Go Now, and Do the Work

This week I'll be using the Brady Tarot, created and self-published by Emi Brady with a companion booklet by Rachel Pollack. I'll also be using the Citadel, an oracle created by Fez Inkwright and published by Liminal 11/Sterling. Today's draws are the Fool and the Botanist:

I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are. ―Takeshi Shudo

An indigo bunting feeds a cowbird chick in the nest built for its own eggs. Cowbirds are brood parasites, laying their eggs in other birds' nests and allowing them to care for them. The indigo bunting is operating on instinct, putting food in an open mouth. While the situation looks foolish, each bird is doing the best they can in the circumstances they've found themselves. There are adult humans who still lament their childhoods, blaming their current circumstances on their past upbringing. If these folks are aware of the dysfunction and don't change, they are more bird-brained than the birds. The Botanist is a nurturer, planting seeds and providing the right environment for them to grow to maturity. We all have a responsibility to nurture ourselves - emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually - once we reach adulthood. There are others who can help us if we seek and ask. As Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, "Go now and do the heart-work on the images imprisoned within you."