Seed Sowing

From the Cosmic Tarot, the Three of Swords; from the L'Oeil de Lotus, "Karma:"

          Instead of a heart, a rose has been pierced in this Three of Swords. What was beautiful has been destroyed, and the woman and two men seem to be having a funeral of sorts. When I moved back to my hometown after college, a man with whom I'd previously had a relationship wanted to start dating again. But only a few weeks after our rekindled relationship began, I discovered that he was currently engaged to another woman. I will not write the words I said to him, but suffice it to say it was fiery and sharp. He attempted to apologize by sending a dozen roses to my workplace each day for a week. Every day they arrived, I cut off the rose heads and left the vase full of stems on my desk. They were a symbol of what he had done to our relationship, and I wanted to be reminded so I would not be lured back.
          A crystal is a solid structure whose atoms and molecules are arranged in an orderly, repeating pattern extending in all three directions. The "repeating pattern" of this mineral makes it a suitable image for karma. Imagine planting a flower garden with one black-eyed susan and five purple coneflowers. Each flower head will produce dozens of seeds with the potential to sprout the following year. From a Buddhist perspective, the intentions behind my thoughts, words and actions can produce karmic "seeds." These seeds may be wholesome or unwholesome; each seed will be patterned after the motivation that created it. But if I recognize these seeds (habitual patterns), I don't have to water and tend them - I can choose a different response. It is typical for most humans to want to lash out when they have been hurt or to turn inward and soak in self-pity. Either response is self-centered, and the Karma card cautions that such a reaction will produce seeds I won't welcome when they sprout later.