Invitation

From the Tarot Lukumi, the Knight of Cups (Chango); from the Diloggun Cards, Three Mouths (Ogunda):

Your problem is you are too busy holding on to your unworthiness.

―Ram Dass

The Knight of Cups, elementally known as Fire of Water, is a perfect pairing with the Chango (Orisha of fire, thunder, lighting, and dance). His fire encourages us to move beyond passivity and express our heart's wish to build a relationship, whether with a person or a group. We might fear that we are not enough, that we don't have what it takes to be accepted. Yet the most meaningful relationships require only honesty, kindness, a willingness to be vulnerable, and a mutual respect for each other. The proverb for Three Mouths (Ogunda) says: "A little subtleness is better than a lot of force." Extending an invitation is much better than whacking someone over the head with it.  

On this Fourth of July, I couldn't help but post this quote, which I feel deeply:

"Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country's virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, "the greatest," but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is."

—Sydney J. Harris