The Taste of Bread

From the Rohrig Tarot, the Ace of Wands; from the Master Tarot, the Lilies:

          There's a folk saying in the rural South that if a snapping turtle bites you, it won't let go until it thunders. I imagine the purpose of that myth was to keep kids away from them, as snapping turtles have fast reflexes and cranky dispositions. But that folk wisdom reminds me of the Ace of Wands, and the way we can get seized by a creative idea that won't seem to let go of us. It's as if we are passionately driven to do something with it. But most people - no matter what field they're in - get stymied after they begin by their thoughts: "Will people like this? Will they want to buy it? What if all this time spent will be for nothing?" Personally I think that spark is an innate part of everyone; humans just like to create. But the Lilies story of the bible offers an incentive to keep going as long as one's motives are honorable:

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ...Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ...See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ...Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)

Of course I'm not naive enough to think one doesn't have to keep a roof over one's head and food in the cupboard, but sometimes we get overly concerned before the horse even gets out of the barn. The booklet puts it succinctly: "We are missing the taste of today's bread while earning tomorrow's."

The Pause in the Middle

From the Revised Art Tarot, the World; from the Viking Lenormand, "Lilies:"

          The numbering of this card is unusual, as it has been given both numbers 21 and 22. The wreath represents a gateway - an ending and beginning in the dance of life. The guardians outside the wreath each have a minor suit emblem, implying all these areas must be used with skill and balance to successfully complete one cycle and begin another. The shield at the top holds a cross within a circle, a symbol of the ancient geometer's attempt at "squaring the circle" (constructing a square that is equal in area to a circle). In everyday use, the phrase means finding a solution to a problem that originally seemed impossible.
          The Lilies suggest maturity, wisdom and a peaceful, relaxing time. In adding this meaning to the card above, I am reminded how easily humans are bored in the space between finishing one task and beginning another. We are impatient to fill the time, to find some purpose that keeps us in motion. But perhaps the wisdom offered in that space allows for gestation. A time for inspiration to come naturally instead of chasing after it.