26 GRATEFUL CARDS

By Judy Jennings © Copyright 2014 

 

 

Tarot is filled with images and symbols that speak to the essence of what it means to be human.  The triumphs embody states of mind that are shared by all of us; some of these may be more enlightened states than others, but all allude to the universal human condition.  A good example of this is Strength, which addresses the human potential to direct instinct into a positive creative direction. 

Where does gratitude appear in Tarot?  Is there one card in particular that focuses on the quality of gratitude as its theme?  Actually, I don't think there is.  Last year at this time when I looked for cards that represented gratitude, I picked just one.  The one that spoke to me then was the Six of Pentacles, with its egalitarian philanthropist giving to other characters in need of help.  This year I flipped through the deck, picking out card after card that demonstrates gratitude to me from one angle or another.  When I was done there were 26 on the table, each on talking about a different aspect of thankfulness.

“Well, I didn’t want to be excessive,” someone else said, eyeing my enormous spread next to her tidy stack of three cards.  I wondered what that meant.  Is it possible to have too much gratitude?  And, more importantly, what does it mean that gratitude doesn’t have its own card? 

 

My thought is that it’s because gratitude is a personal decision, rather than a human condition.  Gratitude seems to be an ingredient, one essential component that opens the door to many greater things.  Gratitude appears to be, much like love and happiness, a choice.

 

 So when I sit down these days and look through the cards for an expression of gratitude and see a wide spectrum that was invisible to me this time last year, I think maybe I’ve grown.  For that, I’m grateful.