Monday 13 October 2014

Can you give too much?


It seems redundant to keep writing, 'What a weird image,' but I truly can't think of anything else to say when I draw a card from Deviant Moon Tarot (US Games 2013). Today's card is 6 of Pentacles:

'Compassion for the plight of the dead has led a wealthy man into the cemetery. Meeting a soul who longs for the material world, the man offers one of his six pentacles in an open act of generosity'. ~ LWB, Patrick Valenza. 

Riiight, okay, that's weird.

I know, I know. The guy's got three legs. He's got one arm reaching from his chest like out of a first floor window. His other hands are coming out of his back. It's weird!

It gets weirder, though. According to the LWB, the textures of the clothing of the figures in this deck are taken from graveyards of eastern Long Island, and the architecture of the buildings in the cards comes from photography of a 'local abandoned insane asylum.' You what? That's pretty weird.




When you get past all the Goth (possibly emo?) weirdness, this is just a RWS knock off, and can be interpreted as such. Even the keywords bear this out: 'Charity, gifts, sharing one's wealth, material generosity.' So see. All that graveyard guff is just part of this deck's adolescent sensibility. Scratch the surface (a thin veneer) and you get ----->

The question for today then is: Where will I be called upon to offer charity? In what way can I be more generous? What can I give? What motivates that giving? Or in what way will I be on the receiving end of someone's spirit of giving? And will I recognise it? Will I appreciate it? Will I then return the favour in kind?

The other side of the coin (so to speak) is withholding. The figure in the Deviant Moon card holds most of his coins behind his back, out of reach. The figure in the RWS image uses a scale to determine the right balance of giving. In what ways must I preserve enough for myself? And by what measure will I determine where to set the boundaries of my giving today?

These are useful thoughts as we move through our day today, seeking to find balance in events and our responses to events.

4 comments:

  1. This card also has a 'Neener neener!' vibe. He is holding the coin just too high for the other one to get it. Feels a bit l like an arrogant bully to me :)

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  2. I'm with Ellen, I see a power trip: keeping that lost soul down. Be generous in a small way, but don't get too close, don't give too much. On the other hand, it might be fair to fear for yourself with a desperate ghost clawing at you...

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    Replies
    1. I see it more like self-preservation, but I'm not one to share. :)

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