Real Joy

This week I'll be using the Russian Lubok Tarot, created and self-published by Eugene Vinitski and Sergey Savchenko. I'll also be drawing from the Marseille Oracle, a deck created and published by Lo Scarabeo with a little booklet written by Isa Donelli. Today's draws are the Nine of Cups and Passion:

Whenever you get an impression of some pleasure, as with any impression, guard yourself from being carried away by it, let it await your action, give yourself a pause.

—Epictetus

A man sits alone at a beautiful table with food and nine full cups. It seems like this fellow has gotten what he wanted - his wishes have materialized. Whether intended or not, he lacks company to share his pleasures with. Beneath the table an angel and a devil compete for his attention. One suggests he distribute a portion of his good fortune with others, and the other demands that it be consumed all by himself. Passion shows a bellows, a tool used to add oxygen to a fire and increase its size. We long for the dopamine release that will bring us momentary pleasure. Yet what the mind hungers for might need to be questioned; we often crave for things that are not always in our best interest. Is there a healthier alternative that would bring us real joy?

Conviction

From the Victorian Romantic Tarot, the Seven of Swords; from the Dreaming in Color Deck, Passion:

          The figure in the Seven of Swords was adapted from an engraving that showed the destruction of Hirsau Abbey by French troops during the Nine Years' War. How is it that our minds can convince us that deceit or revenge is okay, as we blindly act without thought about who or what might get hurt or destroyed as a result? I think the Passion card explains it - a conviction of being right that gives us the courage to act. Yet what happens if we are mistaken in our belief through misunderstanding, assumption or prejudice? That kind of damage can't be undone, and evidence of our actions will remain in the hearts of others like the skeletal ruins of the abbey. I must pause before burning those bridges, which will likely not be rebuilt again. There may come a day when I have need to walk back that way.