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

Monday, June 19, 2017

Wake Up and Die

From the Anna K. Tarot, the Seven of Cups; from the Meditation Cards, Die Before You Die:
          Anna suggests that instead of  making a choice, this card illustrates self-delusion and a loss of reality. My first reaction is to give this woman a head slap and try to knock some sense into her. But I've been to la-la land myself when I was overwhelmed with great pain or fear. I understand why people want to believe in angels and unicorns; I know why they bury their head in the sand and pretend nothing is wrong. I get why people buy prayer cloths from a televangelists. When life is filled with uncertainties, anything we can pin our hope on - no matter how outlandish - may seem better than nothing. Yet Pema Chodron's words keep playing in my head: “Do I prefer to grow up and relate to life directly, or do I choose to live and die in fear?” 'Die Before You Die' is a Sufi teaching about using the hard experiences of life to strip away what is unimportant (what protects the ego) in exchange for wisdom. This wisdom won't keep us from having to climb other daunting mountains, but it will make us much better mountain climbers. (And we probably won't need that prayer cloth on the hike.)
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14 comments:

  1. EllenJune 19, 2017 at 9:06 AM

    "Do I prefer to grow up and relate to life directly" and respond to it with love. The older I get the easier it is to let go of things and idea's I used to think were so important but often they turned out to be merely trivial after all

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    1. thesycamoretreeJune 19, 2017 at 9:26 AM

      Especially many of those things that tag along after 'I, me, my and mine.'

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    2. EllenJune 19, 2017 at 9:45 AM

      He you know them too? :D

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    3. thesycamoretreeJune 19, 2017 at 1:19 PM

      Very well acquainted! :D

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  2. Carolyn TindorJune 19, 2017 at 10:03 AM

    That prayer cloth could still be of use...wiping the sweat from the brow on the hard climb. I don't advocate buying anything from those pseudo-wizards of oz, but a little talisman can be a comfort.

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  3. Sharyn Mallow WoerzJune 19, 2017 at 10:32 AM

    Thinking back I made many things a talisman over the years. The currrent one has lasted the longest...buttons. Got a problem? Put a button on it...

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    1. thesycamoretreeJune 19, 2017 at 1:23 PM

      Talismans are interesting... Who or what gives them power? Or perhaps they are meant to just comfort and not solve problems.

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    2. Inner WhispersJune 20, 2017 at 10:37 AM

      My take is that we invest talismans with power. They act as a help, a reminder, a comfort. A bit like our discussion of magic being prayers with props... :D

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    3. thesycamoretreeJune 20, 2017 at 1:23 PM

      They would be good 'touchstones' or reminders. :)

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  4. RoseJune 19, 2017 at 11:45 AM

    So nice to see Asha's cards in use. I'll have to let her know :) These two cards complement each other very well. Love your take on them, Bev.

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    1. thesycamoretreeJune 19, 2017 at 1:24 PM

      I love using her deck! Always spiritual food for thought in each image. :)

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  5. Inner WhispersJune 20, 2017 at 10:39 AM

    Ah, that illusion of choice... We can choose which flavour of 500 cereals we want, but we can't choose much of the important stuff! Going through the tough stuff, we can at least choose how we want to face adversity :)

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    1. thesycamoretreeJune 20, 2017 at 1:22 PM

      In many ways, we are 'spoiled for choice' for sure!

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