Weekly Forecast: April 4-10
Judgment / Nine of Wands / Eight of Swords
Yeesh, we have some hefty energy here, friends! “Welcome to April, let’s get serious,” the cards seem to be saying. We’ve moved from the big-picture expansiveness of The World last week and back into to the come-to-Jesus intensity of Judgment.
I say “back” here because Judgment is the penultimate card of the Major Arcana, the last step before the finale that is The World. So why return to the moment before the triumphant last shot of the epic film that has been our lives for the past several months? I can’t help feeling that there’s some unfinished business here, and that the perspective we were granted last week when things finally gelled together has given us a much-needed insight into our pasts. What, in other words, needs an edit in our final accounting of what we’ve just been through? There’s an important insight here (maybe more than one) and we’d be well served to take it seriously and edit our story before submitting it to our final records.
If going through your recent past with a fine-toothed comb doesn’t sound appealing, I don’t blame you, and The Nine of Wands is here to affirm any feelings of resistance and irritation. (I’m getting big Paul Rudd in Wet Hot American Summer vibes, here.) The Nine of Wands, however, is a massively motivating card. It shows up in moments when hard work is infinitely worthwhile, telling us that no matter how tired or over it we may feel, we still have more left, and so long as that energy is expended in the best interests of our higher self, we’d be foolish to give up now.
The pair of Judgment and The Nine of Wands is also refreshingly bold. We’re not dealing with subtlety this week; we know what to do. And, most importantly, we can see why it would be a bad idea not to do it. Cue The Eight of Swords, giving us a brutal illustration of how easy it is to get tied up in anxiety, fear, and indecision. The swords deal with the mind, and this week the mind is not a hospitable place. We may be dealing with more negative self-talk, self-limiting impulses, and stultifying stories about who we are. Pay extra attention to how you’re treating yourself - audit that inner monologue! - and take respite in the exhausting but tangible realm of things you can actually do aka The Nine of Wands.
Judgment is a card that gives us important messages; allow yourself to hear what’s coming through (especially from the events of last week) and act on them. It may be hard, but it’s work that supports your growth - budding wands instead of a wall of cold, cutting swords.
There’s also an undercurrent of trickery in this reading. The Eight of Swords illustrates the seductiveness of thinking yourself into a corner. Whether your thoughts manifest as rationalizations, self-fulfilling prophecies, or overplanning/perfectionism, be mindful of the ways you might perversely feel safer when you’re stuck. Looking at the illustration for this card we can see the false promise of the situation. While the figure is inarguably in a pickle - bound and blindfolded in a pen of swords - their solution can be found in the cage itself. Shimmy on over to those swords and the binds are cut. Similarly, we’re in a position to call our own bluff and use our minds to burst out of our self-imposed prisons.
Easier said than done, of course, and this is definitely a week to be extra kind to ourselves. We have a honking (heh) Major Arcana card (Judgment), always a lot to deal with no matter the overall meaning, and the two suits in the Minor Arcana best suited to poking and bludgeoning. Reading the negative space of this spread, we can see that a little gentleness and beauty (cups) and practical self-care (pentacles) are needed to give us balance and rejuvenation amidst our big endeavors.
So muster your strength, accept any important realizations from the big transitions you’ve been undergoing, and edit your narrative so that it feels the most truthful, resonant, and empowering.
This week, embrace:
Taking time to ask big questions
Loud, impactful, and even upsetting messages that feel like the truth
Persisting!
Decisiveness
Awareness and presence in action
Asserting your needs, desires, and ambitions
This week, avoid:
Rushing past the hard parts
Sloppy work
Instant gratification
Getting trapped in negative mental spaces
Get creative:
Judgment: I feel like this card is going to be very specific for each of us this week. The call of Judgment is as subtle as the giant angel trumpeting above the figures in the card; you likely know what the big realization to focus on is in your life. There’s no better way to avoid the mire of anxiety seen in The Eight of Swords than to get ahead of your brain and write things out. Take some time to have a meeting with your higher self and face the message of Judgment head-on. I’d suggest writing out a simple statement, maybe even a word if you can boil your lesson down that far. What has come through to you, loud and clear? Now take some time journaling about how this new information changes your concept of yourself, your life story, and what is possible.
Nine of Wands: Practice presence with the Nine of Wands. When this card shows up we can be sure that it won’t be an uneventful week, so as you’re running around taking care of whatever needs taking care of, practice noticing how your body feels. Embrace the sensations of scrambling to pick up the living room: the aching in your legs - interesting!; the way you clench your jaw when preoccupied; the feel of the carpet on your knees. Do this in little bursts. See how it brings you home to yourself. Practice being with yourself every step of the way.
Eight of Swords: Time for a redirect! I like the “scary” cards in tarot because they’re extremely helpful when it comes to identifying moments we’re in a pickle. Chances are, you know exactly how this card feels. So, when you find yourself stuck in a swamp surrounded by swords, do one of two things: either shimmy up to a sword and cut yourself free - how can I mentally reframe this situation? Is my doom-and-gloom outlook entirely justified? what more is there here? - or dip your toes into some intuitive knowledge - what beauty or mystery is here, too? what if I do something completely different than my brain is asking for, like paint for a second or meditate? Relief is just around the corner.