Spoken truth is not.
We chase shadows not essence
in search of what’s real
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Month: June 2013
The World According to Jean Valjean
“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.”
― George R.R. Martin
“I’ve tried to become someone else for a while,
only to discover that he, too, was me.”
― Stephen Dunn
Who am I and who am I in relation to other people? At my core what do I contain and what contains me? We draw other people into our lives and interact with them and with each interaction the question becomes both clearer and more muddied. Tonight My son took us for Father’s Day to see the Canadian touring company of Les Misérables, a musical that’s well-loved by my family. At its core, aside from the historical milieu it shows a series of interactions between people that changes one or both of them. The more adaptable the person is to circumstances, the better they are at integrating the exchange and becoming more themselves. This is personified best in the characters and interactions between the two main characters Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert. Jean Valjean portrays a man unjustly imprisoned for a crime who is freed and then pursued by his jailer Javert. Javert sees things as absolutes. A criminal is always a criminal and society must be protected by them. He sees nothing wrong with acting dishonestly himself to catch criminals because he is on the ‘right’ side of the law. Jean Valjean is more concerned with doing the right and honourable thing and finds his true identity through his choices. Each encounter between Valjean and Javert transforms both as more and more Valjean chooses honesty over his societal role and Javert choosing his moral (as opposed to ethical) absolutes. Javert when forced to go beyond his societal identity and his rigid sense of right and wrong finds himself unable to live in a world where a thief can have more honour than an officer of the law.
Are we defined by our society or by our inner being? How do we test this if not through other people? This question has come up for me a lot in my life. Ultimately I may pick up much from the viewpoints and being of those around me but all my attempt to live according to some label has proved more and more laughable. My interactions with both Valjean and Javier have driven home that point. But then I have always interacted well with fictional characters, no matter how real they may be.
Blessings, G
Click on images to see full-sized:
Holographic by G A Rosenberg
Thunder Mandala by G A Rosenberg
Tarot Post – Queen of Pentacles
Queen of Pentacles (Water of Earth)
Queen of Pentacles by G A Rosenberg
Lady of the maize
Everything is born from you
Centred Creation
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Mother’s love nourishes the seed
and feed us so we can thrive
She provides our needs
and dreams of better lives
Joy in life she teaches
she guides us in the dance
We her children know of love
we’ve seen in it in her glance
Her heart provides her knowledge
More than book or class ever could
Her dreams have taught her what she needs
to guide us through her woods
Lift your cup and toast her well
our mother of the Earth
She has seen and loved it all
and has shown us its worth.
The suit of Pentacles refers to the element of Earth and of practical matters such as money and partnerships both of a business nature and of the home. They can also represent nature, the Earth itself as well as our bodies. Queens are the receptive and nurturing form of the energy.The Queen of Pentacles cares and nurtures life and has a strong maternal nature. She is sensual and lush, intuitive and instinctive and has a strong connection with the Earth and is best when surrounded by nature. She loves to provide sustenance for others and is usually known for her cooking skills. She tends not to be intellectual or well-read but she has never found that a lack as she knows what she needs to know when she needs it. The Queen of Pentacles tends to be reflective, ever bringing the internal outward to best take care of the life around her.
Astrological Correspondence – Astrological Correspondence: 21° Sagittarius – 20° Capricorn Elemental: Water of Earth- The energy here becomes a mix of Sagittarius intuition and creativity with Capricorn’s warmth, power and stoicism. The people represented by this energy are loyal and dependable and give everything they can to provide for others. Their advice tends to be more of a practical rather than an intellectual nature.They may become depleted at times especially when they are out of their natural element or when their bounty is taken for granted with no appreciation returned. When their gifts are acknowledged and appreciated they become a constant cornucopia of sustenance and support.
I Ching Correspondence – 31) Hsien – Influence / Wooing –
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The Trigram of the Lake is over that of the Mountain. The water of the lake is quieted and serene by the influence of the mountain. In turn, the moisture of the lake sustains the mountain causing life to spread and expand. It is a constant meditative mutual seduction. This hexagram speaks of having a calm still nature within and a joyous happy exterior. It cautions us to hold onto our still centre when we deal with others and not let any influence slip by which seeks to alter our own true selves. It may not be the fault of the person influencing as they may be acting according to their will or being but the combination may not be a good one.
Quite often when the Queen of Pentacles turns up in a reading, she represents someone who has cared and provided for us in ways that we were not able to do for ourselves. She has a loving caring nature and a strong creative element and is very helpful. This care is freely given. She may also be very sensual and somewhat indulgent with a wonderful sense of humour. It may also represent a time when we are providing for others and are enjoying and appreciating our ability to be of use. The card may be telling us that things are going well in our lives and that we have few wants and to recognize the nurturing of others that have brought us here. This card upright almost always represents a time of enjoyment and well-being.
The Reversed Queen of Pentacles may refer to someone who feels that they are out of their element and are not sure how to proceed. They lack confidence in the given situation and may need to be reminded of what their strengths are and how to utilize them in the situation. This card may also refer to us feeling this way and be suggesting that we connect more with our true selves to see whether this is indeed the right situation for us to be in. It may represent a time when we need to get into nature to ground ourselves. The card may also refer to a time when we have been spending so much time caring for others that we have neglected our own health and or home environment
Moving Forward in Awe
“In marriage you are not sacrificing yourself to the other person. You are sacrificing yourself to the relationship.
You become mature when you become the authority of your own life.
Life will always be sorrowful. We can’t change it, but we can change our attitude toward it.
Awe is what moves us forward.”
― Joseph Campbell
I feel like writing that sentence down a hundred times. Awe is what moves us forward. It may be awful and it may be awesome but at the extremes the impetus to move may always be found. It is in the middle the doldrums when we don’t feel the awe that our life hovers along or as I use to say ‘circles the runway’. When we have ceased to find the new, the exciting either within or without. When someone complains to me about how they’re stuck and how they feel no forward progress in their lives I ask them to do an exercise for me, each day notice something beautiful and write it down. Believe me no matter how bad life can get, there are very few days in anyone’s life that does not contain at least one moment of beauty. Realizing that tends to revitalize the awesome very quickly.
Blessings, G
Click on images to see full-sized:
Weighing of the Heart by G A Rosenberg
Weighing of the Heart (Variation) by G A Rosenberg
Crossover by G A Rosenberg
Inner Voices – Rambling Thought Streams
“Gaze into the fire, into the clouds, and as soon as the inner voices begin to speak..surrender to them. Don’t ask first whether it’s permitted, or would please your teachers or father or some god. You will ruin yourself if you do that.”
― Hermann Hesse
We ask for guidance from inside, from outside but do we accept it when it comes. Do we write, do we fight the words that come. Are we numb to their meanings rejecting, deflecting protecting ourselves. In wonderful rationalizations we avoid the temptations that they offer thus conditioning does make cowards of us all. What deities or beings or inner higher selves may whisper what we need to hear? We care and we fear but do we dare?
I open myself to the guidance of all and I will fear not but my own discernment.
Blessings, G
Click on images to see full-sized
Eye of the Warrior by G A Rosenberg
Front Man by G A Rosenberg
Tarot Post – King of Pentacles
King of Pentacles (Fire of Earth)
King of Pentacles (Revision) by G A Rosenberg
Wise leader of men
You teach us to tend the earth
Who can know your heart?
Welcome to my home
Surrounded by woods
we can walk in nature
with no neighbours to disturb us
Yes my garden is beautiful
and the landscaping the best.
They work hard
as I have
to get where I am.
Oh luck has been there as well
but I’ve played the game well.
Come inside! Enjoy!
That’s what its all there for.
Can you make our guest a drink?
Sit down and relax
Now hold a minute while I take this call.
— G A Rosenberg
The suit of Pentacles refers to the element of Earth and of practical matters such as money and partnerships both of a business nature and of the home. They can also represent nature, the Earth itself as well as our bodies. Kings are the leaders, the shakers, the initiatory force or person that get things moving. The King of Pentacles is a provider and source of the material. He is the patriarchal businessman who has achieved his success and now wants to help others do the same. He is solid and stable and very aware of both what he has and how he got it. He has weathered many storms and has shown courage in the face of adversity and yet his adventures have mainly been in the business arena. He has social position and wields it in a very relaxed fashion.
The King of Pentacles knows how to enjoy and take pleasure in what he has rather than feeling the need to explore things in depth. He enjoys nature and the outdoors tho he is more for walking in his fields and gardens rather than exploring paths unseen. He is generous of spirit yet finds pleasure in his interior life without the need to go deeper into that as well. He is at his worst when frustrated in his desires to rise to his natural place.
Astrological Correspondence – Astrological Correspondence: 21° Leo – 20° Virgo Elemental: Fire of Earth – Mixes the self-confidence and leadership drive of the third decan Leo with the generosity, discipline, and focus of the first two decans of Virgo and success is almost inevitable. People who are influence by this energy are at their best once they have achieved this success wielding in a very natural fashion the discipline and charisma that got them there. They are fantastic organizers and care for people around them both in the general philanthropic sense but also on the one-to-one level. They may be late-bloomers tho they utilize everything that they have encountered on the way to bring them to the top.
I Ching Correspondence – 62) Hsiao Kwo – Preponderance of the Small –
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The Trigram for Thunder is over that of the Mountain. — Thunder is louder when it is in the mountains as the sound echoes and more focus and attention on detail is needed to avoid landslides and lightning. This Hexagram recommends that success comes when attention is focused on details rather than on large grandiose stunts. There is a hint in here of the story of Icarus who with his wax wings attempted to fly into the sun only to have them melt. The flight itself was an amazing success. Thus if the focus is on step by step achievement of what is possible than success is sure to follow. With attention to right action at the right time, everything is possible.
The King of Pentacles in a reading may often signify someone in a position of power who can help us either financially or with strong practical advice. This person may be found either in the board room or out in nature. He may be someone who is remote or difficult to know but who can be counted on. The card may also mean that play time is over and it is time to attend to practical matters in a detailed and disciplined way. The King of Cups may also mean it is time to enjoy our carnal sensuous side more, almost in a work hard and play hard kind of way. The card often refers to a need to find more enjoyment in every area of our lives as what we enjoy and pay attention to thrives.
The King of Pentacles reversed may indicate someone who feels inaccessible to us whom we were counting on to help. It may represent either someone who is thwarted in their ambitions and has become bitter and resentful or may represent this quality in ourselves. The reversed King of Pentacles may refer to someone who has developed a drinking problem. It may also refer to someone who’s empathy is too deep and has given way to despair.
The Fear of Depths
“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”
― Jim Morrison
Earlier today, I was challenged by a friend who remarked that I never talk about my own fears and that I stay emotionally safe and comfortable in most of my entries here. At first I reacted the way I normally react when challenged. “I don’t have time for this crap right now.” I didn’t send that reply because I have come to realize when I have that response, it normally means that something has hit home and I need to look at it. When I did a realization started dawning and I realized that I have a fear of expressing and probing some of my deeper emotions and what a block it has been.
When I was younger I used to lash out at people and I was intuitive enough to hone in on just what would cause them the most pain.. and would use it on them. It cost me friendships and hurt my relationships with my family… Very few people want to examine their pain. I learned all kinds of neat ways of avoiding feeling things as deeply because i couldn’t handle hurting people. I’ve learned other ways of distancing even while pretending to draw closer so that i don’t have to feel the intensity of their emotions as well.
Most of my closest relationships have been with people who have reinforced this emotional denial mostly by reacting strongly when they sensed disapproval or disagreement from me. It became easier to mask the emotion rather than express it.
In the past years, I have become a lot more open and expressive. If Pandora’s box hasn’t been thrown open, the lid has been raised and I’ve been looking deeper into it. I have found that I can express myself in a way that’s both open, realizing another’s weakness but healing, expressing it in a way that can be resolved. The journey continues.
Blessings, G
Click on images to see full-sized:
Trappings of Love by G A Rosenberg
Floating Ruby and Amethyst by G A Rosenberg
Bookshelf Revelations
“To know a man’s library is, in some measure, to know a man’s mind.”
― Geraldine Brooks
Can we be known by the books that we choose to read, the books we choose to keep or perhaps a bit of both? Most people who have read my blog before know that my tastes in most things is a bit eclectic (I think that’s the nice word for it) and my bookshelf tends to be even more so…Since the advent of ebooks (which has cut down on bookshelf space considerably. What? You say that there is nothing like the feel of a book in your hands? That’s true but with two or more avid readers in the house, book space tends to run into living space way too easily.) With the intent of sharing a bit of myself then, a selection from what’s currently on my e-reader.
- Over My Head by Charles deLint – I love Charles deLint’s writing. His characters are three-dimensional and they understand pain and joy, love and sorrow, art and music. Recently he started a series for young adults called the Wildings of which Over My Head is the second volume. It has many of the same themes that other popular teen fiction has these days but in typical deLint fashion the tropes are just a bit deeper and more thoughtful
- Lady Slings the Booze by Spider Robinson – One of Spider’s best and funniest. Lady Sally runs a place of healthy repute where the courtesans (both male and female) are known as artist’s. Spider’s characters and his humour and his understanding of the human heart are addictive. Plus this is the book where he brings in Nikolai Tesla as a regular character.
- Hyperreason by Mike Hockney. A unique and insightful viewpoint on reality
- Boomeritis by Ken Wilber. When I first heard that Ken Wilber had written a novel, I was fascinated. I have listened to his interviews and lectures and read a few of his books and wondered how his style would carry over. What we get are a few main characters listening and reacting to lectures, yet its Ken Wilbers ideas on integral thinking which I find so vital to the current period we are living in now. This book goes a long way towards explaining Spiral Dynamics in a coherent conversational fashion. I highly recommend this one.
- The Enneagram and Kaballah (Reading Your Soul) – I was looking for insight into the idea of the Enneagram. I have just begun skimming through this book.
- The Whole Elephant Revealed by Marja de Vries. This book is extremely insightful
- Cold Days by Jim Butcher. I love urban fantasy and Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files novels are my favourite of these. A bit like Phillip Marlowe meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer .
- The Wandering Who? by Gilad Atzmon. Atzmon is fairly controversial but he asks some very important political questions.
- Daemons of Pleasure by Austin Osman Spare. Spare is a new discovery. I find his art beautiful and inspiring and his books on magick to be wonderfully poetic and cryptic.
- Outside the Circles of Time by Kenneth Grant. Fascinating views on Kaballism and Magick.
Ten books each of very different nature. I have a lot more but these in particular I have either read, read from or researched in the past week. Ten filters on which I look out on the universe. Ten windows through which people can see different facets of me. What books have you read lately?
Blessings, G
Click on images to see full sized:
Date Night by G A Rosenberg
Opal Gateway by G A Rosenberg
Tarot Post – Page of Swords
Page / Princess of Swords (Earth of Air)
Page of Swords (Revised) by G A Rosenberg
“Teach me” the child said.
I explained a new idea
He then made it real.
I’m going to make it happen
No one has thought of this before
It seems so obvious
and it’s up to me
to make it real.
I am watchful
Ain’t nobody can take away
an idea who’s time has come.
From me it will spread to others
until it lives and breathes
on its own.
I know I can do this
and I will not be stopped.
For so long unnoticed
I’ve watched them all
unaware
of what their lives have become
and how cheaply they’ve been sold
Now my plan will carry them.
Whatever it takes
This is happening.
The suit of Swords represents thought, ideas, plans and conflicts.Pages (or Princesses as they are called in many decks) represent the grounding or emergence of the energy involved. What happens when a new idea is born into the world full blown like Minerva, the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology springing from the forehead of Zeus? There is a thrill of discovery and great enthusiasm to make it a reality. We want everyone to understand and utilize this new thought of ours. We become watchful, ready to take on any challenges or objections that may arise on the way to making our new thought a reality. We may also find ourselves vigilant to make sure someone else doesn’t come along and do it wrong. We move quickly because who knows how long our energy may last or whether we are equal to the task?
The Page of Swords is perceptive and intuitive and full of flashes of insight that he feels the need to make manifest. He may lack the maturity to make it happen however. He may at his worse have trouble finding the right words to express all that he has to say. He may be over-defensive and may find himself answering challenges with way too much contempt for those whom he feels just do not get it.
I Ching Correspondence – 18) Ku – Decay / Repair
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The trigram of the Mountain is over that of Wind. Air trapped inside a mountain range stagnates and there may be a need of a fresh breeze. When any process has gone on too long in the same way it stagnates. Ideas that were innovative in their time give way to expediency and stagnation. Unwatched, even ideals that have led to freedom may have in their turn become even more imprisoning. There arises a constant need to weed out old ideas that no longer serve us and lock us into patterns of behaviour that have grown destructive. It helps us to be open to new viewpoints and paradigms that we can test and adapt. In this way we can continue to grow and evolve.
When the Page of Swords turns up in a reading it often has to do with the need to speak our truth even though we may expect opposition. It may refer to a younger person in our environment who is bright and perceptive but who may be dismissed because of their youth. The card may also refer to news which we may resist because it has the potential to shake up our comfortable lives. The Page of Swords may also refer to someone who has taken an interest in our lives and is trying to learn more about us. It may also be telling us to clear our minds and consider our approach before we try to communicate our ideas.
The reversed Page of Swords may be telling us that we have become too hyper-vigilant and that we are jumping at shadows, seeing opposition everywhere. Too often there is a tendency to use perceived obstacles as an excuse to not move ahead in our lives. It may also be telling us that we or someone in our environment is either talking or acting without thinking things through. The card may also indicate that we have become too fearful of expressing ourselves either because we have not thought things through first or because we are unprepared.
Heroes and Villains
“My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results… but it is the effort that’s heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.”
― George R.R. Martin
Heroes are willing to make a stand and risk it all to make something beyond them better. Perhaps they push a child out of the way of a moving vehicle. Perhaps they are firefighters who rush into a burning building because they hear a dog barking or perhaps they have learned that either the company they work for or the country they grew up believing in has been doing some rather horrible things like monitoring its citizens illegally when the country’s very foundations are based on freedom or perhaps performing illegal activities in other countries and then lying to its citizenry about it. The country in question then turns around and calls these people traitors for exposing this illegal activity. It’s good to know that heroes still exist. Tho a bit unsettling to see that villains do as well.
Blessings, G
 
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Guardians of Flame and Stone by G A Rosenberg
