Out of the Loop

This week I'll be using the Rider Marseille Tarot, created by Alejandro R. Rozan and published through Artisan Tarot. I'll also be using the Ostinato Oracle, created and self-published by Mellie Parkway. Today's draws are the Emperor and Ottava bassa:

Moving awareness from the head to the feet has the effect of settling the mind. This probably occurs because the bottoms of the feet are as far as we can get away from the head. 

—Jan Chozen Bays

Uh oh, the Emperor is giving us the side-eye. He's thinking, "Why do they have to color outside of the lines? Why can't they just commit to the organized structure that's in place?" The rams on the armrests are rolling their eyes at this pronouncement; the Emperor's life may be stable, but not everyone else's is. When the world feels as if it has turned upside down - especially right before the holidays - people react in unusual and sometimes extreme ways. The symbol Ottava bassa gives some advice that might actually help. It instructs the musician to play the passage one octave lower than written, thus it encourages us to ground ourselves. Focusing on the senses, whether touch, smell, hearing, sight or taste, can help us move from the loop of stressful thinking to feeling calm and balanced.