There's a Difference

From the Gill Tarot, the Queen of Wands; from the Circle Deck, Partnership:

There is a significant difference between encouraging people and enabling them. No matter what the situation may be, you can cheer them on, but you can’t carry any of their steps or lessons out for them. 

― Morgan Richard Olivier

Like the codependency her sister the Queen of Cups must avoid, the Queen of Wands understands how easy it is to get sucked into other peoples' passions. If she got involved in everyone's projects, she would quickly become overwhelmed and find no time for her own aspirations. Instead, she acts as a mirror, reflecting the heat and light of each person, supporting them through encouragement and suggestions only. Partnership implies an alliance that compliments strengths and offsets weaknesses but does not require one person to pull the ox's load. The Queens know that boundaries are needed because we have limits on our time, energy and resources. As Shawn Meghan Burn cautioned, "One way to think of it is that when it’s a pattern, it’s a problem."

Getting Off the Repeat Cycle

From the Gill Tarot, the Hermit; from The Circle, Partnership:

There's a huge difference between experiences like silent meditation retreats and vision quests as opposed to self-help seminars. In the first two, there is the spiritual purpose of contemplation that involves insight, decluttering the mind and letting go of old patterns. The seminars are all about adding more ideas (or products) to make us a happier or more successful person. Someone tells us what we need to do or think to be 'better' (self-reflection is rarely involved other than whether we can put all this on our credit card). But it makes more sense to clean out a dirty, crusty pot before adding anything new that might get contaminated by the old. Partnership brings this into the realm of relationships, suggesting that if we don't take the time to contemplate our choices and their results, we'll just continue to repeat them.

Counterweight

This week I'll be using the Gill Tarot, created by Elizabeth Gill and published by U.S. Games. The oracle deck I'll be using with it is The Circle, created by D.R. Taylor and published by Versation Publishing. Today's draws are the Emperor and Partnership:

          This Emperor is a vigilant fellow who must straddle the extremes of those he leads. The volcanoes represent the fiery faction that likes to take revenge and dominate others, while the cool waters symbolize the group that wants to do nothing more than kick back and take it easy. The Emperor's weight rests on a solid rock cube that implies what guides his actions are logic and the facts. Yet the Partnership card suggests that even he needs a balanced viewpoint (which is where the Empress comes in). Hard evidence still needs to be sifted through some compassion. Based on the conditions that have shaped us, we all tend to lean in one direction or the other. It's good to find someone who can offer a counterweight to our views.

The world is bad but not without hope. It is only hopeless when

you look at it from an ideal viewpoint. ~Friedrich Durrenmatt

One Person at a Time

From Waking the Wild Spirit, the Knight of Water (Cups); from the MentorSpirit Cards, "Partnership:"

A young man pauses on a ride up a mountain when he spots a young deer. Normally I see this Knight as a romantic in love with love, but this fellow has a large dose of idealism too. He has a gentle nature but strongly believes the whole world should operate on the three "H" principles: healing, happiness and harmony. I'm sure he'd feel right at home with the Dalai Lama who maintains, "My religion is love." His role is to spread this message of goodwill to all.
The Partnership card has a lot of green in it, which made me think of someone who is down-to-earth. The Knight of Cups definitely needs someone like this to help him stay in the realm of reality. He wants to heal the whole world, but his realistic partner will show him how to do it one person at a time.

No Effort, No Reward

From the Touchstone Tarot, the Five of Wands:

The smug-looking fellow in the front looks as if he's thinking, "Hmph! What a bunch of ruffians!" What he doesn't tell you is that he's the one who started the ruckus then stepped back to watch the entertainment. In families, groups and on forums, there is always a person like this to be found. He or she loves to stir the pot or shake the hornet's nest. Nothing gets accomplished by this type of free-for-all because it involves circular arguments that go nowhere. If those men in the back really wanted to make some progress, they should figure out how to ignore this fellow and the bait he dangles in front of them.

From the Oracle of the Grail Code comes "Partnership:"

Marashinsky describes this card as the harmony of cooperation. The tapestry here shows a party going on, and everyone seems to be playing a part except for one person. The woman filling the bowl at the fountain grasps the cloak of a man as if to say, "Hey, where do you think you're going?" Whether among two people or a group, a partnership requires everyone to pull their own weight. Using distractions (as the argument in the Five of Wands above) or excuses (as the fellow in the tapestry) to avoid responsibilities implies a person who is not committed to the mission of the group. So why should he or she get to enjoy the fruits of their labor?