Black bear as Devil?
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| fluffy |
11 Feb 2005 |
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I recently had a dream where I was looking through a deck of Tarot cards and admiring them. I saw quite a few majors, but the only one i can remember is the Devil - this was either one or two black bears. Big ones that looked fierce. I loved the deck, it seemed quite dark, but i really connected to it. Does anyone know whether a deck with black bears as the devil exists?
Love fluffy
xx
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| HOLMES |
11 Feb 2005 |
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i would try to remember more about the dream.
1. what else was going on,
2. what exactly were the black bears doing?
3. were they fighting the devil? or were they situated as to look directly as you as to scare you ?
now,
around here i have a deathly fear of bears. well a few summer ago there was this huge black bear alwasy coming to the dump that was stupidly situatied right in front of my yard by the band.
in fact it was trying to get into some people houses so they shot it.
a bear wouldn't had to have died if the garbage wasnt placed there in the first place
out here in the woods one can walk into a bear easily and surpisingly as well.
for me the devil means fear, bondage through addiction, and love of power.
4. perhaps the bear represent a deep seated fear personally for you and so you seen the devil as the bears.
5. the bears also symbolize the power in the woods and so it could mean that you are looking for power in a big forest lol(think the urban jungle )
it could also relate to being afraid of bears for you were eaten by a bear perhaps in caveman days, pioneer days (think the ending of the legend of the falls )
all that aside.
is it possible that you have a fear of spirits and in the new age certainly and shamanic as well. the bears are powerful spirit guides and teachers.
yet as they came to you that is how you saw them..
heck it could even be christian related that was set there when you were young. all those that follow the pagan ways are devil worshipers;.
well that is certianly not true but it takes a while to clear subconcious programming installed there when we were young.
any thoughts or feedback ?
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| fluffy |
12 Feb 2005 |
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Holmes,
Many thanks for your insightful reponse. In answer to your questions
1. I can't exactly remember the dream, other than that i was outside in the open looking through the deck.
2. The black bear/s weren't doing anything on the card other than looking out from the card toward me.
3. The devil him/herself wasn't actually on the card, but the bear/s didn't look like they were going to get me or anything, but they did look fierce. They were in a forest that was very dense and green. That is all i can remember.
In answer to the rest of your questions, i am not afraid of bears in general as i have no need to be. I have never seen a real live black bear in my life nor am i likely to where i live (england). I had no religious upbringing whatsoever of any denomination or anything alternative to organised religion (eg. wicca, shamanism etc) although i have been thinking lately about spirit guides. I am drawn to animals and so possibly my spirit guide could be an animal. Is this what you were suggesting? It would be very interesting if it was, perhaps he was trying to communicate something to me.
Just lately when i have drawn the tarot for myself (asking a particular question) the devil card has come up on a very regular basis. This is why i asked about the bears. I can understand dreaming about the devil card, but not bears! I cannot think of the last time "black bears" crossed my mind or that i even saw them on the tv.
I would be grateful for your feedback on this.
Love fluffy
xx
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| WalesWoman |
12 Feb 2005 |
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Hmmmm, who is being bearish and acting out their animal natures, being beastly? Being as how there were two bears, could it be something within a relationship and how each is treating the other?
Animals for a Devil card is very appropriate, that fierceness could be some sort of problem that is creating some differences and this is how you really feel about it. It sounds like it would make a very good card, how to deal with things that can be harmful to a relationship or how you relate to your animal side. Not quite the lovers, but still dealing with confronting our wilder natures and choosing what to do about it.
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| Sophie-David |
12 Feb 2005 |
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Fluffy,
I like WalesWoman's interpretation - as usual - but from my own particular bias I'm thinking of a powerful shadow energy. This could be healthy psychological energy since you were not disturbed by the bears - and it could be symbolized as a shamanic animal. Have you tried a conscious dialogue with the bears in your journal?
In my natural environment black bears are a cause of healthy fear, but in a meditation I had a very healthy encounter with one - we gave each other a bear hug - and it was a symbol of the raising of internal feminine energy. A little later I had a wonderfully numinous dream in which I encountered a large golden female bear - and felt I had met the goddess herself. :)
Blessings
David
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| HOLMES |
12 Feb 2005 |
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after you posted your reply
nothing came to mind :)
except for the suggestion of posting a reading on it in your reading.. i am sure that will shed some light on the unknown.
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| RedMaple |
13 Feb 2005 |
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In my tradition, bears are healers and singers and extremely generous. Which of course, is in their own society, and doesn't mean I want to meet a bear in the woods without giving it warning. (we wear bells in the woods, or sing so the bears know we are there.)
I would think of the bear as the Hermit, maybe, or the Empress, but never the Devil.
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The Black bear as Devil? thread was originally posted on 11 Feb 2005 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.
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