Daily Draw for September 23, 2015
The Giants’ Tarot, Raven Kaldera
After yesterday’s draw of balance and centering in preparation for the Equinox, today we are advised to mind boundaries, especially in terms of guarding our own boundaries against trickery.
Ior, the rune of Jormundgand, the World Serpent, reminds us that boundaries are necessary to protect ourselves on both the material and non-material planes. A strong boundary keeps out negative influences, as well as allowing us sacred space to do our own work within the boundary. Think about not only what you are keeping out, but about what you are protecting, and nurture that which is special and sacred.
Suttung, for all of the physical barriers he erected, was unable to protect his dearest treasures–his daughter, Gunnlod, and the Mead of Poetry–from Odin, who took the form of a snake to sneak into the smallest of openings in the rock. Had Suttung allowed his daughter a regular life as a member of the community, perhaps she would not have succumbed to Odin’s charms and been able to guard the Mead of Poetry. Oh, who are we kidding? Odin is Oh-So-Charming when He deems it necessary. However, the suggestion for us is to look at whether we are going to unhealthy extremes to guard our treasure, when a bit of generosity would serve everyone far better.
Then, Loki and Thor play dress up to fool Thrym and regain Thor’s hammer. Now that you have allowed yourself time to enjoy the idea of the God of Thunder in an apron dress and braids, let’s look at what’s going on here. A valuable treasure (Mjollnir) has been stolen from its rightful owner (Thor), and Thrym demands an impossible price–the hand of Freya. Freya is having none of that, thankyouverymuch, it’s not Her hammer and it’s not Her problem. (That boundary thing again.) The direct approach–Thor storming into Thrym’s hall and taking it back by force–won’t work, because Thor is without His weapon. So, of course, Loki comes to the rescue with the idea for Thor to disguise Himself as Freya, and fool Thrym long enough for Thor to retake the hammer. Setting aside how Thrym could possibly have seen Thor dressed so and taken Him to be Freya (maybe Loki threw some extra glamors over Him), Thor is having to compromise what is most important to Him–His self-image as the manliest of manly men–to regain what is most valuable to Him. And He has to trust Loki, which, well, let’s just say that was probably as much of a stretch as getting Thor to dress in women’s clothing.
Today will likely have difficult choices–what must you give up to protect what is yours? You may have to choose between things of equal importance, which is even more difficult. You may also have to trust someone you have very good reason not to trust–if you do, make the decision consciously, acknowledging that it might not work out in your best interest. Understand why the other person is offering to help, and step back and see if there is a way you can do this without them. If you absolutely must work with this person, keep your shields up and don’t give away your game–you need a Plan C for when they go to Plan B.