Time For a Fact Finding Mission

Today’s meditation was ten minutes and length, and focused on Karma.  Not the mass populated theory of Karma and checks and balances of today’s societal views, but the core belief that Karma is, in essence, based on cause and effect.  It’s about being mindful and choosing wisely.

Today’s draw is the 18th card of the Major Arcana… The Moon. While each suit of the Minor Arcana deals with a facet of the human experience (cups for emotional, swords for mental, pentacles for the physical, and wands for the inner spiritual), the Major Arcana cards pertain to a bigger picture. They refer to “the grand scheme of things”, rather than any one facet of it.

Because I know you’re going to ask about the lobster, I’m going to explain that here before I go into personalizing the card’s appearance today.    In the original Rider/Waite/Smith depiction, there are a good deal of elements to the card that play with each other to create a tableau.

  • The Moon above represents intuition and dreams.
  • There is a small stream below, which is often read as the subconscious mind
  • A crustacean climbing from the water indicates the beginnings of one’s awareness lifting from the subconscious into the conscious mind.
  • There is a wolf and a dog both facing each other, a representation of one’s more savage aspects and one’s tamed ones, and that both are on this journey together.
  • There are two towers in the distance, which represent safety and comfort and all that an “easy life” would entail.
  • And there is a path that moves in a zig-zag line directly between these two towers, indicating that one should not base choices on comfort alone.

Taken all together, these elements combine to indicate the subconscious and the early moments of one’s awakening, including the confusion that comes with waking from a deep sleep.  It represents the fears and uncertainties and illusions that come from trying to predict the future based upon limited information.

In the Dreaming Way tarot, this card depicts a young woman playing with the crustacean from the long used traditional deck.  I interpret this to indicate she toys with her awareness of the world around her and the path ahead, perhaps worrying over what is to come in the way that people often toy with their insecurities and uncertainties.

SO…  Having broken that down so that you can better understand the card (and I could  answer your coming question concerning the lobster), the card ultimately represents uncertainties and illusions caused by assumptions and lack of information.

I believe The Moon card’s appearance in today’s draw is a reminder to not accept assumptions and guesses as reality.

Today, I found out that my cholesterol is through the roof.   This is a big change from my tests last year, and cause for concern.   Letting fears and uncertainties and guesswork guide my path will not serve me well.   Neither will choosing to ignore the issue and sink into the comfort of ignorance.

I need to do some research into my diet and what has changed in my diet over the past year. Only with sound research instead of guess work and “fumbling around in the dark” will I be able to find what’s going on, and how to fix it.

Temptation and Distraction

Today’s meditation was 14 minutes and 11 seconds, and focused on observing your emotions without reacting to them.

This is not a new concept for me, as I do this quite often. Possibly as a part of my disassociation. I was often far more of an observer rather than a “experiencer” when it came to my emotions before you came along into my life. It was you that actually taught me to experience my emotions instead of just observing them from a distance.

I had a hard time staying focused in meditation today. Probably because I’m heading to moms this afternoon. Thoughts on preparation to get going kept intruding. I did set them aside and go back to my breath each time, but I feel like they held me back from getting the ease I needed today. I woke up with that knot of anxiety under my diaphragm again, and it’s still there.

Today’s draw is the 15th card of the Major Arcana, which is the Devil card… or the Shadowdance card, as it is called in the current deck.

Incidentally, I really like the re-title of this card in this deck. I think it really fits into the card as a whole, as well as the meaning behind it. That meaning, of course, is the temptation to go off-track.

This card is a representation of the distracting quality of things such as addiction, temporary pleasures, hedonistic pursuits, and pretty much all the things that just don’t really matter “in the long run” and pull you away from life’s responsibilities.

Today, this card is a warning.

During the past month of my depression, especially the last three weeks of it, I’ve been a little lax in my finances.

I’ve spent more on things than I should have because I was too lazy or distracted to find the better price. I’ve bought things that I could have waited on until I was more flush.

This card is a warning that it’s time to pay attention and get myself back in line concerning these issues. It’s telling me not to let a few mistakes tumble me off track into the seductive distraction of the dark woods, but rather keep in mind my responsibilities and act accordingly.