A piece of sky has fallen to earth. The piece in question is a panel from an outdoor stage setup at the lake house in my local park, that was being dismantled when I walked the dog this morning.
I felt I had been dealt a living Tarot card from the world.
My mind went to the traditional Iroquois teaching that we must "remember the sky" in order not to fall into the Dark Times in our lives or our world. Tohsa sasa nikonh'ren, as they say in Mohawk. "Do not let your mind fall." Meaning: don't let your mind fall from the knowledge of Earth-in-the-Sky, the world-beyond-the-world that holds the origin and meaning of the human adventure here below, on the Turtle's back. I write about all of this in Dreamways of the Iroquois.
Reflecting on these things, I walked home under light rain, and found another Tarot card from the world. On the sidewalk on my own block, two cages were being offered for sale. The handwritten notice began: "AIRLINE APPROVED. $25." You could pick a rigid or a collapsible cage. I know, I know, from one point of view they are just crates for animal transportation that someone no longer wants, maybe because they not longer have pets, or are not planning to move again. But a larger symbolism stirred me. Forget the sky, forget the bigger story, fall to earth and forget what you came here, and sooner or later you'll find yourself in a cage, perhaps one conveniently prefabricated and supplied at a good price by others.
In a big dream reported in Active Dreaming, the Lion told me: "Humans are the only animals that choose to live in cages."
Interesting, what the world gives us to play with on any day, if we are open to the dreamlike play of symbols in everyday life. Baudelaire was right: we are walking in a forest of living symbols that are looking at us.
