Interference

From the Tabula Mundi Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Universe Cards, Nebula (Star Death):

          The lion and eagle/griffin represent a battle between the will and the intellect; there is no progress because thoughts continually tie up any possible action. These two are like the ends of a Chinese handcuff toy. The more each pulls in the opposite direction, the tighter and more tangled the rope becomes. Sometimes our thoughts and beliefs are much worse enemies than any person or situation outside of us. The Universe card shows a planetary nebula, or the dust cloud left behind after a star explodes or its core collapses. Stopworth assigns it the keyword 'transformation,' explaining that destruction is an integral part of the cycle of life. Without it, there would be no creation (or in this case, forward progress). The double vajra in the tarot card symbolizes skilled means and compassion, but its partner (the bell, a symbol of wisdom and emptiness) is missing. We might understand half of something really well, but that isn't beneficial if we don't realize it's not the whole enchilada.

Living Consciously

The Quantum Tarot is the deck I'll be using this week; it was created by Kay Stopforth and Chris Butler.  Today's card is the Five of Pentacles:

Stopforth and Butler associate this card with the leptons, one of the two types of fundamental matter particles (the other being quarks).  There are six leptons: the electron and its neutrino, the muon and its neutrino, and the tau and its neutrino.  The heavier leptons, the muon and the tau do not exist for long - they quickly decay into other particles.  The Five of Pents recognizes this limitation of the physical world.  I may wish that I could have the energy of the Energizer Bunny, but my body will eventually collapse if I don't rest and refuel it.  And while $100 sounds like a nice gift, by the time the gas tank in my car gets filled a few times, it too will be gone.  I must recognize the boundaries of my earthly reality, and do my best to live simply and consciously, rather than wasting my energy, health and finances on things that are just not that important.

     The oracle deck I'll be using this week is the Universe Cards, another creation of Kay Stopworth.  This morning's card is "Nebula - Star Death:"

This is a nebula, a cloud of dust and gases that forms after a star collapses or explodes.  Its beauty is a reminder of the positive that can be found even in death.  Without endings, there can be no transformation or creation.  As long as I am clinging tightly to something, unwilling to let it go, my hands will never open to receive the gifts that are waiting for me.