Old and New Love

A while ago one of my regulars came to see me. This was her third reading with me and each time someone comes,  I can connect the dots better.

Last time she came,  interested in someone relatively new in her life,  but the cards didn't like him. She drew the Page of Swords/  Page of Cups/ 7 wands reversed around him.  

This time she came and said because of the cards,  she wasn't angry with him,  or with herself when they broke up.  She could see that they wanted different things.  Neither of them was a bad person,  but he wasn't grounded or ambitious enough for her,  she doesn't want page energy (let alone 2!),  she's 32 and ready for a King.

This time when she asked about love in the future she drew  Strength / 9 cups R / Lovers   Much better, more adult cards.  But also a warning - sometimes the 9 of cups (I call it the fat and happy card) is about contentment,  being happy with what we've got.  But when it's reversed,  it can mean don't settle, it's okay to have standards and boundaries.  Her cards were searching for a proper,  equal Lover this time,  no more pages,  she's worked on her strength and ready for the real thing now. 

Telling your truth

One thing I always recommend to people is to speak their truth.   You don't have to tell the whole truth to people,  but don't lie.  

If I am feeling depressed and anxious and sad,  and the cashier at the supermarket asks "how are you?"  I say "tired."  Not the whole truth,  but a truth.  And often I would get a slip of the mask and a human looks back at me and they answer "God, me too!"  And even that bit of congruence makes me feel more real,  more connected.

So it's not that I have to tell all my secrets to the universe,  or be rude or even say things that make me feel over exposed.  It's just that I have to be congruent.  And that really does help. 

When I first came to NYC,  way back in 2002,  I had a really rough first year,  which is not uncommon for people coming to such a busy, humming place.   I felt lost and isolated.  In the middle of the worst of it,  I just began saying things that were true - even at parties.  How are you?  I'm feeling lost and overwhelmed, I would reply.  I can't tell you how many people said,  oh,  the first year is the worst,  and shared their experiences.  And it got better.  Me being real,  allowed others to be real and that helped ground me. 

So speak a truth,  doesn't have to be all of it,  but whatever you say has to be real,  even if it's "I don't have the bandwidth for that right now." which I have found myself saying from time to time. 

Being congruent helps.  

Questions

A while ago I did a reading for one of my repeat clients - a woman in her 40's with great energy, a bright smile,  but work situations had not been easy for her.  She kept drawing the Page of Cups R,  she feels out of sync,  they don't 'get' her,  she offers her quirky,  out of the box sensibility and they just look puzzled. 

So one day she comes and asks,

Should I wait till I finish my MBA before changing jobs?

And she drew 

Fool R / Strength / King wands R

The fool never means you are being foolish. Rather it is the start of a new journey,  the very first card of the tarot,  where you walk out with a song in your heart and you don't know where you are going.  But her fool is Reversed.  She is not progressing,  and she is not journeying.  Instead, she feels stuck.  

She is strong and capable,  there is no doubt about that,  but her King of Wands,  fiery, passionate,  outgoing, is also reversed,  her bright energy dimmed,  her anger growing. So I said,  no,  stop waiting.  Waiting is blocking you and slowing you down.  Rather,  turn your Fool the right way around,  and move forward,  then your king will also turn and you'll have the kingship you deserve.  

She liked that very much,  she knew her job was pulling her down,  but was scared to move with so much on her plate,  but the job was not easy and her plate was already too full,  a new job could actually energize her more.  She did change jobs and it did work out better for her. 

That's why I like repeat clients.  I get to see how the tarot was used and if the predictions worked! 

Motherhood

 

A new father came for a tarot reading with me and one of his questions was about his wife, and he drew sun / 8 of swords / strength – and I think that is the most perfect description of early motherhood that I’ve heard in a long time – sun,  happy,  warm,  bright,  8 of swords,  trapped,  scared,  unable to see clearly  but then she gets to that very feminine version of strength,  where her clarity and calmness makes the lion fall in line…   

Now doesn’t that sound like the mother of a 3 month old to you?

And now for the swords...

We leave the water based cups and now move on to the swords, cutting through the air. When I think of swords, I think of cutting through complications, sharp edged and smart. The swords deal with the mind, both rational and irrational. The swords are intellectual and want to learn but emotionally they often learn through pain. I associate Swords with strength, defenses, conflict, anxiety, and ambition, but above all, swords seek the truth, and how valuable that makes them!

Strong in the way that counts

What is the difference between the chariot and strength? This has a more feminine energy, despite being such a masculine word. It also talks about control, but has compassion and stability, kindness and moderation as being part of it.



The chariot is all about wresting control, harnessing energy, driving force. Strength on the other hand has more to do with inner strength, self discipline, a softer, slower, and more persevering approach. The Strength card often portrays a Woman and a Lion: the Lion representing our instinctive animal nature or id, and the Woman our 'higher' or elevated self. It is a parable that physical strength alone is not enough and spiritual or mental strength is often enough to conquer the wild animal.



The inner child cards show us Beauty and the Beast, two kinds of strength that have to merge to find their true face. She has to see beyond the surface, he has to learn humility (in the beginning, he is cursed to be a beast because he is so arrogant, a superficial strength, but with no compassion or grace.)