A Game of Cards

From the Ship of Fools Tarot, the Nine of Coins; from the Wisdom of the Four Winds, Penguin:

Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will. ~Jawaharlal Nehru

This group of fools has enough gold coins in their leather pouches to take some time off for a friendly poker game. Some folks don't know how to manage their money and overspend, while others are tightfisted and rarely splurge on anything that's not a necessity. I was raised by grandparents who lived through the Depression, then later had a stepfather whose financial missteps kept us living a hand-to-mouth existence. I tend to be frugal with my money and often don't allow myself many purchases for pleasure; my mind insists that poverty could be just around the corner. Yet Penguin - an aquatic, flightless bird - arrives to encourage me to have faith and expand my perspective. I don't have to throw away my past experience, but neither do I need to let it rule me. I can be prudent and still allow myself a few pleasures too.

New Moves

From the Vision Quest Tarot, Integration (Temperance); from the Bird Cards, the Penguin:

But when you open to the whole of your experience, you have more information and can make better decisions. You perceive more fully, seeing the big picture, putting things in perspective. 

—Rick Hanson 

There have been times in my early life when I lived in survival mode. It became necessary to wall off other parts of my life in order to deal with pressing matters. Unfortunately, when I'm under stress and tired, it's easy to slip back into this old habit. I segregate and bury certain emotions so I can keep marching forward. But as Hanson explains, I lose my perspective when this becomes an ongoing behavior. The Integration/Temperance card shows a woman weaving threads that come together to create a tapestry - the big picture that represents the whole of life. The Penguin is a flightless bird that moves in a waddle on land but is agile elegance in the water. Its message is to use my unique skills and abilities (rather than attempt to replicate what others do) to navigate my life. Trying to use the same guidelines of another will only keep me repeating old patterns. Time to try out some new moves. 

Frozen Ideas

From the Jolanda Tarot today comes a card from the major arcana, the Hierophant:

The Hierophant represents orthodoxy, conformity, and traditional teachings.  In this image, he covers himself with a cloak designed with elephant prints.  The elephant in Asia, known for its memory and intelligence, is a symbol of wisdom.  Such a garment seems to reek of arrogance on this pompous fellow.  What is more disturbing is the figure of a woman that seems to be trapped in the bull.  The bull in tarot is often associated with Taurus, one of the fixed signs of the zodiac, thus its meaning of stability but also stubbornness.  The sword, representing truth and justice, is locked inside the woman, as if she isn't allowed to speak or live in a way that she feels to be right.  These symbols illustrate that the Hierophant may represent a sense of belonging, but the shadow side is that we may become a captive of another person's ideas.  This card reminds me of an article I recently received about a Roman Catholic bishop whose love of power seems to have erased all of his compassion for humanity.  You can read about the story here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126985072 

So what is the lesson for me?  I must be vigilant about the groups I associate with, because what looks like belonging and support may really only be a cleverly disguised prison.

     The card drawn from the Bird Signs oracle this morning is "Penguin - purpose:"

Penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere and can survive in temperatures that reach -80 degrees Fahrenheit.  As someone who thinks it's winter when the temperatures dip below 70 degrees F, I can't imagine living in that environment.  Yet these flightless birds manage not only to stay alive, but to mate and raise a family in these conditions.  Carbone writes that the wisdom of the penguin is to teach us to stick to our purpose, even when we meet challenges.  By relaxing rather than stressing out, we will uncover how to flow around our obstacles rather than become frozen in the ice.  When I bang my head against a brick wall, the answers never come, but if I can step away from the aggravation, I will usually find a solution.