Do or Don't Do

This week I'll be using a self-published deck by Elaine Moertl called the Ferret Tarot. Today's draw is the Devil:

Two beings, one representing good choices and the other representing bad choices, battle over the decision this ferret is trying to make. I don't remember too many Bible verses from my youth, but I do remember one in Romans where Paul is frustrated because the good he knows he should do he doesn't, and the bad he knows he shouldn't do he does. I can relate to this back and forth pull (and the strong, magnetic pull of those bad choices). But if I can pause long enough to check the motive underneath my desire (boredom, stress, resentment, fear, grief), I will find the key that opens a door I will probably regret going through.

The oracle deck I'll be using this week is Nature's Wisdom, created by Mindy Lighthipe and published by Schiffer Books. This morning's card is "Bobcat:"

The bobcat, like many large cats in the wild, prefer to be alone except during mating season. For this reason, Lighthipe assigns it the meaning of "solitude." I generally enjoy being alone and actually crave such space if I've been around a lot of people for a length of time. But looking at the Devil card reminds me of a quote I hear a friend say often: "My mind is like a bad neighborhood - I try not to go there alone." I've become very adept at rationalizing whatever I want to do; my mind is so crafty I will begin to think it is the right thing to do. So while solitude is useful, sometimes I need trusted friends who will listen to my ideas and won't be afraid to say, "Woman, have you lost your friggin' mind?!"

Sorting Stuff

From the Ferret Tarot, the Seven of Pentacles:

I'm not sure why, but ferrets love dirty socks.  This group has been sorting through the laundry, picking out all the socks and leaving everything else behind.  This card reminds me that there are parts of my life that I need to examine, sort through, and decide what is worth holding on to and what isn't.  It's a chance to figure out what is worth my attention and time and what is a waste of both.

From the Nature's Wisdom Oracle comes the "Bobcat:"

We have lots of these cats in our area, especially out from the city among the forests and farms.  Yet as long as I lived here, I've only seen one wild one - a bobcat that had been hit and killed on the highway.  These animals live and move alone, quietly like shadows.  The solitude it represents teaches me that some things I must do alone, focusing on my own inner compass rather than relying on the opinions of others.