Your weekly reading for April 12-18, 2020:
What is going to happen this week?
Queen of Wands:
The Queen stands in an archway of stone covered in intricate carvings, flanked by two salamanders (symbols of fire), with her face tilted towards the light. The wand in her hand is held artfully away from her, the light from the crystal adorning it shining on her as well. Her gilded crown appears to be a part of her, circling her head much like her own personal sun. She is adorned in golden jewels, and her robes are silk and velvet - luxurious fabrics - in the color of red for the flesh, and for passions. The sun is out, and the world is like fire around her. Keeping her company is a black cat (I love that it is a black cat) who sits stoically at her side.
Wands, being a fire sign, are the cards of energy, motivation, and passions. We are also in Aries season, which is a fire sign. The Queen of Wands generally stands for vibrancy. This week she comes to beckon you to answer the call and step into your personal place of power.
There has been momentum that has been steadily building up, and with it the ushering in of new energies and the purging of what is old and needs to die for us. This has left us all on an emotional roller coaster lately. However, I feel that most of us have also been experiencing a rebranding of priorities. It is when we go through emotionally difficult times that we are forced to realize that which is truly important in our lives… And it usually doesn’t wear the face that we think it does. Because this queen is one of passion and motivation, we are being called to identify our true passions this week, and what truly motivates us, and then move towards it by stepping into our personal power in that role. It is time to stop turning away from our dreams. It is time, instead, to refine them into the details of that which we truly want, knowing why we want them, and begin to take our strength as manifestors to bring this vision into reality. We cannot shape our lives into what we truly want unless we put flesh to that want and speak of it in terms that actually define it well. For example, to simply use the phrase “I want to be successful” can speak of a million different things. It’s time to pin it down, and really spell out what we want. And then, rather than dreaming of it, it is time to take the first steps towards gaining it. Part of those steps is the realization that we have all of the tools we need to achieve those dreams, and we have the strength to move towards these goals powerfully.
The time is now. We have waited long enough.
What is our advice this week?
Ten of Pentacles:
Ten coins adorn the forefront of this card in the symbol of the Tree of Life. The ornate gateway beyond leads to a stately manor. Foliage, lush and green, adorns the gates, the entry, the yard, and the sun can be seen peeking through the clouds in a fairly gentle-looking sky. The statues on the gate are clothed in modesty, looking inward and towards each other. One gets the impression that this estate has stood, and will continue to stand, through the tests of time.
Pentacles are the cards of finances, work, and material possessions. Tens speak of the ending of specific journeys that deal with temporary lessons. Because this is a completion card that deals with material possessions and wealth, the message is to take a look at what has been gained from the journey so far. What have you built up? What kind of legacy have you created, and who for? With the Queen of Wands as the theme, and this card as the advice, we are being told quite clearly to take stock of what our work and harvests thus far have brought us, and then to look ahead to a new horizon. The time of the importance of material possessions is coming to an end and being replaced by a time of following one’s passions. This does not mean that you need to toss all your worldly belongings away; but it does mean that you are reaching a point where you realize that the relentless pursuit of things does not spark your motivation or feed your passion.
This is a hard lesson to learn. We are taught from the time that we are very young that the value of things will give us value as human beings. We are groomed to devote our lives to chasing status through the accrual of the ‘proper’ things: A proper job, a proper home, a proper family, proper pastimes, all leading us to a proper retirement a breath away from the end of our lives. This fantasy that we have been steeped in our whole lives is part of what is dying away. We are waking up to realize that it is far more important to do that which sparks fire in our heart than that which gives us a false prestige.
Justice:
A woman in white stands blindfolded in a great hall, holding a scale. In one scale resides a heart, and in the other, a feather (there is an old story in the Egyptian Book of the Dead about weighing one's heart against a feather to get in to Heaven). The body of the scale is a sword tipped with the sun. a scroll, perhaps the scroll of your life's journey, rests rolled up at her feet. The predominant theme here is white, and purity. Justice is also blind, meaning that it truly is your heart and essence being weighed here. The stars and the cosmos can be seen in the background.
Justice is a Major Arcana card; and therefore relates to reoccurring themes or life-long issues. It is a calling to find that balance within you that allows you to pull up from the darkness and settle more firmly into the truth of things. Coupled with the previous two cards, it is again about realizing the truths within you about what you think success and happiness is versus what your heart is telling you that it really desires. Because it is your heart being weighed here, it is suggested that you need to follow your heart. This, again, goes back to undoing the conditioning of our youth, where we were taught that the heart cannot be trusted. We were trained to be practical, to be good submissives to the pre-ordained scheme of things, and to turn away from the whispers of our hearts because it would surely lead us to personal ruin. For years we have worked on cloning ourselves to be like the rest, and now we are being gently reminded that it was all for naught.
The time for chasing this imaginary status that leads to hollow ends is done. The time to follow our hearts and achieve balance and favor is now. By following what moves us, we can finally lay to rest this old paradigm and pick up the colors of the life we have always wanted to live, deep within our hearts.
What is the outcome?
The Three of Swords:
A girl stands in the rain with tears flowing freely. she is clothed in yellow; symbolic of innocence and happiness, and abundance. However, she is in pain. She clutches a crumbling rose to her cheek and is shrouded in darkness. Three swords hang in succession behind her, and one of them is piercing another red rose, which is also crumbling away. Roses are symbolic of love, and red is symbolic of the color of the flesh. All is dark as the rain comes down, and behind her looms the moon - usually a symbol of confusion and muddled thinking - shining a small beam of light down upon the scene, through the clouds bringing the rain.
Swords are the cards of thoughts, words, and actions. Threes are usually indicative of periods or instances of growth and creativity. The Three of Swords in the upright position indicates the death of an idea, a betrayal, or a temporary heartache. As the outcome card for the week, it indicates that there is going to be inner turmoil in your decision-making this week, and that part of you, even if you wholeheartedly put aside your material pursuits to answer the call of your heart, is going to grieve the loss. You stand to second-guess yourself because you are shifting your focus to a new perspective, and the unknown is frightening to you. It could be that those around you will not understand your need to shift, and this could bring you and them some pain (but note that swords are not relationship cards; they are action cards, ruled by water, or our emotions).
Do not feel that because these bits of grief are going to appear for you that this is an excuse to not follow your heart. Minor Arcana cards refer to temporary passings in our life. To embrace something new, we must first shed the old. Many things that are set aside for something better for us are grieved. Do we not grieve the loss of our childhood just a little when we grow up? When you move out of your first home into a better one, do you not feel that pang of sadness the last time you close the door of the old one? It is a natural part of progression to be sad over what is left behind as we move forward. With that said, remember that to move forward now is to step more fully onto the path we are meant for. Embracing our passions and letting go of material ideals will only lead us into a fuller, richer place in our lives. So, feel the sadness, but do not let yourself wallow in it and do not let it deter you from your path.
Remain strong this week in the definition of that which you truly desire out of life. Carry the truth of it with you like a magic wand and follow what sparks you deeply inside. Know that the ideas you have had of importance up until now are going to fall away from you, and that you are headed to a place where the desires of the heart outweigh the desires of the material world. Know that the ending might hurt a little emotionally, but that it is necessary grief and that all will be well if you just keep going with that solid definition of your heart’s desire in the forefront of your actions.
All my best,
-R-