Broken Glass

This week I'll be using the Roots of Asia Tarot, created by Amnart Klanprachar with Thaworn Boonyawan and published by AGM Müller. I'll also be using the Mah Jongg Oracle, created by Derek Walters and published by Thunder Bay Press. Today's cards are the Three of Swords and Carp:

          Where there was once a head and trunk, now there is only a pierced heart in this painting. When we have been betrayed or hurt, our world can begin to rotate around our pain. The booklet suggests this card is about coping with sorrow caused by the loss of something in which we were emotionally invested. We desperately crave for things to be different, to go back to the way they were when we were happy. But the more we funnel our thoughts in this direction, the worse it gets. It's as if we accidentally step on broken glass in bare feet, then continue walking back and forth across the sharp pieces. The Carp symbolizes inner calm and contentment, a time when troubles might not be over, but we have come to terms with the situation. How do we move from a place of suffering to acceptance? As Bodhipaksa writes, we focus on self-care rather than the mental story we've constructed about the situation. 

Once we’ve practiced by turning toward our pain and offering it care, we often find that things shift radically. The sacred pause of mindful compassion becomes a conduit for wisdom and other inner resources that we sometimes aren’t aware we had. 

—Bodhipaksa