Put It In Your Pocket

From the Mary-El Tarot, the Nine of Cups; from the OH Cards, Goodbye/Ugly:

In life you have to learn to count the good days. You have to tuck them in your pocket and carry them around with you.

―Richard Osman

White has chosen to illustrate this Nine of Cups with a baboon - a symbol of Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom. This great ape seems to be soaking in the joy he currently feels as opposed to the 'Ugly Goodbye' in the OH card combo. The solidity of the baboon indicates his understanding and acceptance of the cycles of happy and sad, pleasant and unpleasant. Like Osman's quote, he's figured out how to tuck the good ones in his pocket for later recollection instead of ranting and railing when things change. He realizes inner contentment is much more stable than any dependence on what's external. And though no happy experience can be exactly replicated, he's sure there will be other joyful times ahead.

Cloak of Protection?

From the Mary-El Tarot, the Five of Swords; from the OH Cards, Impatience/Change:

When death, the great Reconciler, has come,

it is never our tenderness that we repent of, but our severity.

― George Eliot

White uses Eve in this painting of her Five of Swords; she holds the hand of Adam who is off to the side. All those feathers symbolize ideas, beliefs and opinions that we hold close to us as a protective shield. And the babe in Eve's arms represents those we influence or try to convert to our perception of the world. But do our views (and the actions that follow from them) create in us joy, healing and growth, or do they shape us into fatalistic, contentious, stagnant people? The Impatience/Change cards point to the characteristics of those in the latter group. We often demand that people live and think on our terms; we have no tolerance for them otherwise. Yet the owls suggest we peer beneath our protection and see if our fears in the darkness are real or just a figment of an anxious imagination.

Personal Responsibility

From the Mary-El Tarot, the Six of Disks; from the OH Cards, Spilled Milk/Guilt:

It is when we begin to witness interdependence that we see the true importance of personal responsibility.

—Ethan Nichtern

What would it be like if humans expected responsibilities just as they demand their rights? We much prefer dividing lines of 'mine' and 'yours' rather than 'ours.' Yet this angel in this Six of Disks shows a blending together of what we try to separate; in reality there is no separate other, as we're all a part of the same huge earth-bound organism. Yes, we are diverse, but we're still connected. If the left hand is hurt, the right hand will automatically come to its aid. The Spilled Milk/Guilt combo suggests that the shame of seeing our accountability might make us act with kindness and benevolence, but guilt is not a viable motivation. Perhaps the joy and satisfaction of doing good can encourage us to continue our altruistic actions until we can grasp and understand our interdependence.

Medium of Being

From the Mary-El Tarot, the Fool; from the OH Cards, Artwork/Retreat:

I know artists whose medium is life itself, and who express the inexpressible without brush, pencil, chisel or guitar. They neither paint nor dance. Their medium is Being.

~Frederick Franck

Surrounded by butterflies and two river dragons, the Fool seems to be emerging from his own chrysalis. Monarchs are symbols of transformation, which fit with the Fool's new beginning. These butterflies also make extremely long migrations, which seem impossible for such fragile creatures. Likewise, the Fool will have a great journey ahead; an observer might wonder how one so naive might survive. Yet both make the journey while also enjoying the flowers along the way. The Artwork/Retreat combo suggests the practice of art as pure awareness, the basic experience of "isness," or simply being in the world without memory or desire. The Fool, even with his lack of knowledge and experience, is an excellent teacher of the medium of Being. 

Drawing is the discipline by which I constantly rediscover the world. I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle.

~Frederick Franck

Just a Small Step

From the Mary El Tarot, the Four of Cups; from the OH Cards, Steps/Threat:

We all have days when we feel like this shell - one moment we're in our element enjoying life and the next we're tossed up on dry sand. We are discontent and lethargic, without the energy to motivate us to action. If we feather a nest for this mood, it will just hang around longer, letting us become comfortable with our discomfort. Steps and the word card Threat suggest that change is needed, but we assume the devil we know is safer than the devil we don't. Yet just taking one small step in a different direction each day, no matter how inconsequential it might seem, will eventually get us to the doorway. Move slowly with determination, and that dark mood will begin to shift too.

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.

— Anne Lamott

Forget the Plus and Minus

This week I'll be using the Mary-El Tarot, created by Marie White and published by Schiffer. I'll be pairing it with the OH Cards, created by Ely Raman and Joe Schlichter and published by Eos Enterprises. The OH draw is actually two cards - one a picture and the other a word. Today's draws are the Ace of Cups and Military Parade/Give:

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.

~Winston Churchill

This hermaphroditic angel is based on the constellation Aquarius, the water bearer. Rather than seeing the cool water they carry - water that can heal, sustain and nurture - we might get caught up judging the outer package. At that point, any relationship would be superficial, based simply on what we like or dislike. The OH card shows a formation of soldiers drilling, an ancient practice that began when men stopped fighting as individuals and started to fight together as units. The word card combined with it is 'Give,' suggesting selfless rather than selfish action. As Emma Goldman wrote, "If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions, it is not love, but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a plus and a minus."

Move On

From the Delta Enduring Tarot, the Seven of Cast Irons (Pentacles); from the Southernisms Oracle, 'That field's been plowed:'

Approach it honestly, assess your performance, and assess the areas where you have fallen short. Correct them and move on. Don't dwell on it. Don't hold on to it.

~Megan Rapinoe

This young man has patiently amended the soil, planted the seeds, watered the sprouts, and carefully managed any pests; his reward is a bounty of ripe tomatoes. I don't know of any gardener - whether they grow flowers, fruits and vegetables, shrubs or trees - who managed to hit a home run the first  time they ever tried to cultivate a plant. It requires a process of mistakes and learning as well as the blessing of good weather. 'That field's been plowed' is a saying that refers to over-thinking and analyzing. If we're so consumed with perfection, we'll miss the enjoyment of the harvest. If we're caught in a loop of trying to find a once-and-for-all solution to a problem, we'll never be satisfied and miss taking any action that might have helped. Move on.