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, March 11, 2015

True Form, True Voice

From the Japaridze Tarot, the Stranger (Knight) of Tides (Cups); from the Holitzka I Ching, hexagram 40 "Liberation:"
          The "Stranger" title for the Knight made me think of the phrase "don't be a stranger" often said to someone who's popped in for a visit as they leave. I suppose this fits the knights who are always coming and going on some quest. But this particular knight is made up of a bizarre arrangement of items. The booklet suggests someone able to change in order to emotionally influence or manipulate another person. It made me think of people-pleasers who attempt to become whatever you want them to be. Except what you actually get is a person who is dishonest, and I imagine filled with hidden resentments.
          The I Ching figure looks like me on the first days of spring as I open myself to the warmth and beauty of the season. It does feel liberating after months of cold, gray days. But the hexagram offers a caution: let go of rigid attitudes and worn-out behavioral patterns to allow for growth. I need to speak my mind (respectfully), whether it makes other folks uncomfortable or not. Yet I need to allow others the freedom to do the same without taking it personally.

7 comments:

  1. My experience of these two cards is instinctively somatic. I feel the first card as contraction, the body bent over, pleated in the middle and then suddenly released and flung open in the second card with the image of an offering to Spring. If I had drawn these two cards I think I'd likely spend some time seeing how the dance of those two body mudras feels and in particular watching the trajectory of my breath in them.

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    1. The contraction and expansion is a interesting take on these cards. It reminded me how stress makes me breathe shallowly instead of deeply. Food for thought (and food for action)!

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    2. I certainly relate to your very timely post here Bev, as I came across this very kind of person, and I found myself having to deal with this exact situation.
      Thank God I've let go of expecting behaviour from 'crazy makers' that they either won't or can't give what you expect.
      Feels good to be free of that shit!

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    3. And I suppose my part in this type of relationship is to check my expectations at the door. :)

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    4. I agree! In particularly the unrealistic expectations I would add.

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  2. Oh, I do love the expansive feel of that hexagram. In comparision, the Knight makes me think of the expression "bending over backwards" for others. There's only so far anyone can bend before they break or fall over. The more expansive you can be, the further you can bend, but it's still not infinite...

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  3. Oh thanks for the "bending over backwards" insight - that reminds me of bending a wire back and forth until it breaks. Good analogy!

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