Tag: transformation

snipers

The perpendicularity of numbers and the washing of rice

If I were a snowflake where would I fall?

It’s like totally fulfilled and totally unfulfilled at the same time

It’s like croutons on Raisin Bran it make no sense that’s too much fiber

It’s like saving the last dance for the one who will never show up, it’s pointless

It’s like sharpening a pencil that already sharp, it’s wasted

It’s like finding the crayon after finishing the whole picture after looking for soo sooo long, it’s just a big fucking heartbreak

How do you kill my heart?

One bullet at a time baby.

At this point in my mind there is a man asking me for substance

At this point in my mind there is a woman screaming for the truth

A this point in my mind there is a whole religion forming

At this point in my mind

Life is unnecessary

At the point of a bullet not yet fired in a gun not yet made mama

At this point in my mind there is a sliver of hope, that my young parts cling to for dear life

At this point I find that sliver and name it, and give it a voice and a purpose but I’ve forgotten my own

At this point I give in and quit

And at the same time release the pain of the past

And start a new life full of hope and reason

At this point in my life I dismantle the gun and smelt it down to a heart shaped monument to the truth

To beauty

To hope

To hopeful reality

At this point a breath

And the agony of fear

That I might slip again and lose it all

To the sniper

At this point

In my life.

14- Temperance

This article is part of a series of posts that will compare each card in the Tarot across different decks in order to study and explore each archetype and concept more deeply. This is not necessarily meant to be a teaching tool for others, but if you like to study the Tarot as much as I do, I hope you find it interesting. Enjoy!

For more on the decks referenced here please see this page in my blog: Tools of the Locksmith https://wordpress.com/page/theramblinglocksmith.com/163

A major reference for this study was “Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom” by Rachel Pollack.

Temperance

The word temperance at its Latin root means to mix or combine. In the tarot temperance is referring to the ability to mix elements of life, personality, inner and outer elements so that there is flow. We all have a tendency to fragment our worlds into parts, but each part individually does not make up our true authentic self. When we reach Temperance we are asked to consider how it would look to integrate these parts instead and experience living inside your true whole self.

If we are able to mix these worlds and elements we are able to use each part as we need to in moderation depending on what situation arises. This produces a sense of harmony and peace which is the true goal of the card. How do you mix different elements of your life – both internal and external worlds – to create that sense of harmony, and to also enable you to manage obstacles and problem solve in creative ways?

The elements of Rider-Waite have keys to what unlocks our own ability to live our life with the flow of temperance below, but the cards from the decks that follow dive even deeper and have beautifully varied concepts of this. I hope you enjoy this walk through all the threads around Temperance with me.

Standard images from Rider-Waite in the card include:

  • One cup of water flowing into another cup of water representing all the elements of life flowing together. The lower cup is not directly below the upper cup showing a magical flow between the two cups that defies gravity
  • An angel standing with one foot on land and one foot in water representing the ability to stand in the unconscious and the “real world” at the same time and the ability to link the two realms.
  • Sunshine in the background and the halo of light around the angels head represent finding this “medicine” after coming through the Death card which precedes this one and releasing the “ego” through that fearful experience.
  • There is a rainbow that stands for a sign of peace after a storm, reminding us that this new understanding has come after some hard work or potential hardships

The Tarot of the Divine chooses to use the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is the Bodhisattva of Compassion whose goal is to liberate all creatures from suffering. Avelokiteshvara was able to move between genders, ages, and shapes in order to provide the perfect combination of forms for each situation.

When you look at this card, does it allow you to reflect on all of the different forms you are maintaining, and weather they flow together, or if you maintain separate faces throughout the day? How can you blend elements of your authentic self with each one to be more present?

In the Sufi Tarot the card for temperance is given the Arabic word “sabr” which translates more or less to patience and even more so total surrender to the present moment. Its a form of acceptance that connects us directly to our own spirit. Practicing sabr teaches us to blend dualities and bring together that which may seem disparate. There is a Sufi saying that “God is to be found where opposites meet.”

What about yourself do you need to accept in order to be more present and for the parts of yourself to become less separate? What would it mean to surrender to this version of yourself and what prevents you from doing so?

The Brady Tarot calls out Temperance as medicine by showing two snakes entwined around a tree forming the caduceus symbol where one snake is touching its tail to land, and one to water. The two energies are being combined to create new growth for the tree. The Raven (dark unconscious life energy) and the Eagle (light and higher consciousness) are also in balance above the willow tree.

What energies or aspects of yourself that you currently keep separate would create new growth for you if you were able to use them at the same time or balance them?

The Voyager Tarot has one of my favorite words for Temperance – Art! Art is medicine, and the creation of medicine is art. In it we see many versions of different processes being used to dissolve old forms and recombining them into something else.

One of my favorite ways to envision this is through cooking especially for family. Individual components are cut up and changed through heat into new delicious forms.

What can you combine to form new artistic medicine? What creative opportunities can you see if you could take two separate pieces of yourself and combine them?

The Afro Brazilian Tarot uses the Orixa of the rainbow – Oxumare. Its the medicine you learn when you come through a major cycle or ending that brings a new strength to your life because you were able to learn something important about integration during that cycle.

What cycle have you recently been through that forced you or allowed you to shed a separation and surrender or learn how to be more whole? How can you use that intentionally as a new strength?

The New Era Elements Tarot portrays Temperance by showing a young Indian man offering water to the sun as part of his morning bathing ritual. Its a morning rite practiced by Hindus for thousands of years which focuses on the elemental marriage between fire and water allowing the devotee to start the day with a profound sense of equilibrium.

Is there a daily ritual that you practice that can help you find equilibrium on a regular basis?

13- Death

This article is part of a series of posts that will compare each card in the Tarot across different decks in order to study and explore each archetype and concept more deeply. This is not necessarily meant to be a teaching tool for others, but if you like to study the Tarot as much as I do, I hope you find it interesting. Enjoy!

For more on the decks referenced here please see this page in my blog: Tools of the Locksmith https://wordpress.com/page/theramblinglocksmith.com/163

A major reference for this study was “Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom” by Rachel Pollack.

Death

Death is also one of the most triggering and misunderstood cards in the tarot. We fear death in any form, even in the form of our losing all or some of our ego. This card refers to a confrontation with our own mask, and if we can give up this mask then a transformation that we were able to envision in the Hanged Man card can occur, if not then we continue to fear looking at who we can be without the mask of the ego.

What also scares us is change. Transformation is deep and often scary and painful change. Often we see that idea of transformation with very rose colored glasses: indigenous flute music playing in Sedona as we meditate calmly and become enlightened writing poetry and moonbeams and all of that. But actual transformation and ending cycles of any kind, particularly cycles of trauma can be very painful. Walking away from a mask that we used to protect ourselves our whole lives is painful and hard, and for that reason especially important and worth doing.

Lets explore all of the different ways to consider these major life changes and how to step away from our own mask.

Standard images from Rider-Waite in the card include:

  • Four people responding to the skeleton on the horse (Death)
    • The King shows the rigid ego being struck down, potentially the ego collapsing when life comes at us with alot of power
    • The priest faces death with the support of his robes and hat – value of a code of belief
    • The maiden in partial innocence has a malleable but unaware ego and turns away, unwilling to surrender
    • The child in complete innocence faces death and offers flowers
    • Also the idea that Death strikes everyone – kings and commoners alike
  • The black armour of death absorbs all light and color
  • The white horse repels all colors – both symbolize every thingness and nothingness
  • Sun rising between two pillars – the ego belongs to the duality of the pillars, but the power of Life symbolized by the sun only knows itself
  • A skeleton – representing death – the eternity of our own bones overcoming the transitory nature of the flesh

In the Ancestral Path Tarot we have an image that is as close as I could find to the Rider-Waite-Smith images in any of my decks. What is similar is we are seeing different stages of life all in one card but not necessarily different reactions as mentioned above.

In this case the old being cleared away to make room for the new – both with the old life sailing away behind the new life of the child exploring all they see with innocence, and the white trees in the back moving away to make room for new trees and plants. We also see some mushrooms that are helping to clear away what is decaying in a step of renewal. And above all of this is a wise owl witnessing the transformation for itself.

The question from this card is if you can see this change in you or around you? Can you take the owl’s perspective and see how it all fits into the same picture? Or are you only seeing or resisting parts of the picture?

The Light Seers Tarot puts the mask of the ego front and center. Is this mask reflecting what you could be a part of if you removed it, or is it showing what is truly inside of you if you can let the light and life penetrate the mask?

If you are getting this card its a sign that you are ready to lift the veil. You don’t need this mask anymore, remove it and be ready for the new you that emerges.

The Tarot of the Divine uses a part of the White Bear King of Valemon, a Norwegian fairy tale, to illustrate another version of lifting the veil to see what truly lies behind it. In this case the youngest daughter is illuminating what’s behind the curtain to see if this King is really a bear or a man. By doing this she changes the entire focus of the story. No more castles in the sky, and no more childhood fairy tale, but a chance to start a new story and grow up.

Starting a new story is difficult, as is leaving behind the story of our childhood. Not just difficult, scary, like death. But its necessary and part of living life. What is the new story that may be starting for you and which story needs to end so you can live in the present?

The Brady Tarot shows a long transformation through many different lives and species to remind us how eternal change and transformation truly is. A the skull of a Smilodon (sabretooth tiger) is being eaten by a the remains of a dinosaur. The human skull is being devoured by a new plant staring new roots that will eventually reach far enough to touch the dinosaur skull below. The only thing left alive other than the plant is the cockroach on the right.

In this card we are not just seeing transformation, we are seeing centuries long evolution. What resonates in your live when you focus on the concept of evolution? What are you evolving either within or outside of yourself? How can you connect this to a bigger picture so that it makes more sense?

In the Osho Zen Tarot would like us to understand a different kind of transformation entirely. Its not moving from one storyline to another, or removing one mask, or seeing beyond our own evolution. Its understanding how to drop the act of the teacher and to begin living the lesson. That’s all.

The teacher is talking all about the path and sharing the knowledge of the path but is not walking the path. They are technically still asleep even though they are talking and sharing wisdom in their sleep.

What lesson have you been teaching yourself and not living? Go live it, be a participant in your own story. Take that safe base metal and turn it to gold. You’ve got this.

The Sufi Tarot might be my favorite of all the Death cards. It’s so simple yet hard to do. Turn your back on the shadow and change the vibration of your own energy to move forward. Face the direction you know you need to face to start a new path. You know the way, you just need to change your direction and start walking away from something in the past that has never been healthy for you.

Turning your back on the version of yourself that you no longer are, or a relationship that you know is toxic is hard. It hurts in a very deep way. And we have to feel that fear and that pain in order to grow and move in the direction we know is right. And the way that we know that its the right direction is that it doesn’t feel the way the toxic one did.

Its real deep grown up stuff, but dive in, you are ready.

Lost in utopia

The lizard has lost its manners and is pulling a grumpy scowl across its face
The blue flower strays lackadaisically in the wind
Tall towers stroke the sky

We’ve lost our minds but we haven’t yet lost the universe

A half formed thought streaks across the sky in plaid letters
What do the letters say?
We don’t know.
We’ve lost our language and misplaced all our punctuation.
We flow through abstract sequences, colors bleeding into other colors.
Inanimate objects tell us what to think
Until…

We finally hit our head
feel our own blood run down our forehead
and wake up.

Wisp dreams

their dreams were wisps of smoke
            they prayed for rain
                   through the understated mahogany of the trees

the dotted stars faded in the morning 
           but the wisp prayers still hung in the air
                   unable to be blown away  in new gusts of wind

only the softly falling drops that finally came three months later
          finally washed away the answered prayers
                   like salt being washed from a wound

the cleansing rain awoke a new dream
    this time reflected in puddles that would last until the rain stopped
          and the new dreams echoed into the sky
                  with the rays of the sun.

Shrapnel 2

On paper and in person she was as small as a mouse
and still she tried to make herself smaller

She wished to shrink to a speck of stardust
infinitely small
but also imbued with powers contained
in the nascent universe inside her

One day she went into her mind
and did not come back out again

Instead she became stardust.
Her dream of becoming a speck came true

But that was not the end of her story…..

She became a seed planted in a new place
and all that there was left to do
was to expand.

She sang the body electric
She became the stars
and her own new multiverse under her own terms

Like shrapnel exploding
she exploded into the biggest planet 
anyone had ever seen

Her power was compassion
and no one could ever make her feel small again

We are all made of stars.

The Point

Slogging across dewy fields of tall grass she faltered 
searching through mossy swamps 
she got lost in the depths
of her own thoughts

She pierced herself on her own pointed arrow 
that she spent a good amount of her life staring at and sharpening 
with her mind

And she perished this way

And the world kept turning
and the grass continued to grow high 
and confuse those who wandered through it

This angered her
how could she not be the key to the grass and the swamp and the arrow
how could she spend her life dedicated to slogging through these fields
and sharpening this arrow 
when its point only directed her own path in the end

She was not the solution, she was only her solution
and this sorrowed her

She was missing something big
she had searched for that something big
until she perished and never found it
all the while not seeing that 
all she had to do was……

look up.

The grass isn’t meant to be sorted through…its meant to grow
There is no secret in the swamp
The arrow is not the way.

You are part of the path only if you look up
and see that you are not the only one walking it

look to the stars to see this
look to link souls with other beings to learn this
until you learn this
stop sharpening your arrow
and look up.