I use tarot and oracle cards as tools for reflection and contemplation. Rather than divining the future, they are a way for me to look more deeply at the "now."
"The goal isn't to arrive, but to meander, to saunter, to make your life a holy wandering." ~ Rami Shapiro

Showing posts with label black walnut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black walnut. Show all posts

Saturday, January 5, 2019

Team Effort

From the Russian Lubok Tarot, the Five of Wands; from the Oracle of Alice's Leaves, 'Black Walnut:'
          These fellows look like the five stooges: one rides a hobby horse (completely oblivious to all except his own fun), another looks like he's up for a competitive game of ball, and three others look like they are trying to smack or trip someone. They've all lost sight of what's important - the primary goal they're supposed to be working toward. Perhaps there is a misunderstanding of what the objective actually is, and unless they put down their sticks, they're unlikely to figure it out. Black Walnut, or Juglans nigra, has developed a way to preserve its existence by killing off all competitors. Its roots contain the substance juglone which poisons other trees in its domain (even its own seedlings). Black Walnut's tactics are like someone who shows up to a team meeting with their own agenda and refuse to listen to anyone else's ideas. That team will never make progress. In the words of Vince Lombardi, "Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."