wondering if his control has been a little too over-the-top. It's obvious he's made some progress, the but the limits and restrictions he's got in place seem to have zombified his two sphinxes. If he doesn't loosen up a little, any creative project he's engaged in is likely to be as exciting as watching paint dry. Beit is the first letter written in the Torah, and so is connected with beginnings. It is also associated with the number 2, a number of duality. Beit reminds the charioteer that even new endeavors need a balance of work and play. A laser-like focus on work is fine for a period of time, but everyone needs a space where they can take their armor off and unwind.

8 comments:

  1. This is one of the most rigid Chariot cards I know. At least in this depiction the RWS concrete is now yellow. He gives me the feeling of an adolescent who wants to "Run away from home" and gets second thoughts at the busstation :)

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  2. did you know the ancient Egyptians did most of their marvelous work before they were introduced to the wheel and the horse by the Hittites?
    Amazing, considering where we'd be today if the wheel was removed.

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    1. The Middle East was far ahead of Europe and the rest of the world for many years. Their history is often overlooked because of their present tumultuous circumstances I think.

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  3. Maybe it is your day to take a day to unwind.

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  4. It's true, those sphinxes look pretty immobile, and the Charioteer looks as those he's trapped in concrete! Maybe it's the inertia you find at every new beginning... :)

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    1. That inertia can be a doozy - after planning for so long, it can be hard to move from the intellectual stage to the "get it done" stage. :)

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