Having and Giving

This week I'll be using Tarot in de Herstelde Orde (Restored Order Tarot) created by Rob Docters van Leeuwen & Onno Docters van Leeuwen and published by Servire. The other deck I'll be using this week is the Oracle of the Kabbalah created by Richard Seidman and published by St. Martin's Press. Hebrew artwork is from various sources (not from the oracle cards). Today's draws are the King of Pentacles and 'Aleph/Alef:'

Aleph artwork by Michoel Muchnik 

          Lest the flowery crown and flowing gown suggest this King is only concerned with the cushy life, there is a hint of armor beneath his robe (and his face resembles WWE superstar John Cena). He's used both brain and brawn to attain what he has, and he maintains it through his common sense and prudence. Nothing is wasted in his kingdom, as seen by the stump that he uses as a footstool. Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and its shape suggests a division between two experiences of life - the spiritual and the physical. It embraces both form and spaciousness, separation and unity. According to Seidman, Aleph teaches us to accept "both sides of life, the grief and the joy, the bitter and the sweet, in order to experience the integrity, the undivided completeness of our lives." Such a perspective gives us a healthy, whole outlook on life rather than trying to ignore one part and chase the other. Perhaps spending time in the natural world is this King's way of reminding himself that life isn't all about material things. In the words of Kevin Kruse, "Life isn’t about getting and having, it’s about giving and being."