Changing Tides

From the Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, Visionary Spirit (Hermit); from the Saltwater Reading Cards, Tides:

Your problems won’t change; only you can change. That’s the point.

—Gento Steve Krieger 

          This young lady looks perturbed, yet she is doing what most of us forget to do when we feel like life is closing in on us. She sits in stillness; the key she holds is what she will discover when her mind and body pause. Lately, it has felt as if everyone required too much of her, offering little help to handle all of the obligations. But in the calmness, she might see that on some level, she enjoys people depending on her as it boosts her self-worth and gives her a feeling of purpose. She may have given the impression (verbally or through omission) that she can deal with it all while ignoring her own needs. As the muddy water settles, it becomes clear that she has had a hand in creating this situation. She is no Wonder Woman. The Tides card is a reminder that life ebbs and flows. There will be times when we are required to carry more than our usual load, but it will not always be so. It takes practice, but when life slows, we should too. Neurotic busyness is an easy habit to make but not so easy to break.

Repairing Nets

From the Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, Sensitive Spirit/Mother Two Moons (Moon); from the Saltwater Reading Cards, Oyster:

          It doesn't take much to trigger a mood or an emotion when something awakens what has been stored away in the unconscious. We are under a Red Alert warning today, meaning a threat of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, flash flooding, and straight-line winds. Having been battered in succession by straight-line winds, a tornado, a hurricane, and flooding over the past couple of years, the folks in my area can easily slide from precaution into fear and paranoia. Yet Oyster is a reminder that we all must deal with some grit as no one is excluded from unwelcome news or events. But I have a choice to let that grit rub me raw or to create a pearl by making the best of a bad situation.

When fishermen cannot go to sea, they repair nets.

― Nabil Sabio Azadi

Do You Hear What You're Saying?

From Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, the Trickster/Page of Air (Wands); from the Saltwater Reading Cards, Turtle:

          The trickster side of the Page of Air is not meant to trick us as a form of punishment, but to help us learn to think before we speak, be succinct, and spend more time listening. This Page is aware that people often react rather than respond and seldom take the time to use discernment in what they say. The Page will then reflect back the words to us, showing how we lacked mindfulness of speech. When my toddler was able to reach doorknobs, I would be afraid she would pinch her fingers opening and closing the doors. I would say "watch your fingers" and she would stop what she was doing and literally look at her fingers. Instinct, shown by the newly hatched sea turtles racing towards the water, emphasizes that sometimes we don't have a lot of time to think out what we say - we must respond bluntly and assertively. We don't explain or excuse, we simply speak our truth firmly and plainly.

Appreciation Rather Than Appropriation

From the Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, the Shapeshifter/Page of Fire (Wands); from the Saltwater Reading Cards, Sea Anemones:

          Using an older person as a Page is unusual, but having a desire to explore life in new and different ways doesn't have an age stamp on it. And a shapeshifter would have the opportunity to experience life through the bodies of various animals, seeing and feeling as they do. While this option isn't available for the vast majority, we can enjoy learning about and visiting other cultures and places. Yet the sting of Sea Anemones implies we may want to respect the boundaries and beliefs of others. In the book Holy Envy, Barbara Brown Taylor suggests looking but not poaching. And though she speaks of appropriation from a religious viewpoint, it applies to cultural pilfering as well: "I have learned that possessing an artifact is not the same as possessing the spiritual reality it represents. The things I envy have their own terroir [unique environment], their own long histories of weather and fertilization. They do not exist to serve me, improve me, or profit me. They have their own dominion." Cultural sensitivity means respectful appreciation - avoiding stereotypes, acknowledging origins and refusing to use sacred artifacts for accessories.

A Star Among Stars

From the Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, the Five of Fire (Wands)/Blaze; from the Saltwater Reading Cards, Manta Ray:

          Americans seem to be trained from an early age to make an effort to shine brighter than anyone else. We grow to hate having our way of doing things questioned, much less replaced by something new. So it's no wonder that we resist the brightness of others when it means we might be in the shadows. The Manta Ray has been given a bad rep because of its size (up to 23 ft. in width) and the shape of its body (giving it the nickname 'devilfish'). But these creatures of the deep are actually curious and friendly, not dangerous. The misinformation about them is similar to the training of young minds who are warned to eschew humility and cooperation for being number one. But competition isn't all that's advertised; anyone who's lived this lifestyle and mindset knows that it's only a matter of time before one's pedestal is knocked over. On the other hand, a multitude of stars will create much more light than just one. 

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.

– Booker T. Washington

Interrelated Structure

This week I'll be using Poppy Palin's Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, published by Llewellyn, along with the 2nd edition of her companion book, Stories of the Wild Spirit, published by Slippery Jacks Press. I'll also be drawing from the Saltwater Reading Cards, created by Laura Bowen and published by Rockpool Publishing. Today's cards are the Dance of Life/Web of Fate (Wheel of Fortune) and Rockpool:

          Palin's description of the Wheel as being web-like points out that we do not move through our seasons in this world without altering what is around us. That interconnection is why it is so important for me to consider not just how my response to the changes and challenges of life will affect me as time passes, but the effect it will have on my web-mates as well. It also reminds me of karma, not the Hindu definition of it, but as Andrew Olendzki describes it: "It is common to think of karma as a sort of fate to which we are subjected, but it is more central to the Buddha’s message that karma is the opportunity we have each moment to choose what sort of person we are to become next." The habits I reinforce or change today will determine who I become in the not-too-distant future, and those patterns will either benefit or harm those around me. Rockpool, carved out over many years by the ocean's waves, provides a place of refuge from the pounding of the surf for organisms such as clams, mussels, and starfish. This card asks me to consider what I'm weaving with my life: a barrier to protect only myself and those I care about or a place of healing and nurturing for all.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tea Time

From the Idiosyncradeck, the Seven of Cups; from the Mixed Emotions Cards, Confident:

          Black tea, green tea, chamomile, lemon balm, peppermint... the list of available teas seems to be limitless. The Seven of Cups is that moment of decision when we consider what will fulfill us and then pursue it. It may seem simple until we have to make that choice ourselves, then we may be plagued with 'buts' and 'what ifs.' The words of Bill Wilson offer some wisdom:

Wise men and women rightly give a top rating to the virtue of prudence. They know that without this all-important attribute little wisdom is to be had. Mere ‘looking before we leap’ is not enough. If our looking is charged with fear, suspicion, or anger, we had better not have looked or acted at all.

But once we decide, with discernment and a sense of peace, we should take that leap as the Confident card illustrates. But what if we later find we still made the wrong decision? Bill again offers some advice:

We lose the fear of making decisions, great and small, as we realize that should our choice prove wrong we can, if we will, learn from the experience.