Dalet artwork by Tina Spiro
The Priestess personifies sacred wisdom, not necessarily in a religious sense, but sacred because it has the power to transform. The pomegranates on her veil are split open, revealing the seeds inside. According to Jewish tradition, the pomegranate has 613 seeds, which correspond to the 613 mitzvot (precepts and commandments). But the seeds the Priestess offers don't come from outside ourselves; the hidden treasure of knowledge is within each of us. She encourages us to look beyond the ego (which prefers things to be black or white) to a spaciousness that is without manmade, fabricated boundaries. Here we find an awareness that contains both wisdom and compassion. The Hebrew letter Dalet's root means 'door,' and it gives us the opportunity to transition to something better. Seidman suggests that recognizing this opportunity depends on our humility, understanding that "We are not separate, and we are not self-sufficient. Rather, we are connected to and dependent upon everything." Both these cards imply a benevolent perspective capable of seeing beyond self-centered ideas and desires.
I see her most often as a 'secret keeper' The questions is do we really want to know the answers?
ReplyDeleteIf it means seeing a part of me that I'm hiding from myself, I would answer 'yes.'
DeleteI, the least religious person I know, could probably fill a couple of pages listing things sacred to me. Sometimes sacred gets pigeonholed.
ReplyDelete"Sacred" too often gets boxed for mass/Mass consumption; it's a shame many don't see past the religious use of the word.
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