The Incidental Tarot"A posse ad esse" From possibility to actuality
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The Incidental Tarot - "A posse ad esse" From possibility to actuality
The Incidental Tarot

Going with the Flow: Polarity

by The Incidental Empress 0 Comments
14 Polarity

Polarity: The Temperence of the Incidental Tarot

It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged about one of the cards. Since mid-December to be exact…when I briefly touched upon the Death card. It was an eerily appropriate card to close 2012, at its core, a year of tremendous transformation. It was a year dominated by politics and human rights, life and death and somewhere between the two, the dogged pursuit of happiness. And now, it seems I’ve blinked and six months have passed! Between work and wedding planning (this September is closing in like wildfire!) I’ve barely had time to keep my head above water, let alone try to keep up with blogging and my usual philosophical musings.

2013, what little I’ve seen of it thus far, is different. From my eye it has an interesting new life to it. Not that there is suddenly an end to global drama and turmoil…but there is a sense of palpable relief that we made it through 2012, and from that a kind of invigoration to move forward. 2013 is the year of The Lovers, a welcome diversion from the tangles of the Hierophant last year.

For me, not without intention, this year of the Lovers is dominated by the planning of my wedding, set for September 22 (the Fall Equinox for those counting). It is a simultaneously fascinating, exciting and maddening process at times. This brings me to the influence of Polarity, otherwise known as Temperance in the Tarot. The card of divine balance.

Temperance has always been one of my favorite cards, which is fitting, since its message of balance is one that I am constantly charged with pursuing in my life.  I like to think that I have two settings at which I operate: FULL SPEED AHEAD and a low idle.  The idle is the frustrating part, because rather than using my lack of active direction to fully experience some form of relaxation, I often end up enduring these periods with a sense of urgent anxiety. If I’m not engaged, active, or producing something tangible, I’m haunted by “What could I be doing right now, what should I be doing right now?”

As you can imagine, this is not a healthy way to go about one’s life.  There are only so many hours in a day, and at least part of the learning experience of incarnation is found in the state of receptivity. Especially for artists (of all kinds), this is a crucial element of the creative process. We have to stop thinking, sketching, writing, conceptualizing for periods of time, so that we can look around and absorb the state of the world around us. Polarity instructs us to strike a balance between the active and the receptive, and to be able to flow between the two states for a harmonious existence. For this, we often have to purposefully un-learn certain cultural expectations, such as “I need to be working/producing/constructing/progressing at all times, or my precious waking hours are being wasted.” This kind of thinking is an unfortunate side-effect of the Western lifestyle. Capitalism and technology have hoodwinked us into believing that we have to keep up with the manic pace of western life in order to be happy or fulfilled.

Polarity is the embodiment of balance: the ever flowing relationship of yin and yang, masculine and feminine, active and receptive. She reminds us not to drain the well of consciousness and creativity, but to give it–and ourselves–time to receive. Because there is an infinite universe out there, full of wonders to inspire and feed the spirit, if we stop long enough to receive them. For many people, meditating is a daily tool to come into the receptive state. I’ve yet to be able to master complete and sustained quieting of my mind, but I have found that the simple act of turning off all screens (computer, tv, phone, etc) is an effective disconnect tool for me. To let go of my own stimuli addictions for a period of time is for me, a powerful act of receptivity.

The classical definition of Temperance (thanks to Wikipedia), as one of the four cardinal virtues is:

“(Sophrosyne in Greek is defined as “moderation in action, thought, or feeling; restraint.”[1]) has been studied by religious thinkers, philosophers, and more recently, psychologists, particularly in the positive psychology movement. It is considered a virtue, a core value that can be seen consistently across time and cultures. It is considered one of the four cardinal virtues, for it is believed that no virtue could be sustained in the face of inability to control oneself, if the virtue was opposed to some desire.”

Moderation is a tough one for me, at least moderation of behavior. I’ve never been one to over-indulge in hedonistic pleasures (food, drink, sex, etc.), but I do have a very bad workaholic streak that in recent years has been very difficult to moderate. Sometimes I find that the only solution when I work myself into a maelstrom of activity and obligation is to drop everything and wallow–again, not the best or healthiest of habits.

The beauty of Temperance is that it is a life-saver to hang onto in the stormy, choppy ocean of life. Its mediating energy floats effortlessly between our extremes, giving us a faithful marker to reach for as we yoyo through the heights and pitfalls of our routines. A reminder that there is a middle ground, a level path waiting for us when we are ready to step onto it. One foot on the ground, one foot in the water…poised, but not pointed. It is also a reminder to release expectation and submit to the flow of energy that surrounds us. You know how they say to “steer INTO a fishtail” when you skid out on a wet road? It’s kind of like that. You might feel like you are veering out of control in some unknown direction, but there’s a good chance if you just roll with it you’ll feel the necessary release and return to balance. I’ve had to do that recently, let go of a seemingly desperate need for answers, in order to shake off my feeling of helplessness. It’s no picnic, and it doesn’t remove your desire to take action or alleviate the stress of a given situation. But it does serve to lift you out of that awful, rubber-bandy feeling of helplessness. And that is SO worth the price of admission.

I’m doing my best to keep steering into that fishtail right now. Letting go of all the nagging obligations that tug at my shirttails every day: “I should be shopping for wedding favors, I should be planning the honeymoon itinerary, I should be doing some art…” It’s all still going to be there tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Polarity is holding out her hand to rescue me from the rollercoaster for a little while.

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Justice: Striking a Balance

by The Incidental Empress 0 Comments
11 Justice

The Incidental Tarot: Justice

This seems to be a theme for me lately, as well as a meta-theme in global politics.  I find myself drawing parallels between tarot and politics a lot recently, perhaps as a result of the impending election here in the U.S. We seem to be, as a country and an aspect of the emerging global community, rife right now with imbalance at every level of society. From the disparity between the rich and ever-growing-richer, to the war on women, to rampant discrimination of people based on race, sex, sexuality or religion. In some ways, the underlying movement here seems to be a destructive tension, the painful stretching of our social fabric. The collapse of our economy and massive paradigm shifts that are erupting in our way of life have polarized civilized people against each other in unthinkable ways.  Hatred is amplified by misfortune, and when misfortune abounds, distrust and intolerance of anyone outside the perception of safety spins out of control. It’s a chain reaction, and we’ve traveled very far down that chain in the last decade, for all the progress we’ve made as a nation in the last 100 years.

Freedom is our ultimate aspiration as Americans. But Freedom is too often misunderstood as an “all or nothing” ideal. The truth is, there is no Freedom without Consequence; it is a perpetual balancing act. The pursuit of Freedom requires judgment, moderation, and responsibility.

Nature always rights herself. And though we actively seek to remove ourselves from her, humankind is a product of Nature. We are one branch of an infinite tree of life. And though that branch may have grown far, far from its root, it is still connected. The force of Nature is working through us as a species right now, seeking to right disparities and restore balance. The pendulum is swinging back towards center, and as it reaches toward this profound shifting of consciousness, we are experiencing the violent backlash of fear and uncertainty. The consequences of our flight from Freedom.

Justice represents this struggle to regain balance, to reset the scales and restore our relationships to each other and to the planet. Justice is a card that resonates with our earthly constructs of balance, fairness and responsibility, therefore it works through our social and political constructs. Government, law, and the judicial system are the ethical filters through which we function as a nation. Spiritual laws and systems find their expression in Awakening (Judgment), and pertain more to the individual than the society in which he lives. This is not to say that the shifting paradigms we are experiencing in America and the rest of the world do not have a spiritual element; they most certainly do. But the structure must be forged through Justice’s vibration first, then fine-tuned to each person’ spiritual frequency.

Justice brings to us the hope of remediation, the righting of past wrongs and the restoration of harmony. It is up to us, as individuals, community members, and countrymen to work together to let Justice ring true to her calling.

In keeping with this theme of balance and the righting of injustice, I am in the process of organizing a large scale collaborative art project called Columbia Rising. In short, it is an effort to revive the feminine personification of America, once known poetically as Columbia. I’ve blogged on my personal page about how I came up with the project here. There is also a Facebook group forming of people interested in joining the project, please contact me at columbiarising@gmail.com if you want to join the project.
 

E Pluribus Unum.

 

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