1.8.23
Catching up . . .
A Personal Note
Yes, campers—there is such a thing as “Cedar Fever.”
It’s actually an allergy to the pollen produced by juniper trees (aka Mountain Cedar), which blows through Texas like a storm in January of every year. Those who are extra susceptible (raising hand) usually fall into a swoon soon after this annual apocalypse begins.
For reference: today is the first and only day of January 2023 when the juniper pollen has fallen below 9 here.
In case you’re wondering why Cedar Fever is a such a travail, I’ll just explain that in addition to general “extreme allergy” symptoms, victims experience overwhelming sleepiness along with (when awake) brain fog. And in case you’re wondering if there isn’t something that can be done . . . the answer is no, as long as you live in proximity to this particular allergen. That applies to homeopathic and other alternative remedies, as well as desensitization, steroids, and anything else you can think of.
For the record, I’ll happily move far, far away from the last stand of juniper trees, whenever fate permits. But in the meantime, I’ll take advantage of today’s very slight lull, and write fast!
A Tarot Perspective
Even if you’re not much of a football fan, you’ve likely heard that Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field last week. I didn’t want to write about this event while the outcome was unknown—but now that it seems Hamlin will recover, I’ll share some Tarot-related thoughts.
The Tower
Commotio cordis (presumed cause of Hamlin’s arrest) is a rare event in which the heart’s rhythm is disrupted by a blow to the left chest, occurring just as the heart is poised for its next beat. In order to produce such an effect, the blow must happen not just at a particular second, but within a time window of 40 milliseconds.
This fantastically specific event is known to happen fewer than two dozen times a year in the United States. It’s a completely unpredictable occurrence, so I can’t help but think about the suddenness we associate with “The Tower.”
Death
Strictly speaking, Hamlin, and anyone else who suffers commotio cordis is dead immediately. They might be resuscitated, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t dead. So I’m thinking about transitions, and that leads me to another of the Tarot’s notoriously difficult trumps . . . .
The Hanged Man
For me, “The Hanged Man” is primarily about in-between states, suspended between one reality and another. It’s often (but not always, of course) about hanging in the balance. And I thought of this image in connection with daily reports about Hamlin’s unresolved condition.
The Wheel of Fortune
Damar Hamlin was struck down in a millisecond by one of life’s most unlikely events. He’s recovering because help was close at hand—or, from another perspective, because fate intervened. Twice.
Is there a larger meaning to all this? I have some suspicions, but will leave off for now.
On the Lighter Side
Somewhat surprisingly, there isn’t a football-themed Tarot deck. But! Advertising whiz Roswell Saunders created a campaign for Snickers that included “bad advice” from a new age psychic. Though the spot itself is unfortunate (see for yourself), it includes this whimsical spread of custom-designed Tarot cards:
I wish he’d done a whole deck!
And Finally—Artificial Intelligence?
By now everyone must have heard that AI is reaching new levels of capability. This is a very big deal, with complicated consequences. But for today, I’ll just offer a quick example. I asked an AI to write a paragraph about Tarot and art, and here’s what it came up with:
Some people believe that tarot cards can be used for divination, or predicting the future. Others believe that they can be used as a tool for self-reflection and personal growth. Some people use tarot cards to create art. This can be done by using the tarot as a source of inspiration, or by using the tarot as a tool to help you interpret your own artwork.
Not deep, but not wrong. And if you had read this paragraph somewhere, would you have suspected that it was “written” by a non-human?
I also tested several AI illustration programs, offering a range of Tarot-related instructions. The results were so truly awful that I won’t even show them. But you can try your own luck using Canva’s AI or Dall-E.
Now that I’ve invited everyone into my allergy experiences, I’ll share that the outlook for this week is not encouraging:
But tomorrow looks better than the rest, so I’ll take a shot at wrapping up the “Kabbalah and Tarot” thread begun at Christmas.
Also yet to come, my list of 2022 favorites, plus a Play-Doh follow-up, and a pair of newly discovered decks.
Warm regards, C