Task of Sisyphus

From the Dark Goddess Tarot, the Seven of Earth (Ereshkigal); from the Tattwa Cards, Fire: Seed of Earth:

Shake your fist all you want, but dead is dead

~Steven Erikson

Ereshkigal, Lady of the Vast Place, was the Mesopotamian goddess of the underworld. In this culture, the afterlife was where everyone went after death - good or bad. Ereshkigal guarded the barrier between the physical world and the underworld. She may seem an odd choice for the Seven of Earth (Pentacles), until we realize how often we 'plant' things that are 'dead' to us; we keep trying to make them work or bring them back. Fire: Seed of Earth represents alchemy, and even this philosophy required specific elements, combined in certain ways to be useful. We can't force things or people to grow if it is not their natural inclination. Otherwise, we have taken on the task of Sisyphus.