The Cards Speak

                At Winter Solstice this year, I made a resolution: pull one tarot card every six weeks to mark the circle of the year and ask for guidance. That night, I shuffled the deck and pulled The Emperor, the rules and laws of society.  The question associated with the card was: What is the source of your authority?  Interestingly, I had been considering that question as relates to city council and continued to ponder it for the next six weeks. In that time, I had to speak out for several groups I represent and exercise authority by asking direct questions. When I did, my spine grew longer and straighter, my voice changed; I was focused.

                Then Candlemas, the beginning of pre-spring here in Oregon.  Shuffle. Pull. The Moon. Fears of wildness, madness, the unknown. The question: What natural rhythms are out of harmony? My first response was—Climate Change. That natural rhythm is clearly out of balance. My response was to keep working to bring that balance back, both in my backyard and gardens, and on a larger scale. We were working on how to implement the city’s Climate Action plan, hard work, hard questions to answer. A few weeks later, my thinking changed. The Corona virus is a natural rhythm out of balance, bringing forth many deep and dark fears and actions.  Climate change and the virus are related, two signs that the human world is deeply out of balance with the natural world.

                So, I will confess, I was a little worried to see what would emerge on the Spring Equinox.  I even put it off a day. But it was a warm and sunny afternoon, so I wandered inside, found my deck, sat on the front steps, and shuffled. Paused. Shuffled again.  Pulled the Ace of Cups: the chalice overflowing with love and life. The question: How are you being called to receive and grow? In the next six weeks, as Spring blooms all around us, we are being told to stay inside, to stay away from others, to restrict our circles tighter and tighter. How do we grow under these circumstances? We all need to move deeper within ourselves, maybe see what is really important to us all—like family, friends, our planet’s survival. We can grow, and change, and survive—or not.