Modern Oracle Newsletter
December 2006
“The future is YOURS to create. Tarot reveals the possibilities” ...Baihu
The Pensieve
Merry Yulehannakamas and a Happy Ramikwanzaadan!
I love Christmas! So crisp, so cozy, so merry! Every culture, every belief all around the world seems to have SOMETHING to celebrate this time of year. I love the idea that festivals of light and spirit are almost universal those six weeks or so either side of the winter solstice. I say we turn the whole planet into one big celebration. It is a busy time of year…and it is hard to find time to bomb the daylights out of each other if you are too busy doing stuff that makes you happy.
What I don’t like is the nausea that comes along every time I hear a certain group of people getting all crazy about what greeting stores use for the holiday season! If I’m going to get queasy, I’d rather it be from too an overindulgence in eggnog than from toxic exposure to self-indulgent, self-righteous judgementalism and bigotry. Yep…nothing makes me want to break out the 50-cent vocabulary and go on a rant like one religion acting like they think they are somehow better than everyone else.
No matter what happened 2000 some odd years ago, all we have is right here, and right now. Life goes on…people and societies evolve. I like to think we’ve grown up enough that we need to add one more holiday to our list. I don’t care what you call it…happiness is the same by any name…but I really believe we have over time created a SECULAR Christmas that co-exists with the Christian one. Let’s throw that shrimp on the Barbie for a minute…who’s to say that we can’t all have a celebration of lights, trees and family FREE from religious overtones? Wouldn’t that be more aligned with the principles of the first amendment and well worth closing the post office and banks over? Then anyone and everyone can join in the tinsel-strewn sugar-laden egg-nogged chocolate-covered fun!
Whether it is defined by bloodlines or by emotional closeness, we all cherish our families. We all love and cherish our children. These feelings are deeply human and truly universal. So are love, compassion, generosity, and all the other human traits associated with this time of year. Specific religious dogmas are not universal. A rose is a rose by any name, and a celebration of the human heart and spirit is the same - no matter what you say when you walk through the front door of Wal-mart!
Light is a potent symbol. Many different holidays incorporate lights this time of year. What better way to celebrate the enduring human spirit than lights and candles during the longest, darkest nights of the year?
If love and light and human compassion are so universal, insisting on one particular phrase over any other is just nonsense! Pure Grinch-atude that would make Ebineezer Scrooge flinch! BAH! Celebrate the whole darn shootin’ match! So light the tree, break out the corn, pass the dates and milk, get some honey for Caozhun, and save some of those chocolate coins for me…it’s ALL good! So YES! By all means have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas. May you also have a Merry Yulehannakamas and Happy Ramakwanzaadan! Xing ne hao!
Oh yeah…by the way…
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
AND now for our monthly dose of Spam in a Can…
Just a quick reminder that white-tiger-wellness.com has been deleted, and any of the e-mail addresses associated with it, like white_tiger_wellness@yahoo.com, will soon become inactive as well.
I have new contacts that are more service specific…
For Tarot, cartomancy and any psychic / intuitive readings, please contact me at rsnow@modern-oracle-tarot.com or visit www.modern-oracle-tarot.com for details.
For Volunteer public speaking in the Pittsburgh, PA area, Intuitive Aromatherapy, Bead Meditation tutorials, Reiki or any holistic health / ULC ordained information…please contact me at ronda_snow_naturalhealth@yahoo.com or visit www.geocities.com/ronda_snow_naturalhealth for more details.
I will be closed for the holidays Dec. 24, 2006 through Jan 2, 2007 to be with my family and do all the life affirming celebration possible!
The circulation for this newsletter is still small…so please! Feel free to forward it and share it with any family and friends you think might like it.
Tarot Meditation
The card today is STRENGTH. Not just physical strength, but strength of character, strength of spirit…in short, our INTEGRITY.
I have a poster that says “Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing so gentle as true strength”. I find this to be very true. It gives us a hint to the two aspects of this card.
Lets look at the card in its general sense. It is a major arcana card, hinting that it is associated with major life lessons. Every card has its positive and negative aspect. Some tarot readers take into account whether a card is placed upside down or right side up when doing a reading. I believe that the various aspects of the card are always present, so it really doesn’t matter how it lands on the table, the message is inherently the same.
What is the flip side of strength? Weakness? What defines weakness of character?
I take a Star Wars approach to this question. It isn’t about all the little dos and don’ts we learn as children. It isn’t about sin and redemption. It is all about fear and anger. They really do lead to the dark side. When we act with strength and integrity, we very naturally act with compassion and love. When we are unafraid, it is easy to be loving. But when we feel weak or vulnerable, that is when we become angry or afraid and can hurt ourselves or others. This can be literally or emotionally. So you can see…strength is a very important life lesson to learn.
It is interesting how this ties to my little rant this month. If we are strong in what we believe, and what we love…then the little things like being told ‘happy holidays’ instead of ‘merry christmas’ aren’t important. When we are strong in character and live with integrity, it is easy to be tolerant of those different from ourselves.
This card asks us to think about the complex duality of strength and weakness. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Where are your fears and vulnerabilities causing you to act or feel in a negative way? How can you become stronger? Can you allow your strength to make you tolerant and gentle? Where can you be more patient and gentle with those who are weaker than you, or just beginning to learn?
Whatever life question you have on your mind now, how can acting with integrity help you meet your goals, and find what you want?
And there you have our December newsletter! I hope you all have a healthy, happy and wonderful holiday season! May love, light, and integrity prevail!
Baihu
No comments:
Post a Comment