Weekly reading for May 3-9:
Hello everyone! I hope you are having a good start to your week. We have a lot of emotional issues coming up for us in this reading. This is really no big surprise with everything that has been going on lately. Last week we discussed relying upon the little pleasures to get us through the drama that was cropping up around us, and we discussed that progress was being made even though it was not really tangible for us at the time. It’s a new week! Let’s see what the cards have to say this week…
What is the theme for the week?
The Four of Cups:
A young woman sits on the edge of a bank, staring down longingly at three golden cups. To the right and left, light and water spill forth out of the cups and feed the waters, which look just a little turbulent. The cup before her is empty. She wears the colors of pink and green - colors of life, of love. To her left (and remember that the left signifies intellect) is a mighty tree; strong, green, and solid. To her right, behind her where she can't see it, a fourth cup is suspended in light, also over flowing (remember that the right signifies emotions and creativity). There are clouds in the sky, but there is also a bright light shining through. Does she realize the cup is there? Does she know that it is overflowing, or that, like the tree, she has all of the strength and wisdom of the ages to guide her? Cups are the cards of feelings, emotions, creativity, and intuition. They have also been known to be the Love cards in Tarot readings. Fours are stability cards, and the Cups are about contemplation. This week you are going to have good energy flowing all around you. You will have knowledge at your fingertips, and light shining upon you. However, you run the risk of missing out on all of it if you fixate on what it is you do not have before you. This is a common human condition. We get so caught up in some thing – or in this case, some emotional issue – that fills us with feelings of lack that we fail to see the magic that surrounds us and the abundance that is ours if we just look away from that one thing we mourn not having. There is an old saying about how God answers every prayer… But sometimes, the answer is “no.” It can be hard to remember when we are deep in our feelings; but everything always unfolds for our highest possible good. If we do not have something in our life at this moment, it is because now is not the time, or that thing we think we need really isn’t ours to hold.
Because Cups are water cards, this is most likely an emotion and not an actual “thing.” Many people tend to feel this way about love. I am constantly asked when someone is going to find their “soulmate,” and who the person is that is just for them, because they are tired of waiting. I honestly hate these readings, because the answer is never the one they want to hear. We only attract the right people for ourselves when we have done the work within and have reached a state where we are not looking for someone to complete us. Nobody actually wants to hear that.
If you are feeling the lack this week, because you expected to feel a certain way, but you are not; be gentle with yourself. There are so many wonderful things going on in the background of your life right now. Turn to them, and don’t dwell on the “have-nots.”
What is known to us:
The Seven of Swords:
A hooded figure dressed in earth tones appears to be sneaking through a courtyard, gathering up swords, holding one at the ready to use if he gets caught. There is light shining beyond, and the brilliant green of life, but he is focused on the task at hand, poised to run or fight at a moment's notice. He is leaning on a stairway towards the inside of a castle... And he probably dwells there. If he makes it inside, he will succeed... But he hasn't gotten there yet. Swords are the action cards of the Tarot. Sevens are the cards that deal with our general faith in things, and this particular card hints at deception and betrayal. Given the emotional undertones of the week and the feeling of lack, it is entirely possible that we will feel betrayed by someone we had once put a lot of trust into this week. This could be a new hurt, or an old one cropping back up that we have not yet dealt with and begun to accept. Old wounds have a way of rearing their heads and ripping open their scars – especially during the times that we are emotionally contemplative. If someone you thought you were through dealing with finds space in your head this week, remember the overflowing cups, and remember that what has been done is done, and there is only power over you if you allow it.
The same goes for new wounds. You cannot control what other people do. You absolutely can control what you do in reaction to their actions.
On that note: Remember that the opposite of love is not hate. It is indifference.
The Queen of Cups:
The Queen stands in her chamber, quietly contemplating the gilded cup full of light in her hand. She is adorned in many shades of blue; the color of communication, of the Throat Chakra, and of water. Water is the biggest source of life; a mighty force which can flow through everything and break rock, can put out the hottest flames, and cleanses as it goes. Her crown, bodice, and dress are adorned in gold. Gold is the color of the Solar Plexus Chakra, where we hold our identity. The lotus is a symbol of strength after struggle, of the divine feminine, and in the East signifies purity, enlightenment, and rebirth. Three of them bloom in the water at her feet, and another is clutched within her left hand - the left being the side of intellect and reason. The water at her feet is calm. The blue sky behind is almost flawless. The pillars beside her resemble fish tails - and fish are symbolic of loyalty. Blue-green light filters down from the sky, up from the water; yet her gaze is fixed upon the cup, and the divine knowledge within the light that glows there. Cups are the cards of emotions, intuition, and creativity. They are also the cards of love in regards to the Tarot. The Queen of Cups is the epitome of Emotional Intelligence. She is compassionate and relies upon her intuition to guide her. She is as calm as a quiet lake, and just as deep. She does not lash out or seek ripples in her water, but instead craves the dark clear blue of serenity.
This is an interesting card to come up with the Seven of Swords. It is literally telling you to act compassionately and with calm in the face of betrayal, past or present. She is reminding you that emotional intelligence calls us to recognize, but not act in a manner that is destructive. Clear thinking always prevails. Acting with compassion does not mean opening yourself up to be hurt again by those that hurt you. It does mean that even these pieces of the journey should be recognized as a lesson for your highest good – and that even the villains fulfill an important role in your life. It should be noted, though, that in the big picture there are no actual villains. Or, if you would prefer, that we all play the role of both Victim and Victimizer at some time in our life. Labeling the people who hurt you as “bad people” does nothing for the healing process. Recognizing the lesson, and their role in your learning it, and making peace with an unpleasant process will take you so much farther… and keep you focused on those Cups you have a habit of not seeing.
What is not known to us:
The Five of Wands:
Two people are locked in a battle of tug o' war with a piece of rope. The person on the left is staring at the rope, almost as if they expect it to snap. The person on the right, full of determined anger, gazes at the person on the left. Five wands are placed between them, adorned with gold and glowing crystals. The water below them is churning with surf and foam, and the sky above them is hazy and red. However, there is light; both coming from the crystals and the sky; which glows red but also shines a light on the water. Neither person locked in battle seems to notice. The rope itself looks like it might be getting ready to give way. Wands are the cards of energy, motivation, and passions. The Five of Wands comes to you to say that there is a mental/emotional battle you have been deadlocked in recently, and it is because you have been trying to force a situation, and have been refusing to 'drop the rope.'
…So this week, you really need to look inside. You need to find what it is you are mourning that is keeping you from seeing the good in your life (there is SO much of it!), and what betrayal you are dwelling on that keeps you in this fiery, energetic tug of war. You don’t see that this strife is unnecessary, and you keep yanking on the threads of it. You cannot move forward, past this lack mentality or this feeling of betrayal until you identify this useless fight and move away from the internal struggle of it. As long as you continue to let it wage within you, you are never going to find the grace and calm of the Queen of Cups, who is literally right there to take your hand the second you put down this rope.
This fight no longer serves you. You have learned all you need to from it. It is time to let it go. To let it go, you need to realize this does not mean burying it. The easiest way to heal is to examine the situation, sift through the emotional part and let yourself feel it, and then accept that it is a part of you, it happened for a reason, and that it is okay to forgive yourself and them (if need be) to fully integrate the lesson.
Note: “I forgive you” does not mean welcoming them with open arms back into your energetic circle. It means having the grace to accept their role in your journey, and nothing more.
Advice to navigate this process:
The Two of Cups:
A man and a woman gaze into each other's eyes before a full, ripe moon. There is both longing, and a little bit of humor, upon their faces. The sky is illuminated with the light of the moon, which is at totality. Below are calm waters. Two gilded cups sit upon the reef, the symbol of the woman linking them. Light arcs from one cup to the other, and they burst forth with light, and water, spilling into the ocean below. Both the man and the woman appear to be naked and unashamed by it. Cups are the emotion cards, often considered the relationship cards in the Tarot. Twos are about duality, and can be the beginning of a journey. So the advice here is pretty straightforward: While you sift through your emotional baggage here, remember that there is the promise of a new emotional journey ahead, and that there is much promise on the horizon for moving forward. Have you ever heard the saying: Don’t look behind you; you aren’t going that way? This is pretty much the advice for this week. Look forward.
When you deal with your emotions, remind yourself that you do so because something brighter is coming, and you cannot fully embrace it if you are holding on to other things. Look away from the empty cups. Put down the swords that aren’t yours. Drop the rope. Look ahead. There is so much emotional richness just up the road, and you can’t get there if you are fighting all these battles and fixated on the losses that have already come to pass or don’t even really matter. Don’t be the person who points out the one empty cup in a place where the rest spill over. Don’t be the person that can’t see their deserving of happiness because of past pain. Don’t be the one who continues to fight an old fight simply on principal, and miss out on the moving forward to what lies ahead for you.
The choice is always yours… I really hope you choose love.
Have a good week. Be kind to yourself.
-R-