This week I'll be using the mini Tarot of Pagan Cats, created by Lola Airaghi (artist) and Barbara Moore (lwb); it was published by Lo Scarabeo. The oracle deck I'll be using is Cat Wisdom with photographs by Jane Burton/Warren Photographic, booklet by Tanya Graham and concept by Toni C. Salerno; it was published by Blue Angel. Today's draws are the Hermit and "Wake Up and Get Started:"
"The need to retreat from distractions and withdraw from the opinion of others in order to determine your truth and ideas about something," is how Moore describes the Hermit card. The interpretation and the cat's climb up the mountain suggest a solitary pilgrimage of sorts. I've been reading
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and I couldn't help but see the similarities between this card and his pilgrimage to Mecca. Having been disillusioned by the religious leader he held in the highest regard as well as made a target for death, Malcolm went to the Middle East to find the truth of Islam. In this foreign place (quite different from the culture he knew), he was overwhelmed by the brotherhood of love and acceptance he encountered. It would radically change his heart.
The oracle card made me chuckle, not just because it was cute, but because I could relate so well to the message. I can't count how many times I have gotten enthused about something, then spent weeks researching it. I would purchase books or surf the internet for information; I would buy special clothes, tools or other paraphernalia that I "needed" to accomplish my goal. And though I poured time and money into the idea of doing something, I never actually
did it. So if I'm going to make my pilgrimage (whether internal or external), I had better get moving.
