Building a Better World

This week I'll be using the Swietlistej Drogi Tarot (Tarot of the Radiant Path),created by Alla Alicja Chrzanowska and published by Studio Astropsychologii. I'll also be drawing from the Mirrors of the Heart deck, created and self-published by Lily S. May. Today's draws are the Queen of Pentacles and Voice:

This queen doesn't just nourish what she grows, she breathes love into what she gives (like that fruit basket she holds). All the queens are nurturers in ways that honor their talents and abilities; the Queen of Pentacles does so in physical, tangible ways. She might send a packet of chamomile tea to someone who is stressed or offer a gas gift card to someone with a new job and a long commute. Her care is delivered in practical, useful ways. Yet the Voice card suggests something else may be needed. So often people doubt their worth and have little love or compassion for themselves. This queen could also send a note with her gifts to let the recipients know they are treasured, and that she believes they have something worthwhile to offer the world. 

With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world. ― Dalai Lama 

 

She Holds the Keys

From the Tarot of the Abyss, the High Priestess; from the Lantern Oracle, Voice:

During meditation, we create a refuge in which we can better discern and understand what’s going on in our constantly shifting private landscape. —Lauren Krauze

I appreciate that Tourian's Priestess also has a set of keys (often assigned only to the Hierophant). Her yin-yang symbol applies to the aggressive self-will of the ego; it wants to do what's best for us but it lacks essential information because its strategies were formulated at a young age. This mental construct looks for pleasure and avoids discomfort, unaware that horrible consequences can come from some pleasures and good things may come from discomfort. Yet we each have a higher nature - which the priestess helps us access through meditation. It sees with clarity, without preference or prejudice. The Voice card is a nudge to speak one's truth, and so I will give my personal thoughts on meditation. There is a mindfulness movement that seeks to bring calm and comfort to people, to help them de-stress and experience bliss. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, unless it is passed off as a spiritual practice. McMindfulness serves the ego, wanting only what feels good. A meditation practice helps us discern the habitual thought and emotional patterns that create suffering in our lives and in those around us. It requires us to change, not sink back in our comfy recliners.

None of us dreamed that mindfulness would become so popular or even lucrative, much less that it would be used as a way to keep millions of us sleeping soundly through some of the worst cultural excesses in human history, all while fooling us into thinking we were awake and quiet.

—Clark Strand

Setting Boundaries

 From the Swietlistej Drogi Tarot, the Eight of Pentacles; from the Mirrors of the Heart, Voice:

Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives. ~William A. Foster

          I imagine this woman as a quality-control worker; she checks the raw product before allowing it to go any further. Like the photographer who looks at shots before printing, or the gem buyer who looks for certain features, she must learn how to be discriminating. Voice shows an expression that comes from the depths within. It is a way to stand up for ourselves, whether it's to the dentist who treats patients as if he were resoling a shoe or the coworker who makes inappropriate remarks. Like the quality-control worker, we learn how to discern what is appropriate and what is not. They might not want to listen, but we have the right to speak our truth about our experience and set boundaries for behavior.