Pent-up Tension

This week I'll be using the Brady Tarot, created and self-published by Emi Brady with a companion booklet by Rachel Pollack. The second deck I'll be using is the African American Wisdom Knowledge Cards, compiled and illustrated by Bob Johnson and Mary Margolies with publishing through Pomegranate. Today's draws are the Nine of Feathers (Wands) and 'Miriam Makeba:'

          A Costa female hummingbird stops sipping nectar from a saguaro cactus and attacks a male who was simply flying over. The booklet states that those who've had to defend themselves over a long period of time usually become tense and worn-out. Hair-trigger reactions are the result, producing a backlash that doesn't match the provocation (that likely wasn't meant as a challenge in the first place). Our bodies and minds aren't meant to be on high-alert forever, and we often pay a steep price for maintaining such a state. Miriam Makeba was born in South Africa and worked as a teen under the harsh conditions of apartheid. Her participation in the anti-apartheid film Come Back, Africa, made her world famous but also got her exiled from her homeland for 31 years. She continued her singing career, testified at the United Nations about South Africa, was active in the civil rights movement, and campaigned for humanitarian causes as a U.N. ambassador. Instead of stirring the pot of her pain and fear, she used it to create knowledge of injustices and channeled it into acts of goodwill - a much better use for pent-up tension. 

Twisted Logic

From the Touchstone Tarot, the Seven of Swords; from the Waterhouse Oracle, 'The Danaides:'

          This fellow has a bit of a smug Mona Lisa smile. He's happy that he's managed to swipe some swords from a battle camp. Maybe (since he looks well dressed) he'll use them to boast about adventures he never had. In his mind, he can justify the theft by telling himself he only took a few of many. The Danaides show the eternal punishment of forty-nine sisters who killed their husbands on their wedding night as ordered by their father (the fiftieth sister let her husband go). Their father didn't want his properties to be taken by his brother (whose sons were the fifty husbands). Both these cards are warnings about rationalization - trying to make reality fit our desires. Either we justify our actions or make them seem as if they are not so bad. Though we may conceal our motives, the fallout from our actions will eventually uncover them.

No Shortcuts

From the Touchstone Tarot, the Knight of Coins; from the Waterhouse Oracle, 'Consulting the Oracle:'

          Black describes this knight as "The Plodder." Yes, he is methodical and detail-oriented, but he is also reliable and diligent. If you want things done right (rather than simply fast), he's your guy. The entire Consulting the Oracle painting shows the seer the other women have come to see and hear. Some seem to be desperately listening to her words, perhaps looking for a magical solution to their problems. Others seem to hang back and weigh what is said; they may seek guidance, but they don't abdicate responsibility. As the Knight of Coins would endorse, they believe there are no shortcuts when it comes to doing a good job or life in general.

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. 

~ Beverly Sills

This Hour

From the Touchstone Tarot, the Sun; from the Waterhouse Oracle, 'The Shrine:'

The Sun offers understanding and clarity in their infancy; wisdom can grow in this garden if the mind stays awake, eager and curious. This is not another day, the child reminds us, but a new day. It gives us a chance to see from new perspectives and a choice to break out of old habits. The Shrine shows a woman sniffing the flowers placed on an outdoor garden shrine. Though the alcove is hidden from view, this is a sacred place dedicated to a figure of awe or respect. The pause to honor could easily be applied to the day itself. I just watched the most beautiful sunrise; my first reaction was that I needed to grab my camera. But my second thought was, "But getting distracted with the camera will make me miss most of it - it's fading fast." I can't freeze-frame what I enjoy in life and crop out what don't. It comes as a package deal and deserves my attention.

Happiness, not in another place but this place...not for another hour, but this hour.

– Walt Whitman

Just Five More Minutes...

From the Touchstone Tarot, Judgment; from the Waterhouse Oracle, 'The Household Gods:'

          An angel trumpets while women alternately pray over and bless a sarcophagus. Black writes that we should "heed the herald's call." Yet there are days when we may really want to stay in our beds or hide in our homes and not rise to any challenge. We're tired and worn out, and we'd prefer not to 'rise up.' But in spite of our aches, we find ourselves moving forward. On those days, it helps to remember the words of Pema Chodron: "When we think something is going to give us misery, we don’t know. Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all." Though you can't see them in the card, The Household Gods painting shows two women offering flowers, food and drink to their deities. People have known for centuries the importance of pausing, reflecting and contemplating, whether it is to a god or not. It is a regenerating practice that can ground and help us rise to the daily challenges of each day.

While I waited yesterday to see if water from the storm would come through the roof again, I decided to create a bedside altar that would give me a chance to pause, reflect and contemplate. The sitting Buddha and Kuan Yin photo remind me to start from a baseline of wisdom and compassion. The prayer beads and mantra give me a chance to calm my mind (The mantra means "May all beings everywhere be happy and free of suffering"). The 'resilience' stone is my inspirational word for 2019 (thank you, Carolyn and Sharyn). The feather and heart are symbols to reflect on the day's swan dives and belly flops (where I maintained or forgot my principles and precepts); this daily inventory helps me determine if I need to make amends to anyone. Hotei - a happy, benevolent monk who became a bodhisattva - reminds me to ask myself what made me smile or what touched my heart that day (a gratitude practice). The ladybugs represent the people in my life who might need some good thoughts sent their way.

Secure Investments?

From the Touchstone Tarot, the Tower; from the Waterhouse Oracle, 'The Crystal Ball:'

 If you're invested in security and certainty, you are on the wrong planet.

– Pema Chodron

          A man prays and a woman sobs as a huge crown topples off a tower. Whatever their crowning achievement was - land holdings, enough diplomas to fill a wall, a multitude of family and friends or a fat bank account - it did not save them from falling back to earth where all mortals must dwell. There is a huge difference between preparing and micromanaging; preparation has plans in place for when an event happens, while micromanagement attempts to keep the inevitable from happening at all. The Crystal Ball shows a woman trying to foresee her future. Will she try to control or plan for what she sees will happen? An interesting bit of trivia about this painting is that one of the previous owners had the skull painted over (as if that would keep death at bay). Life is full of difficulties and delights for everyone, but as Jack Kornfield reminds us, only three things truly matter in the end:

• How well have we lived?
• How well have we loved?
• How well have we learned to let go?

Wiggle Room

From the Touchstone Tarot, the Hanged Man; from the Waterhouse Oracle, 'The Missal:'

          Black illustrates her Hanged Man with the painting of  St. Sebastian. Sebastian was a part of an elite group of the Roman army who guarded the Emperor. When his conversion to Christianity was discovered, the Emperor wanted him to go back to worshipping the Roman gods. Sebastian refused, and so he was tied to a tree and shot with arrows. A widow, thinking she was retrieving a body to bury, found him alive and nursed him back to health. Unfortunately, Sebastian must not have had any moments of acceptance while on that tree about things he can't control, because he later went back to the Emperor to confront him about his sins and was subsequently clubbed to death for his effort. The Missal shows a young woman reading from a prescribed book of prayers and rites for the year. Rituals and routines are comforting, but I wouldn't want to be told that I could only do things a certain way with no creative wiggle room. A zealot of any stripe is still a zealot. Shakespeare wrote that even "the devil can cite Scripture for his purpose."