Weekly Forecast: February 13-19
Tarot Cards by Kazumi Niikura
What do we do with our feelings? Do we let our tenderness shine at full force or express ourselves more cautiously?
This is an interesting question to bring into a week that’s been overstuffed with meaning. The biggest presence, of course, is Valentine’s day. Who could miss the piles of heart shaped candies that have been in the grocery store since January? (I, for one, am more excited for the candy sales the day after Valentine’s.)
Regardless of your feelings about the holiday (cynical corporate commodification? Romantic bonanza? A bit of both?) the cards we’ve pulled for this week are quite lovey. Whether you’re feeling it in a sexy and spicy way or a platonic one, love and how we express it is on our minds.
So how do we honor this? What about our plans? Whether you’re single our coupled, there’s a pull to commemorate your relationships. A ladies’ night out? Treating yourself to some chocolates and a bubble bath? Some schmancy candlelit supper with your partner?
I’ve been rushing around feeling February gain momentum and now look where we are. Just a day away from Valentine’s and I have no plans. What I do have is a growing sense of urgency and several options I’m convinced I have to pursue. Valentine’s for all my friends. A romantic dinner. AND a decadent self-care ritual.
Funny thing is, I haven’t really sat down to think about it all. Do I really want to be doing all these things, cramming them into my already busy schedule? What’s important to me right now?
The cards for this week tell us to take some time to reconnect with ourselves. They also show us struggling between outer expectations and inner desires. Getting stuck between the two can lead to inaction, which would be a shame seeing as we’re feeling very sentimental and effusive. There’s no better time to be writing Valentine’s and professing love than when you’re feeling it.
Now is a good time to consider who we want to express our love to and how we’d like to do it. There’s no time to get stuck in prepackaged ideas about what love “should” look like. This is all about you.
The King of Cups is a somewhat conflicted card. As the ruler of emotions, he must maintain distance. Emotions are notoriously slippery things. They shift constantly and are hard to pin down. Their ephemeral nature is what makes them so enticing and powerful. We can’t force ourselves to feel a certain way, though we can train ourselves to observe our feelings from afar.
The King of Cups has mastered this skill. He is able to separate himself from his emotions and those of others. Just look at him peering at the cup in his hand rather clinically. This can be helpful during times of conflict or when you’re engaging with healing work, but holding one’s own emotions at arm’s length is also stifling. We need to feel things directly in order to fully experience both the joys and pain of life. We can’t always be king.
The Empress shows us another way of being. She’s been a guardian angel of sorts lately, popping up in the past few weekly forecasts. Clearly her teaching is not finished, and thankfully so, because her approach is decidedly much more romantic and rejuvenating.
This is a card that unabashedly revels in sensuality. Rather than draining her and making her weak, displays of joy and affection renew her strength. She is able to both experience her feelings and communicate them. With her powerful boundaries, she is able to block out any negativity without blocking out her own experience of life.
How does she do this? By remaining utterly inside herself. Not locked away or removed, but present. Just look at her cradling a juicy pomegranate, a symbol of abundance. She embodies her feelings instead of removing herself from them like the King holding his cup at a distance.
This is a week to consider what acts of love make you feel like The Empress: solid in yourself, warm, and loving. Perhaps you need a bit of the King of Cups’ remove to figure out what works best for you before you jump into action. Once that’s done, however, jump on in. Now is not a time to limit your expression. When you feel it, you feel it, so let the world know. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s joyous and brings you strength while communicating your love to others.
And the rest of it? Leave it by the wayside. Fancy dinners don’t hold a candle to your own authentic feelings.
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Weekly Forecast: February 6-12
Well, the Tarot is being delightfully cheeky in these cards this week. Looks like love is in the air in the days leading up to Valentine's. Yes, you’ve got it right, this week has us feeling zesty and romantic.
Rather than coming from a place of neediness, these cards outline the culmination to a crash-course in empowerment. There's something in it for all of us, from the hopelesss romantics to those more excited about the deeply discounted candy on the 15th.
We’ve been practicing self-care for a while now, and as we all know, it doesn’t always come easily. But look what’s coming out of it all! The sensuality that is emerging in the next few days is springing from the most natural of sources: ourselves.
While it may be easy to dismiss pleasure and enjoyment as unnecessary or silly (particularly when it’s centered around ourselves) it’s certainly not conducive to a vibrant life. Who wants to be constantly questioning their joy? Being humble is all well and good, but not when we use it to hide our accomplishments from the world.
The Mother of Wands (aka Queen of Wands) who tells us that we’re not coasting into this week on a cloud of puffed up ego. This sense of security and confidence? It’s genuine and well-earned.
A Queen sits on a throne that gives her a solid foundation and represents her power. Spend some time considering what your throne is made of this week. Get to know its contours and feel how stable it is. Appreciate all the hard work you’ve done to build it. This is where you are right now – where would you like to go next?
The Mother of Wands is a card that’s all about feeling yourself, with a real focus on the feeling. Now is not a time to get caught up in our heads or bogged down by practicalities. Embrace the general air of romance and you’ll find a wealth of enjoyment all around you. This can be overtly romantic or not. Just think effusive, blossoming, and pleasurable.
Yes, I’m telling you to get sensual. There’s an abundance of sexual energy in the air, so revel in it. Enjoy yourself, your partner, a delicious pastry, a decadent bath… this could go so many ways. And don’t feel the need to limit yourself! I certainly won’t.
All this confidence is building on itself to create a prime environment for coming together. Our central card is the Two of Cups, an overtly romantic card if there ever was one. Once again, however, don’t let this message leave you feeling excluded if you’re couple or simply not feeling a romantic attachment for whatever reason. In tarot and in life, romance can mean many things. At its most general, look forward to a delightful feeling of coming together and satisfaction between yourself and something (or someone) else.
We’re going to have no shortage of charisma this week. Now is a good time to appreciate and celebrate the hard work we’ve done on our own behalf. And it is definitely a time to engage with the world and be seen. This week has a great potential to forge new alliances and partnerships so get out there and show yourself off.
We end with Strength, a card that really reinforces a theme of coming into our own. Taking up the sense of stability we get from the Mother of Wands, Strength shows us that we’re actively embodying our true selves. When we put this kind of energy into the world we can attract what we need most back to us. This type of victory – our ability to enjoy our lives and ourselves – is hard won and something to be proud of.
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Weekly Forecast: January 30-February 5
Sometimes Tarot has a beautifully helpful way of reframing situations that leave us feeling drained and depressed. I don’t think I’m alone when I say that the events of the past week have left me feeling a huge mix of emotions: hope, joy in community, deep sadness, and a powerful rage against injustice. It's exhausting. Where to go with all of this when things show no sign of slowing down? How can we remain engaged while caring for ourselves and feeling out our many emotions?
We draw three cards this week that urge us to zoom out of our individual reactions and focus on something different. This is one of those readings where instead of reflecting our current state, the cards show us another option, a way of being, we may be overlooking. Here, they’re giving us much needed perspective, like a close friend telling us to snap out of it and look at the world around us. We need this and the message is supportive and encouraging.
The two Major Arcana cards bookending the reading show us that since larger forces are at work in the world right now, it is best to focus on our own larger goals and motivations instead of getting lost in the details. We’re being asked to do big things, but we can gather a great deal of energy and inspiration from our values. We must focus on why we’re here in the first place. What really matters to us? How do we want to be in the world? How do we want to feel? This is not a time to be putting one foot in front of the other in a monotonous march forward. We need inspiration, and we have a lot of inspiration around us if we take the time to look up and see it.
So where should we be directing our focus? The Empress and Justice give us a clear answer. How can we be grounded in our world and work towards justice that honors the interconnectedness and diversity of the world? This springs from The Empress whose solid ties to nature, relationships, and generosity gives her the kind of flexible strength and power we could all use right now.
She reminds us to feel the ground under our feet, breathe in deep, and remember that this is our world and those around us are of this world too. We cannot forget this as we move forward otherwise we risk spinning off from our center and losing sight of each other and our goals. This is what leads to burnout and confusion. This is what allows for injustice to flourish.
The Empress is part of nature. She changes with the seasons, she feels her body, she is flexible. She knows there is a fall, winter, summer, and spring and she excels in all of these seasons despite their limitations. Seen here, she is a prime reminder that focusing on self-care – caring for our bodies and minds – is extremely important, just as thriving through these difficult times in whatever ways we are able is not a detraction. We can’t allow ourselves to be cut off from our source of power and rejuvenation. It only makes us weaker. To feel joy in times of darkness is not callous or frivolous. It’s essential for our survival. And all the better if we share it with those around us.
If you recall, we ended last week’s forecast with The Empress. I find it quite special that she’s appearing as the first card here. Last week’s theme was the embrace of tenderness and openheartedness as a new way of being the world. However we applied that in our lives, The Empress showing up again this week tells us that this was important and validating. We made changes and they have brought us to a new place. What we’re doing is working and now is not time to abandon ship.
This brings us to Justice. This week we must spend some time considering how we can apply our embodiment of The Empress to our ideas of Justice. I think this is particularly on the nose given the political climate, and the cards seem to suggest we must work to embody the values of The Empress – community, holistic living, respect for all forms of life, and love. I think this is the justice we want to see; focused on equality, community, and honoring each other’s place in the world.
We’re grappling with big issues and coming from a very good place. This isn’t easy, and we’ll be needing to draw on all of our resources, personal and communal. The Knight of Swords indicates that we can’t take a break just yet. In fact, we’ll be rushing forward to confront things head on. If we keep the messages of The Empress and Justice in mind, we’ll be able to move in the right direction and maintain our focus. This Knight tells us to keep on keeping on, our heads held high. We must stay focused and confident in our ability to rise up and bring light to truth. We must keep our eyes on the prize and be ready to cut through any distracting bullshit in our way to a better world.
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Weekly Forecast: Jan 23-29
Cards from the Pagan Otherworlds Tarot
Well, would you look at all these people in this reading!
This is a time where we’re feeling a shift in our roles, a change from one way of being that we’re very comfortable in to a wobbly yet exciting new approach. We’ve been feeling very in control and powerful – and for good reason – yet this week sees a need for innovation that may have us feeling like we’re learning to ride a bike for the first time. There will be unsteadiness and uncertainty, but we’re expanding our reach and learning important new tools.
We're moving from a realm of decisive thinking to the much messier (and sensual) realm of doing. When it comes to thinking we have the upper hand. In our minds, we can control all the factors, experiment with ideas, and mull it all over to find the best possible solution. This is important. Were we to rush ahead blindly things could fall apart quickly. It helps to draw a map before you set out on a journey.
The King of Swords reflects this feeling of competency. We’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. The sharp, piercing kind that cuts holes in bad ideas and stale ways of thinking, making a path to move into something new. Something that works far better than what we have now.
We’ve become quite masterful at this, and yes, it is good to acknowledge talents and successes. Like a sharp-eyed falcon hovering over the world, we’ve seen a lot and have a much better perspective of the bigger picture than those scurrying around on the ground. For things to change, however, we have to get down there, too. Now is a time to turn our thoughts into action and jump into the fray, taking our keen observations with us. It’s time to step through into another way of doing things. That is, by actually doing them.
But things look much different on the ground. It may be a little chaotic, and the steely remove we can have in our minds quickly gives way to a rush of sensations and stimuli. In the Page of Pentacles we find ourselves grappling with this new reality. At the same time, this is a splendid opportunity, and one I have a feeling most of us are more than ready for. We get to do things now – feeling, experimenting, and experiencing all that is around us.
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed and deflated in this new role, remember it’s supposed to be a little awkward. We’re living in the real world and in real time. We’re learning. Perfection is not the goal here, simply dedication, diligence, and a nice pinch of joy and fascination.
Become engrossed in the tasks at hand and know that at a certain level, we’ll always be a beginner like the Page of Pentacles. This can be many things: beautiful, enriching, frustrating, and confusing. Above all, it’s hopeful. We can always change, adapt, and learn new things. Quite useful in a world that’s constantly changing, don’t you think?
The Empress drives home the underlying theme of earthiness and involvement present in this week. I see her as the most grounded card in Tarot: sitting on her throne she is the ruler of the physical world – of nature, sensuality, and all the experiences that make us alive – because she is inextricably a part of it. The Empress reminds us that the experiments (and sometimes fumblings) of the Page of Pentacles are bringing us to a world where we embody the change we want to see.
So this week consider what you want and then go out and do something to create it. This can be small, like craving a certain something delicious and cooking it for yourself. It can be large, like committing to a cause that you want to support. Better yet, bring this energy to many parts of your life. The way of the Empress is to treat all these manifestations with respect. We’re not able to embody this attitude in everything we do, but we’re thankfully in the scrappy place of the Page of Pentacles – ready and willing to get our hands dirty and try new things.
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Weekly Forecast: Jan 16-22
Cards from The Fountain Tarot
It’s been a while since we’ve had such a resoundingly positive reading. This is a week to take full advantage of, as the cards tell us that deep unity and raw power are coming together to lead us to a noteworthy triumph. Dive in and keep on working with creative abandon. This week sees victory on top of victory, or rather the visible success that comes from finally reaching the place that fits you best.
When we are acting from deep personal conviction and a sense of both the freedom and responsibility our place in the world brings us, our deeds become very noticeable. It’s the opposite of waking up on your birthday and having someone ask you, “Do you feel any different?” Well, no. It’s just another day. But now instead of an arbitrary date, our time is marked by the results of real, hard work. We do feel different: energized, clear-headed, and more ourselves.
Those long, at times tricky roads you’ve ben slogging down in an attempt to discover what really matters to you? Look up this week and see where they’ve lead you. Identify feelings of peace and integration. You’ll be surprised to find that you have more answers about who you are and what you stand for than when you started.
Fueled by the energy this homecoming brings, we’re poised to jump from success to success. Sometimes this much action is foolhardy, but when we’re building on the completeness of The World, the final card of the Major Arcana, it’s only natural to get going again. Moving from the end of the cycle to The Magician (card two of the Majors) shows how natural this progression is: we’re simply beginning the cycle again. But not from a clean slate.
With our newfound solid sense of self, The Magician becomes even more powerful. Yes, many of the tools are the same, but we’ve learned different ways of using them. Our creativity, drive, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills have been sharpened. We’re excited to look down and see our minds racing with all the possibilities. Why wouldn’t we get started?
Well, there is the persistent voice in many of our heads that says, “Not yet. Be Careful. You don’t deserve this.” If this little whisperer pops up in your head during these exciting times, sit it down and have a conversation. What is it trying to do? Help you? Move you towards your goals or keep your safe at all costs? The World and The Magician show us examples of how powerful we can be when we operate at our full potential, and as such, it can be a bit scary. It’s only natural to have some mental static fizzing away at the edges, trying to keep us in our usual patterns. That doesn’t have to keep us there, however. There’s too many exciting possibilities on the horizon.
What is the area in your life that brings you the most excitement right now? This is the spot where The World and The Magician are working their magic.
It might be surprising. The World brings out latent parts of ourselves we might not have considered. Unity leads to some interesting conclusions, and the path that has you the most intrigued may seem a bit out there or at least unexpected. Good! The key here is to identify that uncertainty that comes with doing something new and embrace it as a sign you’re moving in the right direction. Change shouldn’t feel 100% comfortable. Comfort is a sign we’ve been there and done that and now is a time for innovation – the kind that makes your heart race.
The Magician thrives on this delicate balance between mastery and creative flow. Harness the new energy of excitement and use what you’ve learned to bring your ideas into the world. Ignore it and it could pop up in destructive ways. The Magician is a conduit for energy, so make sure you’re giving things an outlet, preferably the creative and constructive kind. Now is not the time to overthink or exercise too much caution lest we snuff out our inspiration. Here, momentum is key, so trust your gut and keep working with the diligence and mastery you’ve honed.
If we allow ourselves to be carried along by our momentum we’ll find ourselves out in the sun, charging ahead on a new path. This is the kind of open-ended adventure we need in the new year. We’re poised to make considerable accomplishments that will bring us both recognition and satisfaction. This reading tells us to embrace our passion and move ahead with confidence.
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Weekly Forecast: January 9-15
Ah, a visit from one of my favorite cards, the Three of Swords. Who could miss the intense image of a giant red heart pierced by three swords, plunked in front of raining clouds? We might as well start here. After all, a wound deserves our immediate attention, and this one looks like it might be serious.
If you haven’t noticed already, I have an enormous soft spot for the more dramatic-looking tarot cards. Does something appear scary and overtly negative? Chances are I love it. And it’s not because I’m an unbearable optimist, the sort of person who skips past the pain to point out the silver lining. I don’t work like that because I think it’s highly unadvisable.
I mean, look at the Three of Swords. It takes quite a mental leap to rush past the grave, almost comically overdone, injury the poor hear is being subjected to. And even if we were to do so, we’d still have to contend with the flat beige clouds and cascading rain. Hmm… it really seems like this card is focusing us to focus on pain. I wonder why?
The Three of Swords speaks to the toddler and teenager in us. A part of our personality that needs to howl after skinning a knee, acting as if we know for a fact we’ll have to amputate the leg instead of just put a band aid on a scrape. Often, we’re told this kind of reaction is overdone. Can’t we just skip to the part where we’re calmly applying Neosporin and informing everyone “don’t’ worry, I’m fine”? But think about why we cry out in the first place. Something hurts us and we instinctually express it. To both release some of the scary, shocking energy we get from a painful experience and to cry out for help.
The Three of Swords serves a very important purpose. How do we act in the face of pain? And can we recognize that these reactions actually serve to heal ourselves through self-expression and reach out to others? Perhaps this lies beneath a bunch of baggage: shame and embarrassment over our weakness, anger for what happened, even older emotions that need to get out. All of these can make us lash out in our pain, looking for someone to blame. We can also play up the drama, wallowing in it and exaggerating. Underneath it all, I believe, still lies a tender vulnerability and the inescapable delicacy of being alive.
It is this challenge – how to deal with our pain – that comes to the forefront of this week’s reading. Why do I love the Three of Swords so much? Because it shows us how the immediacy of our pain brings us a great opportunity to embrace our humanity, vulnerability, and tenderness. We need other people to hear our cries of help and simply acknowledge our situation. Expressing it constructively allows for a great deal of beautiful human tenderness. And, to be real, I’m also a big pragmatist when it comes to pain. If we face it head-on, we are able to deal with it in the moment, feel it, and move forward. Also known as getting it over with, constructively.
So much of our weasely behavior comes from avoiding pain which can lead to lots of needlessly built up meaning and drama. We must wail loud when we fall down both physically and emotionally, feel the pain, assess the situation, and accept the helping hand when it’s offered instead of brushing it away.
So what’s ailing us this week? This reading suggests that a lot of big things are coming home to roost. Judgement is another blunt card that tells us we’ve been receiving some big, unignorable truths as of late. A giant angel has descended from the heavens and is blowing a trumpet in our faces. Subtle. And yet so refreshing! How often do we get such clear messages? A pity these ones aren’t more positive. The trumpet is sounding screechy instead of melodious. Still, we must hear it and listen attentively.
It’s not ideal, but we’re actually in a position to move forward quite gracefully. And yes, I think we can incorporate some emotional messiness into our idea of a graceful transition. I’d rather deal with all the information as it comes and honor all the complicated feelings that come with a complicated time. If we choose to heed the call of our pain, to really listen to what our hearts and wounds are telling us, we’ll be poised to make something that actually reflects and serves the world as it is.
There’s a strong thread in this reading moving from left to right. The red of the angels wings and flag, the red of the pierced heart, and the red robes of the figures in the III of pentacles. Think of it as emotional alchemy. We hear some truth, it brings us pain, we feel the pain and build something from it.
The Three of Pentacles is a card that shows us the process of creation in its beginning stages. We’re building something, laying out the plans and hashing it all out. And we’re not alone. Three figures are joining together and they look quite different. We have what looks like a monk, a young lad with an apron, and a delightful character who looks like a Medieval version of Shania Twain in the “That Don’t Impress Me Much” video.
Pain and suffering has a great capacity for bringing together seemingly disparate groups of people. Of course, lash out with anger and blame and the opposite happens. This week we have a choice. What happens when we express our pain well? Others hear it and it brings us together. Once we get together, we get things done.
Now is a week to turn towards our pain, listen to it, express it well, and get ready for ways we can ge togther and create something we’d like to see in the world. The reading is quite clear on this: we're transforming the thoughts and feelings of the three of swords into the physical and tanglible three of pentacles. We can really make something we can feel and touch here. It’s difficult and it takes some bravery, but we’re in a much better position than we think to move forward wiser and more connected to the world.
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Weekly Forecast Jan 2-8
Cards from The Fountain Tarot
2017, here we are! The reading for this week sees us eagerly jumping forward into the new year. The celebrations and excesses of the holiday season left us chomping at the bit. This week we finally get to spring forward and put ourselves out there, reentering the normal schedule of our lives, getting back to work, and putting those resolutions to the test.
This re-entry is not a simple matter of picking up where we left off. We have plans. Lots of them. It’s time to make changes and set thing in motion.
We see this attitude embodied in the Seven of Wands, an eager and enthusiastic card. There’s a great deal of energy available to us right now, perhaps surprisingly so. We're not starting from scratch here, either. The Seven of Wands shows how the past year has shaped us. We have ground to defend and new paths we want to pursue. This is fortunate, because who wants a clean slate when we have so much to build on?
There is a hearty dose of challenge and conflict in the Seven of Wands, along with the more-rosy creativity and energy. Conflict can invigorate us, giving us boundaries to push against and expand on. It can also mire us in counterproductive disputes. Will we use our feisty enthusiasm to move forward or get distracted with each obstacle or irritation?
Some issues should be addressed head on, and some are meant to be moved through quickly. Others are simply signposts along the way, representations of a life we don’t want to live or things we choose to leave behind. Now is a good time to get familiar with what deserves our attention and what doesn't.
I like the Fountain Tarot’s depiction of the Seven of Wands. In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the figure is on a hill fending off six wands from below. He wears mismatched shoes, suggesting his stance isn’t so stable. In this card, however, we see a fit man leaping down a flight of stairs in bare feet: He’s grounded and although he’s protecting himself with his wand, he’s moving towards the source of conflict, heading towards the world instead of protecting a small patch of it.
This week is a time to explore and engage with what's around us. We're certainly ready after a season of holiday decadence an introspective resolution-making. The thing is, the world right now is a bit... much. Far from swinging a stick around wildly and acting out of fear, this card suggests that we enter the fray with a sense of excitement and consider what we want to engage with. What is worth our time and what can we pass by on our path to a more grounded life?
So what lies as the bottom of the stairs? The reading takes us to The Lovers card which ties into the higher motivations guiding us. Far from hurdling down the stair mindlessly, we’re seeking a sense of connection, love, and community. Ah, delightful, you might say, but what does challenge and conflict have to do with that? How can any sort of confrontation bring us closer to unity and compassion?
The Seven of Wands combined with The Lovers depicts the often-overlooked importance of truth and communication in love. To have respectful relationships we must show up as ourselves while understanding the unique identity of the other person. Sometimes it takes a bit of confusion and miscommunication to reach this understanding. It’s a natural part of the process – understanding others is not simple and we must be willing to listen, communicate, and stretch our imaginations.
That being said, the Seven of Wands shows that we’re entering into a phase of connecting with others with a bit of baggage and a predilection for head-on conflict. This does not have to be our way. We can choose to focus on the curiosity of this Seven (to run down this stairs you have to be curious about what’s at the bottom) and remember that engaging with the world doesn’t have to be contentious.
Consider the wand the man is grasping. We might want to set down our wand and pick up another, or add one to our collection and carry it along with us. 2017 is not about swinging our stick and proclaiming it is the one true stick to end all sticks. That is most certainly not the path to empathy of The Lovers.
We end with the King of Coins, suggesting that some of the struggles in understanding we face right now center around money and power. Now is a time to reexamine how we value both. What does it mean to wield control over money and prosperity? What is our responsibility when we get there? What do we expect from those in these positions?
With the Lover’s front and center, the reading is bringing our focus to unity and connectedness. We must consider whether our attitudes towards the King of Coins as he manifests himself in our lives – in our own relationship to money and prosperity and our relationships to those who have it in our society – match up with this value. And then, what can we do to reconcile the differences.
I see the Seven of Wands as us running towards these tough questions with more than enough energy and creativity to grapple with them. Finding a way to combine the compassion of The Lover’s with the power and mastery of The King of Coins would result in a plentiful and loving world. I like the sound of that.
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Weekly Forecast: Dec 26-Jan 1
Cards: The Soprafino Tarot
The last week of 2016 shows us feeling a bit feisty and constrained. Changes are afoot, and who can resist some good old fashioned end of the year assessments? As the new year approaches we look back and contend with both our accomplishments and mistakes. How far have we come? What direction are we headed in? And is it towards a goal that feels right for us?
This time for reassessment is special and insightful. However, in looking back sometimes we come face to face with something we’d rather not see. Being human, all our progress has its consequences, and it’s impossible to move forward in life and have only positive and nurturing experiences. It’s also impossible to move through life without affecting those around you.
This is also a time of the year that is steeped in tradition. We’ve been celebrating major holidays and gathering with family (or finding them more on our minds if we’re separated for whatever reason.) The Heirophant (“Il Papa” in this Italian deck) at the center of our reading shows the importance of tradition in our lives. He represents the old practices and institutions that have persisted for generations. These can be found in our family, churches, government and any “official” structure.
Sometimes these practices are comforting and make us feel part of a greater community or something bigger than ourselves, and sometimes they are stifling and ill-suited to our modern lives. The end of 2016 sees us wrestling with our belief systems and entrenched outlooks.
Are these practices working for us and do they have a place in our lives? These are deep questions that can stir up a lot of emotions, especially in the aftermath of the holiday season.
The Five of swords is a classic card about conflict. It suggests that we’ve been struggling with tradition as of late. Our upbringing, rituals, religion, or simply ways “we’ve always done things.” This can be a positive struggle. It is dangerous to accept traditions without questioning them, but we must be careful to differentiate healthy questioning with contrarian, teenage-style rebellion.
In fact, the Five of Swords speaks to an empty victory with a rather high cost. We may be firmly convinced we’re in the right, feeling victorious about having argued our stance so passionately, only to look up and see those close to us slinking away. Perhaps we’ve offended someone carelessly, or made no room for others in our polarizing opinions. Now is an important time to look up and see who, if anyone, may have been hurt.
It’s important to recognize the other side of The Heirophant/Il Papa: Community. Our institutions and traditions give us a rich base of support. At their most simple, they are created, sustained, and populated by people. They give us a sense of rootedness and belonging that we must value now more than ever. And, naturally, since they are made up of people, they are imperfect. This week sees us both feeling chafed by parts of our community and longing for a place where we feel welcomed.
As is often the case, sometimes the things we most passionately reject are the aspects of ourselves we are most ashamed of. Maybe they remind us of some squishy part of us we need to hide, or bring up uncomfortable feelings. Anger and conflict are great ways to temporarily mask our discomfort and confusion. Yelling righteously about something gives one a delicious sense of power and certainty, though it doesn’t last long afterwards.
This reading urges us to work through our issues with tradition and resist rejecting them wholeheartedly. The Two of Swords sees us turning inward to really think about our relationship to community. What are we seeking and how can we make it a part of our lives? Can we work with the groups we find ourselves in now or do we need to strike out? Do we simple need to add a new aspect of community to our lives or take up a new group undertaking? This can be as large as exploring a new spiritual practice or as simple as volunteering at a new organization. No matter the shape, it is important to acknowledge and respect both the importance of tradition and official groups in our lives and to question them as we participate.
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Weekly Forecast: Dec 19-25
This week has us considering new plans and straddling the line between precise thinking and enthusiastic go-getting.
We start our reading with The Fool, a delightfully optimistic character who represents new journeys and experiences. We’re about to to embrace change and set off in a direction that is full of unknown possibilities. All we need to do is stay balanced and remain in the moment. As we can see, if The Fool becomes distracted he runs the risk of falling off his tightrope. Fortunately, over-seriousness is not the answer here.
The key here is to remember that balance is a process and not an end goal you can achieve. Furthermore, it's something that requires constant motion, adjustment, and concentration. See how the Fool is about to place his second foot onto the tightrope? He’s about to embark on a journey with lots of wiggling, shaking, and correcting if he intends to remain on the rope. It doesn't always look dignified, but it can be a lot of fun if you stay focused and keep moving forward.
In fact, The Fool seems pretty enthused about it all. He's grinning and holding a sprouting staff over his head. Optimistic? Yes. Foolhardy? Quite possibly. Yet looking closer we see the ground is not so far away. The chances we’re about to take will yield maximum joy with minimal danger. There’s just enough of the unknown to make it exhilarating and worthwhile. If we’re not a bit scared moving forward, we may not be moving anywhere worth going, and certainly not somewhere all that new.
Here, tension is a good thing. Without it, the rope would fall to the ground in a jumbled mess. Sometimes our paths need the pull between two poles (or several) to become something we can walk on. And who said a little suspense was a bad thing? Certainly not this gleeful Fool. He knows and trusts the rope beneath him, despite (or because of) the fact that he doesn’t know so much about it.
Our other two cards are placed at either ends of the rope when we look at the spread as a whole. To our left is the Page of Knives, a young green man who is staring at us, the viewer, blankly. He’s dry, focused, and intellectual. As a page, he represents a new fixation or preoccupation. We’re becoming familiar with a new skill, honing our vision, and using a laser-like focus to come to a conclusion. We’re not there yet. We’ve yet to throw the knife at the target, and we may even miss it several times. We need practice, but we’re getting somewhere and we have plenty of motivation to move us along the way.
On the left is a delightful salamander with a red-plumed helmet: The Knight of Wands. He’s all about slithering full-speed ahead towards his goal with a focus on action, accomplishment, and movement. A salamander go-getter if you will. He is passionate, rowdy, and confident… maybe even a little bit conceited, though you could never say he doesn’t get things done.
We’re clearly at a moment where our urge to act is coming into conflict with our newer desire to plan, practice, and think things out. Our old M.O. was to jump right in and figure out the details later. Instead, a newer part of ourselves in showing up, urging for some thought consideration. Confusing! Especially considering how underdeveloped this new way of thinking is.
Rather than pit these urges against each other, this reading suggests that we’re proceeding as we should. It is quite advisable to look before you leap, just as it is important to actually do something with the ideas in your head. It’s all about finding a balance between the two. So welcome the uncertainty and make room for a push and pull. Respect both the urge to plan and the urge to act. Consult both, and you’ll find yourself moving along in an exciting new direction.
And though there’s not much certainty with regards to outcome, there is an overwhelming focus in these cards to embrace and take joy in a sense of fun and exploration. Being too measured and “adult” in this situation will stifle your creativity and take up the valuable room needed for growth.
Having The Fool, a quintessential card representing new journeys and a childlike sense of wonder, sandwiched by a Page and a Knight, the youngest of court cards, is as close to a green-light for excitement and enthusiasm as I can imagine. So don’t tamp down your passions here. Focus on putting one foot in front of the other, make room for all the wiggling and adjustment it takes to maintain balance, and don’t forget to look up at the sun and enjoy.