Metaphors, Regulars and Shorts

Metaphors of the Month: September 2011

By Suzanne Wagner

Our conscious presence is our gift to others.

Osho Zen Tarot: Stress, Courage, Sorrow
Medicine Cards: Blank Shield, Dolphin, Hummingbird
Mayan Oracle: Eb, Imix, Complex Stability
Ancient Egyptian Tarot: Hanged Man, Nine of Disks, Six of Swords

Aleister Crowley Deck: Satiety, Success, The Universe
Words of Truth: Knowing, Sacred Fun, Abandonment

Every generation experiences events that propel them into previously unknown territories. This particular time is filled to the brim with massive shifts of consciousness and global responsibility. Conflicts are more extreme, and shifts more dramatic. Nothing happens in a small way anymore.

In times of great stress, we find the depth of our courage; in times of sorrow, we find our compassion. When reality shifts and you find yourself dealing with the unknown, you learn how to make your inner dolphin and humming­bird dance together. This is a beautiful metaphor for this month.

The dolphin is a smart, watery archetype with a playful quality. The hummingbird is a beautiful, quick, fragile, air creature. With practice, their energies can find the balance to flow together.

I use the model of dance for this balancing because to dance well you have to have some skill, some awareness of movement, some control, and the desire to abandon self-judgment.

The trick is practice.

With practice, we grow our ability to choose and adapt. With skill comes confidence. Abandon is the ultimate goal when you combine the strength of practice and the confidence that comes from skill. Only with both can you create art that takes you beyond the form into the formless.

A hummingbird knows one dynamic, air. The dolphin is the master of the water element. Each has to step beyond their comfort zone to connect. Each has to overcome fear of the unknown. When you are no longer in your habitual flow, you must rely on instinct. You must trust the divine that flows among all life forms.

Each archetype must learn to trust. But what are you trusting? This is not about trusting others—it’s about trusting your own flow, your own awareness, and your own body/mind to give you an experience beyond the present constructs of your life.

Make the flow a dance and allow more awareness to fill your consciousness. With awareness, you stay alert to potential missteps. With awareness, you connect to the deeper heart within all things, and nature reveals its many splendored patterns.

That is where the growth is. Not in the routine of mundane existence but in the exploration beyond the known into the alternative realms of universal creation.

This month, you can spontaneously dance something graceful and unique by playing the game of conscious intent.

If you are the dolphin, try not to get your hummingbird wet because then she will not be able to fly. If you are the hummingbird, try not to move unconsciously because that dolphin jumping out of the water to dance with you might miscalculate where you are. Breathe into the rhythm of each other.

Let go of your patterns and the desire to do it your way. Only by reaching out to each other in the language of compassion and play can we find a unique expression that will open us to something new and divine.

We become our best selves when we are not paying attention to our wants, needs, or desires but learning to feel into others.

Our conscious presence is our gift to others. It is not about what we want to give others. It is not about what we think is our gift. It is about becoming so aware that we can see and give what someone else needs. Then we are dancing with them. And they have the opportunity to dance with us.

We are in interesting times, no question about it. How you experience these moments is what matters. Will you allow the intense energies to thrash you against the rocks or will you learn how to go with the flow? There is beauty in intensity. There is depth in letting go. There is divinity in reaching beyond the known.

Have a beautiful dance this month!

Suzanne Wagner is the author of numerous books and CDs on the tarot. suzwagner.com

This article was originally published on September 1, 2011.