Cliff Jumping

This week I'll be using the Rohrig Tarot, created by Carl W. Rohrig and published by Sirio. I also have a companion book written by the artist and Francesca Marzano-Fritz and published by Bluestar Communications. The other deck I'll be drawing from is called a tarot, but I'll be using it as an oracle: the Master Tarot. It was created by Amerigo Folchi and Mario Montano and published by AG Muller. Today's cards are the Seven of Wands and 'No Clothes:'

          Watching the silhouette of a man leap from one cliff to another, it's easy to see why the Thoth keyword for this card is Valor. It implies a courageous struggle, facing formidable situations and dealing with them head-on. A friend who tried to recover from alcoholism was buried this week. Anyone who has ever tried to break a pattern of behavior that had been used habitually to deal with fear, anger, pain or grief knows that it's like leaping across a chasm. It's terrifying. Fighting the urge when triggered is like being willing to stand in the middle of a fire. As Pema Chodron explains, "when habitual reactions are strong and long-standing, it’s difficult to choose intelligently. We don’t intentionally choose pain; we just do what’s familiar, which isn’t always the best idea." The No Clothes card shows a naked duo who have shed not only their clothing but their masks as well. NA states that the insanity of addiction (of any kind) embraces the belief that we can take some thing outside of ourselves to fix what’s wrong inside of us: our feelings. Yet this bare look at ourselves has nothing to do with shame and humiliation. As Chodron writes, "It is said that we can’t attain enlightenment, let alone feel contentment and joy, without seeing who we are and what we do, without seeing our patterns and habits.  This is called maitri—developing loving-kindness and an unconditional friendship with ourselves."