Finishing the Job

From the Legacy of the Divine, the King of Wands; from the Tea Leaf Reading Cards, Tree:

Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string.

―Pelé 

The King of Wands is similar to his Knight - full of initiative and fervor. But unlike him, the King knows how to keep the fire of his energy and enthusiasm burning bright until a project is finished. His vision of what it will look like when completed drives him onward. The Tree represents health and a holistic view. Things left undone soon slide into decline and decay. A house left half-built, a painting unfinished, or a garden unmanaged never get the chance to reach their full potential. As Pearl S. Buck tells us, “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.”

Nettles

From the Nigel Jackson Tarot, the Queen of Swords; from the Viking Lenormand, the Tree:

When people will not weed their own minds, they are apt to be overrun by nettles.

― Horace Walpole

The truth for this Queen is simply seeing the world as it is. We tend to get intoxicated by our emotions, opinions, assumptions and concepts, often secretly thinking we're experts. However, she advocates for clarity and self-honesty, encouraging us to have the patience to listen and ask questions. She reminds us that we'll need to prop open our mind and be aware of when new information tries to slam it shut. The Tree represents steady, strong growth. Such development allows us to see areas that need improvement as well as opportunities and resources. If we can't see clearly, we won't know how to appropriately respond to any situation, much less any challenge.  

Still Water

From the Norse Tarot, the Princess of Cups; from the Viking Lenormand, Tree:

It is only in still water that we can see.

– Zen Saying

A young lass stands beside a lake, peering into a chalice. She knows that the truth can only be seen in stillness and quiet. She lets the stirrings of her heart and mind settle; what is luminous will shine brightly when the silt and mud within her come to rest. The Lenormand Tree asks us to consider our well-being and stability. It's leafy branches reach for the sun yet it's roots anchor it in the soil and provide nourishment. Wholeness requires balance - an impossibility if we are constantly at war with reality. When in battle mode, we are obsessed with our ideas and entangled by our emotions, making muddy water even muddier. Stillness and quiet, however, allow us to put down our weapons and find clarity, getting us unstuck from our rinse and repeat cycle. 

The Way Forward

From the Tyldwick Tarot, the Five of Staves; from the Antiquarian Lenormand, Tree:

          The Tyldwick card shows a shield with the painting of Greek wrestlers participating in the ancient Olympic games. The object of these games was not to kill and destroy your opponent, but to best him athletically. In the same way, this card indicates we must prove ourselves by offering the best option or argument for getting something done. Yet in such competitions, it can be helpful to remember the words of Laurie H. Anderson: "You have to know what you stand for, not just what you stand against." A solution or path forward needs directions to go in, not just the roads to avoid. The Lenormand Tree card implies we should consider the roots of every person involved because everyone's knowledge, skill sets, and experience will be different. The way forward may require a combination of suggestions, not just those from one particular person.

Well Used Resources

From the Bonefire Tarot, the  King of Coins; from the Day of the Dead Lenormand, Tree:

          This King has plenty of acorns to spare, and being the generous sort of King he is, he is willing to share. But be warned, he will be watching closely to see what is done with these resources - whether they are used wisely, hoarded, or wasted. The Tree represents a person's general health in all aspects. It pays to attend to any messages and signs before the ax of life takes a swing at us. How I spend my resources, whether time, money, or energy (including physical and mental health) is important, the King of Coins would remind me.

Attention is an important resource.

― Bell Hooks

Start with the Side Pieces

From the Bonefire Tarot, the Star; from the Day of the Dead Lenormand, the 'Tree:'

          The stars are best seen in complete darkness, which is a good analogy for those times in life when things seem hopeless. Where do we turn when our spirits are crushed, intuition has disappeared and the truths we believed in are turned to dust? Yet it may be that such darkness is what gets our attention and opens our mind to the tiny, flickering light we wouldn't have noticed otherwise. It gets us past the idea that life should be a certain way so that we can deal with it at ground level. We gain enough light to see the next step, but not enough to see the whole path. The Tree card from the Lenormand deck shows a skeleton whose bones make up the roots, trunk, and branches of a tree. It represents health - both mental and physical. Taking care of one's health when life has been turned upside down may seem unhelpful. But such a focus is like beginning a jigsaw puzzle by putting together the side pieces first; it gives us a framework that can help us heal before we jump into the thick of things.

Outsmarting Reality

This week I'll be using the Gaian Tarot, a deck and book set created and self-published by Joanna Powell Colbert. I'll also be using the Goddess Oracle, a deck and book set created by Amy Sophia Marashinsky and illustrated by Hrana Janto. Today's draws are the Tree (Hanged Man) and Minerva:

          The tree pose in yoga requires that one foot be firmly grounded while the other rests on the inner thigh. Balance is found when the gaze is soft but focused on a still point. But in Powell's version of the Hanged Man, the foot that is supposed to bring stability hangs in the air from a tree.  How stable is the air? I am reminded how I often try to out-think reality - an impossible feat. There are some things that I have no control over, no matter how much brain power I use. If I remain still and receptive, I might see from a new perspective beyond the ego's illusion. Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, comes to point out that my old beliefs aren't working very well and perhaps need to be discarded (or I can choose to keep hanging upside down). It is hard to watch people make decisions that are not healthy (or in the case of the presidential election, not sane). But my jurisdiction only covers my decisions, attitude and actions, not those of someone else. Trying to figure out why they do and think as they do is a wasted effort and another illusion of power (thinking I can change them if I understand them). It would be better to focus on my own stuff instead of getting distracted by the drama in everyone else's life.