Well, this past week was one hell of a week. And by that I mean, it was tough. A convergence of conflated emotions. As the week came to a close, all I kept thinking about was the collective, how to care for the disenfranchised, for the left behind, for the cast aside, how to emphasis the importance of community and unity. Especially when it seems like the world and its rulers are insistent on division and individual selfishness, each one for her/him self.
It turns out this week’s card is the 5 of cups. Fives are for the body, we have 5 limbs no? The 5 of cups highlights the water aspect of the body. The emotions, pleasures, feelings as we interact with the outside world. It can be read as merrymaking, enjoyment, and also nurture. Inebriation perhaps, if coupled with the 10 of cups.
With these qualities in mind, today, this card leads me to the questions:
How are we nurturing our bodies in times of stress? How are we conveying this nurturing to the body that is the community?
I say this because oftentimes we all go about our daily lives, giving little or no thought to those that suffer, human beings, animals, and the planet earth. The suffering that is outside our individual life. I am guilty of this. Sometimes, there is a reminder that takes us out of ourselves, outside of our narrow focus. When this happens, this is true for me, my heart breaks, my soul hurts. This quickly turns into frustration as I feel my impotence, my minuscule efforts. How do I find pleasure, enjoyment in myself in the face of everything that goes on around me? I hope we all learn to answer these questions, and to explore the many nuances of the answers. There might be hope in detachment, but I find that there is more hope in the fight, in our innate instincts for survival. And this is where the crux lies, as all the machinations of this current world endeavor to take the fight out of our hands, to distract us, to make us forget.
I am making no rallying call for fighting nor revolution. I merely suggest that we explore our lives, and how we live it.
As I think about the 5 of cups, I ask the cards for guidance, How do I go beyond my impotence to be present for the heart and soul of the community?
Re-examine and reinvent my concept of action and work within and for the community, remembering to to get involved in the collective. With my sweat and hard-work, to help with my sword raised, ready to fight, to be present, never giving up. Look at all those batons, look at that raised sword. This is all about fighting, sweating, exerting myself. I hope everyone is blessed, and that we all move closer rather than more apart.
As always, happy reading.
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