Surrendering to Relationship. This is not the surrender of co-dependency, the giving up of Self with a capital S. No, this is the surrender of the illusion of isolation — that one's actions don't affect another you are in relationship with. The humility of this surrender goes beyond a relationship with a loved one. This is a surrender to letting relationship be the teacher.
This day calls for an affirmation, a practice I think is often misused, since simply repeating an affirmation does not make it true or "manifest" anything. What it certainly does do though is activate the unconscious -- both the power to take actions to make it real, and the negative aspect of Shadow that would do anything in its power to prevent this outcome. So what is the affirmation for today?
I open myself to let every relationship, no matter how important or seemingly trivial deepen my connection with my spiritual essence and the essence of others.
In other words, having the humility to learn from all. This is echoed in the Mishnah that is traditionally read during the period of counting the Omer, the Pirke Avot:
Ben Zoma said, "Who is wise? One who learns from all."
So let's look at the Tarot and see what information its images might offer today. Let's consider the 8 and the 9 of cups. In in the 8 of Cups, the Hod card, we see a wall of cups, with a space between the cups on the upper level. And we see a figure turned away and headed up the mountain under the light of the moon. It suggests to me an abandoning of old emotional defenses that are not only no longer needed or positive, but also not even effective. A willingness to be vulnerable on the journey into the darkness. This is a kind of surrender. And it suggests what must be done if we are to experience the connection that Yesod promises.
However in the 9 of cups we see a man who is clearly quite self-satisfied. He has wealth, and in fact, he is surrounded by a wall of cups that completely isolates him. This is what happens when you don't surrender and walk away from the very seductive defenses of the Cups -- and it is seductive, since it is a table filled, crowded with Cups. Given the sensual nature of Yesod, this is suggestive a being lost in the world of the senses in a way that prevents and defends from relationship. Sensual pleasure without spiritual connection. The man in this card is a warning of what happens if you don't take the high road and leave these cups behind as seen in the 8 of Cups. This man in the 9 of Cups believes he has nothing to learn from anyone: after all, isn't he successful and surrounded by material wealth? Indeed. He is surrounded. And alone.
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