From the Da Vinci Enigma Tarot, the Five of Water (Cups); from the Insectorum Divinorum, Lantern-fly:
Dimmi: Does the pain of regret or loss prevent appreciative joy?*
When I searched online for this image, I discovered the companion book had misidentified it. Leonardo's mechanism is the first idea for a CVT (continuously variable transmission), which allows an engine's speed to remain steady as it continuously and seamlessly alters its gearing. Do we keep running smoothly when life suddenly causes us to take a sharp, unexpected turn? Or do we feel that we have it worse than most people, who seem to glide along? Appreciative joy is not just about a gladness of heart for the happiness we see around us, it also recognizes the skillful behavior and attitude that cultivates that happiness. This practice takes practice to cultivate. The Lantern-fly, a type of planthopper with a strangely shaped snout, was mistakenly thought to emit light by early experts. Such a misunderstanding is also behind the Five of Cups. Unvoiced expectations, misinterpreted intentions, wishful thinking, and the failure to acknowledge the natural course of things may all need to be examined carefully.
*My own dimmi, not the book's.
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