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, October 19, 2016

You Can't Take It With You

From the Japaridze Tarot, the Ten of Gardens (Pentacles); from the Holitzka I Ching, Hexagram 36:
          The booklet describes the image of abundance in the Ten of Gardens as the accumulation of conventional wealth. The young girl at the front seems in awe of it all, yet I imagine it has lost much of its shine for her grandparents. I got a quote in my inbox this morning by Anne Morrow Lindbergh: " One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few." When we're young, we spend our time and energy trying to collect and have it all; as we become older, we spend our time giving most of it away. Stuff just doesn't have the same allure as it did before. Hexagram 36 is sometimes called 'Clouded Perception' and indicates a profound darkness of the mind that occurs when we are doing inner work. It is a state of ignorance that can make us react rather than respond. In combining the cards, I see it as that moment when my mortality becomes real to me rather than an intellectual flirtation. It can be tempting to abandon life before I die, adopting a nihilistic attitude. Or I can choose to enjoy each moment as fully as I can, realizing each day has a signature that cannot be replicated.

14 comments:

  1. Bev your post makes me think about the post I wrote yesterday. Jack Palance and what the wise old weathered cowboy character he played in City Slickers said.
    "You know what the secret of life is? One thing. Once you figure it out stick to that...everything else don't mean shit." Jack was a lot like Curly.

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    1. I loved his character in City Slickers! I think finding that secret (or purpose) in life can take some time for most of us. :)

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    2. I know! He was my very favourite! I think either Curly was channeling Jack or Jack was channeling Curly!
      For sure Bev. And sometimes our purpose changes and we can even have more than one.

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  2. Love the last sentence!! One step closer to solving that secret.
    A few days ago M and I went shopping for a few pumpkins but we came home with only one: the most beautiful perfect pumpkin of them all. If we would bought more of them it wouldn't have felt so special

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    1. A shame we couldn't have figured out this in our twenties or thirties! :) Your story of the pumpkin illustrates this idea perfectly.

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    2. Reminds me of your chestnut adventure Ellen. Thing is... pumpkins would never fit into pockets! Which is no doubt a good thing! I'm happy you got the perfect pumpkin! I must go find one too!

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  3. I think about 15 years ago I figured out the difference between reactive and proactive.

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  4. Nihilistic, my attitude towards the Emperor and the Devil. Since my NDE there are times that I can get caught up in that dark swirling cloud in the hexagram 36

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    1. Glad we can internally move out of the dark, even when the external is still swirling.

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  5. This one went right in. Lots to muse on here for me today. Thanks, Bev for offering this.

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  6. Each day has a signature that cannot be replicated - great wordsmithing.

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    1. Thank you. I learned this through keeping a daily journal of my walks for two years. Each day I had to notice something different, write/learn about it, and draw a simple sketch of it.

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