You Need It

From the Dark Goddess Tarot, the Siren of Earth; from the Tattva Cards, Air - Seed of Water:

If you ever feel like life is too much to bear, remember this: sometimes you just need to laugh. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s necessary. A joke, a smile, a little bit of mischief — it’s a form of resistance against the heaviness of life. It doesn’t erase the pain, but it lets you breathe through it.

—Deanna Riddick

Baubo is the Greek goddess of mirth, joy, and bawdy humor. Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, went into a deep depression when she lost her daughter. Nothing grew and nothing was harvested. Baubo went to visit her and flashed her 'assets.' Demeter was shocked and confused at first, but it broke through her darkness; she laughed and was then able to do what was needed. Air: Seed of Water is given the keyword Stagnation. It brings to mind cloud seeding when water becomes scarce. Tiny particles are released by planes into clouds. These particles help moisture condense and fall as rain or snow. Sometimes it takes the introduction of the ridiculous and unfamiliar to lure us back into the world.

Personal Agency

From the Dark Goddess Tarot, The Morrigan (Emperor); from the Tattwa Cards, Air > Seed of Water:

Never surrender what matters most.

~Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

          The Morrigan, great Queen of the Celts, is associated with war and fate. She reminds us that we should cherish our sovereignty (the right to make our own decisions) while realizing we are responsible for those choices. There are times when we may wish to abdicate our own throne, but this goddess warns that personal agency is what allows us our independence and freedom. Yet the keyword for tattwa card - 'stagnation' - offers another caution. Sometimes we can fall under the illusion that we are an expert on everything and refuse to listen to others. Our opinions and beliefs keep us trapped from seeing the bigger picture. Yet sincerely considering the ideas of others only offers us more options to choose from.

If you cannot be open-minded, then you do not possess your ideas, your ideas possess you.

~Bryant McGill

Concrete Conclusions

This week I'll be using the Dark Goddess Tarot, a deck created by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince and published by Arnell's Art. Along with it, I'll be using a set of Tattwas Cards. Today's draws are the Amazon of Earth (Page of Pentacles) and 'Air - Seed of Water:'

          Artemis, called "She of the Wild" by Homer, was known as a huntress, protector of the young, and a guardian of the forests. She chose to remain chaste and had a bevy of priestesses who vowed to do the same. But Artemis, like many in the first flush of learning, saw in black and white. She had a concept (chastity/purity) that was held in such esteem, she couldn't see any other options. After her hunting attendant Callisto gave birth to a son (with Zeus as his father), Artemis attempted to turn them both into a bear. Zeus instead turned them into the constellations Ursa Minor and Ursa Major. The keyword for Air: Seed of Water is 'stagnation.' Together with the Page, it warns of reifying concepts - making them concrete and inflexible. There is a Buddhist slogan that says, "Self-liberate even the antidote." Basically, it tells us not to try to use one idea as a catch-all for everything. Life is complicated, and it requires a wide perspective rather than a narrow one if we are to see it clearly.

So whenever you come up with a solid conclusion, let the rug be pulled out. You can pull out your own rug, and you can also let life pull it out for you. ~ Pema Chodron