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

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Polymaths and Empty Cups

This week I'll be using the Millennium Tarot 2000, created by Amerigo Folchi and published by ASS Publishing.  Today's draw is the Magician:
Folchi has chosen to use Leonardo da Vinci as his Magician, a man described as a polymath because of his expertise in so many areas.  Leonardo's resume would be impressive: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer.  People have called him a genuis, and though he may have been incredibly intelligent, he had one trait available to everyone - curiosity.  The tools on the table (and the elemental symbols inscribed on the table) represent the gifts most  humans are born with, talents that can be used and developed.  Instead of sitting around whining about what I don't have, I would make much better use of my time to work with all I do.

The oracle deck I'll be using this week is the Success Cards, created by Giuseppe Ricci and Alessandro Beltramo (artwork) and published Lo Scarabeo.  This morning's card is entitled "Understand the Infinite:"
"Use what you have received from Nature, giving up any idea of earning; just be empty." ~ Chuang Tzu
As I look at this painting of a young boy starting a fire, I am in awe of early man (and indigenous people) whose ability to pay attention and whose curiosity led them to discover how to do such things.  Tzu's quote above reminds me how important it is to drop all my opinions and expectations about how things should be done.  When my cup is empty and open, I'm much more likely to be filled with inspirational ideas.


6 comments:

  1. I must be becoming a woose in my old age, I'm glad to see the back of the wild unknown too.
    Happy Saturday, it is National Quilt Day :)
    S.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. [Laughing] - the Wild Unknown is definitely not for everyone, though I will have to say its starkness pushed me out of my comfort zone.
      Happy Quilt Day - hope you are cozily wrapped in a warm one!

      Delete
  2. Hehe, AJs comment made me smile. I am actually glad that you used it cause my curiosity for that deck is gone now, pretty sure that if I bought it, I would use it a week and nevermore.
    The Folchi is not my cup of tea either but I think I might enjoy seeing more of that oracle deck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was a bit disappointed when I first got the Folchi, because I thought all the cards were based on historical figures, not just the majors and courts. But I guess the characters it uses makes me think outside the box some.
      The Success deck is an odd one, loosely based on Zen and Taoism; I like the quotes and images better than the interpretations in the LWB - they tend to be a little new agey.

      Delete
  3. Lovely Magician card (and deck in general, I don't think I've seen this one before) and I totally agree about the value of curiosity, inquisitiveness etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Makes me wonder what would happen if we didn't always tell young people what to study and allowed them some leeway in following their curiosity...

      Delete