esson 8a: Sword Quest Spread

White Hart--making future choices
support--Stone Two
hindrance--The Star

 

Sword Three--what to lose
lose--Talesin
hindrance--Stone Eight

 

Sword Two--finding balance, centering
support--Washer at the Ford
hindrance--Grail Six   
 
Sword Maiden--what to 'put on'
put on--Sovereignty
hindrance--Stone Five

 

Sword Ten--dealing w/past choices
support--Stone Three
hindrance--Grail Hallow


Although I laid the cards bottom to top, left to right, then center, I read them in lesson order.

Sword Ten--dealing w/past choices
support--Stone Three
hindrance--Grail Hallow

      When I was in the Stone Castle, I made two lists: rocking and rowing the boat. Rocking the boat was caused by following my impulse/instinct/desire over all else. Rowing the boat happened when I tried to align my wishes with those of others and tame my self-interest. Do the right thing.
      What supports me in dealing with the influence of my past decisions and behaviors is knowing that these things crafted my character and forged my judgment. I wouldn't be who I am without every bit of my past, for good or ill.
      What hinders me is emotions attached to my family, especially my mother (grail/cup=womb). Naturally, the stuff I have the most trouble putting behind me is stuff I did wrong to those I love--my family. And now I have to be homesick all the time because of one past decision and action.

Sword Maiden--what to 'put on'
put on--Sovereignty
hindrance--Stone Five

      The Stone Maiden advised me to "put it on." This expression has some connections for me. The first time I heard it was a Bob Marley song with that title. It is also the theme of two Bible passages--one the Stone Maiden talked about, the other in Colossians 3, which my brother read at our wedding. According to this reading, what I need to put on is Sovereignty. This makes me think of the virtues of Dee's advice: truth, righteousness, peace . . . i.e. integrity and justice.
      What hinders me is Stone Five--how hard it is to maintain these virtues during times of adversity, disappointment, insecurity. It's hard to row in a storm.

Sword Two--finding balance, centering
support--Washer at the Ford
hindrance--Grail Six  

      The center card of Sword Two says a lot to me. The woods on either side remind me of the different halves of the brain. How much influence does each half have in one's behavior, decision-making process, &c.? The serpent enticed Eve to follow him into the forest of desire. But the path goes down the *center.*
      What would help me in going down the center would be to shed some old skin, wash out some old blood, toss the shell, and get rid of some unnecessary things in my life. Look through the holy stone.
      What hinders me is Grail Six? Nostalgia, emotional attachment to things past: memories, history, origins and sources, posterity . . . the shade of the woods, lingering by the spring.

Sword Three--what to lose
lose--Talesin
hindrance--Stone Eight

      At Sword Three, I lost my outer coat. This was similar to when I met the Washer at the Ford, and threw my shell in the ford. So this position represents what I need to shed/lose/get rid of, which is Talesin. Ooh, this is so accurate. I want to know and share the stories behind everything. The story-teller, the historian, the pack rat, and each trinket and each piece of paper has its own hi/story. My man has shown me logical ways of dealing with 'stuff,' but it just doesn't work for me.
      I'm hindered from overcoming this "creative preservationist" [like that one?] behavior by my great enjoyment of Show and Tell, my instinctual drive, my craft to create and express something that others might enjoy reading, hearing, seeing or knowing.

White Hart--making future choices
support--Stone Two
hindrance--The Star

      The White Hart completes the center column and the decision-making theme. This card signifies the choices of the future.
      The issue of choice is shown again in the supporting card of Stone Two. I remember when I did Lesson 45, and that I could tackle any path as long as I had the right shoes. Actually, I see this, together with the crossing card of the Star, as indicating the up and down sides of knowing that everything will turn out alright, either way I choose. There's a risk of being wishy-washy, or wishing rather than deciding and acting.

 

      I found it interesting that the supporting cards of the center row were all majors. Also that the crossing cards in the center column are emotional/spiritual. Certainly true that I make most of my decisions with my heart, rather than my head. This is related to the comparison of conscience and conscious: the conscience always says to do what you know is right; the conscious thinks foremost of self. My dad used to say: "You've *got* a brain; why don't you *use* it?" He also used to tell me that I was smart, but had no common sense. But what that all means is that I don't behave based on *logic,* rather impulse/desire/ID!

      I'm relying on the Quest for the Sword to help me learn more balanced judgment.


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