Receptive and Respectful

This week I'll be drawing from the Everyday Enchantment Tarot, a set created by Poppy Palin and published by Red Feather. The oracle I'll be using is MentorSpirit, created by Kathy Tyler with Joy Drake and published by InnerLinks Associates. Today's cards are the High Priestess and 'Respect:'

          A young Goth gal relaxes in an urban setting, sharing the night with other nocturnal creatures. A puddle beside her reflects the moon but is not the moon itself; it suggests that the heart of spiritual awakening lies in being with our experience rather than intellectual efforts (words are only a 'finger pointing at the moon'). Meditation allows her to watch her own thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in them. Contemplation lets her ponder questions that open previously closed doors in her mind. The knowledge she receives from her look within will be written or drawn in her journals. The Respect card suits this rendition of the High Priestess well - how many people would judge and dismiss her simply because of her looks and youth? Hermann Hesse wrote, "We are sun and moon, dear friend; we are sea and land. It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is: each the other's opposite and complement." No one grows beyond their comfortable cocoons without encountering someone who is different from them. Those who teach us best are generally those who can help us look at other viewpoints and consider ideas that diverge from our own.