Mudita

From the Deirdre of Sorrows Tarot, the Eight of Coins; from the Victorian Flower Oracle, Scabious and Marigold:

Practice puts brains in your muscles. ~Sam Snead

          O'Donoghue calls the Eight of Coins the apprentice card, and here students exercise their individual talents. I'm sure some of them are hoping to get athletic, scholastic or musical scholarships. Pincushion flowers and Marigold suggest compassion and sympathy for things not turning out as planned. If we are the fortunate ones, can we pause our celebration long enough to lend some words of encouragement for those who weren't? And if we weren't the ones blessed with favorable results, can we attempt to cultivate appreciative joy - gratitude for what we do have and delight for those who have found good fortune? It is a soothing antidote that frees us from comparison and envy.

Green tea leaves swirling

Warmth soothes arthritic fingers

Simple gratitude.

~Deb Wright

Making Sacrifices to Fulfill Intentions

From the Deirdre of Sorrows Tarot, the Three of Wands; from the Victorian Flower Oracle, Scabious and Marigold:

          Three men haggle over the price of a ram; the man who is selling it needs a part for his tractor. There are always hard choices to be made when trying to reach a goal. The ram was once a lamb that this man raised himself, and I don't imagine it is easy for him to let it go. But fields won't get plowed and planted on time without the tractor running. Scabious is also known as pin cushion flower; its Latin root means 'the itch' as it was once thought to soothe skin conditions. Marigold is a flower often seen during Dia de los Muertos celebrations. People use the blooms to decorate the ofrenda ('offering' -a ritual altar) in the home, honoring deceased family members. Both these flowers symbolize sympathy and compassion for a loss. I'd rather take a money loss and have the ram go to a farmer who would care for it rather than see it as a 'thing.' Where there is a history of pleasant memories, it's often hard to let go of whatever is associated with them.

I have to say goodbye to things in order to take on bigger things that I've always wanted to do. ~ Mahershala Ali