one of the things that i love about the wooden tarot is how easy the deck makes it to tie tarot back into nature (even as almost every single animal in the deck has Too Many Eyes). in other decks, the five of plumes would be the five of swords, which most people associate with self-destruction, self-interest, pyrrhic victories.
but when i look at this card, in this deck, that’s not what i see. it’s certainly possible that the jay pecked out three of its own eggs, though it seems equally possible that the eggs were broken in some other manner.
it reminds me of annie dillard’s pilgrim at tinker creek: “Evolution loves death more than it loves you or me. This is easy to write, easy to read, and hard to believe. The words are simple, the concept clear - but you don’t believe it, do you? Nor do I.”
i think nature can seem monstrous, because it has no particular regard for any of its creatures. chances are, all five of those eggs were not going to grow up into adult birds. maybe now that three of them are out of the running, the parent can focus on making sure the remaining eggs survive.
all this to say, darlings: self-interest isn’t always a bad thing. sometimes we need a little bit of it to survive. don’t forget that, this week, as the season starts to shift and the nights grow longer. we can survive what comes next.
*
this week’s deck: the wooden tarot
this week’s crystal: selenite