Raising a Ruckus

This week I'll be using the Tarocchi Celtici, created by Laura Tuan and published by De Vecchi Italia. Paired with it will be the Art of Asia, an oracle I created for my personal use. Today's draws are the Queen of Air and Hiroshige's "Eagle Over 1000 Acre Plain at Susaki, Fukagawa:"

          The Queen of Air (owl) is all about blunt communication, whether I want to hear it or not. She's enlisted the help of some flying pixies to raise some noise to get my attention. But this particular card is also connected to the Celtic Ogam Ngetal, associated with healing, and Reed connected to harmony. The Queen of Air doesn't raise a ruckus without reason; she knows that sometimes wounds need to be exposed and cleaned before they will heal. The quote attached to Hiroshige's work is from Robert Green Ingersoll: "A freethinker is an eagle parting the clouds with tireless wing." Harmony will come only when small minds can expand beyond the constrictive boundaries of personal opinion and knowledge. In Tuan's illustration, one pixie sits on a Celtic clasp of a horse and rider with the horse holding a human head. Sometimes I need to try on another person's mind in order to see from a wider perspective.

All Thought and No Play

From the Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, the Fairy Queen (Queen of Air/Swords); from the MentorSpirit Cards, Play:

          If I had to describe my personality based on the tarot queens, I would choose the always practical Queen of Earth and this lady - the truth seeking Queen of Air. I hate playing mind games and like matters out on the table where an objective conclusion can be reached. Honesty in relationships is of utmost importance to me. Though straight-forward, I am gradually learning to be more tactful. I prefer to deal with facts rather than circumstantial evidence, and I believe knowledge is powerful. Now there's nothing wrong with an airy personality when it is in balance, but the MentorSpirit card suggests a fix for when life becomes too serious. Play can be like a pressure release valve, a way to bring some color and passion back into the gray world of the Fairy Queen. It makes life juicy and reconnects us to others; it can be a reminder of the physicality of this world and our bodies. Let that sword rest against the stone Queen of Air; you're past due for some fun.

A child who does not play is not a child, but the man who does not play has lost forever the child who lived in him. ~ Pablo Neruda