Our Best Ally

From the Greenwood Tarot, the Archer (Chariot); from the Rune Cards, Water/Lagu:

To reach any goal we strive for, we must be mentally steady with a clear intention - just as this archer must maintain a steady, focused aim to hit her target. Our mental energy must not be distracted by unimportant things, no matter how attractive or unpleasant they might be. Any of the 'worldly winds' might affect our aim: joy or suffering, recognition or insignificance, praise or blame, and gain or loss. The Water/Lagu rune poem parallels the Chariot card as it describes those who voyage on the sea but must deal with the fact that "the sea-stallion heeds not its bridle." What can throw us off track quicker than anything is emotional intoxication with whatever is going on. But our mind, wisely used, can be our best ally.

Sobriety is to develop your own capacity to face yourself as you are—in all your vulnerability, pain, or anxiety. Most deeply, it can mean facing the impermanent nature of all of our states of being and the very limited control we have over what happens in our lives or comes up in our bodies and minds. It’s to cultivate resilience in the face of reality. —Matthew Gindin

 

It's Nuts

From the Victorian Fairy Tarot, the Two of Autumn (Pentacles); from the Haindl Rune Oracle, Lagu/Laguz:

          Juggling an armload of hazelnuts, this fairy is attempting to ride a bike to get somewhere quickly. He obviously can't do both well at the same time, judging by the nuts he's dropping and his posture on the bike. He could have put a basket on the bike or - since he's a fairy - flown instead. But that's what happens when we multi-task; we miss important details and ignore what should be common sense. Lagu can represent a great body of water, such as the Anglo-Saxon poem speaks of:

The ocean seems interminable to men,

if they venture on the rolling bark

and the waves of the sea terrify them

and the stallion of the deep heed not its bridle.

Just as it's not wise to try to sail the seas without knowledge and attentiveness, so we should not move through life mindlessly, in a hurry to get to the next task. Mistakes are likely, and we might miss some important intuitive information along the way.