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Tarot: Gigi Miner's Ethyrial Tarot
The Burdens We Bear
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by Gigi Miner |
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One of my favorite epic poems is “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner”. I read it in high school and to this day, I remember the lesson contained therein. I recall the crucial instant when the mariner gained his moment of enlightenment. It was quite dramatic for me even at an age when deep understanding is not quite the norm. In spite of learning so many lessons in my life “the hard way”, I have tried to take some easier paths by learning lessons from others as well. My theory is that if I can learn it and take it to heart via someone else’s experiences, then I should not have to be taught that lesson some other way. It is a nice theory, but it does not always play out in the real world.
Ethyrial Tarot Copyright © 2005 Gigi Miner
Used with Permission
Our card this month is the Four of Pentacles from the Ethyrial Tarot ©. We see a scene from our poem. An albatross hangs from the neck of a man. The four pentacles are part of the adornment. Traditionally, the Four of Pentacles shows a figure, reminiscent of Scrooge, clutching his pentacles. This is quite miserly in appearance. So often in life, we try to hang on to the things that we fear to lose. We will lock them away or otherwise do what we can to keep them safe. Unfortunately, my experiences have shown me that the harder you hang on to something the quicker it is to escape your grasp. Think of a small animal. If you hold it in your hands, it may try to scurry away. That is the nature of the creature. If you hold it too tightly, you will either make it squirm more or you will ultimately kill it. If you hold it too loosely, it might get away. There is a gentle grasp that will keep it safe while not smothering it. The balance is important in such moments. The number four is a very stable number; think the legs on a table or chair. There is an old proverb that talks about love. A woman is walking on the beach with her daughter. They are discussing love and the approaching marriage of the daughter. The older woman scoops up some sand and squeezes it very tight. The sand runs out between her fingers. She then scoops up more sand and holds it very loosely, again the sand leaks out. Then the third bit of sand she cups in her hands ever so gently. This she describes as true love. To hold on too tightly will cause the love to leak out. To hold on too loosely will have the same result. But, to gently yet firmly hold the sand, results in the sand staying put.
Life is full of moments that provide us lessons. There are lessons when you need them and lessons when you would prefer not to participate. Each one gives us a chance to learn something and to appreciate something. Look at our card. There are four pentacles on that “necklace”. This tells me that there have been previous lessons. Each pentacle acts as a subtle reminder of such moments. Still, here hangs that albatross for all the world to see. The lessons that went before were not sufficient to get across the message. Or, maybe they were. We like to wrap up the universe in a nice, neat package. We like to think that life has some exact meaning behind it. What if all that you are going through is not for some higher purpose? What if it is simply part of the ebb and flow of nature? Nature has a way of balancing things out. If the population of an area is too large to be supported by the earth there, natural disasters are common and reduce said population.
In the northwest, there is a particular kind of tree that can only germinate via fire. This means that the new growth is only able to come alive if the old growth is destroyed. Some things cannot live side by side. In spite of the advertisements and the motivational speakers, we cannot have it all. Sometimes we have to choose. We have to choose what is most important to us and what it is that we wish to be. If you were given a choice right now to keep one thing in your life, what would you choose? Would it be fame? Money? Love? Family? What would you choose? In our poem, the mariner was given a choice. He chose to kill that albatross. From his choice came the burden of wearing the bird and watching his shipmates perish from his decision. In our own lives, we are given such moments. Then we wonder why we have to suffer such consequences. Not all burdens are the result of ill choices. However, most, if you will trace them back, do come from some action on our part. Natural law says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Remember our ripple affect? What we choose in this life will determine our path. What we value will determine our life.
Sometimes we are given the opportunity to find value in something that heretofore we have not. Those lessons are not the easiest, but they are the most valuable. In “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” the accursed man wore that albatross and knew thirst and death. Let us just say that he was one of us who does not learn a lesson easily. He came close to his own death before he finally found the beauty and love in life and nature. At the moment of this revelation, the bird fell from his neck. His burden was removed once the most important lesson of his life was learned. It then became his burden to pass along his story to others so that they would not have to suffer as he. All of us will have moments of pain and suffering. Some of us seem to reap them more than others. While there is no actual theorem or rule that governs these moments, there is the possibility that there is a valuable bit of wisdom to gain.
It is hard to fathom the “whys” of this life. It is even harder to consider that our sufferings might not be for our own edification but for that of another. Sometimes we are called to learn a lesson purely to pass it along to someone else. We forget that we are all connected on this planet. We forget that the human race is an organism that requires others of its kind. And, then, sometimes we learn a lesson simply so that we may appreciate our life that much more. Each of us has our own burdens to bear. Some of us wear them like that albatross. We suffer each day with the weight of this burden. But, how many of us stop to question what it is that we should learn from that burden? How many of us really want to release that weight to move on to better things? Too often, people become addicted to their own sufferings. They bask in the emotional darkness. There are chemicals that are released in the brain during times of stress and sorrow. Some people do become addicted to those chemicals and thusly, create the drama in order to feel that same buzz.
We all have choices and we all have burdens. What we do with them is up to us. We can continue to suffer and weep about everything or we can put some effort forth to seek out any possible lessons that might help us grow as people. Even the most horrendous experiences have wisdom to be found. The question remains, do we wish to find it?
For this month, find “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” and read it. Learn the lesson of the mariner and seek out the valuables in your life. Appreciate all the gifts that you have and find the beauty in your life. Sometimes we are able to avoid the harder lessons if we are willing to learn from others. If you have learned those lessons, pass along your hard-earned wisdom to someone else, offering them a way to avoid the same suffering as you. Ultimately, we are all mariners on our own voyages. We all carry an albatross around our necks. Only by learning the lesson and finding the love and the beauty can you be released from the weight. Only by passing it along can you fulfill your obligation to this life.
“…He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small…”
The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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Gigi Miner,
Tarot Consultant,
Author & Teacher
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Gigi Miner is a minister, ordained by the Universal Life Church, and has a Doctorate of Motivation from the same.
“One of the greatest benefits of Tarot is being able to take control of your life rather then be a victim of it,” is the motto of this professional Tarot consultant, author, and teacher, from upstate New York.
Moonlighting as an adult education instructor, Gigi brings that experience into her Tarot and writing work, helping clients and readers to find their own inner wisdom. Gigi has taught classes on tarot in regular and e-formats.
Believing that "laughter is the best medicine,” there is often a lighter tone to her teachings. When conducting an adult-education class, one of the main questions she asks is, "Are you having fun?” If the answer is "yes" then she knows that her students are learning more then if she were teaching in a more traditional mode.
Gigi has written articles for various newsletters, including Tarot Celebrations, World Tarot Network, and Gateway to Tarot. She has released a book entitled, “Light-of-Day Tarot & Dream Work,” which is available at www.lulu.com/ladyfogg.
Her two novels, "Card Shark" & "The Fallen" are available at all online bookstores or by visiting:
www.lulu.com/ladyfogg.
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Contact Info:
www.geocities.com/
ladyfogg
Email : gigiminer@gmail.com
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