Digging Out the Root

This week I'll be using the Tarot of the Crone, a book and deck set created and self-published by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince. I'll be pairing it with Transforming Dragons, a set created by Sonia Cafe and published by Weiser. Today's cards are the Six of Disks and Esberfonc:

The Crone companion book suggests this Six of Disks invites us to make conscious choices that will give our life meaning. Yet Esberfonc, the dragon of emotionalism, is a reminder of how easy it is to become intoxicated with any emotion (and the physical and mental hangover such intoxication can leave behind). There is no conscious clarity where there is emotional inebriation. On my doctor's recommendation, I recently had a allergy test done; about sixty tiny scratches were made on my forearms applying various organic substances. Then in a few minutes, redness and swelling occurred on those spots where an allergy was present. Yesterday, it felt like I was having an emotional reaction to everything that surrounded me - had this been an allergy test, I would have been one giant red welt. Yet I know that the cause is internal, not external. It's time for some self-inquiry to dig out the root.

Simply by turning on the light, you can instantly destroy the darkness. Likewise, even a rather simple analysis of ego-clinging and afflictive emotions can make them collapse.

—Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Emotionalism

This week I'll be using the Tarot of the Crone, a book and deck set created and self-published by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince. I'll be pairing it with Transforming Dragons, a set created by Sonia Cafe and published by Weiser. Today's cards are the Ten of Cups and Esberfonc:

          It was hard not to think of Coldplay's song, Sky Full of Stars, when I saw this card. Lorenzi-Prince writes that the Ten of Cups is about the power of emotion "to overwhelm your body with sensation, your mind with vision or delusion, and your soul with an epiphany beyond tongue to tell." This description sounds like the experience of mystics, which tends to be more feeling than intellect. In this state of being swept up by emotion, the usual separate sense of self falls away. The revelations or insights a person may have is usually difficult for him or her to fit into a box of words. The kicker is it (at least its natural, non-drug-induced form) comes out of the blue, like an unexpected gift.
          Esberfonc is emotionalism personified in dragon form. I often see this in people in recovery, whose addiction previously gave them the highest of highs. Without chemicals life seems dull and flat, so they seek out turbulent relationships and create drama for excitement. Mole hills become mountains in order to maintain the feeling of chaos. It makes me think of a spoiled child at his birthday party. When the gifts run out, he screams and cries for more. This synthetic kind of joy isn't real (and isn't really happiness either). True joy appears when the heart is open and reaching out with love, not when grasping selfishly.

Segregation

From the Tarot of the Crone, the Six of Disks; from Transforming Dragons, "Esberfonc:"

My first reaction upon seeing this card was that it was an image of His and Her bathrooms. Well, probably not, but it is about segregation between people depending on physical characteristics or what they have or don't have. And though sixes are generally about restoring harmony, in real life this is one tough nut to crack. There is a heightened sense of protection and defense instead, with a child-like attitude of "you stay on your side - we don't want your cooties." Neither rival wants to bend, because it feels like they are submitting to the other side. If it were only possible to live as "the other," to experience his or her life, then maybe peace and balance might be reached.
Esberfonc the dragon has been given the keyword "emotionalism," and I can't imagine a better explanation for segregation. Watching the news about Gaza and Israel or the protests and fighting in Missouri, most of what I see is rage and anger, but underneath there is fear and ignorance. Conceivably, an objective third party - a mediator - might help, but first emotions are going to have to cool.