I use tarot and oracle cards as tools for reflection and contemplation. Rather than divining the future, they are a way for me to look more deeply at the "now."
"The goal isn't to arrive, but to meander, to saunter, to make your life a holy wandering." ~ Rami Shapiro

Showing posts with label the fool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the fool. Show all posts

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Leave, But Take the Lesson With You

From the Norse Tarot, the Eight of Cups; from the Wolf Pack, "The Fool:"
       This card could be titled "The Echo of Emptiness." There's nothing personal to make this room cozy, everything is stark. The empty cups tell the tale of an unfulfilled relationship. It may be hard to leave it behind when I've poured myself into it, when I've made every possible effort to make it work. But how can I relate to the other side when they only orbit themselves? How can there be any form of connection when they can't see past the mirror? Or perhaps the problem is not them, but me; their lives may have changed and expanded while I sat comfortably complacent in one spot. Leaving allows me to begin again, hopefully a little wiser than before.
       The foolish wolf wants to be buddies with the bear, though any objective observer would realize this friendship will never happen. Why is it that we can't stand it when someone doesn't like us? We may say we don't care, but in our heads we obsess over it and try to uncover the reason. We may attempt to manipulate through people pleasing or go to the opposite extreme of seeking revenge. Yet it all boils down to me being responsible for me. I can't make someone else happy, and they aren't accountable for my joy either.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Repercussions

  From the Norse Tarot, the Seven of Swords:
A dragon sleeps on an egg-shaped boulder, while a man sneaks into its lair and steals five swords.  The egg shape of the stone reminds me that any form of dishonesty or duplicity has a way of "hatching" into something unwelcome.  No matter how much I try to rationalize such an action ("I only did it as payback" or "I needed to to teach them a lesson"), this type of behavior just creates a snowball effect that can become more malicious and destructive the longer it goes on.  As Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind."

     From the Wolf Pack today comes "The Fool:"
A wolf stares stubbornly at an angry bear, refusing to give up his spot.  Pride can short-circuit my thinking and cause me to do and say things that border on the insane.  I get caught up in "my rights," and my rational mind gets drowned out by all the noise my emotional mind makes as it stomps its little feet.  I need to ask myself, "Am I taking a stand on principles or just standing on foolish pride?  Is the cost worth the effort?"