Parting the Mists

Good Friday morning! Here’s an excellent card for the weekend! Even if you are being careful during the pandemic, sometimes you can visit a friend sitting a bit apart and with masks (but still with tea or coffee) or call or message them. The weekend is traditionally for relaxation and socialization, so don’t forget a friend you maybe haven’t contacted in a while. You never know, you might make their week!

Blessings!

Tea and Coffee

Keywords and phrases: Good will, harmony, chat, companionship, social events, friends and friendliness, community

Meaning: Friendship

In the charming image, two ladies, Tea and Coffee, are enjoying those drinks and each other’s company. Tea, who is Chinese, wears the traditional Chinese outfit of tunic and trousers, the tunic composed of the leaves and yellow flowers of the actual tea plant. Her left hand rests on a teapot; in her right hand, she holds a delicate white cup upon which has alighted an enormous fly who, it would appear, is also a tea lover. Coffee, on the other hand, is European. She is drinking a cup of her favorite brew. Beside her is a tall coffeepot and at her feet there is a coffee grinder. The atmosphere is one of pleasant relaxation. The insects are an unusual, though typically Grandvillesque, addition to the scene.

This card is about finding and valuing friendship. “To attract good fortune, spend a new penny on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend, and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing his name on the wings of a dragon.” This advice, contained in a Chinese proverb, is more easily offered than followed, especially the last bit. Having said that, one’s name on the wings of a dragon does sound a rather fine thing, especially when you bear in mind that Chinese dragons are, usually, bringers of happiness and good fortune. Spending a new penny on an old friend? That is okay, of course, as long as you remember it’s the thought that counts, not the money (or perhaps, account for inflation), and, while we are in proverbial mood, that the best things in life are free. Sharing an old pleasure with a new friend may be something as simple and satisfying as having a cup of tea or coffee and a good chat with them. In short, this card is a reminder that it is good to treasure our friends and to share with them.  Life is busy; we have jobs, studies, love affairs, children. In all this, friends can get sidelined. Try not to let this happen.

If you want to find new friends, where to look? Apart from simply going out to social events, you could acquire a pen pal, possibly in another country; this can open up a whole new world, as well as enabling you to practice your language skills. A variation of this is the key pal, someone you community with via email. Lots of friends are made through sharing a hobby or playing a sport together. If the concept of a soulmate holds true, you will probably encounter this person anyway, whether it be at school, at work, on the beach, or in the queue outside the movie theater. If you have become distanced from friends, for whatever reasons, this may be an excellent time to bridge that distance. Pickup up the phone, or sit by the keyboard, or pick up a pen. Your friend may be in Cina but that doesn’t matter; friendships can span the globe and last a lifetime.

Victorian Flower Oracle by author Sheila Hamilton and artists J.J. Grandville, Karen Mahony and Alexandr Ukolov