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.
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