Broken Bridges

From the Tarocchi Celtici, the Five of Water (Cups); from the Art of Asia Oracle, "Flowering Cherry with Poem Slips" by Tosa Mitsuoki:

          The bridge overhead in this Five of Cups card has been broken; it likely represents the relationship between the water nymph and the frog. Perhaps he ate one of her friends? I once was involved with a fellow who I discovered was racist (he had up to that point presented himself differently). Being a twenty-something at the time, I'm sure I threw several things at his head and stomped off never to return. It's hard when you realize someone you've begun to care about it is not who they've pretended to be. But as the symbolism of Alder (defense) and Fearn (protection) imply, sometimes we have to look after ourselves. The verse for the painting of the poem tree is by Ikkyu: "Look at the cherry blossoms! Their color and scent fall with them, are gone forever; yet mindless the spring comes again." It's hard to let go of what we thought was going to be beautiful, but our trips around the sun will bring other opportunities.

Tipping Things Over

 From the Prisma Visions Tarot, the Five of Cups; from The Secret Language of Color Cards, Chocolate:

A young man nearly falls off a precipice as he releases three cups. That is how it often feels emotionally when we must let go of something or someone that has been a familiar constant in our lives. Yet it is better to let go of pain and allow for possibility. That cycle of emotional suffering never changes unless someone does something different. Chocolate symbolizes nourishment, not of the body necessarily, but of the spirit. It's not self-indulgence or self-pity we need during these times, but self-care and compassion.

The Vast Heart

From the Mary-El Tarot, the Five of Cups; from the OH Cards, Hospital/Comic:

          White writes "To love is to risk loss; they are part of the same natural cycle." It does require courage to risk opening the heart instead of shielding it. Invariably the love we feel will also bring pain - just ask a pet owner who has recently euthanized a furry member of the family. The unicorn's horn was said to purify poisoned water. But with no mythical animals to rely on, the only way we can heal a heart is to keep it open and exposed to fresh air.

With such a vast heart,

immense as the wide-open sea,

suffering cannot overpower us,

just as a small handful of salt

cannot make a great river salty.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh 

          A hospital may be where you go when you're injured or sick, but it is also a place to get well. The word card "comic" that is paired with the hospital card today reminds me not to forget how to smile or laugh when the body or spirit is in need of healing. In the words of Bob Newhart, "Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on."