Weekly Forecast: January 29 - February 4
Ruling over and drawing strength from the skeletons in our closet.
Death is a transition into the unknown and the unknowable. As a tarot card, it taps into our fear of what we can't envision - a future that requires us to change and, like a snake, shed our skin to reveal a glistening, new layer of ourselves.
Death is natural and necessary; the moments when we must work with the changing currents in life. We must change, evolve, and allow ourselves to move into new phases and forms.
Of course it's frightening at first. Leaving a well-worn, comfortable situation for something we can't see yet? The tenderness of shedding our skin? It's a powerful experience, both profound and vulnerable.
And sometimes it's just what we need to emerge into a fuller embodiment of our potential.
In this week's reading, Death is flanked by the Eight of Pentacles to the left and the King of Pentacles to the right. This transformation is occurring in our daily lives, either in the structures we've been working on to give ourselves security or the work we pursue to feed ourselves and put a roof over our heads.
We've had quite a bit of success, as we can see in the Eight of Pentacles. Success is challenging, however. Sometimes we look up after working hard to discover that we've accomplished a goal we once thought was outlandish and completely out of reach. We've eclipsed our expectations. Hooray!
...Hooray?
This is where we begin to struggle with the necessity of Death. We've worked so hard that we've moved into new territory. Our success is demanding change, it's shaking things up. We're tempted to put our heads back down and keep on working like it's all the same. But we're growing fast, and delightfully so. The world is taking notice and it's time for us to emerge into a fuller version of ourselves: wiser, wilder, and more accomplished.
This is where the devilish, gleeful King of Pentacles comes in. They're a character that embraces the warm rays of success and feels energized by them. Accolades are welcome and abundance even more so. This is a being who doesn't shy away from the bounty that comes from hard work. Enjoyment of one's riches is the best way to amplify and honor them.
We're developing from the humble diligence of the Eight of Pentacles into the confident joy of the King of Pentacles. Leaning into this transition or "Death" is a profound experience, a leveling up that encompasses more than just the fruits of our labors bringing us to new places.
In the Eight of Pentacles we can see the line of skulls buried in a mountain alongside the cascading pentacles. Our work, while undeniably concrete on the surface, has also been emotional. Our efforts have allowed us to exorcise parts of our past, another clue why Death is showing up here - this is a profound emotional transformation.
On the other side, in the King of Pentacles, the same skulls are happily crowned beneath the King. No longer, buried underground, they're free to soak up the rays of the sun, transformed from buried secrets or unprocessed emotions into celebrated parts of the King's journey. Perhaps even assets that aid him in his reign.
This week is a time to ease into the depth of this transition, to be gentle with ourselves, and honor what we're experiencing. We'll be dealing with issues of having more than we asked for and the challenge of embracing this well-earned wealth instead of hiding from it. All the pieces are there and the transition is ours to take. It's time to be King.