Seeing With the Heart

From the Middle Way Arcana, the Empress; from the Vertical Oracle, Vertical:

Unless we view things with our hearts, we can see nothing. But if we look at the world with a love of life, it will reveal its beauty to us.

~Daisaku Ikeda

The Empress could easily be known as the Bodhisattva of Grace: all that she creates and nourishes is fueled by her unconditional love and compassion. Rather than judging worthiness, she gives her abundance freely to all beings. Her only interest is the well-being of others. Vertical reminds us that there is a power greater than ourselves, whether it's called Nature, the Cosmos, Reality or some other name. It is humbling but also freeing to know we're not in charge of how the world spins. Our focus only needs to be on engaging kindly and respectfully with our horizontal relationships, whether human, animal or the earth itself. The Empress could teach us a lot about embracing it all.