Turn of the Wheel

From the Prisma Visions Tarot, the Wheel of Fortune; from The Secret Language of Color Cards, Violet:

          Entwined serpents and peacocks form this Wheel, each the champion one moment and a scrambling contender the next. One thing is for certain - the world is never at a standstill. Violet symbolizes balance; the booklet suggests this includes the recognition that in every challenge there is a blessing and in every blessing there is a challenge. We each choose our attitude and response for where we are on the Wheel. We may aggressively fight what we don't want, greedily cling to what we like, or stick our head in the mud and pretend not to care. Yet if we remove self-centeredness and indifference, we can find equanimity through the cultivation of wisdom and compassion. And we'll get a chance to practice with every turn of the Wheel.

Equanimity contains the complete willingness to behold the pleasant and the painful events of life equally. It points to a deep balance in which you are not pushed and pulled between the coercive energies of desire and aversion. —Shaila Catherine

Transparency

From the Prisma Visions Tarot, the Six of Swords; from the Secret Language of Color Cards, Auburn:

Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.

—Mother Teresa

           Denial, with enough practice, rolls off the tongue and swims in our head effortlessly. It can be seen in the abused wife who tells others what a good provider her husband is or in the addict who is convinced his daily dose is similar to a multivitamin that keeps him going. Good luck getting through to such people; they build thick walls to insulate themselves and others from the truth. It usually takes a blow from life's wrecking ball to bring those walls down. Their best hope is that they will awaken from insanity and admit that where their life goes from here - across a bridge or over a cliff - depends on the choices they'll make. Auburn is associated with grounding, embodying the moment as it is. Once we cross that bridge, it can be easy to think all the bad is behind us. The problem is we've brought ourselves across the bridge with us. Pause, get out of the mind, and experience the moment with the senses. See clearly without any delusions before taking the next step.

Spreading It Thin

From the Prisma Visions Tarot, the King of Wands; from the Secret Language of Color Cards, Sapphire:

          The King of Wands has a lot going on, but he knows direction and purpose will help sort things out and keep them on track until completed. Sapphire symbolizes rejuvenation, restoring what has been depleted or injured. The King must also be aware when his focus and energy are at their limits and either pause or delegate. As Ryder Carroll explains: "Inevitably we find ourselves tackling too many things at the same time, spreading our focus so thin that nothing gets the attention it deserves. This is commonly referred to as "being busy." Being busy, however, is not the same thing as being productive."

Caught Up

From the Prisma Visions Tarot, the Page of Wands; from the Secret Language of Color Cards, Yellow:

          An ethereal vine of inspiration has swept this Page off his feet. He'll probably forget to eat and will sleep little while caught in its grip. Little notes will fill his pockets and sketches or outlines will cover his desk. While it can appear as a bout of insanity, it may be both fulfilling and liberating for him. As Roy Bennett wrote, "Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create." Although inspiration might be the fuel that drives us, it can't sustain us mentally or physically. Yellow suggests we take time to cleanse the body and the mind. Motivation stays high when we take time to relax and play, to eat healthy food and stretch our bodies, and perhaps meditate. Besides, that's often when our best solutions or guidance comes.

Don't Dam the Flow

This week I'll be using the Prisma Visions Tarot, created and self-published by James R. Eads; the companion booklet was written by Katherine Tombs. The oracle I'll be using alongside it will be the Secret Language of Color Cards, created by Inna Segal and published by Beyond Worlds. Today's draws are the King of Swords and Rainbow:

          Rather than continue to battle monster birds, the King of Swords takes a different approach by feeding their young. Hurt someone's family, and you've made an enemy for life; help their family, and friendship becomes a possibility. The King refuses to stay locked in the emotional past and chooses to use a bit of ingenuity instead. A realistic view creates clarity and allows for a wise response. The Rainbow is a phenomenon created when certain conditions and causes come together - the refraction of light by water droplets in the air. It doesn't last very long. The rainbow is like our emotions; both will naturally disperse unless we take a picture in the mind and replay it over and over. Only when we stop clinging can we see the other wonders and opportunities around us.

Although there are rocks and tree roots,

Rippling along, just rippling along,

The water runs.

~Wariko Kai

If We Come To It

From the Tarot of the Masters, the Five of Wands; from the Key to the Kingdom, the Five of Diamonds:

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet

Whose hands can strike with such abandon

That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living

Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness

That the haughty neck is happy to bow

And the proud back is glad to bend

Out of such chaos, of such contradiction

We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it

We, this people, on this wayward, floating body

Created on this earth, of this earth

Have the power to fashion for this earth

A climate where every man and every woman

Can live freely without sanctimonious piety

Without crippling fear

When we come to it

We must confess that we are the possible

We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world

That is when, and only when

We come to it.

~ excerpt from “A Brave and Startling Truth” by Maya Angelou 

Paranoia to Possibility

From the Tarot of the Masters, the Fool; from the Key to the Kingdom, the Joker:

Rather than assuming you will know how people will act, take a deep breath and open yourself to the possibility that today is a new day. —Yael Shy

          The Fool asks us to move from distrust to charitable assumption, from paranoia to possibility. For anyone who's taken a beating from life, this may be hard advice to swallow. Survival mode is hard to replace with optimism. But perhaps we can try to be curious and open rather than absolutely sure Armageddon is on the horizon. The Joker card is paired with a verse by Mary Howitt about a spider attempting to trick a fly by inviting it into its parlor. The Joker warns that while we can be open-minded, we don't have to shelve our discernment. We must learn to listen and observe through an unfiltered lens. In the words of Kenneth Copeland, "Sometimes you can tell what something is by what is isn't."