Long Arc of One Circle

From the Ellis Tarot, the High Priestess; from the Brownies Oracle, Cycles:

The problem is we have a mind that creates a past, a future, and an endless supply of story lines and judgements. ― Mark Van Buren

This High Priestess is the middle pillar between darkness and light, growth and decay, prey and predator - things we tend to segregate. Ellis calls her the Keeper of What Can't be Taught; she leads us through calm stillness to the luminous mind. Here we encounter and begin to understand that even in what appears separate there is interconnection. Like different cells in a body, there is a single reality underlying the diversity of experience. Cycles reminds us that we have no immunity from traveling both the dark and light phases as we move through life. It may at times feel like we're stuck in a 'bad' phase, but sometimes the arc is long and simply takes more time to move around to the other side. 

Five Remembrances

From the Ellis Deck, the Tower; from the Brownies Oracle, 'Cycles:'

          Ellis suggests that the Tower was built to ward off the natural flow of things, but nothing manmade will ever accomplish that goal. It reminded me of Buddha's 'Five Remembrances:'

1. I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way I can escape growing old.
2. I am of the nature to get sick. There is no way I can escape getting sick.
3. I am of the nature to die. There is no way I can escape death.
4. Everything and everyone I love will change. There is no way I can escape being separated from them.
5. My deeds are my only true belongings. They are the ground on which I stand.

Yet Buddha wasn't advocating a nihilistic approach to life, but a tender, appreciative one. His goal was to avoid suffering by seeing reality for what it is rather than clinging tightly to what we want it to be. The Cycles card message is that life is always moving and changing; good or bad, this too will pass. Or as Buddha would call it, impermanence.

Dual Nature

From the Norse Tarot, the Sun; from the Wolf Pack, 'Cycles:'

          In Norse mythology, Sol (the sun goddess) was swallowed during Ragnorok, an end-of-the-world battle. Eventually, a new world rose, and Sunna (the daughter of Sol) outshone even her mother. Around the Summer Solstice in areas north of the Arctic Circle, the sun remains visible at midnight (Norway is often called 'Land of the Midnight Sun'). The opposite phenomenon, the polar night, occurs during winter, when the sun stays below the horizon throughout the day. Norse mythology, like other folklore, reflects the dual nature of the world. The Cycles card parallels this idea, showing a wolf that has survived a harsh winter but now will find food plentiful in the spring. Whether energy and light or other resources, we can prudently use them while available. When they disappear, we don't need to wail and wallow; we survive as best we can, knowing the light will at some point return. 

The first time you feel that sort of pain, you think it's never going to go away. Once you do survive it, you realize you can survive anything. ~ Zoe Kravitz

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

From the Norse Tarot, the Star; from the Wolf Pack, "Cycles:"

       During Ragnarok, the Norse cyclic destruction of the cosmos, two humans hid in a forest. Lif and Lifthrasir were the only surviving male and female of the species. As the cycle once again turned to rebirth, they would eventually emerge and repopulate the new world. From their hiding place, they saw the stars return to the night sky. While there would be much work ahead, the fact that they survived it all brought them hope.
       The wolf in the Cycles card looks ragged and hungry. The cactus emphasizes just how sharp and unwelcoming life has been of late. Yet the message is that this cycle is ending and beneficial change is coming. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars." Funny how crystal clear things can get when you're in those places; it suddenly becomes very obvious what is important and what isn't. And maybe that's the real blessing of the calm after the storm - clarity.