Card of the Day - August 31, 2011

Today's Card of the Day from the Fairy tale tarot is the 4 of Cups depicted by the Brazilian story called "Why the Sea Moans". The story goes like this:
Once there was a princess who lived in a castle by the sea. One day she heard the waves whisper her name "Dionysia". She looked and saw a serpent rising from the surface. He hissed, "I am Labismena. Lets be friends and play by the sea." They played together for many years and when the princess turned sixteen, the serpent bade her good bye and left. He said "If you ever need me, return to this spot and call my name".

The wife of a king was on her deathbed and she told the king to marry the woman whose finger fitted the ring perfectly. He searched far and wide and finally the ring fitted Dionysia. She did not want to marry the old king so she rushed to her favorite spot on the beach and called out to her friend Labismena. After hearing her story, he told her,"Tell your father that you will only marry the king if he presents you with a dress that has all the colours of all the flowers in the field." With this request, the king was annoyed but he found the dress. Then she returned to the beach again. Labismena said," Tell your father that you will only marry the king if he presents you a dress with the colour of all the fishes in the sea." The king was growing angry but he acquired the dress. The princess was upset, she said,' It is useless! I will surely end up an old man's bride." He said," Tell your father to tell the king to present you with a dress the colour of the sky and the stars." The king was outraged but after much expense and effort he fulfilled her request. She ran back to the beach and begged her friend to help her one last time. He told her to bring her three dresses and climb into a boat. "Is there any way I can thank you?" "Yes there is. When you are at the peak of your happiness, go to the shore and call out my name three times. I am really a princess turned into a sea serpent. But your joy has the power to break the curse." She went on the boat and reached an island. There was a festival in town and she dazzled everyone when she wore her flower dress. The prince was mesmerized. On the second day, she wore the dress of fishes and the third day the dress of stars. Before the evening, the prince declared his love for her and gave her a jewel and asked her to marry him. But she vanished.

The prince became heartsick. One day he found the jewel in the food he was eating. He asked who prepared the meal and recognized the cook as the mysterious lady. They married, but in their joy they forgot about the serpent princess. The sea serpent resigned to her fate, retreated into loneliness of the dark water. Her sad moans spread across the waves and could be heard by anyone who listened carefully to the subtle sounds of the sea.

The snake princess is lonely.  We might feel that way today. We can sometimes get caught up in situations and fail to see the solution. We might be so upset with our troubles that we do not see that the other person is much more troubled than us. Sometimes we need to take a step back and revisit a problem. There are some people who only give, and some who only receive. We should maintain a balance between both. We must learn to GIVE and RECEIVE. Both are equally important.