Guidance of Shiva and Kama

Sawubona! This morning in practice, I took pause to invite guidance for the collective. I requested this offering in sacred space from The Sacred India Tarot. Here is what the cards delivered

THE CARD

The Five of Lotuses ~ Shiva Incinerates Kama

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THE SUIT TATTVA:

(Tattva: the five elements and building blocks of life and fundamental forces at work throughout nature. Prithvi:Earth, Jala:Water, Agni:Fire, Vayu:Air Akasha:space)

In this deck, Lotus corresponds to the traditional cups suit, associated with the element of water. Water connects us with the fluidity of emotion and the energy within us that flows. The bodies that house our divine consciousness are made up mostly of water. Water takes the form of whatever it is held by and it flows around obstacles. Water is soft, yet powerful. Think of the Grand Canyon. The impact that water can have. 

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THE CARD TATTVA:

The card of this suit corresponds to Akasha & Jala. Space and Water. This combination brings the fluidity, the purification and the ease of water combined with the expansiveness of space. The Akasha, Quintessence, is the 'essence' of all things in the material world, the first material element born of the astral world. Akasha's characteristic is of sound, vibration, shabda. That which gives space, creating room for the exitence of all. AKASHA.Space.JALA.Water. Spacewater! 

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THE DWARA REVEALS

The doorway: "The word dwara means 'doorway' or 'threshold'. 

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The dwara reveals....represents that the revealing of this archetype in the tarot initiates a transition for consciousness, thus opening a doorway to walk through, shifting perception, seeing a new view.

(Backstory - This card picks up in the midst of an epic tale. Prior to this scene Shiva, the Mahadeva, has exiled himself to go deep into meditation after losing his wife, Sati in a most terrible way. He is "cosmic consciousness that breathes the universe in and out of existence." Sati takes birth as Parvati and is serving in a wheel of karmic return. Her destiny, to marry Shiva seems impossible with his hermitage. With Shiva recluse, a power seeking deva,  who can only be killed by the son of Shiva, has grown in power creating havoc on the land....and so Kamadeva, the deity of desire is called in to create lust within Shiva - Kama shoots a burning arrow of desire into Shiva's heart.)

Shiva is enraged by the trickery of Kama, which provokes him to open his Anjneyu Chakra, third eye, seat of Viveka, the power of discrimination. Shiva sends a firebolt of divine retribution for Kama's insolence, incinerating him instantly...... Offering up a divine mystic truth: 
"Only being grounded in Consciousness can vanquish desire." 

This part of the epic tale represents:

• Triumph in the evolution of consciousness: "Desire can be recognised, denied and overcome." 
• Defeating the trust in power of lower nature - represented by Kama's attempt to pry Shiva from meditation with the physical beauty and desire of Parvati.
• The power of desire can not overwhelm Awareness.

THE INSIGHT: Make self-care a bigger priority right now. This card indicates that we may be out of balance, too focused on our desires.  Our work is in purging ourselves from the pursuit of anything valueless. By increasing our awareness of ourselves and tuning into any spiritual disconnect or depression we can awaken to the truth. Exposing our suffering to the light of awareness can be daunting, but it is always transformational.

We are being called to really be engaged in the PROCESS. To awaken consciousness and interaction in relationships. The teachers that arrive in our lives to stimulate us to expand or contract. The guidance of this card is telling us to seek balance between introspection, internal spaciousness and expansion in interaction with the phenomenal and material world. To be aware, discerning and present when engaged. 

This card is calling us out on our desires. Asking for us to check in with ourselves, to create the time and space for seeking inner wisdom and enlightenment, but to understand that to reach enlightenment is not a destination, it is a state of BEING. Being in the world. If we remain in the reclusiveness of seeking inner wisdom, we have missed the point. The dance, the Leela, between material and spiritual. The purpose in any given situation is for us to be the light. If we remain in the state of withdrawal we can not affect change, we can not experience, we must get off our asses and DO.

Sometimes we must have a complete and utter breakdown in order to achieve this. If you're falling apart, go ahead and let go....empty and purge. Create the time for that experience. Sometimes, we must lose everything we hold dear to awaken. There are times when the most wonderful thing that can happen to us is to be utterly drained, to be stripped of our defenses....to be left raw, open and vulnerable. To hit rock bottom, so that we may awaken to the truth that God is the rock at the bottom. Once we arrive in this place we can see how the external disruptive forces that surround us and pull at our attention. We can see our desires for what they truly are. We must see that the external can not disrupt the infinite wellspring of bliss that is our true nature. 

This card is telling us to seek the higher soul contract purpose of our situations and relationships. To see past the depression and overwhelm, to let go of our desire to retreat from difficult relationships, to retreat from the phenomenal material world, to release our desire for hermitage, and to connect. The hardest thing to do in this world, is to Love and BE LOVEd in return. 

So, go go BE LOVE....

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