Never Apologize

From the Hidden Realm, the Moon; from the Heart of Faerie, the Lady of Unicorns:

Both of these cards seem to question what is a result of our longing and the what is result of  our conditioning from the past. We may feel as if we need to move in a new direction, only for those old pockets of memories to slap our wrists and tell us resoundingly, "No!" This dissonance reminds me of a poem by Nikita Gill:

Some days

I am more wolf

than woman

and I’m still learning

how to stop apologizing

for my wild.

Softening the Heart

This week I'll be using the Tarot of the Hidden Realm, created by Julia Jeffrey with Barbara Moore, and published by Llewellyn. I'll also be drawing from the Heart of Faerie Oracle created by Brian and Wendy Froud  and published by Abrams. Today's cards are the the Ace of Cups and 'Lady of the Unicorns:'

          Jeffrey has chosen an otter in mid-play to represent the Ace of Cups, a card that can represent a tug of the heart, love and relationship. Otters seem to engage in activities for the sheer enjoyment of them, such as making slides down into the water and playing with rocks. I've seen people of various races, religions and social backgrounds work together in times of disaster. What it would be like to put down all our labels and dogmas and simply have a day devoted to fun? I imagine we would look out at everyone amidst the laughter and experience that tender tug of the heart. This faerie is the guardian of unicorns, a symbol of purity, grace and love. The unicorn's horn was supposed to be able to restore poisoned water and heal those who were sick. The animal has been used in heraldry, usually shown unbound to emphasize the idea of liberty and independence. My beliefs can support and sustain me, or they can bind me to rigid ideas that leave little room for compassion and joy. Perhaps its time to leave those uncompromising beliefs at the river bank and let them soften up.

Attachment and Loss

From the Fairy Lights Tarot, the Four of Pentacles:

If you want to know how much you suffer from attachment, just lose something you enjoy or have a threat to your health. I've experienced both in the last few days. Storms knocked out our modem and router; while I've got the modem working, the router is another story (I'm envisioning backing over it with my car, followed by smashing what's left with a hammer). In this painting, a man leads a mule loaded down with everything plus the kitchen sink. I'm thinking the wrong one is having to carry all this stuff, though I'm sure the man sees the mule as a possession too. Actual loss or the real possibility of it can sharpen your focus, separating the wheat from the chaff. If I had to choose, I'd leave all that stuff behind if it meant I could have the blessing of good health.

From the Heart of Faerie Oracle, the "Lady of Unicorns:"

I groaned when I got this card - I just have a hard time imagining a horse with a horn stuck in the middle of its forehead. At least with fairies, I can think of them as some sort of dragonfly or something. But the biggest problem is this Lady symbolizes belief, and I just can't make myself believe something I don't. Perhaps "hope" would be a better keyword - not the kind of hope that is only an expectation to which I've pinned all my happiness. I mean the ability to I realize there are all sorts of potentials and possibilities out there that I'm unaware of. All things will be well, just maybe not in the way my ego wants to define them.