Starting Point

From the Gaian Tarot, the Seven of Earth (Pentacles); from the Goddess Oracle, Tara:

          In an area once heavily logged, a woman participates in a habitat restoration project by planting red cedar saplings. In the past few years, there have also been efforts to remove invasive, nonnative plants and replace them with native ones to keep the ecosystem healthy. It will take patience and persistence to heal and rejuvenate what has been harmed and overrun. Tara is known as "the mother of liberation" in Tibet  - she encourages freedom from self-absorption, replacing it with kindness for all. But it is interesting that in most depictions that show her sitting, she has one foot held close to her body (representing centeredness and balance) and one stretched outward (as a symbol of compassionate action). Regardless of whether we're trying to help the environment or the people around us, finding a center of calm and grounding ourselves would be a wise, beginning action.

Eat Your Wheaties

From the Gaian Tarot, the Five of Water (Cups):

In the early morning fog, a woman sits on a dock, looking wistful.  A boat has drifted away from the shore in the background, indicating whatever she is wishing for - a lost opportunity, a chance to take back words said, a desire to have reacted differently - is now in the past and can't be changed.  But the drifting boat can also represent the present moment floating away too.  If she doesn't get her head out of the fog, she's going to have another wasted day to regret.  Girl, I hope that's a bowl of Wheaties in your hands, because you need to eat up and get on with your life.

From the Goddess Oracle deck comes "Tara:"

Tara is a Buddhist bodhisattva known as the "mother of liberation."  The lotus she sits upon has risen above the water, indicating a detachment from the emotional tentacles that are causing all the grief in the Five of Cups above.  She encourages meditation and receptivity in order to find that still point within that can ground a person in the "now."  It is here clarity can be found rather than the past or the future.

The Sacredness of Solitude

From the Gaian Tarot, the Hermit:

Last night we had a powerful thunderstorm roll through, and during it I realized my older cat was missing.  I searched high and low in all her usual spots, but eventually found her hiding behind the glider on the screened-in back porch.  She'd become too frightened to move, so I scooped her up and brought her inside.  Colbert calls this card "sacred solitude;" unlike my petrified cat, it has nothing to do with being overwhelmed and hiding out.  The reason for this solitude is purposeful - while it might be a time to rest, it is also a time for a personal inventory.  I originally tried this spiritual exercise when I was thirty; I looked at my fears, resentments and relationships of the past to see where I had done harm (to myself and others), and looked for people to whom I owed amends.  I also made an honest attempt to forgive those who had wronged me and release my own shame.  What surprised me most from this exercise was the clarity to see the patterns in my life - those that were beneficial and those that were destructive.  This self examination is not something I can do well while multi-tasking.  Just as the Hermit finds quiet time alone to do his work, so must I.

From the Goddess Oracle comes "Tara:"

I sit in stillness, in focused awareness

breathing in and out

as the ocean that is life

churns and pulses around me

Marashinsky gives this goddess the keyword "centering."  Like the Hermit, Tara reminds me that there are times when I need to find the eye of the hurricane by detaching from what is going on.  My emotions and thoughts are not "me," they are only temporary and will eventually pass.  By staying in the present moment, I will find an inner awareness that can both calm and guide me.