Happy Mother's Day!
Damn, this thing wandered all the way to hell and back!
The nature of divinity can’t be known to us. We may get a glimpse, a little peek; we may gain some level of understanding, but ultimately as imperfect mortal beings we’ll never truly be able to comprehend the divine.
That’s why those who claim to truly know God’s mind, or will, or plan are so damn dangerous. Because they justify oppression and violence as in keeping with divine mandate, and they are deluded on top of that, believing that somehow, they alone truly know God.
In times of war, thousands of soldiers, millions of citizens, pray to God so that they may defeat their enemy. Kill him. Stain the earth with his blood. Meanwhile, on the other side of the line, that same enemy prays for the same victory over them. We may not be able to comprehend the true nature of divinity, but we can still recognize that nothing at all could be more odious to God. That praying for God’s assistance in slaying another is at its root, evil.
Sorry, I’m wandering pretty far from Mother’s Day here!
I’ll try to get back to it.
It is though possible, I think, for us to emulate the divine.
The fundamental truth that we can know is that divinity does not mindlessly destroy. Rather it creates.
And through the act of creation, we are doing the work of the divine.
We may paint, or garden, or write. We might sculpt or scrapbook. Maybe we create a beautiful home or read Tarot cards. All these things are good, all reflect the work of divinity.
Perhaps most of all, closest to the divine, we may have and raise children. Create life.
This a mother can’t do on her own. The Sun needs the Moon. The generative principle needs the active principle. The Empress needs the Emperor.
But as much as our modern society might like to deny it, mothers are different from fathers. A man may sire a child and then leave, millions do just that. Mothers generally do not. Fathers tend to be harder, colder. Mothers tend to nurture and caretake.
The Emperor does play a vital role in the creation of life, but it is the Empress who is most often called upon to closely protect and guide that life as it grows.
My mother and I didn’t get along all that well when I was a kid. I was a rebellious and headstrong little monster, much more in keeping with my father than my mother, so our relationship was rocky to say the least. As, in all honesty, was theirs.
Thankfully that has changed for the better as the years have passed. We do quite well together now, but things were tough between us as I was growing up.
Ultimately though, I recognize that I would not be the person I am today without my mother’s influence. I may have bucked against her guidance, but nevertheless that guidance was vital.
So, on this Mother’s Day, here’s to my mother, the Empress in my life, and here’s to all the other Empress’s out there! Without you, life would not exist. Without your influence life would be brutish. Without you, we mortals could not do the work of the divine.
Have I got a treat for you! Or maybe it’s a nightmare!
All of my writings from the past week, all in one place.
Much more than just Tarot, I hope you enjoy!
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I like what you did there! Wonderful ode!
My mother gave birth to me on Mother's Day in the same town where Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was born. I always referred to myself as a Mother's Day present?