Made of Earth

This week I'll be using the World Spirit Tarot, published by Llewellyn and created by Jessica Godino and Lauren O'Leary. The oracle deck I'll be pairing with it is the Mystic Glyphs; it was published by Red Wheel and created by Barb Rogers. Today's draws are the Two of Cups and Rainbow:

Equal partnerships are not made in heaven - they are made on earth, one choice at a time, one conversation at a time, one threshold crossing at a time.

—Bruce C. Hafen

Temporary partnerships are fine for temporary goals, but lasting relationships require more: respect and communication. Relationships are much like having a side job (though hopefully a more enjoyable one) because they require putting time and effort into them if they are to remain healthy. Yet the glue that can truly hold them together is made of shared values and principles. Rainbow represents promises and commitment. No partnership can withstand the constant breaking of trust, whether on a small scale or large one. It would be like trying to string a clothesline between a tree and a post in sand. 

What We Expect

From the Spacious Tarot, the Star; from the Phenomena Oracle, the Rainbow:

Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect.

― Margaret Mitchell

The Spacious guidebook describes the Star as a "peaceful reprieve." Indeed, it is a place where we can rest, find our bearings and reflect on how we wound up flat on our face. The Star often represents hope; yet there is wishful hope tied to specific expectations, and wise hope that simply believes that conditions will eventually change. When we find our feet again, it might be wise to take Brandon Sanderson's words to heart: “Expectations were like fine pottery. The harder you held them, the more likely they were to crack.” The Rainbow is the promise of sunny skies after the storm. The only tempest that can last is the one we continually stir in our mind.

Refractive Thinking

From the Margarete Petersen Tarot, the Six of Feathers; from the Elemental Dice, Rainbow (Light + Water):

This well-used and well-worn basket will need to be replaced if its going to be useful rather than just decorative. Our habits of thinking can be just as frayed. We may decide that if something fits and stays in our 'basket' (agrees with our assumptions) then it is good, but bad if it doesn't. It doesn't occur to us that our 'basket' is the problem, not what we put in it. There are many cognitive distortions, but one of the most troublesome is polarized thinking, or seeing everyone and everything in terms of black or white. For instance, you might think your boss is the best in the world until he tells you that you can't have Friday off - now he's the worst boss. Such thinking misses the complexity inherent in people and situations. Rainbow is the dispersion of white light into a spectrum of colors, with the help water droplets that refract and reflect the light. We may be only aware of one color of light, but that doesn't mean there aren't other colors. It's time to allow our thinking to bend a little too. We may be surprised at how much easier it can make our life.

Don't Dam the Flow

This week I'll be using the Prisma Visions Tarot, created and self-published by James R. Eads; the companion booklet was written by Katherine Tombs. The oracle I'll be using alongside it will be the Secret Language of Color Cards, created by Inna Segal and published by Beyond Worlds. Today's draws are the King of Swords and Rainbow:

          Rather than continue to battle monster birds, the King of Swords takes a different approach by feeding their young. Hurt someone's family, and you've made an enemy for life; help their family, and friendship becomes a possibility. The King refuses to stay locked in the emotional past and chooses to use a bit of ingenuity instead. A realistic view creates clarity and allows for a wise response. The Rainbow is a phenomenon created when certain conditions and causes come together - the refraction of light by water droplets in the air. It doesn't last very long. The rainbow is like our emotions; both will naturally disperse unless we take a picture in the mind and replay it over and over. Only when we stop clinging can we see the other wonders and opportunities around us.

Although there are rocks and tree roots,

Rippling along, just rippling along,

The water runs.

~Wariko Kai

Recognizing Rhythms

From the Ship of Fools Tarot, the King of Coins; from the Wisdom of the Four Winds, 'Rainbow:'

          This Fool-King sits not on a throne but kneels on the earth. As much as he enjoys his wealth, he also knows his success is intricately tied to the rhythms of nature. A hailstorm or drought could wipe out crops for the winter; spring rains and mild weather will help the new seeds to sprout. However, he is so connected to the land, that the unexpected generally doesn't uproot him. He might not like loss, but he knows how to grow it again. But the Rainbow is a reminder that the same rhythms that unsettle us can also bring hope and good changes as well. I came across a quote by Kathleen Dean Moore that illustrates such comfort:

How could I have forgotten that the wild, damp world is an answer to stress? The expanse of the natural world, the infinity of the night sky, and the long reach of the winds dwarf human concerns. Here is where our minds can unclench, our hearts can break open, and we can step outside our narrowed lives into a world that is without limits in time or space or beauty. The universe itself breathes in and out—the trees inhaling, exhaling in the rhythm of day and night, and the Earth slowly rotating into and out of the light, the green leaves shining. 

The Great Shaper

From the Margarete Petersen, the Nine of Cups; from the Elemental Dice, Light + Water (Rainbow):

          An irritant (probably a parasite rather than a grain of sand) embedded itself into an oyster and caused inflammation to the soft flesh inside. As a defense, the oyster used a fluid (nacre) to coat the irritant with many layers. After about 3 years, the tormentor became a soft, rounded pearl. Petersen writes, "If you really accept your pain, it will change you and bring you knowledge, wisdom and happiness." What is it that shapes our hearts more - our trials and tribulations or our goals and ambitions? The Nine of Cups seems to point that the pain rather than the pleasure might be the greatest shaper. It is human nature to want to battle or avoid pain rather than keeping the heart open and walking through it. The process is scary and excruciating, but as the pearl implies, there's usually a benefit discovered at the end. Grant me the serenity, courage and acceptance to hang in there until I find that Rainbow.

In times of difficulty it is this repeated setting of our heart’s compass that determines the result. 
~ Jack Kornfield

No Escape

From the Margarete Petersen Tarot, the Four of Flames (Wands); from the Elemental Dice, Light + Water (Rainbow):

          When I drew the Four of Wands card and rolled the Rainbow with the dice, I wanted to laugh hysterically and make some cynical post. The last few days have been filled with trying to take care of people - a daughter who collapsed at work, a MIL who is slowly dying, and a husband (who had what was supposed to be a simple surgery yesterday that got complicated). This morning I don't feel like sunshine and rainbows, I feel like I got hit by a train. But Petersen's words in her booklet cut short my whining when she described this card as the "fire of shaping." Conditions in our lives are always shaping us in one way or another. I can look at circumstances with contempt and armor my heart, or I can stay open and move through it with grace (knowing it will change). Pema Chodron wrote a book called The Wisdom of No Escape in which she suggests we stop running from what is uncomfortable and embrace all of life with a sense of inquisitiveness. "This is the process of making friends with ourselves and with our world. It involves not just the parts we like, but the whole picture, because it all has a lot to teach us." And maybe it is in the wonder of learning where that rainbow will be found.

Double Rainbow

From the Neuzeit Tarot, the Seven of Cups; from Rory's Story Cubes, Rainbow:

          Above these seven cups is an eye shining down upon them. Throughout various cultures and religions, the eye symbol has been seen as providence, wisdom, compassion and protection. The Hindu god Shiva was said to have a third eye in his forehead; when opened, it destroyed everything it saw. The meaning behind this mythology was that through spiritual perception, ignorance could be eliminated. Basically, though we think our senses show us what is real, our memories and emotions taint our perception. We see what we think we should see, or what we want to see. I wonder if it is even possible for humans to truly be objective? The rainbow is seen in both the card and die chosen. In the card, the light from the eye filters through the clouds to create the colors, suggesting our different perceptions. After choosing the die, I had a line from a Katy Perry song running through my head: "after the hurricane, comes the rainbow." Maybe the promise isn't so much that bad things will never happen again (they will), but that it's the hard times that can help us see more clearly what's really important. When the outer, glitzy trappings are removed, what's worth saving?