It's So Easy

This week I'll be using the Tarot of the Master, created by Giovanni Vacchetta and published by Lo Scarabeo. Along with it, I'll be drawing from the Paracelsus Oracle, published by Lo Scarabeo with instructions written by Gina di Roberto. The cards drawn for today are Love (Lovers) and Tristitia:

At the beginning of all love there is a private treaty each of the lovers makes with himself or herself, an agreement to set aside what is wrong with the other for the sake of what is right.

—Salman Rushdie

There's a breezy song by Olivia Dean that's getting a lot of radio play right now: "I could be the world to you, the missing piece, the extra sentimental kind of chemistry. Cause I make it so easy to fall in love, so, come give me a call, and we'll fall into us." Well, she's got the falling part right - it's the staying in love that's more difficult. It's probably why at the top of this card there is the Latin phrase Dolce travaglio, meaning "sweet labor." Tristitia is a Latin word meaning sorrow; early theologians used it to describe a despondency that caused someone to give up all hope. Partners may discover they are just too different in views and values to stay together, or cruelty and dishonesty might break them apart. But if, as Pink sings, "It's been written in the scars on our hearts; we're not broken, just bent and we can learn to love again," then maybe wise hope should be our compass.

Alert for Red Flags

From the Tarot of the Absurd, the Queen of Cups; from the Post-psychedelic Cyberpunk Deck, the Mirror:

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant.

—Albert Einstein

The wavy, wild locks of the Queen of Cups indicate she leads with her heart, not her head. She can easily sense the emotions of others and can help them navigate their feelings with compassion. But because she is so responsive to others, she must take care not to be subsumed by their drama or chaos. Her intuition is helpful in this regard. In milliseconds, her brain compares the current situation to stored memories, checks for similar patterns, then sends an embodied message of "safe" or "danger." Yet even the most intuitive of us may easily discount any red flags when it comes to those we deeply care about; we want to protect the relationship, avoid pain and maintain the peace. However, the Mirror reminds us it's wiser to acknowledge reality rather than convince ourselves that what we wish for is real. As Carl Sagan wrote, “For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.”