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

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Our Troubles are All the Same

From the Mary-El Tarot, Strength:
This is the second time I've drawn this major arcana card in the last few days, and it has been impressed upon me how much this is an inner challenge rather than an external one.  The lion the person straddles in the card is the beast within, part of the self.  But what catches my attention is the pearl ring and mala (prayer beads) the person wears and holds.  Pearls are formed by irritants or bacteria that find their way into the soft tissue of mollusks.  The bivalves secrete calcium carbonate and other minerals to contain it, covering it in concentric layers over time and eventually creating a pearl.  And just as the pearl is considered a rare and valuable object, so too are the qualities of courage, patience, and loving-kindness that I can develop over time with practice.

The OH card selections this morning were "bar" and "share:"
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
~ Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo 
The combination of this image and word instantly brought to mind the theme song from "Cheers."  It reminds me that whatever I am going through, there is probably someone I am acquainted with who has experienced something very similar and has made it out on the other side.  I don't have to be a one-woman army; I can reach out to friends and share with them, allowing each of us to be a support for each other.

4 comments:

  1. Just think of the enormous pearls we are creating...one problem at a time.

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    1. I figure between the two of us, we have enough to make an awesome necklace. :)

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  2. You are doing good with the Mary-El.
    Just noticed that intense stare of the lion to the pearl!

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    1. Thanks! I had my doubts when I first got the deck, but then as I trimmed three sides of the borders off, I connected a bit more with the cards (though her book still confuses me mostly).

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