Today I drew:
The Hanged Man
What I read:
The Hanged Man is the only Tarot card visibly based on a mythological figure. He is Odin, the Norse god who hung from the World Tree for nine days to earn the knowledge of the Runes. Of all the cultures who embody the search for knowledge in their myths, only Odin carries out his quest without moving, at least in the physical sense. The true quest is seeking within, not without. This may be confusing at first, but only because the Hanged Man is the card of the paradox. The Hanged Man's mysteries are some of the oddest yet most enlightening the Tarot has to offer, and they cannot be learned by searching for lessons in the physical world - you must turn within.
Even the appearance of the card is paradoxical. Simple in design, it is one of the more complex Arcana. The lessons it offers are easy to understand but hard to accept when they apply to you. The most obvious answer to a problem may be the simplest, but it is rarely the best. To admit that you are afraid will give you the strength to conquer your fear. When you relinquish your desire for control, everything begins to work as it should. In a world in which you must run as fast as you can to stay where you are, the Hanged Man tells you to stop struggling - and you can move forward. Tell this to others and it seems obvious; try to do it yourself and it will become impossible.
Why is this? Telling others that they have to hang from a tree is simple, but no one wants to hang himself. The Hanged Man, however, has hung himself, and see how much wisdom he has found! Despite his obviously uncomfortable position, he is often pictured as smiling, and with a golden halo around his head to show divine inspiration and power. He is totally vulnerable to the world, and in his vulnerability he has found strength. The sacrifice he has made is his own freedom and power in the physical world; in exchange, he is granted real freedom and power on the spiritual plane. He gives up his old ways of looking at things and is blessed with new eyes.
Not all sacrifices have to be like this, of course. Each moment of your life you make sacrifices. By choosing to eat with a friend rather than eating alone, you sacrifice your solitude. Choosing to play a sport professionally means that you cannot play another as frequently. Choosing one job means that you have to sacrifice any desires for another job, at least for the time being. The only thing in common between all sacrifices is that you give up something you have in exchange for something you want, of equal value. The sacrifice is meaningless unless there is balance and purpose behind it. To give without intent is worse than giving too much or too little.
As the card of the paradox, the Hanged Man also urges you to look at things in a new and different way. If your mind is yelling at you to do something, then doing nothing could be the best thing to do. If something is important to you emotionally but it no longer serves a purpose, you might want to think about letting go of it. And don't try to force anything to happen while the Hanged Man is about. By trying to force changes, you ensure that they never happen. Relax and let things happen instead of trying to interfere. Instead of fighting against the current, let it take you wherever it is flowing.
When the Hanged Man appears, know that greater wisdom and happiness is at hand, but only if you are prepared to sacrifice something for that wisdom. Sometimes it is something physical you must be deprived of, but in most cases it is a perspective or a viewpoint that must be left behind. For example, a fantasy that you can never fulfill, or a crush on someone who's out of your reach. Inevitably, sacrificing something you value will always lead you to something even more valuable. In the wake of an unattainable dream you will find something else within your reach. Forgetting about one love will allow your heart to open to someone else.
What it showed me:
This card reminds me of the severe austerities undertaken by ascetics. Hindu mythology is full of tales where men and gods and demons alike undertook the severest of austerities to gain perspective or even boons. The serenity of the man’s face is remarkable. Another thought was the perspective. Hanged? Upside down? Who am I to comment? What makes me think I am right, he is not? What makes me think I wake up when I do? Maybe dreams are the reality and what I perceive as ‘reality’ are mere dreams? What makes me call someone insane? Because he/she’s different? What makes me think I am ‘sane’? Notice the halo around the Hanged Man’s head. Think about it.
30th July 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Today I drew…
Five of Pentacles
What I experienced today…
My son cried today. He said “Mon, I want you” I hardened my heart and said “I can’t come”. I live in a hostel in Delhi and work to send back money so that y mom and son can live comfortably. It kills me but that’s my destiny. Today as I stopped to buy a cup of yogurt I saw a beggar woman try to buy her little daughter something worth Rs 5. She beat her child when the girl asked for a packet of chips. She said, “why don’t you die?” I cried. The child was full of sores and boils and had tears in her eyes. I held her hand and bought her the potato chips she’d asked for. Here I was far away from my child, the only soul who loves me so. And here was a mother who wanted her child to die rather than suffer. I called the Goddess cruel, again.
What I read…
Another famous card. Two poor folk sit outside a church with five pentacles on its stained glass window. This is a card that predicts loss, financial loss, bad luck, a set-back in health. It is a difficult time, as all fives are. "How can I deal with this loss?" asks the Querent. And the answer is, "By realizing that it is no real loss at all." The Querent must understand that while they may have lost material things, the spiritual is still with them. Where there is life, there is hope. They should also be advised that this too will pass. Though it may seem like there is no end in sight, there is. We all go through lean and lonely times. Things will get better.
What the card showed me…
The pain of poverty; of the complete abstraction from values and emotions that prolonged suffering can bring about. A cripple and and old woman in tatters suffering/braving the snow on a cold winter night. Strangely, they look away from each other, instead of sticking together, comforting each other. The card talks of separation and anguish.
29th July 2009
Five of Pentacles
What I experienced today…
My son cried today. He said “Mon, I want you” I hardened my heart and said “I can’t come”. I live in a hostel in Delhi and work to send back money so that y mom and son can live comfortably. It kills me but that’s my destiny. Today as I stopped to buy a cup of yogurt I saw a beggar woman try to buy her little daughter something worth Rs 5. She beat her child when the girl asked for a packet of chips. She said, “why don’t you die?” I cried. The child was full of sores and boils and had tears in her eyes. I held her hand and bought her the potato chips she’d asked for. Here I was far away from my child, the only soul who loves me so. And here was a mother who wanted her child to die rather than suffer. I called the Goddess cruel, again.
What I read…
Another famous card. Two poor folk sit outside a church with five pentacles on its stained glass window. This is a card that predicts loss, financial loss, bad luck, a set-back in health. It is a difficult time, as all fives are. "How can I deal with this loss?" asks the Querent. And the answer is, "By realizing that it is no real loss at all." The Querent must understand that while they may have lost material things, the spiritual is still with them. Where there is life, there is hope. They should also be advised that this too will pass. Though it may seem like there is no end in sight, there is. We all go through lean and lonely times. Things will get better.
What the card showed me…
The pain of poverty; of the complete abstraction from values and emotions that prolonged suffering can bring about. A cripple and and old woman in tatters suffering/braving the snow on a cold winter night. Strangely, they look away from each other, instead of sticking together, comforting each other. The card talks of separation and anguish.
29th July 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Today I drew…
The Star
What I Read…
The Star is one of those cards everyone loves. In every deck, it is usually the most beautiful. It suggests the peace and harmony of its meaning. There is nothing negative about this card, but I think there is a trick to it. Whatever hope, healing, or future it offers, the reader must remember that it might not be immediate. This is a soft card, and like Aquarius, its vision is for tomorrow, not today. That's not to say that it offers no concrete benefits; it is a card that predicts unexpected help, but that help is only the first step. The star only reveals the future. It is up to the Querent to find his way to that future.
What it showed me…
To a lay man the beautiful but naked woman emptying her urns into the pond may seem a sad picture. Solitary, with no company she attempts the futile task of filling up the pond with water from earthen urns. “Foolish”, some may say, others may call her “mad”. But on closer observation, The Star reveals a different story. Eight bright stars, all eight-pointed are shining bright in the sky. A song bird in the distance sings a lovely note to keep the lady from feeling tired. The green tree upon which the bird is perched beckons her to rest in its shad when she is tired. Little red flowers have sprouted around the pond where she has spilt water from her urns.
The card is a card of hope after great sorrow. May a time we are born to endure great sorrow. Our life seems worthless and we find ourselves completely alone in whatever endeavor we undertake. Lonely and tired we ask ourselves “Why”, “Do I not deserve company?” What we forget is that we are never truly alone. All of nature is witness to our life, our endeavors and our struggles. No work is completely futile. Some little flowers are to blossom and that it why I am destined to water the pond. My suffering and pain also is Karma. The eight pointed stars suggest Fate. I call it the fruits of one’s past deeds. All of Nature and the Goddess who lives in Nature live every moment with me. She created the songbird, the tree the stars to give me strength, to give me hope and faith to live my life.
28th July 2009
The Star
What I Read…
The Star is one of those cards everyone loves. In every deck, it is usually the most beautiful. It suggests the peace and harmony of its meaning. There is nothing negative about this card, but I think there is a trick to it. Whatever hope, healing, or future it offers, the reader must remember that it might not be immediate. This is a soft card, and like Aquarius, its vision is for tomorrow, not today. That's not to say that it offers no concrete benefits; it is a card that predicts unexpected help, but that help is only the first step. The star only reveals the future. It is up to the Querent to find his way to that future.
What it showed me…
To a lay man the beautiful but naked woman emptying her urns into the pond may seem a sad picture. Solitary, with no company she attempts the futile task of filling up the pond with water from earthen urns. “Foolish”, some may say, others may call her “mad”. But on closer observation, The Star reveals a different story. Eight bright stars, all eight-pointed are shining bright in the sky. A song bird in the distance sings a lovely note to keep the lady from feeling tired. The green tree upon which the bird is perched beckons her to rest in its shad when she is tired. Little red flowers have sprouted around the pond where she has spilt water from her urns.
The card is a card of hope after great sorrow. May a time we are born to endure great sorrow. Our life seems worthless and we find ourselves completely alone in whatever endeavor we undertake. Lonely and tired we ask ourselves “Why”, “Do I not deserve company?” What we forget is that we are never truly alone. All of nature is witness to our life, our endeavors and our struggles. No work is completely futile. Some little flowers are to blossom and that it why I am destined to water the pond. My suffering and pain also is Karma. The eight pointed stars suggest Fate. I call it the fruits of one’s past deeds. All of Nature and the Goddess who lives in Nature live every moment with me. She created the songbird, the tree the stars to give me strength, to give me hope and faith to live my life.
28th July 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Today I drew…
Four of Wands
What I Read…
The ships have come in, and the Querent can sit back and enjoy them. This card, with its four wands holding up garlands, implies the foundation of a house, literally and figuratively. Whatever the Querent has been building, they have established it, strong and solid. They can take a moment to admire what they've done, enjoy the first rewards it has brought them, and bask in their initial success. Sometimes this card suggests marriage; once again, laying the foundation for the future.
What it showed me…
A time of plenty. Riches and celebrations, not only at the individual level but for the land, society, family as may be queried by the querent (in my case family). New beginnings (in my case back to ‘Goddess chat’ and ‘Tarot meditation’), and success in these new ventures. A time for cultural and literary growth; a time for indulgence, merrymaking.
The card talks of bounty, of a bumper harvest; plenty of food and a man and woman toasting a cup of freshly mulled mead. The crop and plenty has made many a farmer rich. A marriage is in the offing too. The wands are themselves decorated with flowering creepers quite like the Indian ritual called pandakkal which precedes the marriage ceremony itself. Music and dance in the air.
Good Luck Card
26th July 2009
Four of Wands
What I Read…
The ships have come in, and the Querent can sit back and enjoy them. This card, with its four wands holding up garlands, implies the foundation of a house, literally and figuratively. Whatever the Querent has been building, they have established it, strong and solid. They can take a moment to admire what they've done, enjoy the first rewards it has brought them, and bask in their initial success. Sometimes this card suggests marriage; once again, laying the foundation for the future.
What it showed me…
A time of plenty. Riches and celebrations, not only at the individual level but for the land, society, family as may be queried by the querent (in my case family). New beginnings (in my case back to ‘Goddess chat’ and ‘Tarot meditation’), and success in these new ventures. A time for cultural and literary growth; a time for indulgence, merrymaking.
The card talks of bounty, of a bumper harvest; plenty of food and a man and woman toasting a cup of freshly mulled mead. The crop and plenty has made many a farmer rich. A marriage is in the offing too. The wands are themselves decorated with flowering creepers quite like the Indian ritual called pandakkal which precedes the marriage ceremony itself. Music and dance in the air.
Good Luck Card
26th July 2009
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