Even the Antidote

This week I'll be using the Light Seer's Tarot, created by Chris-Anne Donnelly and published by Hay House. The other deck I'll be drawing from is the Tapestry Oracle, created and self-published by Kendall Eifler. Today's draws are the Page of Swords and Darkness:

There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.

―Ansel Adams

Mental constructs have a heady effect on this intellectual Page. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the world experience she to realize a concept doesn't cover everything. Unfortunately, that's how extreme 'isms' get born, like nihilism or asceticism. The Buddhist lojong slogan, "Self-liberate even the antidote," points out that even ideas that are useful in some ways can be too constrictive for the constant change of life when applied too widely. The card Darkness shows how tightly held constructs can shrink our world, squeezing out any hope for other possibilities. Even when those opportunities arise, we can be so blinded by our ideas we don't see them.

A Time to Act, A Time to Pause

From the Scrying Poetry Tarot, the Six of Wands; from the Tapestry Oracle, Darkness:

          Victoria's free verse for the Six of Wands suggests that it isn't just action that helps us meet our challenges successfully, it's also the ability to attend to details and adjust our trajectory as necessary. It's all too easy to focus solely on the goal instead of what is happening around where we stand. But once we enjoy a taste of victory, the celebration may give way to fear. What waits for us around the next corner? Do we have it in us to go another round? Darkness encourages us to pause and take a time-out. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche wrote: "There is no better protection than the refuge of unbounded sacred space, infinite awareness, and genuine warmth." In the stillness and quiet, as we let go of our assumptions, projections and opinions, we find that our inner refuge of sacred space is boundless and vast with more possibilities than our mind currently imagines. The inner light of awareness appears as we rest in this openness, bringing clarity rather than delusion or fantasy. Genuine warmth arises as we recognize the nature of impermanence in all things, and trust that no matter what comes, it too will change.