Revoking Power

From the Sheridan-Douglas Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Pages of Shustah, Destiny:

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.

― Marcus Aurelius

Destiny (the Shustah card) refers to external things that we can't control. The Eight of Swords puts us smack dab in the middle of a bunch of them. It's easy to get overwhelmed in this place and fall into "woe is me" mode. In Buddhism, suffering is said to be caused by the disconnect between what we want and what reality gives us. Yet if we can find a way to calm and center ourselves, we can take another peek at reality and perhaps see that while it may be upsetting, it isn't as horrible as we imagined it to be. At this point, we can determine an appropriate response to deal with it. 

That Direction

From the Tarot of the Abyss, the Eight of Swords; from the Nature Mandala Cards, Begin Again:

Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. 

—Edward de Bono

Our fixed ideas mold the tracks our thoughts take; we are not nearly as innovative as we may think. This woman is like a pearl sewn onto fabric, stitched down and tied off. Beliefs may be treated like beautiful gems, but they don't always fit every purpose or situation. When we try to generalize those entrenched ideas and outlooks, we could find ourselves stuck with no wiggle room. Begin Again suggests we don't give up but rather start with "Don't Know Mind" and observe what is without attachment or aversion. A spacious, curious mind can see endless possibilities, not just the ones we've been running on a loop. As Pema Chodron encouraged, "What you could experience is so much vaster than what you currently experience. Let’s go in that direction."

Free of Blinders

From the Granny Jones Australian Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Button Oracle, Teddy Bear:

We must reinvent a future free of blinders so that we can choose from real options.

~David Suzuki

This kitty would love to get out and try to catch a bird, but the window is firmly closed. Is there no other way outside, such as people coming and going out the doors? He's like most of us; we see an option or a solution but believe it is the only one worth pursuing. When we find that those closed, we don't bother to consider other doors that might offer us an attainable opportunity. Instead, we fruitlessly stay focused on what is out of reach. Teddy Bear represents comfort and reassurance. Whether it's a walk outside, a chat with a friend or time with a pet, we all have ways we can calm and clear our mind. And once our mind is open, we may see our options are too. 

But What About...

From the Alchemical Tarot Renewed, the Eight of Swords; from the Oracle of the Radiant Sun, Generosity (Saturn in Leo):

Paradox is where enlightenment is born... it’s in the tension of more than one truth being true that a new wisdom arises. ―Kai Cheng Thom

The trapped beast paces, feeling that he has no way out. Emotions can take our ability to think rationally offline; we look at the situation from one perspective only, in the direction that appears blocked. Generosity (Saturn in Leo) is not about tossing out coins, but about freely offering wisdom and encouragement to those in need. It's much like talking over our circumstances with a friend who acknowledges that the specific option we want is not open but points out that the other alternatives that we have overlooked. 

Color-Coordinated Cushions

From the Victorian Romantic Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Dreaming in Color Cards, Competition:

You think stress is finding the perfectly color-coordinated cushions for your new $10,000 sofa.

― Liane Moriarty

Yesterday in the early evening, our internet went out. Since our TV and computers depend on our Wi-Fi connection, we were not happy. Of course, it seemed like a major ordeal rather than just an inconvenience. It was easy to overlook the fact that the heat index was 96F at the same time because we have a nicely air-conditioned home. Now had that gone out, it would have been something to be truly concerned about. The Eight of Swords is a situation in which we feel controlled by people or circumstances, like this spoiled looking young lady with her wrists loosely bound. But we can choose to stop narrowly focusing on what is wrong and look for any action we could take that might help (while also being appreciative of what is going right). Competition has the same sort of issue; we become obsessed with the other person or group that looks better or has more than us. Yet wouldn't it be more beneficial to see how we could improve ourselves, using that as a yardstick instead of comparing ourselves to others? Where we put our focus will determine whether we make progress or spin our wheels in frustration.

The Way Appears

From the Shadowscapes Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Cedar Runes, Ansuz:

As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.

― Rumi

The Eight of Swords depicts those periods when we feel powerless and trapped by circumstances. Like this swan surrounded by thorny brambles and unable to fly, we think we can't move. But the swan, using it's sharp beak, could move some briers and walk out of them. We often feel stuck because we fall back on old patterns of thinking and acting, which only further entrenches us in a feeling of helplessness. Instead, we could do something different, even if that action seems to have no connection at all to the issue. But it could help the real issue - getting our mind unstuck and giving it a slightly different view. Ansuz is said to symbolize the mouth of the wise Odin and suggests divine or ancestral wisdom or inspiration. When we feel powerless, it is easy to forget that others may have advice and encouragement that could help us. All we need to do is ask and listen.

Trapped in History

This week I'll be using Poppy Palin's Waking the Wild Spirit tarot deck, published by Llewellyn, along with her companion book, Stories of the Wild Spirit, published by Slippery Jacks Press. I'll also be drawing from Saltwater Reading Cards, created by Laura Bowen and published by Rockpool Publishing. Today's cards are the Eight of Air (Swords) and Dugong:

People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.

~James Baldwin

Our culture, our friends and family and our experiences shape the way we think and what we believe. Even when the world has changed, when life has opened other doors, we can still stay inside that cage of ideas and beliefs. It takes practice to change our mind, to see that although the past was real, it is not the present. The Dugong's (sea cow's) large size can mislead people; it is actually a gentle, slow-moving mammal that feeds on grass in lagoons and bays. It offers a reminder that appearances aren't always what they seem. Difficult or stressful circumstances might send us chasing our next pleasurable distraction, yet even tough situations can often be altered if we don't try to avoid them. As James Baldwin said,  “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

Greener Ground

From the Druidcraft Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Druid Animal Oracle, the Horse:

Practicing not-doing means the causes and conditions that create many problems and struggles vanish. No solution needs to be found, no cure discovered, and no help is even necessary. That’s why the Buddhist tradition is grounded in not-doing—because so much of the suffering in the world could be entirely alleviated if we simply didn’t cause it.

~Kimberly Brown

The Eight of Swords points to a struggle within the mind. I occasionally think I must do something about whatever passes through my day - fix it, support it or find a solution for it. Such a mindset can easily bring on a feeling of being overwhelmed as illustrated by this card. In such cases, I create my own suffering (and likely disturb others' peace as well). Sometimes just letting things be is the best answer. The equine species was held in high regard by Celtic peoples, being used in battle, cultivation, and travel. The Horse is like the mind - moving quickly from one place to another - but neither would do well if repetitively forced to trod the same ground over and over. This animal reminds me to move out of my well-worn mental paths onto greener ground.

True Reflection

From Tarot by Caro, the Eight of Swords; from the Holitzka I Ching, Hexagram 14:

When we trip and fall, we use the ground (what caused us to trip, in a sense) to push ourselves back up. In the same way, when we feel overwhelmed by our thoughts, we can push against them to find our way back to sanity. As Byron Katie expressed, do I really, absolutely know that my thoughts are true? Not just that an event happened, but all the stories I spin around it? We can use those sharp edges to cut through what is created by the anxiety of speculation. Hexagram 14 is called the Great Possession, referring to abundance but on more than just the material level. The two trigrams that make us this hexagram relate to strength and clarity. When we see clearly the many resources we have - relationships, our talents and abilities, and a discerning mind - we can find the strength to cut through the worries that bind us.

Stuckness

From the Llewellyn Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Beasts of Albion, the Swan:

The tarot's Eight of Swords symbolizes feeling trapped and overwhelmed by outside forces; those embedded swords emphasize our 'stuckness.' Feeling powerless to create change is frightening. Yet the more we focus on our worries, the more tangled in their net we become. What we generally don't pay attention to is the kind of thoughts we're having, and how our emotions have influenced them to the point where they no longer reflect reality. This is not an encouragement to embrace toxic positivity - using false optimism to diminish, ignore, or deny actual problems. But can we take a step back from our spinning mind and simply observe without judgment what actually has happened? The Swan is often used in tales of transformation, where people are turned into these birds or swans are returned to human form. Even The Ugly Duckling is about such a major shift. It is possible to do this with our thoughts, to make the mind more spacious by reminding ourselves that we just don't know. As Kaira Jewel Lingo put it, "When we let ourselves hang out in the space of not-knowing, there is enormous potential, and life could unfold in innumerable ways."

Price of Freedom

From the Victorian Fairy Tarot, the Eight of Winter (Swords); from the Haindl Rune Oracle, Ing/Ingwaz:

Weatherstone's Eight of Winter/Swords offers a stickier situation than most. What happens when you're just 'the help' and have no authority? Here a maid/nanny is run ragged by ill-behaved children who all have cabin fever. Does she dare discipline them in any way and risk losing a job she depends on? Having worked with many children years ago, my guess is that she could punish them as long as it wasn't corporal punishment. The rub is that most parents don't care, they just don't want to hear about how badly behaved their offspring are. She can continue to be passively subservient or shake everyone up by claiming her worth and demanding respect, regardless of the consequences. Ingwaz represents Freyr, who was once a warrior god but after falling in love, swapped his sword for an antler to become a fertility god able to marry. He eventually was slain in the battle of Ragnarok, but I personally like to think he did not regret his decision. Paired with the tarot card, this rune seems to point to a seed of potential that will require some sacrifice. What are we willing to give up for our freedom?

A Bit of Both

From the Gill Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from The Circle, Harvest:

If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas. ―George Bernard Shaw

          The Thoth version of the Eight of Swords is a battle of ideas between rational, science-based thinking and imaginative, fantasy-based thinking. If we were to limit ourselves to one or the other, we might languish with a lack of fresh possibilities or live in a dream world where nothing ever is rendered into reality. The truth is that useful ideas need both visionaries and analysts, even when both concepts seem to conflict with each other. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind, at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." Harvest suggests we plant a few of these 'seed' ideas, nurture them, and see what kind of fruit they bear. 

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

―Brian O'Driscoll

I Want It That Way

From the PetraK Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Astrodice, Mercury-Sagittarius-12th House:

I want it that way. ~Backstreet Boys

          Four swords that are trying to move upward are blocked by four swords pointing downward. But is there really nowhere else to go? It seems that by backing off, the other swords could go in other directions; perhaps with enough distance, they could go around and get back on track. How easy it is for our minds to convince us that we're trapped when actually we're only blocked from going the way we want to go. Our rigid opinions, preferences and prejudices make it seem like this is the only alternative. (e.g. "Masks must still be worn even if vaccinated." "But it's Spring, and I'm tired of wearing them!") Mercury in Sagittarius is a fiery force to be reckoned with and often emphatic about their views. Yet they are open to learning. The 12th House represents the unconscious, suggesting there's a clue to why we cling rabidly to our ideas if we look at our deeper motives. Seeing the fears that drive us may take some of the power and energy away from them, allowing us to see with a wider perspective.

Briars and Bandaids

This week I'll be using Tarot of the Secret Forest, created by Lucia Mattioli and published by Lo Scarabeo. I'll also be drawing from the Faeries' Oracle created by Brian Froud with text by Jessica Macbeth; it was published by Simon & Schuster. Today's cards are the Eight of Swords and the Bright Mother:

          We all find ourselves in the briar patch eventually; sometimes it's our own choices that get us there, and sometimes it's just the unexpected twists and turns of life. But how I meet my situation - my relationship with it - will determine whether or not I manage to extricate myself. If I sit around wringing my hands and conclude the sky is falling, those thorns will just grow in more snugly. But if I take the Brer Rabbit approach, remembering I've been given a mind that is geared to come up with some solutions or options, I can eventually nibble my way clear. The Bright Mother suggests a combination of creativity and compassion. While I'm busy disentangling myself using a variety of tactics, I must not forget to practice some self-care along the way. Bandaids, both literal and metaphorical, can be beneficial when I get pricked too hard.

Viewing slips as simple alerts that our willpower is fatigued and needs to recover (instead as indications of failure) will allow us to acknowledge the lapse without getting further off track.

― Guy Winch

Valid Questions

From the Shadowscapes Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Cedar Runes, Wunjo:

You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there

Wrapped up in a trap of your very own chain of sorrows

 ~John Prine, "Bruised Orange"

The hummingbird above the swan counsels her to stop fighting the thorns and instead be still and observe them. When I ground my emotional energy, I can then ask myself some questions and understand the situation with more clarity:

1. Is this truly my business or my responsibility?

2. Am I exaggerating any part of this situation? Am I projecting my assumptions about an unknown outcome?

3. Am I making this more important than it actually is? Where should it be on my list of priorities?

4. What part of this situation am I powerless over? What part do I have control over?

5. What skillful, wise action (or attitude change) would benefit this situation?

Wunjo indicates joy, including a positive mental outlook and a healthy emotional state. I can often find joy when I realize freedom lies in questioning the validity of my own thoughts.

Source of Suffering

From the Bonefire Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Day of the Dead Lenormand, Birds:

          Besides creating a mental prison for ourselves, neurotic thinking can prevent us from having a normal conversation with other people. We feel trapped and want a solution, but if someone shows up with suggestions for freedom, we don't listen. All we can talk about is our situation and how overwhelmed we are. We don't want to change anything about ourselves, we want everything outside of us to change. Perhaps when people stop trying to chat with her and she gets tired of sitting in the mud, the young woman in this Eight of Swords will pull off that blindfold and get moving.

The extreme self-centered attitude is the source of suffering.

—Dalai Lama

Anger is considered a poison when it’s self-motivated and self-centered. But take that attachment to the self out of anger and the same emotion becomes the fierce energy of determination, which is a very positive force …

—Roshi Bernie Glassman and Rick Fields

Mental Pot-Stirring

From the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Tea Leaf Reading Cards, Spoon:

Perhaps the most inescapable prison is the one constructed of all the things we adamantly believe to be true. ~ James Ricklef

          Things have gotten too sticky for this young lady to distinguish between fact and fiction. It's likely her feelings have made a mess of her thoughts, keeping her emotionally entangled and unable to clearly perceive the truth. I can relate to her predicament. My mother and cousins have decided to have cousin camp at my mom's house next month - normally a joyous, relaxing occasion, but not for me in a pandemic. We come from different cities, and though we have all tried to be careful, we still all must go out to get necessities. Have we all been careful all the time? We're expecting another virus surge since the governor let loose the hoards and opened businesses. I'm conflicted as to what I should do. The Spoon is a utensil designed to stir or to dip. My mind has done enough mental pot-stirring; perhaps now is the time to wait patiently, see what rises to the top, and dip it out.

Opening the Door

From the Hadar Marseille Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Greek Alphabet Runes, Nu:

          Eight swords surround a fully opened rose while four buds on the outside have been cut from their stems. Efficiency meets defense in this card, such as when people try to introduce innovative ideas or improvements but get cut off by the words "we'll do it the way we've always done it." Yet Nu shows why rigid thinking can become a mental prison. Nu measures true anomaly - the irregular elliptical paths of celestial bodies. If things never change, there's no need to change how we think or act. But life is always in flux with unexpected surprises. An open mind can allow us to see possibilities that might help us meet the challenges and of the sudden curves that come.

The world is full of people who have never, since childhood, met an open doorway with an open mind. ― E.B. White

Fresh View

From the Tarot of Durer, the Eight of Swords; from the Philosopher's Stone, Depth:

          At first glance, this card might be the Ten of Swords, but a quick count shows only eight hilts. This illustrates how it feels when we trap ourselves with fatalistic, constrictive thinking. We believe there are no solutions, and since things will never get better, we might as well be dead. It sounds a bit dramatic, but most humans experience this when life gets hard and they forget that their ideas and viewpoints are just a small drop in the ocean of possibilities. The Depth card suggests we stop being so self-absorbed and judging things superficially. We need to stop our self-orbit and attempt to see the world from a wider, more spacious perspective. When we stop playing the 'woe is me' soundtrack in our head and sincerely consider other folk's ideas, we might then see our situation with fresh eyes.

The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.

― Plutarch

Mental Bindings

From the Golden Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Yantra Deck, Life:

          This woman has convinced herself that she is between a rock and a hard place, that she has run out of options. Yet it can clearly be seen that the rope around her arms is loosely draped, and she could easily remove her blindfold. Why do we put ourselves in mentally spun bindings and then act as if we have no free will? Many of us prefer the Instagram version of life that leaves out the gnats, sweat and dead animal smell. We prefer the glossy magazine version that airbrushes away any imperfections. We don't want to deal with anything difficult or unpleasant, so we blindfold ourselves to any challenges - as if that exempts us from making any decisions or taking any action. However, the Life card is a reminder that yes, this physical life is hard, but it also includes people to love, beauty to enjoy, and moments that can leave us awestruck.  As the Caribou coffee slogan states, "Life is short: stay awake for it."

No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse.

~Randy Pausch