Spiritual Functionality.

             I have news!  Of the Two Wheeled variety.  (Ready?!  Maybe you should sit down, it’s fairly enormous.)  This afternoon I used the last of my birthday money (plus some earned pennies) to upgrade the bike’s carrying system.  There is now a rack.  Plus, an adorable double tote/pannier dealie.  Here, look at this.

I began filling both sides before I even owned the set-up.

             The first shop I went to was busy, and no one was available to help.  Also they didn’t seem to have what I was looking for (which was NOT those saddle bags, that was merely a happy accident).  So I pedaled up the hill to the place where we got my light.  I was immediately greeted by a delightful young man named Mark (or possibly Marc), who looked a bit Viking-like (always a bonus, in my opinion).

             We talked about what I needed and we figured out the best way to go.  Budget-wise and everything.  He rolled my ride off to the work-area while I went to wander the streets.  Installation (and replacement of my fender*) would take some minutes.  When I got back he wasn’t done yet, so I gazed about the store.  Where I found a bargain.

*We’re going to put the fender on Dan’s bike, he doesn’t have one.

With locally made greeting cards in view.
(And my helper-guy in the background.)

             You  may not know this about me, but I have an unnatural obsession with Russian Nesting Dolls.  I don’t collect them (much) because if I did, The Burrow would be even MORE crowded.   But I do have an undying and massive love for the wee bundling babies.  When I happened upon a gorgeously made (HERE look), weather-proof carryall, done in Matryoshka print, ON SALE!  I had to get ‘em.  Had to.

             The weather guessers are predicting some precipitation by Friday, so all I need is a new pair of waterproof bottoms, and I’ll be set.  I’m oddly excited about fall now.  (Yes, my El Cheapo raingear will be fine for the moment, but I’d rather not have to deal with the cuffs filling up like gutters if I can help it.  I’ll probably hem them with duct tape until I can find what I need.)

             On our altar this afternoon we have started a second rotation with that most controversial of all Tarot decks.  As I tweeted to Megan this morning (while she was starting her day and I was going to bed), today (10-10) is a Magickal portal day, and this draw reflects that.  (As does my EXCELLENT bike gear acquisition.)

             (No clue as to why we have two cards, and not one or three.  Just how it went, I’m only the radio.)

“New Vision  ~  XII  ~  Major Arcana

The figure on this card is being born anew, emerging from his earthbound roots and growing wings to fly into the unbounded.  The geometric shapes around the body of the figure show the many dimensions of life simultaneously available to him.  

The square represents the physical, the manifest, the known.  The circle represents the unmanifest, the spirit, pure space.  And the triangle symbolizes the threefold nature of the universe: manifest, unmanifest, and the human being who contains both.

Now you are presented with an opportunity to see life in all its dimensions, from the depths to the heights.  They exist together, and when we come to know from experience that the dark and the difficult are needed as much as the light and the easy, then we begin to have a very different perspective on the world.  By allowing all of life’s colors to penetrate us, we become more integrated.

Inner Voice  ~  II  ~  Major Arcana

The Inner Voice speaks not in words but in the wordless language of the heart.  It is like an oracle who only speaks the truth.  If it had a face, it would be like the face at the center of this card – alert, watchful  and able to accept both the dark and the light, symbolized by the two hands holding the crystal.  

The crystal itself represents the clarity that comes from transcending all dualities.  The Inner Voice can also be playful, as it dives deep into the emotions and emerges again to soar towards the sky, like the two dolphins dancing in the waters of life.  It is connected with the cosmos, through the crescent moon crown, and the earth, as represented by the green leaves on the figure’s kimono.

There are times in our lives when too many voices seem to be pulling us this way and that.  Our very confusion in such situations is a reminder to seek silence and centering within.  Only then are we able to hear our truth.”

             In the traditional Tarot, that first message would be coming from The Hanged Man.  He’s one of my favorites, because what he’s saying is to see things from another perspective, look at life from another angle.  New Vision tells a very similar story.

             I love oracles, so when I saw that the Inner Voice was being compared here, I was trilled.  Today, so many things just fell in to place.  When I read these two definitions I could see how that all connected to the astrological factors as well at the work we’ve been doing.

             The more we strive for our genuine lives, the more we accept our beauty as well as our flaws, the more we are truthful in our walking of this path, the more rewards we are able to see.  When we are reminded that this is all so very complex, and yet so super one-on-one simple, it’s refreshing, and life-affirming.  Also, that second illustration is one of my all time favorites  I’m thinkin’ it may need to be blown up and put on the wall.

Today’s Deck:

Osho Zen Tarot

FLP Report:

two Indianas (one old, one new), and Maine.  Yesterday I forgot to tell you about the guy we saw, wearing a large blue* cape, riding his bike along, in the car portion of the road.  Not a Plate, but a great Eugene sight.

*Think mailman pants, that’s the shade and look of this fabric.