Rachel’s DoW 20 Our Tarot

[Rachelcat]

In honor of Mother’s Day, my deck of the week will be Our Tarot by Sarah Shipman, which features “history-making women,” our foremothers. They have a lovely flower design and pictures of the women. The largish book has a two-page biography and a paragraph about the card for each.

Decks’ most important characteristic: Moon, Mary Shelley
The deck is a work of imagination that includes light and dark, both of life and of people. The book speaks often of inhumanity and cruelty to the other, like Frankenstein, in the deck’s case, women. But it also features inspiring stories of overcoming.

Deck’s strength: Death, Frida Kahlo
It doesn’t shy away from women’s struggles, personal and political.

Deck’s weakness: Keeper (King) of Swords, Assata Shakur
I had to read the book for this one. She was a member of a militant Black power group, was sentenced to life in prison, escaped, and is a fugitive in Cuba. Maybe the book entries are too detailed and take too long to lead us to the connection of what the card means. But then it’s part of the deck’s mission to teach what we don’t know.

What can the deck teach me? Chariot, Harriet Tubman
There’s always a path forward. Use your intuition to find it.

How can I learn this lesson? 5 Wands, Sophie Scholl
She was a young member of a resistance group to the Nazis and was executed. I can learn about moving forward by realizing it’s not always easy, more often a struggle. But I should always act according to my conscience.

Outcome of our work together: 2 Swords, Helen Keller
The deck will remain largely a learning tool for me. My experience will be a continuing interaction and conversation with the deck and the author.

Have a happy week, everyone!

[Rachelcat]

Good Monday morning to you all! Here's my daily draw:

7 of Cups, Eleanor of Aquitaine
She was an immensely powerful woman, queen of two kingdoms and mother of kings, as well as ruling Aquitaine in her own right. She is also considered the originator of the culture of courtly love, stories of knights performing deeds for their ladies. Ideas in the book that stood out for me today are: Our destiny is made by our decisions. I should become consciously aware of my desires and consider all the options before making a decision. Always good advice, especially for me. I am constantly plagued by not knowing what it is I’m supposed to be working toward. I feel like I need to have a goal, and not just living day to day. We’ll see if the rest of the week’s cards help out with that.

[Rachelcat]

I had a question/issue this morning: I made some mistakes at work yesterday, and I’m afraid my post-menopausal concentration problems are coming back (because the doctor says I have to limit the HRT I’m taking). What do I need to do to recover from the mistakes, and should I be worried about my concentration?

2 of Wands, Sarah and Angelina Grimke

The answer is don’t worry, just keep doing the best I can, which is good enough.

As you may know, these sisters were born into aristocratic plantation society in South Carolina, and moved to Philadelphia to become Quakers, abolitionists, and feminists. Their work was controversial, offending Quakers with their political work and offending abolitionists with their feminism. But they stayed strong and continued writing and lecturing on what they knew to be right, and always worked toward change.

I hope everyone has a good day today (and I have a better one than yesterday)!

[Rachelcat]

Wednesday Daily Draw

3 of Swords, Julian of Norwich

She experienced visions of god as she recovered from the plague (in which she probably lost many family and friends). The account of her visions, Revelations of Divine Love, was the first book by a woman published in the English language. In it, she claims that we cannot experience god’s love without first experiencing sin and suffering.

I’m not a big fan of the “suffering is ennobling” idea, but I’m sure that often our own suffering teaches us to have compassion for others who are suffering. At a basic level, sometimes we don’t feel love, god’s or each others’, until we need it.

I like the way this card unites the 3 of Swords themes: suffering, hearts/love, and teaching and learning. Good job with a potentially difficult card!

[Rachelcat]

Thursday Daily Draw

5 of Swords, Carry A. Nation

When I pulled this card, the keyword “destruction” popped into my head. I’m going to go off the book because I was just talking with my friends yesterday about extremism and religion-based violence. She thought she was doing god’s work when she violently smashed up bars and saloons. As far as we know, she didn’t attack any people, but it was still destruction, possibly of people’s livelihood. Being against something is so much easier than being for something. I’m good, it’s bad. As the book points out, her strongly held convictions did a lot of damage, even to herself. And it asks “what might you be costing yourself by holding tightly to your point of view?” I would add where can you be for something instead of against something?

Have a happy Thursday!

[Rachelcat]

Friday Daily Draws

I had the Moon before in my deck interview, so I added another and got the Devil. Great combination . . .

The Moon, Mary Shelley
Illusion, but also imagination. As a child and young woman, Mary was overshadowed by her parents’ fame/infamy, later in life and after, by her husband’s fame. In reality, the moon shines with borrowed light, but in perception, it has its own light and own responsibility, to light the night as the sun does the day. Illusion, darkness, and wonder fill her most famous work. This card says face your wonder and wondering and explore them.

The Devil, Abigail Williams
She was the first accuser in the Salem witch trials. There are no conclusions by historians as to why she and another girl started experiencing torture-like symptoms, and then making accusations of witchcraft of people of their town. Psychological explanations focus on reactions to hidden conflicts and tension among the townsfolk and intolerable restrictions upon girls being raised by Puritans. It’s apparent the situation quickly got out of control of the girls, ending in 20 people executed and many others dying in jail. So this is a nuanced Devil, showing perhaps deception, perhaps acting out, perhaps psychological breakdown, as well as out-of-control, dangerous situations, all the way to real evil.

[Rachelcat]

Finishing up the week with my Saturday daily draw

Knight of Cups, Sojourner Truth

She was born and lived as a slave in New York State. She escaped, and, when slavery was abolished there, sued her former owner for illegally selling her son. She won the case and her son was returned to her. She had a religious conversion and became an active abolitionist. She also recruited black soldiers for the Union Army. In her speeches, she said she used to hate white people, but after her conversion, she loved everyone and tried to help all.

The Knight of Cups is forward-moving and motivated by love.

It was a Knight of Cups day for me! We went to a drive-by birthday party for my friend’s sister who is recovering from corona virus. I saw my friends in person who I haven’t seen since working at home, and met all my friend’s family. (We wore masks and tried to distance, but it was difficult!) Everyone was so happy and emotional and it was very uplifting!