Mature Love

This week I'll be using the Dark Goddess Tarot, created by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince and published by Arnell's Art (now available from  Schiffer Publishing). The oracle I'll be using is the Tattwa Cards, based on the teachings of John Mumford. Today's draws are the Lovers and Air > Seed of Ether:

Immature love says: 'I love you because I need you.'

Mature love says 'I need you because I love you.'

―Erich Fromm

          Freya, Norse goddess of love and beauty (as well as chief of the Valkyries), had an abiding love for her husband. When Odr mysteriously disappeared, she searched all over the world for him. At the end of the world and the end of time, she finally finds that he has been transformed into a sea monster. Even this does not change how she feels about her beloved. The companion book suggests that when we meet a challenging situation, we choose a spiritual response - giving more love and creating more beauty. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., "We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world." King's statement reflects the keyword for Air: Seed of Ether - transformation. In order to do this, we need to drop the distractions of what is irrelevant and choose to see beyond our labels and opinions. We then can begin with a fresh perspective.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few. ―Shunryu Suzuki

Join the Dance

From the Dark Goddess Tarot, Death; from the Tattwa Cards, Air: Seed of Ether:

 Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don’t struggle

against it, we are in harmony with reality. – Pema Chodron

          La Santa Muerte (Our Lady of the Holy Death) is the patron saint of death in Mexican folk religion. Although the Church condemns the devotion of her followers as a “celebration of devastation and of hell,” her devotees say they are drawn to her by her non-judgmental nature (everyone has the same destiny).  Many who feel excluded by the Catholic Church welcome this Lady who accepts everyone just as they are. By embracing death (seeing it as natural as the change in seasons), Santa Muerte believers say they are free to live their lives without fear or anxiety. Air: Seed of Ether represents transformation that occurs because of a fresh perspective. It's like being shut up inside a tiny office with no windows all day, then suddenly finding yourself at the beach with a sea breeze blowing. We see things differently because we are able to understand them in a new way. La Santa Muerte isn't a demon, but an honest representation of life. She might not always symbolize what pleases us, but she's as real as it gets.

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

― Alan W. Watts