A Greater Whole

From the Tarot of the Hidden Realm, the Hermit; from the Heart of Faerie, the 'Prince of Shadows:'

          Notice anything different about this Hermit? She carries no light, suggesting that she is just beginning her journey to the cave. She will attempt, as the Sufis say, to "die before she dies." What wisdom might come in one's last dying breaths? Probably the realization of what is truly important in this life and what isn't. Here is her chance to unhook from a self-centered orbit so that she will have a light of insight to carry from that cave. However she's got a hurdle to jump with the Prince of Shadows. The companion book describes him as "everything we wish for and everything that hurts us the most." I'm sure he would whisper in her ear that he knows how she suffers, and since no one else would understand, suggest she isolate herself in that cave forever. He would offer her any substance or material comfort she desired to dull her pain. Yet this perspective will only increase and extend her agony, not make it better. She would do well to cultivate compassion for herself and others by heeding the words of Bodhipaksa:

Many of our thoughts containing I, me, my, and mine are connected with feelings of distress: I’m worried about this, I don’t like that. No one cares about me or considers my feelings. And so on.“I” thoughts reinforce our sense of aloneness. We see ourselves as broken, as worse than others, and therefore separate from them. Thoughts of “we” connect us, reminding us of our common humanity. Our individual sufferings are seen as being shared by others, and as being part of the difficulties we all have in being human. Our sufferings are not a sign of us being broken, but of us belonging to a greater whole. 

Walking Among Flames

From the Margarete Peterson Tarot today comes the Nine of Flames (Wands):

A figure can be seen crouching in the front corner of this card with fiery colors all around it.  When I pulled this card in the dim light of the early hours, I thought the white and yellow area was a figure of Avalokiteśvara (Kwan Yin), the bodhisattva of compassion.  Bodhisattva can be translated as "wisdom-being" or "awareness-being."  Peterson sees this card as showing an evolution in maturity - though it is still hidden, it can be felt.  There is wisdom and maturity in being able to walk the middle path between aggression and passiveness, destruction and creation.  If I light the fire, I must learn to watch it carefully, contain it, and direct it.

     The card drawn from the Froud's Heart of Faerie Oracle today is the Prince of Shadows:

Here is the beautiful and exciting bad boy that everyone seems to be draw to like a moth to a flame.  The handsome outer appearance and charm hide the fact that there is no heart underneath.  He represents all that I am drawn to when I am ungrounded and need reassurance.  But what seems like a quick fix will ultimately plant a poisonous seed within, destroying me from the inside out.  Addictions, risky behaviors, or unhealthy relationships can grow from this seed and lead me down a dangerous road.  Don't judge a book by its cover, but by the healing or venom it produces.