I use tarot and oracle cards as tools for reflection and contemplation. Rather than divining the future, they are a way for me to look more deeply at the "now."
"The goal isn't to arrive, but to meander, to saunter, to make your life a holy wandering." ~ Rami Shapiro

Friday, September 13, 2019

Muddy Water

From the Urban Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Principles to Live By, Patience:
Yet it should be obvious that action without wisdom, without clear awareness of the world as it really is, can never improve anything. Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone. 
– Alan Watts  

          Scott's Eight of Swords (given the keyword 'interference') shows a snowy TV screen with swords running through it. The RWS version usually shows a blindfolded person surrounded by swords stuck in the ground. The sad truth is, we are the ones who drove those swords in and caused the problem. It starts when we have a plan and a strategy to get us to our goal. The problem is that there is no wiggle room for unforeseen circumstances or obstacles that meet us on the path. We can't see with clarity because we're stuck on how we envisioned things would be rather than the plate of reality we've been served. Yet Patience reminds us that with calm endurance things often change on their own. But even if the situation changes at a snail's pace, that quiet stillness can often help us see beyond our original plans. As Watts writes: "it could be argued that those who sit quietly and do nothing are making one of the best possible contributions to a world in turmoil." Why? Because making space for ideas beyond our own gives us many more possibilities from which to choose.

4 comments:

  1. swords across screens, the optimal way out. I looked up Alan Watts which lead to Druid Heights. Every day, something new, something old.

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    1. I've never heard of Druid Heights until you mentioned it (and of course had to Google it). :D

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  2. So much is of our own making, the good and the not so good.

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