On Patience

     I often confuse the Seven of Pentacles to be the suit AFTER the Eight of Pentacles. The image of the guy waiting for his coins to be "harvested" here seems apt as the next scene after the slog. Studying its interpretations have just recently trained my mind to think patience— a beginner's patience to be exact. To me, this is a man who has not yet developed his own pace, strengths, and flow but is nonetheless close to his goals and rewards. 

Patience has always been attributed to Earth signs most especially my Sun sign, Virgo. For a long time, however, I was yet to learn how to make it a virtue. Because frankly, I have used patience as a poor substitute for boundaries, honesty and responsibility in many situations. Ha! (I might write more about it one day.) 

What kind of patience is "virtuous" anyways?  I like how the great poet and mystic Rumi recognized that all great undertakings begin with a nothingness, what is not there— a tiny problem. A place to fill. Even boredom or a petty annoyance can be a chance. He also touched on how much man is held back by his attachments to certain results.

Indeed we can argue that the greatest visionaries held on to their visions not because of some sort of deadline or certainty of outcome. 

Perhaps then, true patience in its core, is an active surrender. To see things through with trust in every moment, that if we immerse in what is in front of us it naturally leads to where it must.  

This also seems to coincide with the Seven of Pentacles imagery.

"I’ve said before that every craftsman

searches for what’s not there

to practice his craft.

A builder looks for the rotten hole

where the roof caved in. A water carrier

picks the empty pot. A carpenter

stops at the house with no door.

Workers rush toward some hint

of emptiness, which they then

start to fill. Their hope, though,

is for emptiness, so don’t think

you must avoid it. It contains

what you need!

Dear soul, if you were not friends

with the vast nothing inside,

why would you always be casting your net

into it, and waiting so patiently?

This invisible ocean has given you such abundance,

but still you call it “death,”

that which provides you sustenance and work.

God has allowed some magical reversal to occur,

so that you see the scorpion pit

as an object of desire,

and all the beautiful expanse around it

as dangerous and swarming with snakes.

This is how strange your fear of death

and emptiness is, and how perverse

the attachment to what you want. "

~from ‘Craftsmanship and Emptiness’  by Rumi

Remembering death

The Latin saying, "Memento mori" , translates to 'remember death'. 

When I got this card I asked for an additional message so I intuitively opened a page on a Buddhism book (Dharma text). Boy, did the universe wink again when the paragraph I got talks about the "Law of Karma" ! (for noobs, it's not what we usu. think it is!  Sorryyy😁😉) 

To live  is to die one day. This is the absolute Law. And if the "Justice" inherent in all conditioned, transient things does NOT forget,  it follows that it cannot forget ANYTHING. All that was thought,  all that was spoken,  all that was done. 

The Buddha offered us a threefold way to honor and live with the inevitability of death: think rightly, speak rightly,  do rightly. 

Fully meditating (sitting quietly) on death is something I haven't done enough. But the beauty of this subject is that it is so,  so immediate, powerful and always timely that just reminding yourself you can't stay here forever and you can't do anything about it gives you a shift,  be it cognitively, energetically or otherwise. 

According to the Dharma,  we cannot "act" without our physical body. So our humanness here and now is a special gift, a unique power. May we not let this chance go to waste.

On Uncertainty

     I have only recently appreciated the Queen of Cups and the wider nuances of her energy. Right now I can say that she is the master of Uncertainty. 

Uncertainty is one of my biggest kryptonites. Perhaps only second to being sick and alone. The worldwide "crisis" only amplified it for me. Most days, I am not even certain of what I am uncertain about! Hah! 

Uncertainty leads to stress. Which leads to anxiety which leads to desperation. 

Which can lead to more serious forms of anxiety and depression. It's no joke. So imagine going through this if you are of the neurotic personality? If you naturally possess anxious temperaments? Also for the ones who rely more on logic and intellect? The need to know is so strong that we HAVE TO  look for answers and solutions.

In my experience, it rarely occurred to me that I didn't "have to". That I totally have the choice to not find the answer!

Knowing, or the process of finding answers has always been the only way. It doesn't matter if I am looking for the wrong answers or looking for it in the wrong places. I have to be able to convince myself that "I (will) know". 

The non-acceptance of uncertainty is essentially a resistance. It is a push away; a hardening against that which we perceive as harmful or painful. It is also a closing off from most of life's possibilities. 

Well, it's easy to say accept or (cringe) think positive! But how exactly do we navigate the state of uncertainty?

One of my key takeaways from my favorite teacher @Teal Swan is that we need to "grace negative feelings with unconditional presence". Unconditional. This is NOT waiting until the feelings are better or manageable or acceptable. Only then can we directly face what exactly ABOUT the unknown we fear. 

The Queen of Cups is such a great embodiment of graceful, unconditional presence. She allows her flowy garment to touch the ground and keeps one foot in the water. She does not care for any weapon, adornments or fortresses because she knows she will never be too far from solid ground. She meets the currents of emotions. And she's not afraid to see within because she is the "containment" of all thoughts and feelings.

This feminine energy reminds us of openness and being soft. The states necessary to embrace uncertainty. To her, being with, is a much higher state than being sure. Being sure is an ended-ness. Being sure doesn't truly exist in this universe. 

Because in case we forgot, nothing is certain. There is nothing we can absolutely know and be sure of in this world. This Queen can laugh at the cosmic joke! With empathy of course. :)

Message from the Seven of Cups

            Imagine for a moment that enough-ness is something that can never be taken out from human consciousness. Imagine that no lack in the physical realm can ever put a dent on one's self-esteem. 

To me, if that were the case, then I'm imagining gods!

But then, imagine if even those gods were not immune to feelings of deficiency. What if the unfathomable bounty of this multiverse is irresistible even for powerful beings?  Sounds like we need specially anointed gods! 

In Greek mythology, The Moirai were the three goddesses of fate that insures every man is assigned his own slice of this multiverse and in turn his destiny.

[Their name means "Parts." "Shares" or "Alottted Portions." The individuals were Klotho (Clotho), the "the Spinner," who spun the thread of life, Lakhesis (Lachesis), "the Apportioner of Lots", who measured it, and Atropos (or Aisa), "She who cannot be turned," who cut it short. Zeus Moiragetes, the god of fate, was their leader. https://www.theoi.com/]

In this card we see gold chalices filled with tempting gifts. A closer look reveals that not everything is for his good. Some may lead him to suffering. We also notice how they appeared as if from smoke or clouds. Further suggesting that these could be illusions.

The Seven of Cups gives me a subtle but almost physical distress. On top of that, I couldn't really sympathize with the anonymous man. Maybe I know he brought it upon himself. Maybe I disdain his perceived greed. Maybe his inability to decide mirrors my issues. 

Roland Barthes' in his book "A Lover's Discourse", introduced me to the idea of 'Giver of the Fates'  which helped me reconcile this troubling card to its lesser known but deeper interpretation: the revelation of transcendental spiritual truth(s).

Barthes wrote: "I am not the only one— I am alone in nothing, I have brothers and sisters, I am to share, I must yield to the law of division: are not the goddesses of Destiny also the goddesses of the human Lot, of allotment—the Moirai, the last of whom is the Silent One, Death?"

He goes on: "Further, if I do not accept the partitioning out of love, I deny love's perfection, for it is proper to perfection to be shared......" [Jealousy, p. 145]

Although jealousy, envy and contentment are seldom directly associated to it, Seven of Cups highlights the riches (and truths) that have not yet been discerned, consciously chosen, integrated and alchemized by the seeker. Thus he sees each "treasure" separate from himself, from one another and at that, alluring. He suffers when he shares. A win or lose.There is no oneness. 

From the lens of love, the world is perfect and so it is enough for all beings. The seeker learns that he cannot truly take or give away. He must choose wisely and not fall for any illusion. Us simpler folks may get comfort from the thought that somewhere, there are three goddesses who have already allotted love (or destinies?) to us . Hey, the Greeks knew all along. We can never have it all.

 

Impostor syndrome?

     I never paid much attention to Seven of Swords until today. On a popular Tarot site, the interpretations include impostor syndrome. I also never identified with this phenomenon. But it's time to know more.

Wikipedia says: " Impostor Syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments or talents and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".
..............

The feeling of being a fraud that surfaces in impostor phenomenon is not uncommon. It has been estimated that nearly 70% of individuals will experience signs and symptoms of impostor phenomenon at least once in their life."

I haven't realized until now how many times I have actually FELT that!

My question was purely about me.
The card came off reversed...
So in this context, is the man's grin coming from a successful self-deceit? Or is it the self happily revealing this deceit??

I am rooting for the latter! 😬😛

The Enthusiastic + The Dedicated

  

        When 2019 was ending someone lent me the book Prosperity by Charles Fillmore. I took it from the shelf this week. In the middle of the volume I found this passage: 

" Whatever you form in the mind and have faith in will become substantial. Then you should be on guard as regards (to) what you put your faith in. If it is material forms, shadows that cease to be as soon as your supporting thought is withdrawn from them, you are building temporary substance that will pass away and leave you nothing." (p. 106)

At first it struck me as similar to that of a puritanical notion that striving for anything material/physical is futile and wrong. I wanted to treat the words as an oracle of the day. But my discomfort and curiosity compelled me to ask more. It took a li'l longer to connect the dots with the cards. But as usual when that AHA! moment comes, it's just amuzing (amusing + amazing ! haha). 

Mr Enthusiastic, Page of Wands admires his newfound handsome thing, that thing that he's going for, looks at it with glassy eyes. He holds it up away from his body like a finished creation. Perhaps wishing for others to see how awesome it is and how cool he looks with it. Giving us a representation of the human capriciousness, the need for novelty, and the need for approval. These are shadows that cease to be when "supporting thoughts" are withdrawn. The reversal emphasizes the immaturity and fragility of his desire. Or else a disillusionment from worldly affairs signaling a detour to spirituality.

Mr Dedicated, Eight of Pentacles shows us another way. Not by vilifying the material world but by knowing it intimately. Hunched on his pentacle in pure focus without care if anyone should be around to admire, he labors with commitment and does not stop to count how many has he finished or what else is out there. Here, he is building a substance that do not seem to leave him as they stay up securely placed on a foundation. (Without a supporting thought).

The card combination shows a great example of the "as within so without" rule in regards to prosperity. For no matter how many promising wands come our way, without that which cannot be taken from us, we are bound to go from one shiny thing  after another. A "temporary substance" that leaves us nothing in the end.

Interestingly, it reminds us that a good foundation is built not by merely guarding our faiths but more so through work. Work requires grounding the desired with intention and focus. (Again, the intimate knowing.) And in the process, the man discovers how and where he must put his faith in.

Long ago, I've read a quotation that goes something like: It's not about what you get after reaching your goals but what you become while reaching them. 

Now, that is something you can put your faith in!

The Sun

This card is not my conscious favorite but it never fails to cheer me up. ( I guess all Tarot peeps feel the same). Lately, it's the child on the horse that captures my attention more than the mighty bright sun. I love how he's not even holding onto the animal. I love how open and carefree he looks with his body. Calling me perhaps to channel the energy, optimism and jolliness of a youngster. Times have been rough for me, too. But when I am in this energy state, it is so easy. I become, for lack of a better word, guilty and ashamed that I can choose a world in this vast quantum field where almost anything is silly and I'm supposed to dance and laugh hard and make fun goals just for the heck of it. I loosen my grip to this reality before an imagined but internalized, future doom happens because I was not my "mature", "reliable" self. 

It's interesting how during the course of my own, unmentored shadow work, this child in me has gradually come out as one of my stronger fragments. At least now, I am not impulsively running from it. That's a big relief! I offer it my meditations and amusement with this Major Arcana card.