Some of Each

This week I'll be using Poppy Palin's Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, published by Llewellyn, along with the 2nd edition of her companion book, Stories of the Wild Spirit, published by Slippery Jacks Press. I'll also be drawing from the Saltwater Reading Cards, created by Laura Bowen and published by Rockpool Publishing. Today's cards are the Ace of Air and Pelican:

Too much thinking undisturbed by doing tends to spawn intellectually elegant theories - often clever sounding, but unrealistic. Too much doing without thinking leads to wasted effort.  

—Eddie Wharton

If bird eggs are to hatch successfully, they require warmth, humidity, ventilation, and consistent turning. Likewise, an inspirational idea also has needs: it should first be filtered through a range of creative possibilities, then having chosen one, focused planning should ensue on how to materialize it. The Pelican brings to mind the verses written by Ogden Nash: "A strange bird is the pelican; its beak can hold more than its belly can; I wonder how the helican." A pelican's pouched bill has a larger capacity than its stomach. Its stomach can hold up to 1 gallon, while its pouch can hold up to 3 gallons. While planning can be fun and exciting, we need something firm we can swallow if our idea is to ever to take concrete shape. 

Hold on to Your Brain

From the Jolanda Tarot, the Hierophant; from the Bird Signs deck, the Pelican:

          The woman attached to the bull with a sword down her center is a bit disturbing in this version of the Hierophant. My first thought was that both she and the bull were to become a sacrifice. But what is being sacrificed is not her body but her mind. In order to join any group, no matter whether it is of the religious, political or intellectual variety, we are generally required to adopt a new way of thinking. In a few cases this may be beneficial, but often it includes staying between narrow lines without using straying outside of them. The parrot makes me think of 'parroting' the group's dogma. I believe people are drawn to such groups because it makes them feel safe; there's a rule and specified action for nearly everything. But what if one's experience doesn't line up with what is being sold as truth? And is it a good thing to have to leave your brain at the door to be spoon fed doctrine? Being open-minded doesn't mean we have to give up our common sense too. The Brown Pelican is a spontaneous, in-the-moment kind of bird. They feed by plunge-diving from high up, using the force of impact to stun small fish before scooping them up in their pouch-like bills. They observe then act, and would suggest I do the same. As the Kalama Sutta encourages:

When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted and carried out, lead to welfare and to happiness’ — then you should enter and remain in them.

Self-Immolation

From the Jolanda Tarot, the Ten of Wands; from Bird Signs, the Pelican:

          This man has become a self-made martyr because of obligations and projects that now leave him wondering how in the world he will handle it all. Why has everyone left him holding the bag? Due to a case of egoitis or people-pleasing, he didn't refuse anything. But realistically, is there anything or anyone that would be irrevocably damaged if he takes a break? I'd be willing to bet his would be a short list. However I'm sure there's an old tape playing in his mind that chants, "Don't be a quitter. What people think about you matters." Perhaps he needs to add a new one to the playlist: "Admit you're human and made a mistake."
          Have you ever noticed how two words that mean approximately the same thing have different values of good or bad placed on them? The keyword given to the Pelican is "spontaneous," which seems to suggest a bit of unscheduled fun. Yet "impulsive" implies roughly the same thing as far as something unplanned and spur-of-the-moment goes (but is often seen as an immature trait). Whenever I see a pelican, I think of the rhyme, "the strangest bird is the pelican; his beak holds more than his belly can." This sounds just like the Ten of Wands guy, who took on more than he was capable of managing. Time to step down off your pyre, do some long-range planning, and make a priority list.

Open Wider, Please

From the Vision Quest, the Seven of Air (Swords):

Because this deck is based on Thoth-type meanings, this card is subtitled "futility." Instead of action and decision-making (which is needed), the Seven of Air represents passivity and apathy. I can relate to thinking and feeling this way, especially when it doesn't seem like what I'm doing is making a difference. I sit in my self-pity while I point at that broken spear tip and sing:

Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
(Roy Clark and Buck Owens)

Instead of singing, I need to shed the "poor me" mentality and take responsibility for my life. No knight is going to rescue me, so I might as well start working on a new spear head.

From the Bird Cards this morning was drawn the "Pelican:"

A funny old bird is a pelican. His beak can hold more than his bellican.

~ D.L. Merritt

The Pelican has been associated with attachment in this deck. But it can involve more than being attached to the constancy of people and things in my life. It may also refer to rigid thinking - I believe a situation should be resolved in a certain way. I can imagine no possible deviation from the solution I've decided will fix the problem. The Pelican reminds me it may be time to open my mind wider to incorporate other options and answers.

Hidden in Plain Sight

From the Vision Quest Tarot, the Sun:

With arms outstretched, a woman greets the sun.  The hummingbirds flying around in this image remind me of a place I pass in my daily morning walks.  One elderly woman's backyard is filled with native plants - trees, shrubs and flowers.  She doesn't have a single hummingbird feeder anywhere, yet I've seen dozens of hummers in her yard, all attracted to the blooms of the native flowers and shrubs.  This card reminds me that the freedom and joy I search for is right here (native), around me and within me.  The illumination comes when I realize I don't need to buy or search for it - it's hidden in plain sight.

From the Bird Cards this morning comes the "Pelican:"

A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill will hold more than his belican,
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week
But I'm damned if I see how the helican!

~ Dixon Lanier Merritt

Pelican comes to teach me that it is fine to enjoy the "toys" I've collected, but not to get attached to them.  As the authors state, "It is not fundamentally wrong to acquire material possessions.  [But] the only thing one truly possesses is one's Self...possessions come and go, to be enjoyed, but not hung on to."  If I believe all the advertising I will see, I will succumb to the belief that "stuff" is what will bring me happiness and enlightenment.  But after years of collecting such treasures, I've discovered there's no magic in them at all.