For today’s card I’d like to use a different deck of cards. This deck is called Medicine Cards, The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals. These cards are very beautiful and very powerful. For today I have drawn the card numbered 31; Turkey.
Ho, Brother Turkey!
So freely you give,
Of everything that you are,
So others may truly live.
Turkey is actually thought to be the Give-Away Eagle or South Eagle of many Native peoples. The philosophy of give-away was practiced by many tribes. Simply stated, it is the deep and abiding recognition of the sacrifices of both self and others. People in modern day society, who have many times more than they need, should study the noble turkey who sacrifices itself so that we may live. In Turkey’s death we have our life. Honor Turkey.
Spectators unfamiliar with the cultural phenomenon of the pot-latch or give-away ceremony are often mystified by it. A tribal member may gladly give away all he or she owns, and do without in order to help the people. In present day urban life, we are taught to acquire and get ahead. The person with the most toys wins the game. In some cultures, no one can win the game unless the whole of the people’s needs are met. A person who claims more than his or her share is looked upon as selfish or crazy or both. The poor, the aged, and the feeble have honor. The person who gives away the most and carries the burdens of the people is one of the most respected.
Turkey was the medicine of many saints and mystics. Celebrate if you have Turkey medicine. Your virtues are many. You have transcended self. You act and react on the behalf of others. You aspire to help those who need help. This is not out of some sense of self-righteous moralism or religious guilt. Help and sustenance are given by Turkey out of the realization that all life is sacred. It is an acknowledgment that medicine rests in true ego, in enlightenment. Doing unto others and feeding the People is the message of all true spiritual systems.
Depending on how Turkey is aspected in your cards, you are being given a gift. This gift could be spiritual, material or even intellectual. The gift may be great or small, but it is never insignificant. Congratulations. You may have just won the lottery. Or the gift may be a beautiful sunset, or the smell of a fragrant flower. On the other hand, you may feel the ‘spirit of giving’ growing within you, and wanting you to share with others.
Contrary:
There are several aspects to drawing the gobbler card in the reverse position. Are you gobbling up anything and everything out of fear of lack? Are you holding on too tight and refusing to let go of a dime to charity? It could be that the scrooge in you has grown accustomed to the miserly aspect of living. If not, you might look at the possibility that you are fearful of spending money at this time. Another aspect of ‘contrary gobbling’ is the idea that the world ‘owes’ you something and you do not need to recycle the energies. ‘The buck stops here’ may only mean that it stops in your bank account. On all levels of this contrary message, the keynote is that generosity of spirit is being neglected. This can be toward self or toward others.
Remember, never give to receive. That is manipulation. Giving is without regret and with a joyful heart, or the ‘give-away’ has lost its true meaning.
And on that note, I have a little poem I’d like to share with you that came into my head while I was meditating earlier today.
Honor and Destiny
I know not of these.
Lead me where I need to be
and just let me be.
Allow me to breathe,
for my desire is to be free
to fly away, fly away
on gossamer wings.
Lift up my spirit,
and I will do the rest.
I have also pulled a card to meditate on from my Zen deck. The card is the number 11 of the Major Arcana; Breakthrough.
The predominance of red in this card indicates at a glance that its subject is energy, power and strength. The brilliant glow emanates from the solar plexus, or center of power on the figure, and the posture is one of exuberance and determination. All of us occasionally reach a point when ‘enough is enough’. At such times it seems we must do something, anything, even if it later turns out to be a mistake, to throw off the burdens and restrictions that are limiting us. If we don’t, they threaten to suffocate and cripple our very life energy itself. If you are now feeling that ‘enough is enough’, allow yourself to take the risk of shattering the old patterns and limitations that have kept your energy from flowing. In doing so you will be amazed at the vitality and empowerment this Breakthrough can bring to your life.
To transform breakdowns into breakthroughs is the whole function of a master. The psychotherapist simply patches you up. That is his function. He is not there to transform you. You need a metapsychology, the psychology of the buddhas.
It is the greatest adventure in life to go through a breakdown consciously. It is the greatest risk because there is no guarantee that the breakdown will become a breakthrough. It does become, but these things cannot be guaranteed. Your chaos is very ancient - for many, many lives you have been in chaos. It is thick and dense. It is almost a universe in itself. So when you enter into it with your small capacity, of course there is danger. But without facing this danger nobody has ever become integrated, nobody has ever become an individual, indivisible.
Zen, or meditation, is the method which will help you to go through the chaos, through the dark night of the soul, balanced, disciplined, alert.
The dawn is not far away, but before you can reach the dawn, the dark night has to be passed through. And as the dawn comes closer, the night will become darker.
I’m afraid I’m just too worn out and tired to try to write anymore tonight. So I’ll just post this and try to read some of your blogs and then maybe I’ll try to take a nap. I hate to keep talking about how sick I am but it’s kinda hard when it’s the only thing I can think about. It is all I can do to just lay here and try so hard to breathe without coughing so hard. I do feel better but not well at all. Still gotta a ways to go to be on the road to being well. So far, so good, no infection. Just coughing, congestion, scratchy throat, did I say coughing? At least my head and body don’t really hurt. My stomach muscles are a little sore from all the coughing but other than that I’m ok. So I think that is pretty good news. I am a fighter, I will fight this and I will be alright, very soon.
