Hate Or Hone

Daily Draw: Mythic Tarot ~ 4 of Coins

Daedalus is overcome by jealousy; his work, while perfectly adequate, is no match for the creative genius of his nephew Talos.

I'm reminded by this card everything we have, everything we do, is outdone at some point by someone more gifted. How we deal with this fact of life is our gift to our self. We can quit, hate, or hone.

"Talos fell, twisting and turning like a starfish. He fell so slowly through the air, it seemed to Daedalus he was falling forever, that he was never going to land. Then the ground came to meet Talos."

Born Every Minute

Daily Draw: Mythic Tarot ~ Fool

This deck has been in continuous print since 1986 and according to the publisher Simon and Schuster, millions have been printed in that time. A few years ago the deck was reissued with a new artist. Same illustrations, just professionally arted  up.

I'm reminded by this card completed listings on Ebay are showing sold listings ended as high as 99.00-144.00 for this deck set in the last two weeks. They are (fools) born every minute.

"What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet." ~ Woody Allen 1935-

Dark Side Of The Moon

Daily Draw: Mythic Tarot ~ Queen of Swords

Atalanta the Huntress, talented, tough, articulate, whose unrealistic expectations bred continual disappointment in spouse material.

I'm reminded by this card, it is part of the human condition.
We are surprised when the fuel tank runs dry.
Where did all the milk eggs and bread go? Again.
When did the lawn get so long?
No one ever remembers a birthday. Again.
Cold comfort, we are all in the same boat...Our brain spends too much time on the dark side of the moon.

"Coffee has given me unrealistic expectations of productivity"

It's My Life

Daily Draw: Mythic Tarot ~ 3 of Cups

The marriage of Eros and Psyche. The end of initial courtship (does anyone court anyone anymore or do they just send selfies and likes back and forth?) the real beginning of real life with a partner.

I would hazard a guess at this point there are more couples choosing living together over marriage. I get that, we all need someone in our life. What I don't get is having children, buying houses, entering contracts. It seems like a logistics nightmare to me. I'm reminded by this card there are a lot of things I don't understand, all of it none of my business.

"Why don't you mind your own business, ma'am?" ~ Charles Dickens 1812-1870  Hard Times

At Will And Whim

Daily Draw: Mythic Tarot ~ 5 of Wands

Fives are generally about instability, insecurity, struggles. Here Jason, with Medea, who gave up everything for him, battle the dragon for the golden fleece, which was held by Medea's father King Aeetes.

Convoluted story, but my problem is with the fleece. The original owner's task was to fly two children to safety. For thanks it was slewn, shorn, and sacrificed to Zeus, it's golden coat was hung in a tree and many murders followed. I'm reminded by this card, how can stability ever be achieved with wholesale conscription of someone else's goods at will and whim, and no regard for anyone's costs? An excuse can always be found to take...

"Conscription is the vitality of a nation, the purification of its morality, and the real foundations of all its habits." ~ Napoleon Bonaparte 1769-1821 Political Aphorisms 1848

The deck this week is the Mythic Tarot original edition 1986, art by Tricia Newell, book by Juliet Sharman Burke and Liz Greene. Published by Eddison/Sadd

Nothing Breeds Nothing

Daily Draw: Native American Tarot ~ Hanged Man

The World Tree, with it's circles of succeeding generations, births and deaths, triumphs and failures.

I'm reminded by this card, and the Canadian First Nations ongoing efforts, change only happens when people are willing to stand up and work for it. Nothing happens when nothing happens.

"I know all must be brought into the Sacred Hoop for it to be mended.
I often wonder how we will bring those who do not see
even the simplest of circles into the greatest circle of all." ~ Gary Night Owl  Wotanging Ikche

Vote To Relax

Daily Draw: Native American Tarot ~ 4 of Swords

I'm reading a book right now because it got a bad review. I read the bad reviews, I think they have more truth in them, and they are invariably shorter.

I'm reminded by this card of Mathias, Cluny, Constance, and Basil Stag Hare; in a good tale size doesn't matter.

" '...there's me, Gurth, Dotti, Grenn, an' about a hunnerd shrews. If'n we wants to lie 'round for a day or two then you'll find yore prob'ly out voted.'
'Let's be reasonable about this, friend. Let me explain the rules. One Badger carries two hundred votes and his sword carries another hundred, Agreed?'
Ruff looked from the sword to the badger. He smiled nervously at his huge friend. 'Reason, that's wot I likes, mate. Vote carried. We go after brekkist tomarrer!'" ~ Brian Jacques 1939-2011 Lord Brocktree

Booga Booga

Daily Draw: Native American Tarot ~ 8 of Swords

Swords are air, suit of thought, soul, expansion, often via the school of hard knocks, learning by doing. This card, rather than the standard, tied by our own actions, offers the next step, untying and releasing what we need to let go of, even when we cling to it as the known, vs. the unknown, a possibly bigger worse boogeyman.

Will we ever learn to accept we are the boogeyman?

"Open your fists, and let go of the coals." ~ David James Duncan 1952-  The Brothers K

Extended Family

Daily Draw: Native American Tarot ~ Temperance

This card reflects the Hunkapi ceremony in which other tribes or nations become family rather than opponents, competitors, or general pains in the backside.

I'm reminded by this card, the other person, tribe, nation, has to want peace and brotherhood before Hunkapi can work.

"You basic extended family today includes your ex-husband or wife, you ex's new mate, your new mate, possibly your new mate's ex and any new mate that your new mate's ex has acquired." ~ Delia Ephron 1944-

They Took The Children

Daily Draw: Native American Tarot ~ Hierophant

Here in the Pacific Northwest, what the white man did to the native residents was far worse than the slaughters for land in the East and Midwest. They took the children.
They took them forcibly,  put them in schools far away, took their names and language away from them, tried to erase their very remembered heritage.

Enlightened white men. What can I say? I can only grieve for a past I cannot change.

"Enlightened people seldom possess a sense of responsibility." ~ George Orwell 1903-1950

I Wonder

Daily Draw: Native American Tarot ~ 9 of Cups

Did you know birds can see ultraviolet? It is part of finding that perfect mate and aids in food finding. In many species where male and female are very similar they will have specific ultraviolet markings attractive to the opposite sex.

I'm reminded by this card to wonder, as I often do, why Rob chose me in the garden of love.

"Like ultraviolet rays, memory shows to each man a script that invisibly glosses the text." ~ Walter Benjamin 1892-1940

Cleanse

Daily Draw: Native American Tarot ~ 5 of Coins

Smudging with cedar or sweet grass can be a way to rid ourselves of something we can't throw away physically. I had this house smudged about six months after we moved in.
In this image the smudge stick has become a Fire Dance, done at full moon and a powerful banisher because the intent is accomplished to the accompaniment of so much physical effort.

I'm reminded by this 5 of Coins being financially poor is far from the only hardships the standard (two ragged figures huddled in snow) 5 of Coins portrays. Broken spirit, broken health, broken heart are forms of  personal impoverishment.

"You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand." ~ Woodrow T. Wilson 1856-1924

The deck this week is Native American Tarot, art by Sergio Tisselli, published 2004 by Lo Scarabeo

Master Plan

Daily Draw: Moon Hare Oracle ~ Hare of Endings

The release of old ways, old patterns.

I seem to have grown a litany; 'it's on my master plan'.
I even have a lot of it on a list.
'On a list' ensures it will get done. In a timely manner. Right?
If the moon is just right, if I hold my head just so,
if Rob is here and mother is not
this sweeping life with a  new broom will be accomplished.

"It is the litany of uncertainty this year." ~ Carl R. Tannenbaum 1960-

Who Would?

Daily Draw: Moon Hare Oracle ~ Corn Mother Hare

This card asks us to ground ourselves, in reality.
I live the reality.
I'd prefer some light fantasy myself.
Or a lot of fantasy.
Or anywhere but here...

But then who would care for my little bantys?
Who would pick beet leaves for the goats?
Who would mow my beautiful lawn in a Baptist Fan pattern?

"I'm happy to be here. I am. I am.
I'm the happiest slave of the Firm, I am.
I love this work. I love these chores.

I love my job, I'll say it again, I even love those friendly men.
Those friendly men who've come today,
in clean white coats to take me away..." ~ Dr. Seuss

Potential

Daily Draw: Moon Hare Oracle ~ Spirit Hare

This card asks us to live up to our potential.

I know I'm not, but did I ever?

"A sobering thought: what if this is my full potential?" ~ Jane Wagner 1935-

Make My Own Path

Daily Draw: Moon Hare Oracle ~ Many Choices Hare

Elusive. Clear. Dark. Right. Wrong. There are many paths, ones we can see, ones we can't, those we won't, those we will.

I'm reminded by this card, for all the plans we make, the goals we work toward, the spontaneity bits we choose...life is still pretty much a crap shoot isn't it?  Where our feet are this day is all that truly matters; sometimes we have to make our path as we go.

"Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence." ~ Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862

Who Ducts We Ducts

Daily Draw: Moon Hare Oracle ~ New Beginnings Hare

You know one of the new beginnings I'm most excited about? I'm having our heat ducts cleaned October first. Our home is forty-two years old and to my knowledge this will be the first time.

I'm reminded by this card New Beginnings can cover a lot of territory without even leaving the house...we will soon know if duct cleaning is a case of the emperor's new clothes.
I may even have a whip-round with the dust cloth October second.

"The fly sat upon the axle-tree of the chariot wheel and said, 'What a dust do I raise!'" ~ Aesop 620 BC-564 BC

Micro Macro

Daily Draw: Moon Hare Oracle ~ Second Sight Hare

This hare reminds us to stand up, step back, see the wider view.
Living in a microcosm with mother it is often difficult to recognize or remember we are still part of the macrocosm.
It is hard to work up any sympathy or dismay when brother is bombing brother.
I don't seem to have the oomph to organize health insurance starting in September, let alone the rest of my life.
I have't dusted furniture since December, why bother when it just comes back.
What I do seem to have is the time to weep as I go around the business of the day.
I grieve the loss of my little sister, and not at all the loss of a mother who knows or cares nothing of either one of us.
Do I really dare step back and take in the world?
I think not. Today, here, is all I can manage for now.

The deck this week is the Moon Hare Oracle by Hannah Willow

Joint Adventures

Daily Draw: Blum Rune Cards ~ Ehwaz

New beginnings. Travel. Excitement. Joint adventures.

Rob retires in a few weeks. Having him home rather than two or three states away or in the next country will be such a novelty, I can hardly wait.

"Retirement: It's nice to get out of the rat race, but you have to learn to get along with less cheese. ~ Gene Perret

Roll Off

Daily Draw: Blum Rune Deck ~ Algiz

Defense. Rune of the Elk.
That beast on the card looks more like an moose to me. Or is it?

If I know I've made a mistake, why go on defending my stance? To what purpose? Better to walk in the light, let wrong roll off my shoulders and out of my life.

"We may imagine we are impartial seekers after truth, but we are influenced by our personal bias and we give our best thoughts to those ideas we feel the need to defend." ~ August Krogh 1874-1949

Better Faster

Daily Draw: Blum Rune Cards ~ Ansuz

There was a time, the year I studied runes, I could have read this envelope. I could have written your name and my name. I wonder where all that knowledge goes when we forget.

I'm reminded by this card I wonder why it is humans can only seem to get up to about 10% of their learning capacity? We can see the results of adding our innate stupidity and love for damaging our neighbor to greater knowledge on how to do it better, faster.

"Here I am; my brain is open." ~ Paul Erdos 1913-1996
As an itinerant scholar, this was the greeting Erdos often gave when meeting a colleague.

So Right So Wrong

Daily Draw: Blum Rune Deck ~ Blank

Ralph Blum was a cultural anthropologist whose Book Of Runes was published in 1977. For whatever reason, right time and right place maybe, it caught fire with the public and has been in continuous print for thirty-seven years.

I'm reminded by this card of the Blank Rune. Blum's invention and the main reason his books have been a source of derision for thirty-seven years. Why some things can feel or be so right and so wrong at the same time. Why we can take the best and leave the rest in this life.

"Let our recreations be innocent and pursued with moderation; and never let us suffer irregular indulgences to expose our character to derision and contempt." ~ The Ancient Charge, Free Masonry and its Symbols

Rats Fleeing The Ship

Daily Draw: Blum Rune Cards ~ Othila

Can you make sense of this figure's muffled mouth? In association with Othila which bluntly means inheritance?

I'm reminded by this card, when the family is already dysfunctional (but aren't they all?) it is fun to see some true colors come out when money inheritance is involved. And when none is involved. Seeing the rats fleeing the ship...A comfy chair and a bowl of popcorn are the only requirements for this show.

"They could bear complacently the death of their father, while the loss of their inheritance would drive them to despair." ~ Niccolo Machiavelli 1469-1527

Quivering

Daily Draw: Blum Rune Cards ~ Ingaz

The seed is planted, the die is cast, progress and fruition or failure can only follow.

I'm reminded by this card how often we work our brains out to achieve a goal, and how, just as often we arrive at a goal not even realizing we wanted or needed it. That undermind working, far more efficiently than the uppermind. I wonder if I can dredge up something from the under murk today, something to give the ones on the top a rest. They need it, poor little quivering ideas...

"Undecided, undefined
Undisturbed yet undermined
Relocated not retired
Reprimanded and rewind
Mystified and misshapen
Misinformed but not mistaken" ~ Undermined 2003 Phish

Maelstrom: Cluttered Mind Cluttered Heart

Daily Draw: Blum Rune Deck ~ Fehu

This rune is all about ownership. What we paid to own something and what it costs to keep it. That is the side we give little thought to. In this climate of acquisition we just keep getting a bigger house. Or storage unit. Or units. Drive down any side street in America on a sunny day. The garage doors are open and we see the reason their expensive cars are never put away. The view is akin to looking down into the maelstrom of a childs toy box.

I'm reminded by this card, I'm thankful for FlyLady every darn day. Because I eliminated a cluttered mind along with all the gimcracks, tchotchkes, geegaws; all the gotta keep becauses and in case ofs, all the do it because everyone else does, all the chains that bind us every minute of our lives. What remains is me.

"The point isn't pristine, but functioning. Start where you are." ~ Marla Cilley 1956-

Treasures

Daily Draw: Creatrix Cards ~ Found Treasure

needle and thread
forest and tree
calm water
chickens and koi
ocean sound and air
bicycle sound and air
yoga
computer
Rob and home
morning coffee
bed and sleep
page and words
decks
ability to reason
ticking clock

Think of all the things you didn't know, then found, then treasured.

Fingertips

Daily Draw: Creatrix Cards ~ Mending The Web

I recently learned spider webs have been used since ancient times as a binding for cuts and is said to aid in reducing scars. Who knew?

I'm reminded by this card, in an era when our technology makes everyone a genius, there is much we don't know about the real world beyond the reach of our fingertips.

"Most of our so called reasoning consists in finding arguments for going on believing as we already do." ~ James Harvey Robinson 1863-1936

When I Can't Be Here

Daily Draw: Creatrix Cards ~ Free Spirit

From the Invocation suit, achieving Free Spirit. Mental, physical, and spiritual freedom are moving targets, difficult to hold, impossible to achieve full time.

I'm reminded by this card on film they are portrayed as (usually tiny blondes) off kilter, slightly mad, someone unaffected by sorrow or worry or doubt. I'd rather live in the real world, where those occasional Free Spirit days when all is right in our world are to be savored in the moment, and again and again in memory. That is where I go, when I can't be here.

"That zone of time and space, free from outside pressures, which is the incinerator of the spirit." ~ Marya Mannes 1904-1990

Small Things

Daily Draw: Creatrix Cards ~ Rejuvenation

Monday night after mother went to bed we went up Kalama River Road and Rob got some fly casting in. I set on a big grey rock that felt like eternity and just listened to the river.

I'm reminded by this card to remember the small things. They make up our life.

He who hears the rippling of rivers in these degenerate days will not utterly despair." ~ Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862

Breathing Into It

Daily Draw: Creatrix Cards ~ Sacred Space

I don't know why it became so, probably because I needed one so badly and it was near, but my physical scared space is my farm pond.

I'm reminded by this card that in the course of doing yoga these many years I've learned I can make sacred space anywhere anytime by simply consciously slowly deep breathing. I can also damp down pain by breathing into rather than bracing against it.

"We too should make ourselves empty, that the great soul of the universe may fill us with its breath." ~ Laurence Binyon 1869-1943