Take a Break, Clear Your Head

From the Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, the Seven of Earth (Pentacles); from the Saltwater Reading Cards, Sea Anemone:

You have to be displaced from what's comfortable and routine, and then you get to see things with fresh eyes, with new eyes. ―Amy Tan

The Seven of Earth/Pentacles is generally about pausing and assessing a project we're working on. In Poppy's card, it shows someone taking a stroll through a forest. Often when I am sketching a subject, especially if it is on a large scale, I can tell something doesn't look right but can't put my finger on what it is. If I fiddle around enough, I'll mess up the whole thing. So, I try to put it down and go do things that have nothing to do with drawing to clear my mind and eyes. Anemones reinforce this idea, symbolizing boundaries with their stinging tentacles. I am always tempted to hurry up and finish something that is frustrating me, but that is when I make my worst mistakes. Better to take a walk and get some fresh air.

"Bedtime Book Club" - artwork for the children's 9.5 ft. bulletin board at the library

Just an Ember

From the Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, Glow/Ten of Fire (Wands); from the Saltwater Reading Cards, Sea Anemones:

All that zooming around, busy-as-a-bee lifestyle finally catches up with us in the Ten of Wands. Passion will either burn itself out or the container that carries it. So now is a time to step back, letting our body and all the mind's many plans rest. Trying to get back in the fast lane at this point will only bring an uninspired effort and a second-rate result. Beautiful Sea Anemones might look colorful and delicate, but they can inflict a mighty sting on anyone or thing that gets too close. They suggest that while we might have trained people to expect an unceasing output from us, we might need to retrain them to give us some space so we can restore our physical and mental capacities. In the words of Anne Lamott, "No" is a complete sentence."

Appreciation Rather Than Appropriation

From the Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, the Shapeshifter/Page of Fire (Wands); from the Saltwater Reading Cards, Sea Anemones:

          Using an older person as a Page is unusual, but having a desire to explore life in new and different ways doesn't have an age stamp on it. And a shapeshifter would have the opportunity to experience life through the bodies of various animals, seeing and feeling as they do. While this option isn't available for the vast majority, we can enjoy learning about and visiting other cultures and places. Yet the sting of Sea Anemones implies we may want to respect the boundaries and beliefs of others. In the book Holy Envy, Barbara Brown Taylor suggests looking but not poaching. And though she speaks of appropriation from a religious viewpoint, it applies to cultural pilfering as well: "I have learned that possessing an artifact is not the same as possessing the spiritual reality it represents. The things I envy have their own terroir [unique environment], their own long histories of weather and fertilization. They do not exist to serve me, improve me, or profit me. They have their own dominion." Cultural sensitivity means respectful appreciation - avoiding stereotypes, acknowledging origins and refusing to use sacred artifacts for accessories.

Walk the Plank

From Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, the Eight of Earth (Pentacles); from the Saltwater Reading Cards, 'Sea Anemones:'

          Palin calls this card 'the trap,' a snare not set by someone else but by our own oversight or short-sightedness. Unheeded wise advice, symptoms or signs brushed aside, and a failure to move with the natural rhythms of life tied those ropes. Come hell or high water, We had a plan or a project we were determined to complete. The ambush is of our own making, and now we have to learn to cultivate prudence and patience if we want to get back on track. The colorful, gracefully flowing arms of the Sea Anemones can deliver quite a sting, and for this reason, are assigned the meaning of boundaries. Most folks would hear that word and think of keeping others from crossing into their personal limits and space. But in considering the Eight of Earth, perhaps the pushy bully lives with our own mind. Instead of looking at ourselves through the lens of respect and kindness, we tell ourselves we're worthless without our accomplishments. We'd do ourselves a favor if we shoved those thoughts right off the plank.