XV Temptation

Image ©Copyright 2009 Lisa Hunt & Llewellyn Publications. Used by Permission.


Here's a card that's been haunting me...well at least puzzling me for a bit now. Temptation traditionally The Devil. Well, temptation is definately the tool of "the devil" so to speak so that fits. The image itself is a wonderful rendition....at the door...deciding...enter or not....good versus evil....looking over her shoulder, just as every human I have ever observed, doing something they aren't quite sure of....or that they know for a fact is wrong. So it is not the card concept or the art that has me in a quandry. It is the tale itself.

The story is Bluebeard. The man that marries the maiden, leaves her in luxury but demands that she not open the door with the golden key. Well DUH....that's like temptation waiting to snag her!! So far so good....but here's the ironic twist (happens in life a lot)...when she opens the door she discovers the bodies of his previous wives who have not followed his directive. Gruesome. In the end, she manages to escape the fate that he intends for her and with his death ends up a very wealthy woman.

Here's where I find the paradox...the man was wrong, I mean he murdered his wives...and yet (in a way) the maiden was wrong too. She gave in to temptation and did something that she had been warned against...but in the end she triumphed. I'm trying to wrap my mind around exactly which way to go with this one....seems a paradox but maybe not. Let me delve in a bit more.

Looking at it from the perspective that temptation will exist...and ironically it can come from both good and bad sources. Well technically it comes from within ourselves but none the less, I'm just musing here. So there is temptation: do we resist it or give in?....here the temptation is created by a cruel man but actually not giving into it would have kept the maiden safe. In the dark so to speak, but still safe. So in this case was giving in to temptation good or bad? Helpful or destructive?

I guess in my mind, temptation is commonly about keeping away from things that are not good for you or at least not good for you in excess. That isn't really the framework of temptation on this card. "Opening the door can change what we know forever." (page 62).... hmmmm. In this tale, you might even say the maiden gave into temptation, discovered awful truths, and then was actually rewarded in the end. So in the end temptation has a dual nature?

Temptation's dual nature? There are times in life when giving into temptation helps us discover things that in truth we need to know. Realities that we may not find pleasant but realities that change the way we perceive life and that bring us to a different level. A reminder perhaps that temptation is found, not just in things of beauty but in things of ugliness. And then the temptor plays a role here also.

Well the very first temptor I suppose was God. I mean he told Eve NOT to eat the apple and satan encouraged her to.....and yet to me both are temptors. They just have different motives behind tempting someone. God's purpose was to protect and satan's to create havoc. In much the same way temptation still plays out today. One can tempt someone to try something new (to bring them out of their shell or broaden their experiences) OR someone can tempt someone to do something for personal gain (thrills, money, etc)

Then again WE are the temptor....it is our way of thinking and looking at the situation that makes it a temptation. For example if the maiden had just enjoyed the party and ignored the golden key. Accepting the fact that there are unknown things in her life would have prevented her from being drawn to the door. End result... good or bad? You decide. In a way...I think this story speaks also about intuition. You know, that little something that tells you something is wrong, an uneasy feeling, that pushes you to look deeper.

Perhaps the lesson from the tale is: ...There are lessons to be learned from the things that tempt us and in doing so we will be changed forever.

More Reflections about My Favorites

Souljourney left a comment on the post about favorite cards that was most interesting and very useful too. She suggested that when looking at most and least favorites that one also looks at the opposite end of the spectrum. So for most favorites one should also look at the negative aspects of those cards and take note of them. Those aspects can also teach us something about ourselves. I think that is a splendid approach and once again adds another layer to examine. Thanks!!!

Little Red: Naivety, restrictive thinking, and being unaware of tricksters or pitfalls. So this card can appeal to me because it suggests beginnings and the cycle (journey) through life BUT I must also be aware of these other factors also. Actually this is sort of true of me…although I doubt one would call me naïve. I do tend to want to believe the “best” and perhaps at times I get so caught up in my point of view that it restricts my thinking.

Fairy Godmother: I suppose the “negative” aspects of this card would be forgetting to use logic at all and perhaps being too nurturing (smothering). The second part could most certainly pertain to me…and an area that I have been working on. I think of this card as the nurturer but also much more than that, as the feminine wisdom of the ages.

In my life I have found that meaning is built through both experiences and conversations. So please join me in conversation about the cards. It is really a joy as it offers opportunities for me to broaden my perspective or to examine elements that I have overlooked or just not focused on. I have so many thoughts about this deck but they are by no means the ONLY thoughts or ways of looking at it and I really gain so much from other points of view!

The Lady in the Picture

Before I go gushing and waxing about the actual cards in the Fairy Tale Tarot, I want to take a moment to talk about the Lady in the Picture. Sounds like a novel doesn't it? Well, I'm actually referring to the lady in the picture above...the one I used in the header of the blog. Nothing "special" so to speak.......simply an image I found on glitter graphics. It caught my eye and captured a bit of the idea of fairy tales, tarot or oracle cards, or just what I call the soul's journey through life. Let me explain.....

Pause for a minute, scroll back up if you must and look....really look....at the picture. Think about the colors, the images in the picture, the mood that it evokes, any words, phrases, or thoughts that come to you. Let your mind float free for a moment, as you gaze upon the image.

Notice the mist in the background, hovering, concealing just what is in the distance, but with a bit of sunshine breaking through. Isn't that so like life? There are so many things we will never know during our lifetimes. There hidden behind the mist they await discovery. Yet every now and then, something "breaks through", like a bit of sunshine. A tiny bit of understanding, enlightenment, a clearer focus on our path along this journey we all travel. It reminds me of tarot/oracle cards, conversations, relationships, art, poetry, and writing...all means of facilitating a greater understanding of self and life.

Notice too, the beauty of the surrounding landscape: the flowers, the green growth, the clear water, the golden reflections. There is no ugliness in the picture and to me it represents the world as it should be. Peaceful, lovely, tranquil, and just a little mysterious. There are things we are not meant to know in this lifetime, but they play there on the edges of our minds. Known and yet not known.

The lady in the picture is me. Oh, she looks nothing like me, past the fact that my natural hair color is red. Yet she is me none the less. Or perhaps she is that part of me often referred to as the soul. She represents that part of each of us that is unencumbered by a human body but is beautiful and kind. The part of us that can soar to heights as yet unimagined. As she gazes into the clear water, she is like each of us. Looking into the water, seeking answers, wondering, searching, musing.

Captured in the clear water, gazing back at her...is her own reflection. It reminds me that when we seek, look for the answers we strive for, that sometimes we so desperately desire. Those answers are already here, contained inside ourselves. We have only to gaze, contemplate, and recognize these gems. In the water's reflection, we note one thing that is not a mere reflection. Or is it? It is the white feathery wings that are in the water's shimmering reflection but are not part of the woman herself. Yet I wonder. Perhaps the wings are part of her, part of all of us. Maybe they are a reflection of the spirit or the soul, or whatever term you choose to describe that part of us.

I ponder this but the answer is hidden, there behind the lovely mist, waiting for another time to reveal itself. The Fairy Tale Tarot cards are like gazing into that pool. They reflect different aspects of each of us. They illuminate or accentuate those parts of us that we seek, or deny, or just long to understand. The cards and the fairy tales they are based on, provide a framework for understanding self and the human aspects of life. And maybe the "not so human" aspects too....the spiritual. They are the water in the pool. Clear and shimmering, reflecting clearly and yet also bringing forth tiny glimpses of those wings. It is this aspect of the cards that called to me. I feel they have things to reveal to me and I am anxious to hear them "speak."

So those of you that wish to join me on the journey...you are most welcome.