Don't Take Mussolini's Advice

From the Greenwood Tarot, the Knight of Stones (Pentacles); from the Rune Cards, Beaver (Ior):

We become strong, I feel, when we have no friends upon whom to lean, or to look to for moral guidance. ~Benito Mussolini

Potter's Knight of Stones is represented by a wolf and the Pictish rendition of a wolf; in Gaelic, wolf is Mac Tire, meaning "Earth's Son." The Celts thought of the wolf as a guardian and guide (Cormac - the Irish King - was said to have been reared by wolves). As much as we like to think of ourselves as independent and self-sufficient, we all need guidance and support at various points in our life. Otherwise, we may end up like Mussolini who followed no one's suggestions but his own and plunged Italy and most of Europe into darkness. True mentors don't tell us right the path to take but hold up a light so that we can see what lies down each path. The rune Ior is represented by a beaver, an animal that spends its time on land and in water. It suggests fluidity, an ease and ability to move between different thoughts and responses. Rather than being locked into one mode, we are able to choose what is most skillful and beneficial in each situation.