OshoZen 6 of Clouds (swords)

[Briar Rose]

OshoZen 6 of Clouds (swords) :
The Burden

Funny how the figure (the Burden) on this guys back appears very much to be dress in a Jester's outfit!

Does anyone know what the rooster symbolizes (on top if his head)?

In Feng Shui a Rooster is said to stop the quarrel in an office. I have a huge Rooster on top of my refrigerator in the kitchen.

Most people say, 'you have a monkey on your back' if your carring a burden? Is that correct?

Haven't we been through a card like this already?

 

[Alan Ross]

I think this card is about all of the expectations that are continually heaped on us by others. I believe it's good to have goals to strive for, but they should be your own. Too many of us spend our lives trying to live up to the expections of our parents, our church, our friends and associates, etc. We end up giving our life away! It takes courage to be an individual and pursue your own dreams, your own inner vision.

Traditionally, when the rooster crows, we are expected to rise and shine. That is the first expectation that is placed on us for the day. Placed on us by a bird! That's what I think the rooster in the card represents.

 

[Judith D]

I would think the rooster would be more the chinese rooster type - like the year of the rooster. I looked up characteristics of the rooster - 'Brave, Romantic, Motivated, Proud, Blunt, Resentful, Boastful' and I think the rooster in our card is more likely to be the proud, boastful one.
The figure on our character's back indeed looks like a jester at first glance, yet if you look closely, he is more fancy than clownlike - overdressed and overblown with self. The rooster looks like a feathery, fancy hat perched right on top. It makes me think that we carry these burdens almost willingly because we do not look closely at what they really are and what they truly represent in our lives, and how they affect us. If we realised how foolish they are, we would shrug them off more easily. This would lighten our souls as well as our bodies. And then we would also be ourselves instead of what we think we ought to be when weighed down with the expectations of others.
Matching this to the RWS 6 of swords is a little more difficult. This is the one with the boatman taking the cloaked figure over the river - representing a soul journey, progress towards or potential for growth. Six is a successful completion, so the journey is positive.
In our 'Burden' the lesson is to get rid of the non-essentials you carry with you, to show the beauty of your own truth, so it will match the idea of spiritual growth.

 

[Grizabella]

One thing I've learned in sobriety is that if I've wronged someone, then I do my best to make amends right away. Admitting when I'm wrong is also a way of making amends. Not being that rooster who has to face off and puff up and stand my ground in battle is the way to move to a position where I don't have to feel the burden of keeping up appearances.

 

[squeakmo9]

I've seen this card come up for me when I am doing something totally unnecessary and with the wrong intentions. It also does coincides with a tired feeling. Usually by the time I see this cloud card, I already know what I need to drop. It could be the smallest thing that makes th biggest difference within 24 hours to my energy level.

 

[Adjustment]

When you get this card in a reading does suggest that you will continue to carry the burden?

 

[Alan Ross]

When you get this card in a reading does suggest that you will continue to carry the burden?

I don't think so. I think the idea is to recognize that this burden has been imposed on you by others so you can deal with it. As the book suggests, "...to see the lie is to cease to lie." I think the idea is that once you see the lie for what it is, the lie that society and its institution impose on us about what is expected of us, we can cease owning that lie and repeating it to ourselves. Once we do that, we are free to follow our own truth, the truth that comes not from outside ourselves, but from deep within the core of our beings. When we can achieve that, we will shed the burden like water off a duck's back.

 

[Master_Margarita]

The image for the 6 of Clouds is one that I associate with the 10 of Wands in RWS clone decks. Once again I'm reminded that this deck has its own opinions about these things.

Someone above asked about the rooster. In traditional Buddhism the rooster is a symbol of greed, one of the Three Poisons that prevent enlightenment and keep us being reborn endlessly in this and other worlds. We are burdened by our desires. It is a delusion to think that happiness will be achieved by the next item, and the next item, and the next item of our desire. The desire is the burden.