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

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Deep or Shallow?

This week I'll be using the Norse Tarot deck and book set, created by Clive Barrett and published by Aquarian Press. I'll also be using the Wolf Pack, created and self-published by Robert Petro. Today's draws are the Ace of Cups and 'Control:'
 Loving oneself is the foundation for loving another person.
― Thich Nhat Hanh

          The Ace of Cups represents the joy and love we find through our connection with others. This beautifully designed chalice has a wide, hefty base to support the cup and its contents. Does its base imply we need to be able to love ourselves before we can love another? Clinical psychologist Leon F. Seltzer questions this logic, suggesting it affects not if we can love but how: "To deepen your love and acceptance of another, first develop love and acceptance for yourself." In other words, when we accept rather than hide our quirks and faults, we keep our heart fully open and thus deepen the intimacy of the relationship. The Control card brings to mind the 'near enemy' (a trait that looks like a virtue but is destructive) of loving-kindness - attachment. Attachment in this sense is possessive and based on fear and clinging. The 'loved' person is seen as something needed, and manipulation is almost always in play to control the relationship. An examination of our attachment will show a love that is constricted and conditional. Rather than a deep cup, it's as shallow as a saucer.

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7 comments:

  1. EllenMay 20, 2018 at 9:16 AM

    I have ben taking care for my mother for a week, and my cup has been emptied out. Maybe more by my attachment to the expectation I hold on to about what my mother should be like than by that actual caring for her. It is so hard for me to accept the kind of woman she has become over the years.

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    1. thesycamoretreeMay 20, 2018 at 9:31 AM

      I feel for you! (((E))) Perhaps part of it may be she doesn't like to be dependent on anyone - it probably scares the heck out of her, thinking about the future. Sometimes I rely on a phrase from the Bhagavad Gita: "Make everything an offering."

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    2. EllenMay 20, 2018 at 10:58 AM

      Thank you for reminding me of that phrase :)

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  2. Sharyn Mallow WoerzMay 20, 2018 at 9:58 AM

    I don't love willy-nilly, but when I do it is because of who they are not in spite of who they are. Our so called blemishes are what makes us interesting.

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    1. thesycamoretreeMay 20, 2018 at 10:17 AM

      It makes people seem more human and down-to-earth.

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  3. Carolyn TindorMay 20, 2018 at 10:46 AM

    Maybe we need to let go of our control issues and just go with the flow of love. Easier said than done.

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    1. thesycamoretreeMay 20, 2018 at 11:35 AM

      Love in society today has become a transaction for many rather than a gift.

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