Weekly Forecast: July 9-15
We walk into this week on the tail of a big conclusion whose consequences haven't left us quite yet. Endings are big and take up a lot of space, both mentally and emotionally. The Ten of Swords is a powerful card that shows both the pain and relief that comes when something has run its. It may not have become what we originally dreamed it would, but leaving it behind is still bittersweet. When things end we say goodbye both to the reality that came to be and the dream we held for the future that was never realized.
And, as we've all experienced, this process is never linear. We rarely are able to waltz away from big endings and changes refreshed and rejuvenated, never to suffer their pains and doubts again. Instead, these feelings cycle through us. Like ripples through water, we experience reverberations long after the original disturbance.
Life, however, likes to pile things on top of each other. This week the pain of leaving something behind (rightly, I might add) is being replaced pretty quickly by the intoxication of a new connection. The Two of Cups shows us delighting in a new companion. This connection can be either romantic or platonic; however, whichever we experience will share the same tingling sensations of joy and anticipation. We've met someone wonderful! And this experience is infusing our world with a great deal of happiness and excitement.
Going from the dark, tidal experience of the Ten of Swords to this effervescent delight is a big transition, to say the least. And so it's no surprise that The Devil is showing up as our final card. The beautiful newness of our relationships this week are providing a tempting an irresistible distraction.
Here, we can take The Devil two ways. Firstly, as we can see from this illustration of the archetype, The Devil is fun. It's hard to resist a figure leaning forward seductively holding jewels and flowers! In small doses, a little decadence and distraction are helpful in moving past the initial shock of the Ten of Swords. But The Devil is also terrible at moderation and this week we're walking a fine line between healthy recreation and harmful, mind-erasing overindulgence.
In this second scenario, The Devil's energy is tempting us to use our new joyful connection to soothe and stifle the pain still reverberating from the Ten of Swords. Since the Two of Cups is such a fresh, young energy this can be quite detrimental to the health of the relationships we're forming right now. In other words, we're smothering an alluring glimmer with the pressure to relieve ourselves of a nagging pain.
The Devil would rather we bypass the sticky and uncomfortable parts and have fun now, at any cost. This is an important time to carefully examine our usual coping mechanisms. Where are we rushing things and how are we covering up the difficult emotions we need to process?
This brings us back to the Ten of Swords. It will benefit us greatly to look at the source of our suffering. Sure, it might not be all flowers and jewels, but it has a lot to teach us right now. Doing so will help take some of the pressure off of the delightful connections we're forming at the moment and allow us to heal and better understand what's come before.