You Go High

This week I'll be using the Victorian Romantic Tarot, created by Alex Ukolov and Karen Mahony with Magic Realist Press as publisher. I will also be drawing from Dreaming in Color: the Luman Deck, created and self-published by Mindy Hope Sommers. Today's draws are the Five of Swords and 'Breakthrough:'

Not all forms of abuse leave bruises.

~Danielle Steel 

          I wish bullying was something kids would grow out of, but as the current political stage shows, bullies don't have an age limit. I was angered to see the video of Catholic high school boys (who were in Washington, DC for an anti-abortion march) get in the face of a Native elder who was there with others to be a voice for the rights of indigenous peoples. Is this something their parents and school would be proud of? I would love to see these boys shipped off to live on a reservation for a month. Maybe a little understanding would grow in their tiny, undeveloped brains. My initial reaction to bullies is to push back, hard. But the Breakthrough card reminds me that this kind of action only feeds animosity and cruelty. Instead, I might take Michelle Obama's advice that she gave her girls (which the elder modeled beautifully): "We explain when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you do not stoop to their level. Our motto is when they go low, you go high." A wide perspective can make something that at first seems personal be reflected right back to the bully.

People who repeatedly attack your confidence and self-esteem are quite aware of your potential, even if you are not. ~Wayne Gerard Trotman

Sword vs. Pen

  From the Tarot of Durer this morning comes the King of Swords:

Here is a mature king who very much believes in truth and justice, but who prefers to listen and make his decisions calmly rather than rashly.  He is definitely someone I need to model right now, as I am one angry woman.  There is a Baptist church in my neighborhood that seems intent on paving over every piece of earth for miles around and building huge concrete monstrosities.  They've recently bought a lot next to a holding pond near my house, an area that boasts many majestic, old trees and is home to various wildlife - great blue herons, Canadian geese, and mallard ducks to name a few.  Yesterday evening, I noticed they had tagged many of these trees to be cut down!  Now if a tree is diseased, I don't have a problem with removing it.  But these trees are healthy and providing food and shelter to many animals, as well as adding beauty to the landscape.  My first reaction was to tear off the tags, but then I thought the idiots would probably just remove all the trees.  Then I thought about calling the church and asking them nicely to reconsider.  But I've dealt with these people before, and they are more interested in recognition and making a name for themselves than environmental impact.  Plus, I'm sure I would end up talking to a poor secretary who would have no idea what I was talking about, and instead would concentrate on getting me to church next Sunday.  What to do?  I finally shot off a note this morning to the local newspaper's "squawkbox" about what was going on.  I hope in this case the pen is mightier than the sword...

    The draw from the Philosopher's Stone deck this morning is "Breakthrough:"

I feel this stone person's frustration; he can't see past the big boulder in his way.  But suddenly, a crack appears in the rock, and a sliver of daylight emerges between the pieces.  I guess my choice in writing the newspaper instead of resorting to eco-terrorism is my breakthrough today.  I can't help but feel it will make little impact.  However, I did notice the holding pond's water level had dropped significantly yesterday, which makes me think the lime sink might be developing a large crack underneath (which has happened to the pond before).  Would it be wrong to pray that the earth would crack open and swallow the Baptist church whole (sans people)?