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

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

It's Not All About Me

From the Tarot of the Crone, the Emperor:
What matters is the Great Plan.
What matters is how you may serve. 
I had quite a negative reaction when I saw this illustration and read the verses that accompany it.  I don't want to bow down and serve anyone or any institution.  But Lorenzi-Prince states this is about taking a higher view rather than a self-centered one; it is about support, not worship.  Here is a choice of putting aside my individual wishes and doing what is most beneficial for the whole, whether it is a family or a community.  My ego wants to stomp its feet and yell, "But what about ME?  What about what I want?"  The hard part of service is that it is usually required when it is inconvenient and can at times be unpleasant.  But the bottom line is, do I care about this family or this group of people at least as much as I care about myself?  If so, I need to add my support by doing what is needed.

 From the Transforming Dragons deck comes the dragon "Yemotov:"
Trap: Feeling life is a worthless
Treasure: Seeing life as sacred
When I first saw this dragon's name, I thought of a Molotov cocktail, and indeed he is destructive, but the damage he does is to himself.  I had one friend who attempted to burn herself alive before Thanksgiving and another who killed herself a few days after Christmas.  Depression is a dark, lonely place, and though society has more pharmaceuticals for it than ever, it's still little understood.  I keep asking myself if there was something else I could have done or said to prevent either woman from going to such an extreme...  Yet on some level I know that while I can reach out my hand to another person, I can't force them to grasp it.

2 comments:

  1. Service can also turning an addiction. Or a power trip.
    Church or PTA or whatever group, I have known a number of people who serve cheerfully and faithfully while their families go wanting.
    Everything has a line doesn't it, and many times it is hard to know if you've crossed it.

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    1. Yep, co-dependents thrive on service - they need to be needed in order to feel worthy.

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