A Flow

From the Fey Tarot, the King of Chalices; from the I Misteri Della Sibilla, the King of Spades:

Think of freedom as a way of experiencing life itself - a continuous flow in which you meet what arises. —Ken McLeod

The King of Chalices is all about equanimity - not indifference or avoidance, but meeting what arises calmly. Of course, he experiences a full range of emotions, but he doesn't get hooked by the mental stories they create. He allows the physicality of them to flow through and out of his body without adding mental fuel. The King of Spades in Sibilla decks can represent a priest, scientist or judge; each of these professions are guided by a particular method: a sacred text, empiricism or the law. When we find ourselves in a rip current of emotions, what method can we use? We let go of putting ourselves and what we want first. Then we attend to what is in front of us.

The Excitement and Anxiety of Leaving

This week I'll be using Songs for the Journey Home, a deck and book set created and self-published by Catherine Cook and Dwariko von Sommaruga. I'll also be using Stasia Burrington's self-published deck, Magic Neko. Today's draws are Flame Innocence (Page of Wands) and the the King of Spades:

You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place...like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way ever again. ― Azar Nafisi

I imagine this girl thinking of leaving middle school for high school, and then possibly going off to college. I remember that mix of excitement about what the world holds and the anxiety of wondering if I had what it takes to succeed. But what I think of most is all the ways my ideas and beliefs were challenged and sometimes changed by being in a new place surrounded by so many people who were different from me. It felt good to stretch and use my wings, and it allowed my mind to develop and expand. The King of Spades represents self-sufficiency. As Michel de Montaigne wrote, "The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself." But part of that ability to know how to do things for oneself, is knowing when to ask for help when you're lost or confused!

The Way of Harmony

From the New Liminal Tarot, the Six of Wands; from the State By State playing cards, the King of Spades - Colorado:

The Way of a Warrior, the Art of Politics, is to stop trouble before it starts. It consists in defeating your adversaries spiritually by making them realize the folly of their actions. The Way of a Warrior is to establish harmony.  ―Morihei Ueshiba

The leader in this Six of Wands obviously agrees with Ueshiba; violence doesn't lead to harmony but to resentment and eventually more unrest. Such a spiritual warrior has likely had their own heart cracked open, leading to tenderness and understanding rather than revenge. But since humans are fond of rights and not so keen on responsibilities, such a leadership can be tricky. The King of Spades illustrates the sport of snow skiing, an activity that a well-honed sense of balance. How one's weight is shifted from the front to the back of the foot and when it needs to be shifted from one foot to the other must be taken into account. A spiritual warrior who leads needs to be flexible, shifting concern and attention to each person as it is needed, rather than focusing solely on a group of favorites.

[Bodhisattvas] are highly altruistic beings who have the wisdom to realize that by dedicating themselves to the welfare of other sentient beings, the fulfillment of their own self-interest comes automatically as a by-product. ― Dalai Lama XIV

Two Extremes

From the Tarot of the Masters, Demons (The Devil); from the Key to the Kingdom, the 'King of Spades:'

           The Demon in this card has a face on its stomach, suggesting the many ways we try to fill the emptiness inside us in an attempt to feel whole. The Buddha taught that we create unnecessary suffering for ourselves through craving. His understanding of craving included three types: craving for what feels good, craving for a pleasurable experience never to end, and craving to avoid or stop anything that is unpleasant. On the other end of the spectrum is the King of Spades, paired with the verse about Ol' King Cole who was a merry soul. Buddhist philosophy suggests four causes of happiness:
1) loving-kindness - expanding our concern beyond ourselves to include the happiness of all beings
2) compassion - relieving the suffering of others through intention and activity
3) sympathetic joy - rejoicing in the happiness and good fortune of others
4) equanimity - achieving balance by not holding on to things too tightly
It seems the hole in the soul stays open through selfishness and self-centeredness and closes when we sincerely embrace others in our wish for well-being.