tarot has an older sister

Can you guess what I am???

I am an esoteric treasure chest disguised as an ordinary household object, slipping with the greatest of ease through epochs of time.

I am underneath your very own nose, and indeed, between your very own fingertips.

I transcend the borders of nationality, language and beliefs, too invisible and too insidious to fall prey to those who would control the dissemination of real knowledge.

Have you guessed me yet?

Easily accessed in lavish royal chambers, homes of the poor, the cell of the jailed and the office of the warden, can you guess what I am?

Indeed, divine knowledge is merciful and cannot be shut out. There is truth for the asking – our human right, and have you guessed me yet???

I am the deck of playing cards.

A simple book of paper, pages unbound; absent of words yet intriguingly symbolic: unassuming. Let us step closer and direct our gaze for a moment at this demure muse, this seeming wallflower compared to its’ more flashy city cousin, the tarot.

...(The remainder of this article can be viewed at http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/little-book-secrets) -Jack of Hearts from The Playing Card Oracles deck by my dad, C.J.

The Invitation (abridged)

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstacy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to be careful
be realistic
remember the limitations of being human.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon
"yes"

It doesn't interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
i want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself.
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

-Orion Mountain Dreamer, painting by A. Andrew Gonzalez

Vibration creates form with David Icke