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, November 16, 2016

Intellectual Bully

From the Songs for the Journey Home Tarot, Wind Awakening (Knight of Swords); from the Raven Cards, Think Big:
          The trees bend in the wake of this young man. When it comes to ideas, he is an intellectual sponge. He soaks them in and examines them in his mind. When he finds one worthy of his laser-like attention, he becomes a zealot. Whether it involves philosophy, medicine, politics or some other field, he becomes a new convert who can be arrogant and pushy. It's not that the idea he's taken hold of isn't worthy of merit, but he generalizes it to cover all situations. But there is no 'one size fits all' when it comes to people or life. The Raven Card reminds me that thinking too less of yourself is just the flip side of thinking too much of yourself. Alan Morinis explains in his book Everyday Holiness that humility is "taking up the appropriate amount of space while leaving room for others." In the Knight's case, he doesn't yet have the experience to realize his blanket won't cover everyone. The Raven suggests that someone may need to speak up and point out (giving details) his errors of judgment. If he really is searching for truth, he should be receptive of the facts.

6 comments:

  1. this seems to happen 3 or 4 times a year at AT. A new member works hard to re-educate all of us, and they love to teach us with acres of words.

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    1. Ah yes, the young whippersnappers who want to whip us into shape. If they only knew the headache they were going to have... :D

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  2. We could all use a bit of the knight's energy from time to time. Something or someone to motivate us towards change.

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    1. Just need to be discerning that the change we get is positive, not just change for the sake of change (the election was a good example).

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  3. That Knight of Swords is interesting. It reminds me of how fragmented my mind sometimes feels. Trying to see and understand and work on too many things, not taking enough time with any of them. Then, I see a bit of this, a bit of that, without being able to see the big picture. Yet, that blanket could be a prayer mat, and what better way to reconnect to the wider view? :)

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    1. That prayer mat might ground him a bit - get him out of his head and into the moment of life going on around him. :)

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