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

Monday, June 14, 2021

Righteous Cause

From the Gill Tarot, the Seven of Wands; from The Circle, Destiny:

The humblest citizen in all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error. ~William Jennings Bryan

          Seeing this fiery figure made me think of the phrase 'a righteous cause.' Yet if an undertaking is motivated by rage and fundamentalism, it has no noble foundation. Such people will fly this banner, but their true purpose is to protect their own power. They can easily be spotted by their tactics - fueling hatred, blaming others, condoning inequality, and demonizing other points of view. A true righteous cause may be passionate, but it is rooted in kindness and selflessness. Destiny brings up the question of whether it is a matter of chance or choice. While we are all shaped by conditions outside of our control, I personally believe in the power and responsibility of the decisions we make. An irritant in an oyster can be turned into a shimmering pearl or chalky-looking lump. As William J. Bryan stated, "It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

4 comments:

  1. Mr. Bryan would be shocked at how wrong he was if he kept up with the news today.

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    1. I think he was trying to distinguish between a righteous cause and a self-centered cause (as in 'humblest' rather than arrogant). Plenty of arrogance flying under the banner to mislead others.

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  2. Interesting. I just comments on those points on Sharyn's blog page from her last 2 posts. We are standing at a crossroads and Destiny cannot be the excuse for us.

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