No Diplomas

From the Vision Quest Tarot, the Big Medicine Wheel (the World); from the Bird Cards, the Parrot:

In the World card, the Fool becomes the Mystic; the wisdom of experience and competency replace naivety and inexperience, yet the capacity for awe and wonder remain. This competency is not simply about a certain skill, but being able to move through life with equanimity and openness. The snake in the center of this Medicine Wheel alludes to the ever-changing nature of the physical world, yet interconnection remains. The Fool/Mystic recognizes this interplay of causes and conditions, how they shape us, and how they make us interdependent. He or she would agree with the words of Carl Sagan, "If we are to survive, our loyalties must be broadened ... to include the whole human community, the entire planet Earth." Parrot is a noisy bird, and thus its meaning is to pay attention and sharpen our focus. It's easy to be filled with new knowledge and understanding and think we've now gotten our Diploma of Life. Parrot's squawk reminds us that there is always more to learn.