Easy and Hard Choices

From the Dark Mansion, the Lovers; from Miss Mai's Victorian Oracle, the Gentleman:

You cannot reach where you are going if you continue to be the same person you have always been. ― Germany Kent

The Lovers, besides representing a romantic liaison, also represents a choice. The Gentleman symbolizes pride and power; he would choose what would make him look good and feel as if he was an authority. I once dated a young man who was possibly the kindest, sweetest fellow I've ever met. But perhaps because of being raised by an alcoholic father and a submissive mother, he never learned how to push back on anything. As wonderful as he was, I was headstrong and fiery - I needed someone who could tell me bluntly when I was off the rails. Although it made me feel powerful, I ended the relationship because in it I would develop into a more self-absorbed person. I would stagnate instead of grow. The easy choices we are tempted to make aren't always the best choices.

How Do I Look?

From the Dark Mansion Tarot, the Ace of Cups; from Miss Mai's Victorian Oracle, The Gentleman:

If we were to scry into the contents of this cup, we might see many people and things that will bring us happiness and fulfillment. Yet what it won't show us is how these same people and things will also bring anger, tears and heartache. The dragonfly on this card is a hint of its hidden meaning. This insect spends most of its life underwater as a nymph; they only emerge as winged adults in the later part of their life. In the same way, we are offered various cups in our life, not so that we'll find perfect happiness but so we can develop enough maturity to know that kind of perfection doesn't exist. The Gentleman card represents outward appearances, thus his keyword is pride. He reminds me of a quote by Sallie Tisdale: "How do I look?" is nothing more than "Where do I belong?" While our instinct to belong and be with others is natural, we need not give up our autonomy, inner values or self-respect to do so. Otherwise, we'll find ourselves back in the nymph stage.

Passion Plus Logic

This week I'll be using the Tyldwick Tarot, created and published by Neil Lovell. This morning's draw is the Knight of Wands:

Lovell uses fireplaces to emphasize the fiery nature of the knights, and being "fire of fire," this fellow has a lot of heat (so much that there is a heat shield in place). The two staffs with laurel wreaths and eagles indicate he has moved beyond the "learning through adventure" stage of the Page and now wants to actively follow his passion by doing something with what he's learned. The problem is this knight has so many irons in the fire, he doesn't give them the time and effort they need and ends up not finishing much of what he starts. I too can let my excitement and enthusiasm about many things keep me from accomplishing my objective. Sounds like it may be time to narrow my focus.

The oracle deck I'll be using this week is the Antiquarian Lenormand, created and published by Maree Bento. I will be using it more as an oracle than reading it in the traditional Lenormand way. Today's card is the "Gentleman:"

The fact that this is both a man and Albert Einstein suggests looking at things from a logical, structured standpoint. Yet the Ace of Hearts associated with the Gentleman also tells me I don't need to leave behind my passion to do so. But having a system, being organized and using rational thinking may help me get a handle on some of the changes and objectives I would like to accomplish.