Seek and Find

This week I'll be using the Shadowscapes book and deck set published by Llewellyn. The artwork is done by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and the book is written by Barbara Moore. I'll also be drawing from a set of Cedar Runes made by AlaskaLaserMaid; The Serpent and the Eagle by Chris Travers will serve as an accompanying text. Today's draws are the Knight of Cups and 'Gebo:'

          With a pure heart, this Knight of Cups rides a unicorn in search of the Holy Grail. The grail's legend begins with the last supper of Jesus. The cup was given to his grand-uncle, St. Joseph of Arimathea, who provided a burial chamber for the body of Jesus. Joseph was imprisoned in a similar rock tomb and left to starve, but the grail provided him with sustenance for several years until he escaped. He took the grail to a castle where it was guarded. The tale picks up with the story of King Arthur's knights, who go in search of the cup. According to Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, the grail would cure the ills of anyone who touched or looked on it. Haven't humans searched for centuries - using religion, science, and material things - for a way to make themselves whole? Perhaps the flaw is in thinking we need something external to heal what is internal. Gebo is generally translated as 'gift.' Yet Travers explains that this gift is given to someone whose friendship has been relied on in the past, and what is given is what is needed. These are gifts that create bonds and deepen a relationship, given from the heart rather than from obligation. The Knight may eventually realize the message of the grail sounds much like the words of St. Francis Assisi: "Grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love."