This is Your Life

This week I'll be using the Tarot Lukumi, a deck created by Caelum Rainieri, Ivory Andersen and Raphael Montoliu. It is published by Dal Negro and the artwork was done by Luigi Scapini. The oracle deck I'll be using this week is the Diloggun Cards, a digital set created through the use of art by Mase Lobe. Each card is associated with an Ifa ethic as well as a proverb, with information from a book by Ifa Karade called The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts. Today's draws are the Wheel of Fortune and Oyeku (two mouths):

          This card shows the Tablet of Ifa, a divination tool of Orunmila (the spirit of wisdom)that uses nuts. The horse tail whip (iruke) was used to chase away bad energies while the deer antler was associated with Ochosi, the Orisha of justice. It is thought that through sacrifice, bad energies could be changed into good energies. This Wheel of Fortune feels a bit like walking onto the stage of This is Your Life, but with an intervention twist. Life is not all about the luck of the draw; a lot has to do with my attitudes and actions as I navigate the world.
          Oyeku (a throw with two cowrie shells up) is associated with the following ethic and proverb:
Ifa: The prevalence of temper outbursts and cursing are the causes of difficulty in one’s life.
Proverb: Ashes fly back in the face of he who throws them.
Blame, self-justification and rationalization are easily employed when life isn't progressing as I'd like. But the bottom line is that the thoughts I focus on, how I communicate, and my behavior has a lot to do with how the scales are weighted. 

Pure awareness transcends thinking. It allows you to step outside the chattering negative self-talk and your reactive impulses and emotions. It allows you to look at the world once again with open eyes. And when you do so, a sense of wonder and quiet contentment begins to reappear in your life.

~Mark Williams and Danny Penman

Our area had an internet outage for the past four days in case anyone wondered where I've been. :)