But I Digress

Daily Draw: Tarot of Druids ~ 4 of Chalices

Cars from the 1950's were roomy. If your family consisted of 6 or 7 people you could all go somewhere together. Squishy but doable, wide bench seats were the standard of the day and we didn't know seat belts from Adam. What made me think of it, was this image and Vacation Bible School. I was probably 7 or 8, and wanted to know what the other kids were doing that raised their hands and then left the room. Those kids always got outside before the rest of us, they also got something. Turns out we were grouped in the back seat of a big black car and one of the teachers was in the front and we all agreed we took Jesus into our hearts, were given a little bible, and then we got out...early release question answered.

This card makes me wonder what they were thinking. It would be a very rare child that would understand what accepting Christ into it's heart as it's savior would mean so whose or what record were they padding? I'm positive it still goes on today, else why all the Summer Sunday School programs? Don't get me wrong, I loved painting the green-ware plaques and singing the familiar songs and being read to and memorizing bible verses for prizes. But it sure didn't mean I knew what becoming a Christian was and the commitment it entails. One thing I'm pretty sure of, adults now know better than to separate out a few kids and put them in the back seat of a private car and spend time alone with them. Johnny Law and common sense says not in today's world.

My real acceptance of the Lord was at 11, in the middle of the night, just me and him...and I knew exactly what I was doing and who I was talking to. I don't believe in organized religions, nor conscripting unformed minds, but I do know where I stand and my faith has never wavered on that subject.

"All of the places of our lives are sanctuaries; some of them just happen to have steeples. And all of the people in our lives are saints; it is just that some of them have day jobs and most will never have feast days named for them." ~ Robert Benson

Collaborations and 900 posts

Daily Draw: Tarot of Druids ~ 2 of Chalices

When I get a new deck I quick journal, noting in a few words what my immediate reaction to each card is. This one brought to mind "one could eat no fat, one could eat no lean". Collaborations can be so rewarding and enriching; joining the strengths of two people who can build on each other's skills as the project moves forward.

I'm reminded by this card that we all have something to teach to someone else, and we can always learn something new if we are agreeable to listening and watching. Viva la us. This is my 900th post on Quirkeries. I couldn't have made it this far without the many minds and skills that have made up all the 120+ decks I've run though my hands and brain here. Thank you deck artists, authors, publishers.

"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." ~ George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

King of Swords Becomes King of Chalices

Daily Draw: Tarot of Druids ~ King of Chalices

I asked my husband once if he loved his father. He thought about it for awhile and said he didn't know, but he respected him for teaching him to work. Here we are many years later living next door until we are no longer needed, and watching his dad lose the unwinnable battle of dementia.

I'm reminded by this card that many people are difficult to love, but behind this gruff and difficult exterior there dwelt a very funny man, generous in his own way, a genius at building what he needed, that I'm very thankful I took the time to get to know before he became someone else. King of Cups and a father who did his best with what he had.

"I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you." ~ Roy Croft 1907-1973

Purify By Ritual

Daily Draw: Tarot of Druids ~ 9 of Chalices

The elder, with his mistletoe staff and olive wood cup ritually pours liquid on fine linen held by two acolyte's. On the stone mastaba nearby lies the golden pruning hook.

I'm reminded by this image of purification processes. We are required by nature to do the big one each day, sleep, which carries away some of the prior day's burden by the time we arise again. Bathing is another form of ritual purification we rarely recognize as such. In the course of our day we leave a trail of invisible ash behind us as we choose which things to let go, and which ones to renew or gather. A constant lifetime process we seldom consider or actively acknowledge.

"Negative action has one good quality: it can be purified." ~ Sogyal Rinpoche 1947-

Another quirky Lo Scarabeo deck this week, Tarot of Druids, 2004, artwork by Antonio Lupatelli and Severino Baraldi. In this pagan based deck, Swords are represented by anguinum, an egg shaped talisman believed to be secreted from snakes.
Chalices are represented by olive wood and the Holy Grail.
Mistletoe represents the wands, it was used as a cure in many rituals.
The disk suit is represented by Excalibur.

Our Allotted Days

Daily Draw: Arcus Arcanum Tarot ~ Death

People come and people go. Fact of life, not to make a pun of it. I see the megaliths bridging the river in the lower right and wonder about Seahenge and Machu Picchu and who lived and dreamed there and did they remember to appreciate life? Because mostly we don't.

I'm reminded by this card that our alloted days are not as grains of sand but fly by all too quickly and then we become the dust for other millenniums to sift and scuff through. For today, I resolve to appreciate all that I have been given. I'm really a most fortunate woman.

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." ~ Voltaire 1694-1778

Foundations

Daily Draw: Arcus Arcanum Tarot ~ 4 of Wands

I wonder how strong, or difficult, the marriages were of the pioneers who settled the lonesome prairies or untamed forests of the American West. Sheer needs must have required 100% teamwork and unity of purpose. Each other was all they had.

I'm reminded by this card of how easy it is to walk from the foundation of commitments so blithely made when all is sunshine and roses. Being here, caring for my in-laws I have a bird's eye view of a 62 year marriage that could only be termed difficult at best. Yet neither gave in or gave up on the other or themselves. Amazing.

"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating -- in work, in play, in love. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life" ~ Anne Morriss

Ouroboros Nearly Complete

Daily Draw: Arcus Arcanum Tarot ~ World

This card sums up the author and artist view of the aim of this deck. The figure holds in her hands the bow or arc for which the deck is named, with the eye in the center now seeing all. The snake is both the lemniscate and ouroboros, the cycle turns yet is complete.

I'm reminded by this card that it won't be long before my current worrisome mission is complete and it will be time to start a fresh cycle with different rhythm and needs. Once a new focus is found the bow and circle cycle can begin again and I can draw strength from past goals achieved.

"Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear." ~ Corrie Ten Boom 1892-1983

Rule of 10's

Daily Draw: Arcus Arcanum 10 of Disks

I recognized fairly early in life that when poor, you pretty much know who is poor with you. But that rich was different, if you were rich there were still a lot of people richer than you. I'm in neither position, but I do have my own guideline. If you are 10 years younger, 10 pounds lighter, or 10 dollars richer than me quityerbitching, you have nothing to complain about.

I'm reminded by this card that where ever or how ever we are there is usually room to move up...the question is if the move will be worth the effort expended to get there.

"Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time." ~ Margaret Wander Bonanno 1950-

Cross Purposes

Daily Draw: Arcus Arcanum Tarot ~ 5 Cups

We once considered taking a partner in to a small side business we had. We really liked this man but because he was a big city boy we had a few reservations about his real understanding of what our business entailed. In the end we turned him down and we've had plenty of opportunity since to say "Thank God".

I'm reminded by this card that getting sidetracked from the real issue by shiny pretty happy things is a recipe for disaster. All issues need to be covered.

"What we've got here is failure to communicate." ~ Strother Martin, Cool Hand Luke 1967

Free White and Twenty-One

Daily Draw: Arcus Arcanum Tarot ~ Fool

Free White and Twenty-One. Now there is a politically incorrect statement in this century. But the premise remains true. Old enough to eat dessert first, old enough to leave a job incomplete, old enough to ignore history and advice. What's weird is this personality is never too old to go back home and sponge.

I'm reminded by this card that being a grown-up isn't about age, it is about accepting responsibility and consequences. I know teenagers that are grown-up and 30-somethings that are irresponsible. I work to walk a line between the two; retain the wonder of youth while accepting the burdens of adulthood as part of the natural course of life events.

"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of." ~ Jim Rohn 1930-

Carry A Big Stick

Daily Draw: Arcus Arcanum Tarot ~ King of Wands

This is a soft spoken gentleman who expects attention. Inattention is rewarded with a painful reminder. Have I ever been hit? Yes. Did I deserve it? Usually. Have I ever hit anyone? Yes. Did it help? Seldom.

I'm reminded by this card of the human instinct to give someone a whack when expectations aren't met. I'm glad I didn't have any kids because hitting is a huge decision for parents and the decision is never perfect, either way. At 50-something I am still on the fence about corporal punishment. I do think there isn't a punishment strong enough for people like Phillip Craig Garrido and Nancy Garrido, or Josef Fritzl, or Wolfgang Priklopil. Isn't it funny the places one tarot card will take you.

"Punishment is now unfashionable... because it creates moral distinctions among men, which, to the democratic mind, are odious. We prefer a meaningless collective guilt to a meaningful individual responsibility." ~ Thomas S. Szasz 1920-

The deck this week is the Arcus Arcanum Tarot, art by Hansrudi Wascher, book and art direction by Gunter Hager. Published by AGM Urania, 1986.

Open Circuit

Daily Draw: Spiral Tarot ~ Magician

Have you ever noticed how many cards in decks have figures in a pose similar to this? One thing it means is 'as above so below', and also illustrates an open receptacle with power and energy having clear passage. It stands out today because yesterday I began researching astrology which is going to be a 2010 project and it was described the same way at it's very basic level.

I'm reminded by this card opportunities for knowledge, fortune, friendship, giving and taking, come our way each day. To reject or receive is always in our own power. It is an option, and why we simply refuse so often is a true conundrum.

"As above, so below." Hermes Trismegistus

Walk On By

Daily Draw: Spiral Tarot ~ 3 of Swords

Forbidden temptations? Bad company?

I'm reminded by this card even if we have the strength to turn our back and walk away, we are after all human and it is ok to feel a moment of sorrow for what is not to be. Better that than a lifetime of grief which is usually the result of choosing that bad for us option.

"When some one sorrow that is yet reparable, gets hold of your mind like a monomania;
When you think, because Heaven has denied you this or that on which you had set your heart, that all your life must be a blank;
oh, then diet yourself well on biography, the biography of good and great men.
See how little a space one sorrow really makes in life. See scarce a page perhaps, given to some grief similar to your own and how triumphantly the life sails on beyond it." ~ Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton 1803-1873

Broken Habits

Daily Draw: Spiral Tarot ~ Strength

Bad habits? Heavens yes, I have plenty. The image today represents having the strength to subdue the worst ones.

I'm reminded by this card that my temper makes me ugly on the inside and my mindless snacking makes me ugly on the outside. I work on both behaviors daily, I wonder if we ever can say we've successfully broken a habit?

"Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones." ~ Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790

Make Haste

Daily Draw: Spiral Tarot ~ 8 of Wands

What an evocative image, it shows so clearly what Waite's original doesn't, speed. I did a search of my blog for other 8 of Wands images and they run the gamut, Waite's conception of the wands can be seen in the December 3, 2007 post about half way down the linked page.

I'm reminded by that group of images that we each have a different idea of speed or hurry. I'm a darter when something needs doing. I often run smack into the back of someone who is moseying along. I'm glad I finally accepted that as long as the job is getting done it isn't my concern how quickly someone is doing it.

"If you must be in a hurry, then let it be according to the old adage, and hasten slowly." Saint Vincent de Paul 1580-1660

Living Life

Daily Draw: Spiral Tarot ~ World

The Wheel, 10 of Swords, Death, The Tower, The World card...all speak of the life cycle. Something ends, something begins. Sometimes the transition is traumatic, other times filled with shining joy.

I'm reminded by this card as long as I'm learning and growing I'm vibrantly alive and ready for whatever life brings me. When I quit seeking it will be time to go.

"It is better to spend one day contemplating the birth and death of all things than a hundred years never contemplating beginnings and endings." ~ Buddha Gautama Siddhartha 563-483 BC

Jesters Little Joke

Daily Draw: Spiral Tarot ~ 2 of Pentacles

Ever spent money foolishly? What's done is done but the older I get the more painful those memories are. I wish I'd had as many good financial ideas as there were bad ones.

I'm reminded by this card that time and money are much the same...the less we have the more we want; the more we have the less we value it.

"Doubt, the essential preliminary of all improvement and discovery, must accompany the stages of man's onward progress. The faculty of doubting and questioning, without which those of comparison and judgment would be useless, is itself a divine prerogative of the reason." ~ Albert Pike 1809-1891

What Can I Do?

Daily Draw: Spiral Tarot ~ Emperor

Unbending arrogance. Has there ever been a leader who actually made lasting change for good? I doubt it; change happens in spite of leaders, there are too many broken and frozen cogs in the wheel they are trying to turn.

I'm reminded by this card there is some hope for our world, if it's citizens wake up in time. What can I do, I'm only one person is the only thing that will save us in the long view. Together, all our ones become millions and billions.

"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity." ~ Richard M. Nixon 1913-1994

Which Came First?

Daily Draw: Spiral Tarot ~ Star

Star's water carafes hold renewal, redemption, release. I've been thinking about these vessels this morning and their relation to my past. In hindsight I can see each move I've made, either across town or across state lines has resulted in renewal for me. The question is has something in me triggered the desire to move, or has the move triggered recognition of the need to change?

I'm reminded by this card to nurture renewal, be thankful for redemption, accept release for the gift it is.

"Seeking to forget makes exile all the longer; the secret of redemption lies in remembrance." ~ Richard von Weizsaecker 1920-

The deck this week is a beauty, book and card art by Kay Steventon. Her first Tarot deck and book, 'The Spiral Tarot', was published in 1998, US Games Systems. Kay is based in Australia, and often lectures and teaches there. The Spiral is based on archetypes from Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Arthurian myths, and includes the symbols from the Kabbalah's Tree Of Life.

Rationalizing

Daily Draw: Celtic Messages Oracle ~ Sulis

A Helper card today, just what the doctor ordered. As more and more of my time is spent with my FIL while his body weakens and his dementia grows I have less me time and I'm not allotting it very well. The two things my mind and body need are quilting and yoga. I'm not doing either, I don't have the energy. And all my card draws this week have been trying to tell me to straighten up and fly right.

I'm reminded by the seeing eye in this card that it doesn't matter if I rationalize why I'm not doing something, my small still voice says it's a load of cods wallop, I do have the time to do what I need most. Even as we speak I can feel me squashing that voice. What an idiot.

"The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience." ~ Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948

Bridge To Honesty

Daily Draw: Celtic Messages Oracle ~ Brooch

Another tool, cool beans. I have an allergy to nickle but I love bling so the only costume jewelry I wear is brooches. And I've got a bundle, mostly rhinestone encrusted, mostly from the 1940's-1960's.

I'm reminded by this card that indeed, when we want to do something enough, we will build a bridge to that reality. And converse to that regardless of how we may give lip service to something important, we will manage to never find the time and energy if in our heart we can't be bothered.

"Do not judge from mere appearances; for the lift of laughter that bubbles on the lip often mantles over the depths of sadness, and the serious look may be the sober veil that covers a divine peace and joy. The bosom can ache beneath diamond brooches; and many a blithe heart dances under coarse wool." ~ Edwin Hubbel Chapin 1814-1880

Rock Soup

Daily Draw: Celtic Messages Oracle ~ Cauldron

Another tool. I like tools and totems best in this deck, perhaps because that is what I need right now. This tool is similar to the Empress in a tarot deck.

I'm reminded by this cauldron of the stock pot that used to reside on the back of wood stoves and all the scraps that went into it. No matter how hard the times the stock pot could be pulled forward and provide a hearty and nourishing soup/stew meal. Even Rock Soup will feed if you are genuinely hungry.

"Nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest.The blessing is in the seed." ~ Muriel Rukeyser 1913-1980

Refilling The Well

Daily Draw: Celtic Messages Oracle ~ The Spring

In one of her books Julia Cameron suggests we welcome fallow time rather than despair the lagging interest. I have found she is right, our brain doesn't stop working, it mumbles on in the background, stashing ideas, hoarding mental tidbits. When we get back to whatever it is we've taken a break from, there they are, creative brainbombs we didn't even know existed.

I'm reminded by this card that burn-out, even concerning areas of our life we love and enjoy is a very real experience. If we never stop to refuel our mental, spiritual, and physical engines our creative output becomes bland and same-same. Rather than dread down time I've learned to sit back and look forward to the day my brain and enthusiasm kicks back in to see what will be birthed.

Unraveling

Daily Draw: Celtic Messages Oracle ~ Loom

Another card from the tool group, suggesting I change up my life, weave a tighter skill set, brighten up, review my patterns for useful and wasteful habits.

I'm reminded by this card that is always good advice. I can get lazy fast, and inattention to my main task now could cost someone their life. Time to keep my shuttles in good repair.

"He who is false to the present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and you will see the effect when the weaving of a life-time is unraveled." ~ William Ellery Channing 1780-1842

I Can

Daily Draw: Celtic Messages Oracle ~ Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a tool card, health and healing, mental physical and spiritual. I'm in a place right now where my spiritual side must carry the mental and physical part of me. That is ok, mental and physical have both done their share in the past and will again in the future.
I've been carrying along a small book by Robert Llewelyn A Doorway To Silence, The Contemplative Use Of The Rosary. I'm not Catholic but Mr. Llewelyn offers everyone the option to use the beads in their own mediation and says even the intent to pray is prayer. I find comfort in that when all I want to do is pray for, rather than pray to.

I'm reminded by this card of our many sides and how we can pull strength from a lot of areas when we need it. We are marvelous machines and I can't shouldn't even be part of our language.

The deck I've chosen this week is the oracle Celtic Messages by Joules Taylor, published by Cico Books London, 2007. Full color 64 page book. The Borders edition also include a 32 page book 'Color your own Celtic Mandala', designs by Melissa Launay. Joules had nothing to do with that book, it was a publisher thing; and there are some less than Celtic images in it.

The 52 cards represent the four main aspects of Celtic culture: Places, Helpers, Tools, and Totems. The cards are round, four inches across.

Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Spirit World ~ 6 of Swords

I wish I knew what the percentage of lovelorn readings are for full time professional readers. From my personal observations as a dilettante reader folks looking for love make up the bulk. Will he call, why didn't she respond to my text, does he talk about me to anyone else, what will be the result of our date tonight...

I'm reminded by this card what someone else thinks of us is immaterial. Love may make the world go around but self-love and self-respect have to come first before we can freely give love away or accept it from someone else.

"I've spent a lifetime looking for you
Single bars and good time lovers, never true
Playing a fools game, hoping to win
Telling those sweet lies and losing again." ~ Wanda Mallette, Patti Ryan, Bob Morrison

Listen To Me Slowly

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Spirit World ~ Knave of Wands

If we can get past memorized keywords this deck has much to teach. A keyword reader might see this as foreign travel or good news in a relationship. They would miss entirely that Wands in this deck are spirits of fear and passion, obsessions and faults. This knave hears only what he wants to hear, disregards advice and rules. On the plus side (because I do the same) he marches to his own tune which often puts him at odds with fellow life travelers.

I'm reminded by this card of a program I saw years ago on PBS. It was advice about better communication in marriages. He said "after you tell your partner something ask them to immediately repeat back what they just heard". I've done this a number of times and believe me, what goes in is not what comes out. We have the bad habit of being so busy formulating our answer, or defense, we don't have the time to hear the question.

"Gentlemen, listen to me slowly." ~ Samuel Goldwyn 1882-1974

Ancestors, more than a family tree

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Spirit World ~ 7 of Pentacles

Pents are the spirits of ancestors in this deck, and 7 is watching and waiting for what has been planted to mature.
Grama Ruth taught me being poor has nothing to do with having enough.
Grampa Woods taught me to fix rather than replace.
Grama Pearl taught me the history of family.
Mrs. Camp taught me to read and tie my shoes.
Mrs. Pratt tried to teach me piano.
Aunt Marilyn was my first best friend.
Aunt Dolly was my model for teenager and young adult.
Aunt Gloria taught me that each parent has a different method.
Mother taught me the paint job on the back of the fence is just as important as the paint job the public sees.
Father showed me doing something you love brings a peaceful heart.
Together they showed me what a happy marriage was.

I'm reminded by this card everyone we've interacted with has planted some kind of seed of knowledge in us, and how we live our life is a daily choice. Namaste, ghosts of the past.

"Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors." ~ Jonas Salk 1914-1995

Final Directive

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Spirit World ~ World

Do you have strong wishes about your end of life care and what you want done with your body when you are finished with it? Does anyone else know? Does anyone else take your wishes seriously? I look at this card and I see final wishes going in one ear and out the other.

I'm reminded by this card that once we lose control of a situation we have no say at all. That is a hard nut for me to swallow but I've seen family directly countermand the wishes of the dying or deceased a number of times. One cynical way around it is to preplan and prepay the funeral. When family has to pay out of their own pocket in order to get their own way, our way is suddenly a lot more palatable. Money talks, bull walks.

"The first funeral for Andrew Goodman was at night and it was a lot of work. To begin with they had to kill him." ~ Jimmy Breslin 1929-

My Mood Makes The Weather

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Spirit World ~ Fool

How old do you have to be before you no longer say "Oh rats, I should have...when I thought about it"? Or until to the core you quit believing what any weather forecaster has to say, ever? Now there is a Fool's job. My Rob says he wants to be a tv weatherman when he grows up. Great duds, warm dry working conditions, good salary, room for advancement, short working hours, and you never ever have to answer for wrong forecasts. The Fools watching just keep bellying up for more Foolishness.

I'm reminded by this card that until I've walked a mile in a weather forecaster's shoes I shouldn't be casting Foolish aspersions. But crimeanitly...how do they get away with it?

"Sometimes I wish that I was the weather, you'd bring me up in conversation forever. And when it rained, I'd be the talk of the day." ~ John Mayer 1977-