"Water is always seen as a placid peaceful Walden Pond thing. Where in reality water is a heartless bitch that rips the earth apart, and carries it away. Equating water with love is odd when you learn hydraulics."
The bartender wandered over and stood nearby, That Dan guy continued without a pause.
"My father told me once, 'never turn your back on The Mother'. I think that sometimes things get lost in the meta..." he stopped as I elbowed him harshly. "...what?" He noticed the bartender....
"Sorry to interrupt, I couldn't help but hear most of what you were saying and I have to ask; are you talking about prospecting for gold or Tarot?"
"Both. Alchemy is said to be the father of modern chemistry. However it is also about enriching the spirit, achieving full human potential and becoming closer to God however you invision him her or them. Alchemy is both a metaphor and yet not. Changing dross to gold is a metaphor for pulling ourselves up, enriching our spirit, and becoming whole. Of course the church way back when thought they owned that, that there was one way – their way, or heresy. So everything got wrapped in metaphor and never left. Tarot itself is a metaphor."
He paused long enough to take a breath and I jumped in.
"I once heard this great quote, don't remember who said it, 'God created man because he likes the stories". But nowadays, folks just don't. They sit on the butts in front of a computer, TV or book and call that learning, and go out of doors to recreate. Us, we like to go out of doors to learn from nature, and recreate with book or a computer or whatever. You can't tell God the stories if you don't experience them."
I took a breath and Dan continued, "But there's different kinds of knowledge, some you get from books, and some you get from experience. We all know the story of the monks who one day were told they would 'climb the mountain'. Off they went in the rain, over logs, scrambled up rocks, and hours later arrived at the top to see folks stepping out of a tour bus snapping pictures. One of the monks asked the leader, 'Why'd we have to slog through the muck, when we could have ridden a bus?' The answer was, 'Same mountain, different path.'"
"That's the beauty of metaphors, they layer, different folks get different messages about the same thing."
"Like back when Baroli was sweeping the Temple steps. To her, she learned. To others, she was just sweeping." I took a breath to continue and That Dan guy picked up where I left off.
"That guy there" he indicated one of the patrons, "He's got them octagonal pans. I wonder if he's a Tee Dee Emm user, or if he's contemplated what shape the scales are. The suits aren't just air, fire, water, and earth. There are whole other actions going on. Take earth. We grow plants, we make mud-pies, we explore her for minerals. But she's not static. She's dynamic. She's still forming."
We both took a swig of cold gold liquid, and he continued. "Back when Mt St Helens blew, them science guys told us the area would be lifeless and dead for years. They were dead wrong. Nature takes care of her own. The area was green in no time."
"Back when the Exxon Valdez grounded and leaked" I injected, "Them bookie guys said the waters in the area would be lifeless for years. They was dead wrong. Nature takes care of her own."
"Sometimes you have to pull your head out of..."
"the books and get your feet wet to really learn how it all works."
The bartender looked back at that Dan guy as he picked up my thoughts, "See that gal down there?"
"The one that's glowing?"
"That's the one. She learned to find gold. Never went to the woods to do it, but she panned the depths of her own soul – and worked the black sand to give up its due."
"Black sand?"
"Gold is found in the heavies. Black sand is heavy. It's crushed garnet and heavy minerals so it drops below the overburden along with the gold. When you look at a gold bearing stream, you see rocks and gravel, mud and yuck. That's the overburden. You have to dig down deep, move all that away, to get to the black sand."
"And you guys are saying that this is the same for when a person wishes to grow spiritually, they have to remove the overburden of their minds and soul to find the black sand within?"
"Told you she was the best bartender in town."
"Now in the Bible, they have the story of Exodus, leaving Egypt. Fact is, we are all born in bondage. Our own private Egypt. And we spend our lives trying to find our way out of the wilderness."
"She did?"
"No. She journeyed from Berlin. Same same. Long journey, lots of overburden. And she found joy."
"You guys want another round?"
"I'm good, you?"
"I'm good, but I have one last point. Tarot helped her. She found the analogies within the suits, she made the brave choices and took the leaps of faith required. There were times she had to be told to put down the mouse and step away from the keyboard – just look at the results."
"Tarot – is a metaphor, a tool. Study all you want. You have to actually begin using the tool to actuate changes in your life, you have to live the changes. Sometimes you have to fire your guardian angels who resist change and push boundaries like The Fool."
“I once heard that Mrs Umbrae said something about, “not everybody is here to learn” can you comment on that?”
“Riffles. It's the riffles in the pan and the sluice that traps the gold.”
“You're saying that some are here to...”
“Stop. Remember – to others – you can be their riffles.”
The bartender held up her hand, "Can I ask you guys a question? Are you twins?"
"Same parents, different families"
"Separated at birth?"
That Dan guy looked at me, "Your turn to pay."
What a creep. The bill was paid, and we both left – although only one passed through the door.
