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, July 6, 2016

Taking Off the Blindfold

From Le Veritable Tarot de Marseille, Justice; from the Greek Alphabet Runes, Psi:
          Though later statues and illustrations of Justice show her with a blindfold, Bursten writes, "In the 15th century a blindfold would have suggested unfairness or ignorance, while the lack of a blindfold on the tarot's Justice shows she is clear-sighted and impartial." Plato considered it one of four virtues, which also included wisdom, temperance and courage. According to the philosopher, Justice depended on the proper interplay of these other three virtues. Deciding what is right and fair isn't always a clear, unambiguous choice, and thus the other virtues help in balancing the scales.
Psi is the Greek letter that stands as a symbol for psychology; it is also the first letter of the Greek word psuche, meaning mind or soul, from which the term 'psyche' arose. If there is one thing that both my degree in psychology and my study of Buddhism have taught me, it is the importance of knowing how the mind works. My mind can convince me of just about anything if I'm not paying attention. When that happens, it can become a noose around my neck, much like the braid of hair Justice has draped from one shoulder to the other.

We think we know our own life, but what we know is only an edited version, colored by our emotions and narrow vision. How close can we come to the original draft? By staring at truth, the soil is warmed, and we begin digging toward the sky. — Gregg Krech

6 comments:

  1. hope your painful bruises are fading and healing

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    1. They are all the shades of a mood ring! :) I think my mind might need more healing than my body.

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  2. And even for an educated mind it is hard to pay attention and be aware what is really going on, on the inside as well as on the outside. Knowledge is one the cornerstones of wisdom and practice is definitely another one :)
    Gentle hugs

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    1. I wonder if education can sometimes be a drawback to actually paying attention; that kind of mind tends to want to analyze instead of just watch! :)

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  3. If you have any secrets or inside information on why our minds or how our minds work, that would bring me some balance.

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    1. My knowledge could only fill a thimble. :) I think my own mind will take a lifetime of study!

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