Make It Happen

This week I'll be using the Rosetta Tarot along with its companion book The Book of Seshet. This set was created by M.M. Meleen and published by Atu House. The oracle deck I'll be using is the Day of the Dead Lenormand, created and self-published by Edmund Zebrowski. Today's draws are the Prince (Knight) of Swords and Mice:

Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.

—John F. Kennedy

The Prince of Swords is Air of Air, a combination that makes him an inexhaustible fount of ideas and solutions. A lover of research, he is also comfortable with abstract ideas. However, he'll spend time spinning out a complex plan or concept and then just abandon everything because he's lost interest. The Mice card suggests something is gnawing away at our well-being, resources, or relationships. It doesn't matter how many creative ideas or interesting strategies we come up with to mitigate this problem if we don't apply them. As JFK explained, "There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction."

Seeds of the Past

From the Sheridan-Douglas Tarot, the Wheel of Change; from the Pages of Shustah, Mammoth:

Out on the road today, I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac

A little voice inside my head said, "Don't look back, you can never look back."

—Don Henley

I see a lot of posts on Facebook by people who seem to think the past was so much better than today. Psychologists have even named the cognitive biases for this: rosy retrospection (recalling the past more positively than it was actually experienced) and declinism (viewing the past more favorably and the future more negatively). Sure, some things were simpler and slower in the past, but life was also hard and distressing - for instance, having limited medical tools and knowledge. I don't agree with Henley that we should never look back, but I do think there's no going back. Mammoth shows up to tell us that we all carry seeds of our past. If we want a better present and future, it's time to take a look at them and see if they are worth cultivating or not.

A Step Out

From the Sheridan-Douglas Tarot, the Five of Swords; from the Pages of Shustah, the Path:

Living well is the best revenge. 

—George Herbert

Some folks don't just want to best others, they want to humiliate them, stomping on them while they're down. Our natural inclination is to plot our revenge, but even if we succeed, it won't wipe away the past. And vengeance just lays the groundwork for a back-and-forth conflict of hostility. We end up wasting a lot of energy that could be used on something more useful or enjoyable. The Path encourages us not to get distracted by the trolls and bullies of the world. Instead, we concentrate on our spiritual compass and take care of ourselves. As we feel our feelings (without mentally adding to the story), we might take Rilke's advice:

Whoever you are; some evening take a step

out of your house, which you know so well.

Enormous space is near.

River of Change

 From the Sheridan-Douglas Tarot, the Three of Cups; from the Pages of Shustah, Aquarius:

A person is a fluid process, not a fixed and static entity; a flowing river of change, not a block of solid material; a continually changing constellation of potentialities, not a fixed quantity of traits.

—Dr. Carl Rogers

Douglas describes the Three of Cups as enjoying the fruits of love and companionship. The people we choose to befriend are important because they can influence and enrich our lives. We can celebrate each other's joys and successes and support each other through hard times and loss. Our relationships make life meaningful. Aquarius indicates change - an awakening due to new ideas. What happens when our partner or close friend suddenly appears bearing a new philosophy to present to us? It may feel like (no matter how illogical it sounds) that they should have discussed this with us first. Yet this is not a terrible development if these new ideas are constructive and beneficial. We may find that they improve or enhance our life too.

The Difference

From the Sheridan-Douglas Tarot, the King of Pentacles; from the Pages of Shustah, the Whip:

Today, I'm looking at life from a realistic point of view instead of the way I would want things to be. 

—Otis Williams

The King of Pentacles is a practical yet farsighted in material matters. He knows that although we desire bodies that function well and a hefty bank account, even the natural world doesn't thrive all the time. He suggests we investigate prudent ways to navigate those times of decline. The Whip is a symbol of self-control and discipline. Do we constantly require a carrot or the fear of the stick to motivate us? Do we jump toward the easiest solution even if it will have heavy consequences? As Jim Rohn explains, “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”

Intoxicating Focus

From the Sheridan-Douglas Tarot, Justice; from the Pages of Shustah, Scorpio:

What we need to strive for is not perfection, but balance.

—Ani DiFranco

What does balance look like in an individual life? At times our focus gets caught up in a project or crisis and loses track of everything else. Bills don't get paid, bodies don't get exercised or rested, and connections with others become frayed. Our world shrinks down to whatever focal point has intoxicated us. Justice looks like she wants to poke us with that big sword to get our attention. Scorpio tells us it is time to investigate and discover where our scales are out of balance, but without any pettiness. It might appear that someone or something else is to blame, but we ultimately have the final say in how we direct our attention.

Revoking Power

From the Sheridan-Douglas Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Pages of Shustah, Destiny:

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.

― Marcus Aurelius

Destiny (the Shustah card) refers to external things that we can't control. The Eight of Swords puts us smack dab in the middle of a bunch of them. It's easy to get overwhelmed in this place and fall into "woe is me" mode. In Buddhism, suffering is said to be caused by the disconnect between what we want and what reality gives us. Yet if we can find a way to calm and center ourselves, we can take another peek at reality and perhaps see that while it may be upsetting, it isn't as horrible as we imagined it to be. At this point, we can determine an appropriate response to deal with it.