I use tarot and oracle cards as tools for reflection and contemplation. Rather than divining the future, they are a way for me to look more deeply at the "now."
"The goal isn't to arrive, but to meander, to saunter, to make your life a holy wandering." ~ Rami Shapiro

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Balancing Kindness and Generosity

This afternoon I drew the King of Pentacles from the Jolanda Tarot:
  
This Amazonian-looking king has the Midas touch - whatever he involves himself in seems to prosper (like the tree he holds loaded with fruit).  Yet the reason he is so successful is that his ideas are grounded in reality; he is not the sort who would invest in some crazy scheme, because he does his research and comes to his own conclusions.  He has an unusual hoodie - made from the head of a snake that resembles a cobra.  In Buddhism, the serpent is often represented as a guardian of temples and other sacred places.  This connection probably resulted in the observation that some snakes, such as cobras and rattlesnakes, will hold and defend their ground when threatened.  Though generous, the King of Pentacles is also protective of his assets, whether time, energy, health or money, and won't tolerate someone stepping across his boundaries.  Just check that necklace of teeth around his neck for further verification.  His message is clear: kindness does not mean allowing someone to take advantage of me.

     The card drawn from the Bird Signs deck is the "Flamingo - balance:"
No one knows the reason flamingos balance on one leg.  Scientists speculate it could be to conserve heat and help with blood flow, to look like a reed to prey, or because they turn off half their brain when they sleep (allowing the other half to control the leg they stand on).  Considering that their legs are longer than their bodies, and most of their weight is oriented horizontally, it is an amazing feat.  But what appears to be their knee is actually their ankle; a flamingo's knee is hidden underneath its feathers.  The ankle has a locking mechanism that allows the bird to maintain its balance.  Like the flamingo, humans are made to stay balanced, not on one leg, but in the areas of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.  Maintaining my equilibrium often requires me to have some firm boundaries in place.

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