Cards for the Day: Ono no Komachi: Sacrifice for Love/Gain a New Perspective

When longing for him
Tortures me beyond endurance,
I reverse my robe —
Garb of night, black as leopard-flower berries —
And wear it inside out.
–Ono no Komachi

Poetess Ono no Komachi appears in our cards again today. And I must say first of all that her poetry is SO beautiful that every time she shows up in my cards, I end up sitting here reading her poems again and again instead of writing. Sigh.

But here is what we have: the Queen of Chalices (Ono no Komachi) and the reversed Ten of Pentacles (aww…). I was too distracted by Komachi’s wonderful verses to figure out what the connection is, so I asked the cards, and this time drew The Hanged Man. Oh.

Komachi stands for love, intuition, passion, and making sacrifices for love. The reversed ten of pentacles doesn’t bode well for our finances or investments today. And The Hanged Man also is connected with sacrifice. This particular Hanged Man reminds me of Miyamoto Musashi hanging in a tree (there’s a story for you to look up!).

So today, I see some kind of sacrifice, especially a financial sacrifice, for love. There’s something unfair about it, yes, but it will give us a more spiritual perspective, and that’s always worthwhile. Besides, we have Komachi’s poetry to comfort us through the day’s sacrifices.

Since encountering my beloved
While I dozed,
I have begun to feel
That it is dreams, not reality,
On which I can rely.
–Ono no Komachi