Weekly Forecast: July 16-22
This week is giving us an opportunity to feel refreshed, motivated, and driven. Once we've had our first cup(s) of coffee we're ready to charge ahead and get a lot done. We have focus, we have a strong sense of self, and we have an exciting vision to back all of our actions.
But that's not all.
This week is giving us an opportunity to feel refreshed, motivated, and driven. Once we've had our first cup(s) of coffee we're ready to charge ahead and get a lot done. We have focus, we have a strong sense of self, and we have an exciting vision to back all of our actions.
But that's not all.
It seems like we have some tricky energy at play within us this week. It's that voice that whispers to us, just as we're getting into our first task of the day, " why don't you pick up your phone and see how many people have liked your Instagram post!" or "I wonder what your ex-boyfriend from six years ago is up to? Let's find out NOW!"
Though we have The Devil on the right, this isn't the intense, derail-your-life iteration of the card. Rather, it's the lazy self-sabotaging side. Think "little devil perched on your shoulder," not "looming force of evil." In excess, these traits might lead to disaster, but for this week the challenge is to make sure we don't fall into our usual small patterns of sloth and distraction.
The cards are presenting us with a clear-cut choice. Do we harness the diligent energy of the Eight of Pentacles to further our ambitions and goals a la The Chariot, or do we backslide into the slacker comforts of The Devil?
The Eight of Pentacles is a fascinating card because it shows us how bringing mindfulness to our work gives us clarity and satisfaction. When we're engaged in the practice of doing - not thinking to the future, past, or imagined "something better" - we unlock huge stores of potential. We're in a state of flow, checking things off our to-do lists with ease, galvanized by the delightful feeling of making progress.
So how do we tap into this energy when we have a pesky Devil at play? Oddly enough, the answer is to make room for him. The Chariot, though at first glance it might seem like a card that's all about victory, is also a master of reigning in opposites. How on earth could you get a tiger and a fox to pull you towards your goals? This week it's our task to reign in our Devils and use them to work for us, not against us.
Again, The Chariot has some helpful tips. If we're going to move forward we have to have vision, confidence, and a solid knowledge of who we are. That includes our decadent, distracted Devil-self, too. Getting to know the ways we avoid success and are drawn to mind-numbing pleasures is the first step towards working with them.
Let's put ourselves in the charioteer's shoes. Say the tiger on the right has a huge fondness for facebook. Every time the charioteer signals it's time to get going, the tiger is busy getting outraged by his distant relative's toxic political views. Being a savvy leader, the charioteer pulls the reigns in, getting an app to block facebook for the duration of the workday. Now the tiger is free to walk forward with purpose (and lower blood pressure). After work, they can all go out and spend some face-to-face time with real friends.
Though this example may seem silly, it's important to realize that we can treat unruly parts of ourselves with compassion and understanding. There's a lot more to our actions then meets the eyes. Disavowing them and trying to cut out behaviors only makes our Devil-sides stronger. Because let's be honest, what feels better than doing something you really shouldn't be doing?
Working directly with our bad habits and channeling them towards healthy expression (i.e. interacting in real life vs. facebook in the example above) satisfies our true desires while taking the naughty allure out of the distracting behavior.
So in a way, these cards still show us moving forward this week, regardless of how much we struggle with The Devil card. If we keep coming back to the work of the Eight of Pentacles we'll find ourselves again and again. And The Chariot is showing us that we're more than up to the task of achievement. All we need to do is get the rest of us on the same page.
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.
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.
Weekly Forecast: July 2-8
This week we have some big themes at play and things are not what they seem at the surface. The Devil is appearing to show us that we've been feeling pulled back towards some bad habits. Though we know they're not the best for us, there's a perverse comfort in their familiarity and sense of ritual. Like gorging in junk food, it feels good in the moment, but there's a massive stomach ache looming in the future.
This week we have some big themes at play and things are not what they seem at the surface. The Devil is appearing to show us that we've been feeling pulled back towards some bad habits. Though we know they're not the best for us, there's a perverse comfort in their familiarity and sense of ritual. Like gorging in junk food, it feels good in the moment, but there's a massive stomach ache looming in the future.
One the other side, we have the rich abundance of the Nine of Coins (aka Pentacles). Our surface life is coming through big and bright. Things are going well for us professionally and practically. We have all sorts of creature comforts and they're being seen by those around us.
So what's at the center here? What's causing so much dissonance between our inner and outer worlds?
The Eight of Swords brings it all into focus. Again, the theme of familiarity comes up. Here, however, we have a limiting array of familiar doubts and fears. These are guiding us back to the familiar bad habits represented by The Devil.
Instead of expansion, ease, and enjoyment - The Nine of Coins - we're allowing ourselves to be ushered on well-worn paths to claustrophobic coping mechanisms.
This is an interesting, if not slightly disturbing, combination of cards. What do we do with this mess? We might find ourselves being drawn to the intensity of The Devil. Big, scary-looking cards have that effect. "Oh no! The Devil! I don't want that! Let's pay extra attention to its horribleness!" is an understandable reaction. Yet it also shows our tendency to give so much air time to dysfunction and struggle. Meanwhile, the Nine of Coins shines alluringly to the right.
The challenge this week will be to redirect our gaze to what's going well in our lives. We can wrestle with The Devil and hold space for the parts of our lives that are blossoming. Turning away from our sources of happiness and the hard work we've done will only further our time spent underground.
And here's where I can't help but notice a tinge of self-sabotage. Are we being too hard on ourselves, occupying the critical space of the Eight of Swords so that we move away from the real, important work and success of the Nine of Coins? Is The Devil more in line with our idea of who we are?
The thing is, self-doubt and worry are part and parcel of our human experience. What we do with these thoughts is what matters. This week we're given the opportunity to listen to the messages of the Eight of Swords and do something new with them. Can we hold space for our personal growth and move towards the Nine of Coins? The bird in that card holds the key to a different relationship with The Devil. The bird, too, is wild, but here it's tamed and smaller. We can also channel the urges of The Devil and give them a healthy outlet of expression. One that opens up our lives and flourishes in the sun instead of keeping us in the darkness.
Weekly Forecast: June 25 - July 1
This week's reading greets us with a powerful array of cards: The Queen of Cups, The Chariot, and The Magician. In the next few days we have all the tools in front of us to make big and bold strides towards what we really want. All signs point to go and, most importantly, our motivations are coming from a good and grounded place.
This week's reading greets us with a powerful array of cards: The Queen of Cups, The Chariot, and The Magician. In the next few days we have all the tools in front of us to make big and bold strides towards what we really want. All signs point to go and, most importantly, our motivations are coming from a good and grounded place.
The Queen of Cups sets the tone for the action to come. This card is an elegant embodiment of true emotional awareness brought to life by carefully cultivated boundaries. The Queen of Cups is generous, supportive, and emotionally wise. She gives, but is not depleted because she knows the importance of tending to herself, her experiences, and her needs. Only then can her powers regenerate themselves. Her giving, therefore, is sustainable and rooted in self-love and self-respect.
This card's presence in the beginning of our reading tells us that we've been doing a wonderful job of being receptive to our desires - tending to our personal gardens - and letting our generosity and relationship to others spring from this joyful and fulfilled place. Looking deeper into this image we can see that the Queen's throne is built on a sandy shore. She's seated firmly on the ground, in touch with the material world and very stable. Part of her robes, however, flow gently into the sea and their pattern even mimics the gentle ripples on the water.
Similarly, we've been tending to our physical selves while practicing gentle awareness of the emotional currents swirling around us. It's only through the stability in our daily lives that we can maintain this balance. We aren't getting swept away into deeper waters - into other people's drama, perhaps, or into speculation, worry, and projection. This has allowed us to peer intently into a great gift that's coming into focus. There's something big and tender that we want to pursue. Like the cup in the Queen's hands, it's right in front of us, and we've been getting to know its contours and details. This cup will appear differently for all of us, yet its common thread is a deep emotional connection. This is something we feel strongly about, something important, visionary, and maybe a little tender.
Regardless, this big dream is coming closer and closer to reality.
And what better card to usher our dreams into something real than The Chariot? Oftentimes this card brings with it a great deal of ego and bluster. In this case, however, we can look at The Chariot as an offshoot of The Queen of Cups. Our dreaming, feeling selves are ready to manifest. The Chariot, then, is just the person (or persona) to get the job done.
These two cards show us shifting from an internally focused, planning mindset into the exciting realm of action. This week is an excellent time to begin the first steps of this new journey. Enough plans have been laid and, in fact, the missing pieces need action in order to be uncovered. We can trust that our motivations are pure and move forward confidently.
It may be worth mentioning that this shift is also indicative of a healthy self-centeredness. By that I mean that worrying too much about what others think will only hold us back, particularly if we're imagining all sorts of scenarios where we're stepping on other people's toes simply by taking up space with our dreams and goals. The Chariot tells us to move confidently, knowing that The Queen of Cups is truly the one guiding the reins and that our confidence and focus is rooted in wisdom.
The Chariot's adventures in our lives this week are building a wonderful energy. If you look at these three cards we see a move from one court card to two Major Arcana cards. This shows us that an important growth and amplification of our powers is taking place. With The Magician we can see a magnificent growth in confidence. Towards the end of the week we'll have so many more details about our plans and new ideas about what to do next. With focus, dedication, and joy we can easily carry this energy forward and bring important ideas and goals into reality.
Weekly Forecast: June 18-24
Well, well. This week holds quite the welcome energy shift. Things have been wandsy for a while now as we've been grappling with the myriad items on our "to do" lists. We've been deep in a period of work that requires us to simply keep at it. You know the phase when the initial inspiration seems far in the past, replaced by many tasks that seem to pull us every which way. Except towards rejuvenating creativity.
Well, well. This week holds quite the welcome energy shift. Things have been wandsy for a while now as we've been grappling with the myriad items on our "to do" lists. We've been deep in a period of work that requires us to simply keep at it. You know the phase when the initial inspiration seems far in the past, replaced by many tasks that seem to pull us every which way. Except towards rejuvenating creativity.
We can see this overwhelm in the Nine of Wands. Here, the vitality of the wands has built up into a formidable wall. We can see the trepidation and exhaustion in the main figure's eyes. More work? Really? When did this stop feeling fun?
This is a question worth asking, and one that has a surprising answer. Despite the discomfort that comes from running into obstacles, the setbacks and frustration we've been experiencing is actually a welcome symptom. We're already where we need to be. We're done! It's just time to let our awareness catch up.
We've been struggling to break past this wall of wands because we think the answer is on the other side. We're operating under the assumption that we need to overcome this itchiness. That the answer involves more of the same - more action, more problem-solving, and more control. Look at the other two cards for this week and we can see that, in fact, we're heading in a much different direction.
The angstiness of fire (wands) is being extinguished by some much-needed, soothing water energy, represented here by the Page and Ten of Cups. All our hard work has brought us to new territory. It's understandable that it's going to take some time for all that momentum to die down. Think of the Nine of Wands as the extra distance you run past the finish line because you can't come to an immediate stop. This week our challenge is to see this phase for what it is and not keep running as if our lives depended on it.
To put it another way, we've already finished the work we needed to do. Now we're shifting away from action and into a period of processing and intuition. This week's reading is really honing in on the role of the Nines as the culmination of their group of cards. The Tens, in fact, are overkill. We're feeling exhausted at the Nine of Wands because we've done enough. It's time to put down our active, controlling minds and make room for something new.
The Page of Cups is asking us to treat this new perspective with curiosity. Now is a time for integration and uncovering. What has all our growth and action brought up for us? We can look at it with calm openness like the Page does with the delightful fish peeking out of their cup. Similarly, we're being given an opportunity to find a new and exciting facet of ourselves in the days to come. It's proving to be the missing piece we were trying to make happen in the Nine of Wands.
This is a time to replace our sky-high expectations with a sense of satisfaction. What if we've done enough? What if we are enough? Embracing this mindset and inviting in a sense of possibility to our lives is opening the future up to the splendid panorama of the Ten of Cups. So much is possible if we relax our grip on the future. Like creates like, and now is the time to let enjoyment, self-expression, and love into the picture. When we plan with these values in mind, so much is possible, including a version of life that's much more expansive and wonderful than the claustrophobia shown in the Nine of Wands.
Use this time to tend to the idealistic, caring, and insightful part of yourself. The Page of Cups shows us asking important new questions and deepening our connection with our intuition. This is an excellent moment to plan big - allowing the most utopian, magical visions for the future to emerge. They might not, in fact, be so far out of reach.
Weekly Forecast: June 11-17
This week is brimming with hearty, enthusiastic energy, my peaches. We have the direct spelndor of The Sun, followed by the rich satisfaction and tenderness of the Queen of Wands. Things are unfolding beautifully and, in addition to being able to run forward with mindful enthusiasm, we're also being wise enough to take quieter moments to tend to ourselves and the ones we love. Take a moment right now to congratulate yourself. It's easy to overlook this step when things are going well; let's not miss this opportunity today.
This week is brimming with hearty, enthusiastic energy, my peaches. We have the direct spelndor of The Sun, followed by the rich satisfaction and tenderness of the Queen of Wands. Things are unfolding beautifully and, in addition to being able to run forward with mindful enthusiasm, we're also being wise enough to take quieter moments to tend to ourselves and the ones we love. Take a moment right now to congratulate yourself. It's easy to overlook this step when things are going well; let's not miss this opportunity today.
I'm going to skip over these cards for a minute and focus on our final card, the Ten of Wands. It appears there's a fox in the henhouse. Indeed, Ricardo Cavolo's depiction of this card - a fox replacing the traditional image of an exhausted person pushing a bundle of wands - is very apt this week. We seem to be unwilling to slow down and appreciate the results of a final push to the end of a cycle.
Just look at the mischievous fox perched on its stack of wands. If we gaze closer we can see that the wands form a barrier between the water - the element of the Queen of Cups - and the warm rays of the sun. This temptation is arriving towards the end of the week, when we may feel pulled to gleefully bypass the success, sweetness, and happiness we've earned this week.
In this case, we're replacing celebration with more work and responsibility. The pile of wands represents a burden of duties, the kind that can seem extra important from the outside. We're running around frenetically, looking important and getting things done!
Sounds like fun, right? The Tens in tarot have a trickiness to them. While we often talk about them as the end of a cycle, they in fact represent an overload or excess of energy. (Just look at the epic, death metal album cover of a card, the Ten of Swords!) In other words, they're overkill, and we can look at them as the extra steps we run past the finish line, carried by our immense momentum.
This week we're given an opprtunity to pump the brakes on the process. What if we stop and realize we've already accomplished what we needed to accomplish? And that, instead of rushing to fill the void with more busy work and stress, we can open up to joys of accomplishment?
In this reading, that facet of our experience is clear, bright, and powerful. The Sun tells us that we've been working towards a goal that is truly aligned with our highest self. The Queen of Cups tells us that we're embodying the complex and loving responsibility that allows us to prioritize pleasure, enjoyment, and loving relationships. These are no small potatoes! It's time to relax into these wonderful realities. Reach out, share, celebrate, and push those wands to the side.
Sometimes the conclusion of a journey is realizing you've already reached its end.
Weekly Forecast: June 4-10
I won't lie, I may have been hoping for a less-intense reading this week after having my favorite card, Death, make an appearance two weeks in a row. Yes, that energy is transformative and powerful, but it's also pretty heady!
I won't lie, I may have been hoping for a less-intense reading this week after having my favorite card, Death, make an appearance two weeks in a row. Yes, that energy is transformative and powerful, but it's also pretty heady!
This week reminds me of a nonsensical t-shirt I once bought in Thailand that said "Same, Same, But Different" across the front. This week we have a similar energy - the desire and need for change - but it's manifesting in a different way. Or, should I say, through a different path.
Luckily for us, this path is much more grounded and practical. Our reading is centered around the Three of Pentacles, a card with no shortage of vision, support, and action. In many ways, I see this reading as a continuation of those before. This week, however, we're emerging from the experience of Death and into the action of living. In other words, we got taken along on a turbulent, profound ride and now we're stepping off, ready to explore and commit ourselves to this new landscape.
The Three of Pentacles is all about creativity and building. This is a time to plan and collaborate with like-minded others. Who are our allies? Who shares our vision and drive? Who do we trust to create something meaningful with? These are not small questions, but luckily we have the almost brutal perceptiveness of the Page of Swords on our side.
Sure, this Page is showing us that we don't quite have our sea legs when it comes to this new venture, but we have plenty of chutzpah, verve, and curiosity to start us on our journey. Most importantly, this page illustrates the unvarnished perceptiveness of youth. I'm picturing the someimes-terrifying honesty of children. You know the moments when a young child makes a harsh but true observation with no shame whatsoever? (I'm reminded of a time when I allegedly looked up at my mother, gazed deeply into her nostrils, and shouted, "It looks like you have spiders in your nose!")
I'm not advising that we run around shouting harsh truths at people with wild abandon. What I am saying is that we have the ability to make clear observations of others right now, and from these we can easily discern people's motives and the role we'd like to give them in our life. So trust your perceptions as they come to you and chose your team accordingly.
What I love most about the Three of Pentacles is that is shows us how important collaboration is to the creative process. This is not a time to go it alone, but rather one to find your dream team and dive into the infectious energy of planning together. And Death, our central card from the last two weeks, gives us a helpful hint: Who do we see heeding the meaningful and challenging transition of Death? Whose growth inspires us? Our people are the ones who have shared some aspect of our struggles and have used those experinces to grow.
And what's this in the distance? Another mild and mellow tarot card? Well, not exactly. Judgment concludes our reading with a nice burst of trumpeting fanfare. We can expect an important revelation later in the week, one that will tell us about the path we're on. Is it working towards our highest good or backsliding into old patterns? Either way, the message won't be subtle, and it'll be just what we need to hear.
In a way, Judgment is a welcome sign that the experimental building we're beginning right now will garner quick feedback and input. Our burgeoning Page of Swords energy is also attuned to this frequency and we can look at this connection as a healthy dialog between our questioning selves and our higher calling. We have plenty of light-footed, perceptive energy available to us right now to adjust our path and tweak our direction. Now is our time to plan and plot, thinking big with our supporters and co-conspirators, while remaining open to feedback from larger sources.
Weekly Forecast: May 28-June 3
We have the charismatic ease of the Wands at our backs as we enter into this week. The Six is a particularly encouraging card, one that points to the happy rush of an achievement. Hard work is paying off, bringing us to a moment where we're being seen for all that we do.
We have the charismatic ease of the Wands at our backs as we enter into this week. The Six is a particularly encouraging card, one that points to the happy rush of an achievement. Hard work is paying off, bringing us to a moment where we're being seen for all that we do.
Whenever the Six of Wands shows up it directs us towards joining in on the celebration of our own achievements. All the cheering in the world means nothing if we can't join in ourselves. It takes courage to see ourselves riding confidently on a horse, laurel wreaths held high like the main figure in this card. But here we are. Moving forward and being seen as go-getters, visionaries, and creators.
And where are we headed? The Hierophant is an arresting card to have facing out at us from the center of this reading. The energy and enthusiasm of the Six of Wands isn't as superficial as we might think. Something about our recent ventures is tapping into a deeper side of ourselves. The Hierophant is a teacher and keeper of secrets. Though they are sometimes buried under all the overt religious symbolism in the card, The Hierophant can be further distilled into a representation of inner truths being respected, amplified, and directed outwards.
This card is asking us to consider what we're taking more seriously in our lives. How has all the action and movement of the Six of Wands been changing our beliefs? Or, from another angle, how have our actions lately been reflecting a cherished value or cause? In this reading, the impulsive nature of the wands is acting as a helpful catalyst. We're finding ourselves already embodying something important that may even be making us feel a little frightened and exposed.
I say this because our final card, the Four of Pentacles, takes the forward moving expansion of the Six of Wands and the solemn sacredness of The Hierophant and tries to reign it in through practicality. Just look at the change in body language. Proud movement and celebration arriving at regal presence and presentation and then... clinging?
Why interrupt our parade towards deeper understanding with restrictive behavior? The suit of pentacles deals with everyday life, stability, and practicality. On one hand, a great deal of magic and meaning can be found here, but in this reading we have the Four, a card that illustrates the act of hiding behind duty, conservatism, and common sense. We're experiencing expansion and somehow seeing danger. So we're being tempted to shut down, to bury our burgeoning ideas and changing selves under the guise of being extra-responsible, together adults.
This energy is classic self-limitation. Rather than own the power of The Hierophant - choosing to enshrine what's really important to us (and to broadcast the magic and satisfaction we find in life) - we're pretending to choose another path out of practicality. It's like saying you'd love to go on an adventurous vacation, but just can't find someone to watch your dog. Or hiding behind work responsibilities when you get invited to try something new. Of course we can pull strings and make things happen. It's just easier to look responsible and hard-working instead of admitting we're afraid to try something new.
This week we have the opportunity to see this pattern with fresh eyes. The Six of Wands comes with its own clearing energy, after all. The parade towards a richer life can continue ahead with some quick detours - we don't have to stay in the Four of Pentacles indeterminately. And with the powerful Hierophant in the center we can't avoid what really matters for long.
The news here is good. Our ideas and beliefs matter and we're already putting them into action. Now is our time to practice standing strong in who we are and letting ourselves commit and invest in what gives our life meaning. We don't need to use our responsibilities as a smokescreen. We can just look to the starts and trust that our feet will stay firmly planted on the ground.
Weekly Forecast: May 21-27
Oh my! We have some intense energy afoot this week. A crow-pleasing card of victory, the Six of Wands, is making way for two of the tarot cards most likely to win "Worst First Impression" - Death and the Three of Swords. I think this tells us a very interesting story, but it also is giving us some complicated experiences to work through.
Oh my! We have some intense energy afoot this week. A crow-pleasing card of victory, the Six of Wands, is making way for two of the tarot cards most likely to win "Worst First Impression" - Death and the Three of Swords. I think this tells us a very interesting story, but it also is giving us some complicated experiences to work through.
So what does it mean when success brings on the energies of Death and the Three of Swords? Death is a harbinger of profound transitions. It's almost comical how the gung-ho enthusiasm of the Six of Wands (you can think of this card as the go-getter of tarot, someone used to seeing results from their actions) crashes into Death. This week we're getting more than we bargained for and our inner development is coming to the forefront through seemingly innocuous actions.
In other words, we might find ourselves thinking, "Things are going so wonderfully! ... Why do I feel so bad?"
I like to think of Death as a card representing moments where we ascend to another level. When Death arrives on the scene we're often unprepared and this is driven home by the ix of Wands. Wands are action-packed, self-motivated, and ever-moving. We think we're on a normal jaunt. It's pleasant, energizing, and going just where we want it to go. Before we know it, however, we come face-to-face with a big moment and some big feelings.
We've been changing all along and now is a time to recognize the weight and importance of that change.
Something we've been undertaking in our professional and creative lives is ushering in a new understanding of who we are. We've reached a sense of harmony and balance. There have been struggles, yes, but they've all taught us to trust our skills and abilities. We can do things! We can make things happen!
I'm feeling this energy as an unexpected and initially unwanted promotion. We know we've been doing a good job, but we weren't anticipating it to be noticed and "rewarded" with a weighty promotion. We have to step up, mid-celebration. Can't we just hang out in this period of plenty? Why do we have to move forward, adding on layers?
It's because we're ready, that's why. Death has a profound inevitability attached to it. Fighting these transitions is unwise. It'd be like trying to prevent Winter from happening or protesting the night. Most of the fear surrounding this card is a fear of the unknown. Death strips us of our usual blueprints and roles and tells us to walk forward with trust, knowing we're evolving into something different. The new blueprint is just around the corner. We need to have faith.
Sound heavy enough for you? It doesn't have to be that way and a key part of this involves scale. Taking baby steps instead of leaping ahead (or throwing a temper tantrum and sitting on the ground) honors the magic behind Death. We can see the character of Death holding a chrysalis dangling from a twig. Like the creature trapped inside, we have to wiggle here and there, testing our new wings and slowly weakening what was once our cozy home.
Eventually, we'll have to burst out, but not quite yet. Taking time to commemorate the big change we're finding ourselves in will help acclimate us to both our new selves and the new world we'll be finding ourselves in.
And this brings us to the Three of Swords. This process is uncomfortable and it's important to acknowledge it. The Death transition at work this week is bringing up old and painful wounds. These need to be tended and seen before we complete our transformation. Again, tenderness is key. I see this card as part of the chrysalis we need to shed. What old stories do we need to let go? What has brought us pain in the past that we can choose to remove from our lives?
This highlights an empowering side to Death. When we embrace its changes we can embrace a more authentic, supportive, and enlightening role for ourselves. Where we once could only crawl we can now fly freely. All we need is a little time and care to free ourselves and stretch our wings.