Weekly Forecast: July 24-31
Ah, a visit from the ten of swords, such a dark and striking card.
We haven't had a visit from the heavier swords cards in the forecasts in a while. As a young tarot reader I had to contend with a lot of these popping up in my personal readings. It was daunting and off-putting, but also mysterious. I knew there was some deeper lesson beyond all the intensity.
Some of the cards in the swords suite like this ten ask us to face the harsher facets of life. Usually our first instinct is to turn away. We'd rather not dwell on this image of a figure stabbed in the back ten times. It's disturbing. Yet at the same time we can't move forward constructively with ten swords in our back, can we?
The ten of swords forces us to come face to face with our fears, especially all the ways we hold ourselves back.
This week we're feeling laid low. Something we've been struggling with for a while has really come home to roost. We may have been avoiding a certain reality, rushing around trying to distract ourselves, or pushing ourselves to "move on" before we were ready to.
Either way, this ten is telling us that we can't get off the hook that easily. We have to feel our feelings, even the wild and scary ones. In fact, this scary and disorienting task is what we need most.
The ten of swords challenges us to look at how our thoughts amplify our suffering. When something bad (or unfortunate or out of our control) happens to us how do we react?
Now is a time to examine our negative thought patterns. Do we have a tendency to blame ourselves? Punish ourselves for a percieved failure? To allow a bleak outlook to permeate the rest our lives?
This is a task we must undertake with gentleness and non-judgment, not blame. We're being asked to care for ourselves with the compassion and gentleness we'd offer a friend or loved one.
As a ten, this card depicts the end of a cycle, and indeed we can see brightness on the horizon, pushing away the darkness. Our next card shows us the key to picking ourselves up and healing our wounds.
The Hierophant points us in the direction of structure and a larger picture. Routine and predictability will be giving us solace when we get overwhelmed. The challenge is keeping up with it even when we're not feeling our best.
The ten of swords shows a figure injured and disoriented. This week we're being asked to lift our heads and look to something bigger to inspire us - spirituality, nature, helping others, and different ways of enlarging our world view will bring us healing and a renewed sense of purpose.
This week spend time giving yourself plenty of time and space to nurutre yourself. We're going through a big growth process, and that takes energy. It's okay to rest and grant yourself some well-deserved time to reconnect with what gives your life meaning.
We move from this healing space and back into the fray of life. We shift, however, from the cerebral suit of swords to the dynamic wands. Something about this rest period has invigorated us, and though we might feel a bit on edge, moving will do us good so long as we keep up our self-care routines.
There's an angst to the seven of wands, but the fiery nature of the suit reflects the power of anger and determination when wielded properly. Be sure to avoid outsourcing these feelings onto innocent bystanders as you jump back into the fray of this busy time. It's a lot to work through, but with care it could result in a long-awaited breakthrough.