Friday's Feast and Tarot Ritual in Life

{I wrote this for my tarot blog, but thought I'd share it here, too. The card in the image is the Wheel of Fortune, which has come up a lot lately. To some it means "luck." To me it means experiencing the gamut of emotional responses to a situation.}

I was trying to figure out why in the world I am so consistent about writing to my tarot blog daily. Even when I don't have time to write in my knitting blog or personal one, I get this one updated. I only miss one or two days a month, at most (usually travel days). Why is it a priority for me to put in images, index the cards, and write up my little daily reaction, when no one other than perhaps Lee and rarely Jody even looks at the thing? No one's hanging out at bloglines waiting for my tarot post to come through (other than Lee maybe), and I'm not exactly sure what I am going to do with many years of tarot data (we already have over a thousand posts in the blog).

One possible explanation is that it's a little bit of discipline, like people who write "morning pages" every day, no matter whether they feel like it or have a topic, or not. It's nice to have some order and predictability to one's day, something under your control. And it provides a bit of focus to that bleary-eyed waking up period (I usually remember to select cards first thing in the morning).

Also, it's a daily link to my spirituality, such as it is. A little daily ritual. Drawing the cards forces me to focus inward for at least a few minutes a day, and at the same time to think about the larger influences there are on my life. It's like lighting the chalice Beccano made before meals at home--it is a small personal ritual that reminds me that I am linked to the universe in someway I don't understand, regardless of whether I believe in some Official Deity. It's nice to know that there are ways to express the human urge for connection without bringing in the more narrow definitions of god and community that most religions promote.

I know my experience of tarot is not like that of a lot of people--I do it more at a gut level rather than "by the book" or following some rules, but then when I read other people's views, I often see a similar attitude, that it is more of a way of helping you see connections that you might consciously be blocking or missing for other reasons. I do have that intuitive streak, too, and it comes in as well. Still, I enjoy reading the interpretations other people have made for cards, because they can draw me back in if I've strayed far from a card's properties or message. As with most things, I take tarot as a blend of extremes, and aim for the middle ground. I have noticed that my failings and failures lurk way in the corners where I am still more extreme. I need to remember that!

Friday's Feast

Enough of that philosophical stuff, here's the feast:

Appetizer: What does the color dark green make you think of?

My first thought was that the dark green in the kids' school colors does not contrast enough with the dark blue to make it work in knitted items. Otherwise, it reminds me of a deep forest, which makes me feel safe.

Soup: How many cousins do you have?

I have 18 first cousins, all on my dad's side. No clue about more distant ones.

Salad: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

8. My urge to not hurt people messes up that total honesty thing sometimes.

Main Course: Name something that is truly free.

Human milk. Geez, just can't get away from the former career path.

Dessert: Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

Suna pursued righteous indignation, not grace.

LOLZ.