Newton's Law

From the Somnia Tarot, the Two of Coins; from the Spirits of Nature Oracle, Cicadas:

The law of centrifugal force seems to be as true for the human condition as it is for the Newtonian mechanics. The faster our lives spin, the more things tend to fly apart.

― Richard Paul Evans

I saw a pin-on button once with a duck and the slogan, "I may look like I'm gliding across water, but I'm paddling like hell underneath." Life often calls on us to step up our obligations and duties, but doing so for too long can take a toll. Our bodies try to warn us that we're overloaded as our thoughts struggle through a fog of exhaustion. When we begin to feel busy but not productive, we may need to take Haemin Sunim's advice and ask ourselves, "Is it the world that’s busy, or is it my mind?" Maybe we are trying to fix or change a situation that is impossible. The Cicada, an insect that emerges in mass numbers and produces an oceanic buzzing sound, tells us to find our voice. Can we tell people 'No' when they try to add to our load - even those who think they are being helpful? Can we delegate some of our duties to others? We may be able to assist others, but we can only save ourselves.

Teaching With Tales

From the Shining Tribe Tarot, the Speaker of Rivers (King of Cups); from the Animal Tiles, Cicada:

Pollack refers to the King of Cups as a storyteller who helps his people navigate the emotional currents of life. Myths and stories can be teaching tales, not necessarily to propagate beliefs, but to help people understand a concept. Stories work for all types of learners: visual (mental pictures of the story), auditory (hearing the speaker's voice), and kinesthetic (emotional connections and feelings from the story). Psychologist Peg Neuhauser found that learning which stems from a well-told story is remembered more accurately, and for far longer, than learning derived from facts and figures. For two to seventeen years, Cicadas go through multiple instar phases underground before emerging above ground to seek a mate. Males sing by flexing their tymbals - drum-like organs found in their abdomens. The sound is intensified by the cicada’s mostly hollow abdomen. The Cicada's long period underground suggests that the King not try to make up some narrative on the fly or to repeat an over-told story, but to draw from his experience to create it. Those tales have the most impact because others recognize their genuine foundation.

Embracing It All

This week I'll be using the Da Vinci Enigma Tarot, created by Caitlin Matthews and published by Connections. Along with it, I'll be drawing from a self-published oracle created by Esmeralda Rupp-Spangle called the Insectorum Divinorum. Today's cards are the Three of Air (Swords) and the "Cicada:"

          The questions (dimmi, literally "tell me") for this Three of Air sketch of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian are: What are you mourning? What is painful? Nothing like getting down to brass tacks. I didn't even have to think too hard for my answer. I'll be with my extended family for the holiday, including the the young adult children of my cousins. These "kids" are smart, outgoing and making fast tracks in the worlds of education and career. I always feel like I'm in a Sesame St. show that illustrates "same and different" when we gather. With a young adult child who struggles with mental health issues, there is an obvious difference in the room. My heart ache and pain are for her; I have no doubt she would give anything to shake off her shackles and live with the same buoyancy as they do.
          The Cicada is one of my favorite insects; the larvae live underground from 1 to 17 years (depending on the type). Every year, in late spring and summer, some of them emerge and become winged insects; the days and nights are filled with the male's thrumming, buzzing calls. The sound becomes like the rise and fall of ocean waves. As a result of their life cycle, Rupp-Spangle suggests the meaning of this card is a "protracted waiting, followed by an explosion of creativity, energy, life force and drive." Perhaps my loved one will have her day in the sun after all, just not on schedule with everyone else. The Da Vinci book does mention an important point in reference to my pain: there is no need for resentment or jealousy. I can embrace all with an open and patient heart.

We have a choice. We can spend our whole life suffering because we can't relax with how things really are, or we can relax and embrace the open-endedness of the human situation, which is fresh, unfixated, unbiased. ~ Pema Chodron

Burrowing Under

From the Shining Tribe Tarot, the Four of Stones (Pentacles); from the Animal Tiles, "Cicada:"

       A figure resembling a cross stands in front of two gateways: one a temple entrance and another a dolmen. Unlike the the closed, restricted feeling I get from the RWS version, this card seems more open. Yet that figure reminds me a sacrifice will be demanded of me before I enter. The busyness I use to distract myself, the spending I use as anesthesia, and the "comfort food" that takes rather than gives energy will have to be laid down at the threshold. My body, finances, time and energy have taken a hit lately, and I need time to heal.
       I love the big, frightful-looking bugs known as cicadas; it wouldn't seem like summer without their loud, buzzing songs. These insects spend most of their lives six feet underground, for a period of 3, 13 or 17 years. Under the earth, they live on the sap of tree roots. At the end of the cycle, they emerge, molt, then mate, leaving eggs behind to begin the next generation. Cicadas are symbols of rebirth after a period of rest. Like the spiral found inside the dolmen, these insects teach me that conservation is a natural part of the life cycle. For now I need to burrow down and take shelter.