Oily-phant

Roots of Asia, 2001

One of the many things I appreciate abut the Roots of Asia Tarot (AGMuller, 2001) is that the titles of the cards have not been changed. It seems so tempting for some tarot deck creators to change the names, and I see no point in it. Why change from cups, wands, swords and pentacles to clovers, pool cues, steak knives and manhole covers (or what have you)? It's annoying! Particularly when a themed deck already gives you a layer of philosophy, fairy tales, mythology or just pictures of cats to wade through in order to get back to the original tarot meaning. When you add changing the names (and sometimes the elemental attributions being switched around, which is pretty much a deal breaker for me), that just makes me want to say forget it and try trading the deck to someone with a bit more patience. Fortunately, the creators of the Roots of Asia Tarot, having layered the deck with Asian imagery and saturated it with Buddhist doctrine, have left the traditional titles so that some of us will have a lifeline to familiar ground.

So here we have the 8 of Pentacles, the card of hard work. I won't be working hard at work today because today is my day off  in the week for the coming Saturday, so perhaps this card is pointing toward work of another type. Let's look at the Little White Book: 'Obtaining the fruit of life. Dedication to service. Apprenticeship and craftsmanship etch out financial security.' I like that the pentacles suit has elephants in it. The elephant reminds me of Ganesha, who reminds me of the root chakra, the grounding of our physical reality. Perfect for the earth suit, really.

What can I do today that will both ground me and help me be of service to others?