Today's Tarot: the Devil (greed, imprisonment, self-deception)

I find this card a hard one to write about. There are so many connotations that people find it hard to objective about this card. We tend to ascribe so many meanings, facets, and patinas to it that we never get to bottom of things.

In my opinion, it is easy to put all the negative qualities we might feel internally onto a mythical figure, call him/it the ultimate in evil and be done with it. In some ways, that lets us off the hook. Here's the thing, though. It doesn't. That ol' chestnut, "the Devil made me do it," is the worst kind of cop out. Instead of standing up and saying, "yes, I have less than stellar moments. Yes, I've done things I'm not proud of but I am trying to make amends, trying to improve," we say, it's the fault of the Devil, with a big capital D. In the end, though, it isn't true, is it? In the end, we are responsible for what we do. We must take our less than stellar moments, accept that we were capable of them, and then do better.

So, yes, this card does mean greed. It means every single petty and not-so-petty time we have been greedy, small-minded, closed-minded, or mean. It's the ugly underbelly of our own highest thoughts and best attempts.

It also means imprisonment. As long as we don't accept our own faults and flaws, as long as we try to palm our negative qualities on some mythical man/beast/fallen angel, we stay imprisoned in our fear of being caught, in our terror of being found out to be less than perfect. In effect, we are sometimes terrified of being found out to be human. Humans run the gamut of actions and emotions. We can exhibit the kindness of the angels, or the malice of the devils. And we need to accept that both reside inside us. The ones we show to the world are entirely up to us. And, every single instant of every single day brings us to the fork in the road about what we will show to the world and what we will exhibit. Will it be kindness or malice? Will it be generosity or greed?

The key here is to remove the veils from our own eyes and see ourselves clearly. If we do that, then we arrive at that place of balance where neither devils nor angels hold sway. The old image of a person trying to make a decision with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other comes to mind here. They are trying to talk the person into either doing the right or wrong thing, make the right or wrong choice. If the person accepts that the responsibility is ultimate his/hers, then the devil and angel no longer have a voice. Then, that voice is entirely internal and either the credit or the blame becomes internal as well.

So, today, when you are trying to reach decisions, trying to decide how to move forward, act in the moment, or say or do anything, remember the Devil is internal and he/she/it will always pull you toward greed at the expense of others and the kind of selfishness that is ultimately just a little malicious. Taking care of ourselves and being selfish in our self care is one thing. But doing so with complete disregard for others is another thing entirely.

I am reminded of the quote. “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”—Malcolm S. Forbes.

If the Devil is about greed, then this previous quote is its Achilles Heel.

Be excellent to ... yourself!

Today's Cards: Queen of Cups, Seven of Rods, Eight of Cups. These speak to me of patience, of no regrets and of winning battles. What a fascinating combination. The Queen always speaks to me of creativity, compassion, and kindness. Since she is the the Queen, she also indicates that we should be showing that kindness and compassion toward ourselves. It's often easier to extend ourselves to others, to help them, to be there for them, but we often find it much harder to extend that same sense of patience and  compassion to ourselves.

So, today, I ask you, what is it that would make you feel cared for? What would it take for you to feel pampered and treasured? A bubble bath? Eating healthy food? Playing with markers and crayons and drawing your wildest and most fantastical imaginings? What do you need? See, here's the thing. Generally speaking, we do a lot of the must do's and need to get done's but we dont' spend time on the want to do's or wish to get done's. So, take a minute. Decide for yourself what you need and then go spend a little time on that.

I encourage you to do this because the Seven of Rods says you'll win the battles you need to fight. You've got this. So, don't worry. The Eight of cups says, you can feel free to walk your path without regret. You are on the right track even if you sometimes feel like you are walking an alien landscape. That landscape may look alien now, but it won't for long. All will be revealed if you keep following your deepest sense of self. Your desires, provided they are in your highest good, are on their way to being fulfilled. Treat yourself well, and it will happen.

Do unto yourself as you would like to do unto others?

Today's cards are an interesting extension of yesterday's. We have the Five of Pentacles again, the Seven of Pentacles, and the Charriot. So, today, we don't talk about being nice to others. Instead, we talk about being nice to ourselves. Particularly and especially if you have any health issues, take care of yourself today. Turn all that kindness we talked about yesterday toward yourself. What do you need to feel cared for today? Whatever it is, indulge. You're absolutely worth it. That is what the Seven of Pentacles is all about. It tells us that we must rest and recharge after a harvest. Have you worked your butt off? Take some time to regenerate it. Not everything has to get done today. Some things can wait. If you will feel better and rejuvenated if you wait to do some of the things on your list, then do so. It's ok.

In Julia Cameron's book, the Artist's Way, one of the exercises she has you do is create a poster that says the following words: "Treating myself like a sacred object will make me strong." She couldn't be more right. If we treat ourselves like the sacred beings we are, if we are careful with our bodies, our thoughts, and our feelings, if we expect and demand respect (both from others and internally) then we can become strong enough to rise to the greatest challenges and meet them with grace and style.

See, the Five of Pentacles means kindness in the face of suffering. If you feel like a part of your life is causing you to suffer, address it. Do something about it (or accept that this is how things are for now, but let go of the anxiety around it). We aren't meant to suffer, I don't believe. Even though Buddhist thought teaches us that hopelessness and suffering are the paths set out before us, I think those are misleading. In her book, "When Things Fall Apart," Pema Chodron gives the only Buddhist definition of hopelessness that I can get behind. She says, "Hopelessness is the release of all hope for an alternative to the present moment." In other words, what causes suffering is the desire for things to be other than the currently are. That dissatisfaction with where we find ourselves is what causes us pain. That makes sense to me. However, where I differ with Buddhist thought is that while I want to accept where I am and be at peace with it that doesn't mean that I can't work to enact change peacefully and loving (and heck sometimes not so peacefully and lovingly, if that's what's needed). So, what I ultimately want is to work for change from that well of centered stability.

That brings us to the Charriot. The strength we get from having rested and been kind to ourselves is what the Charriot is all about here. It is the external expression of our own strength. It is forward motion from a place of power. So, rest, relax, and then when the time is right, you will once again kick butt. But, like a shaolin priest, you will do it from a place of peace a la Kwai Chang Caine of Kung Fu.

Selflessness? Yeah, selflessness.

Excuse the paraphrase from Guys and Dolls but it couldn't be helped. Today's cards: Five of Pentacles, Four of Cups, King of Cups. These cards speak about helping others, selflessness, and kindness. Most of us, inside our most secret selves operate on a Me First mentality (I might even say all of us but then there are outliers like Jane Goodall, the Dalai Lama, and Mother Theresa or Ghandi). This isn't a bad thing necessarily. Certainly, survival of the fittest has to play a role in how well we do. If we take the time to think about it, most of the things we do are ultimately to help ourselves. We have to work to pay bills (even if the work we do is selfless). We do volunteer work (which helps us feel good about ourselves and is therefore beneficial to our mental and emotional health). In most ways, our kindest actions can be traced back to having seeds in our own self-interest. This reminds me of the Friends episode when Phoebe and Joey had a bet that Phoebe couldn't find a truly selfless good deed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzQSEoNdGvk, in other words, that anything selfless that she did do could be traced back to having its roots in her selfishness.

I submit to you all that even if whatever selfless deed we do, ultimately has selfish roots, it is still vital to do the deed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our selfless deed benefitting two (or more). In fact, let's celebrate the idea that everyone benefits when one person is kind or selfless. What a fabulous situation. If I do something kind for someone else, *I* will feel/be better. If that doesn't make my most secret, selfish self want to be more kind, I don't know what will.

I am going to quote the wonderful writers of the show, "Angel." Right after Angel takes a trip to Hell and finds out that it's right there on Earth and that nothing means anything because no matter what he does, he can't ultimately make a difference, he says "If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do... because if there's no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world." It might sound schmaltzy but that doesn't make it any less true. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gXaMnkmGq0

This also reminds me of that story that went around the internet a few years ago about Jared and how his new friend saved him. I understand it is fiction, but it doesn't matter, the sentiment is extremely important. http://www.jaredstory.com/you_never_know.html

Take every opportunity to be kind today. You never know when you might be saving a life.