Weekly Forecast: June 20-26

How do you react when a rainbow finally appears? Maybe you’ve been secretly praying for one, nervous and expectant. Or perhaps you’ve been hoarding rainwater, thinking you can collect enough to create your own downpour and invite one in. But we all know that’s not how rainbows work. They arrive on their own accord, a colorful expression of nature and change. The right conditions need to be present, and if we are too, we can rise up and take the sight in.

This week sees a big desire become real. The rainbow is happening. What will we do?

There’s a restrictive side to the Four of Cups that’s coming through in our reading. Where in life do your wishes come with a dose of fear? Sometimes we cling to our smallness, dreaming big and bold dreams, but secretly secure in not realizing them.

Yet this week a powerful wish-fulfilling card is taking center stage: the Ten of Cups is showing us that our dream is quite close. We could, in fact, get up and run to meet it. But is something holding us back?

We have the beginning of the week to really consider this. Our first impulse may be to think through the issue, but we’d be wise to follow the true nature of the cups and get in touch with our feelings. Looking at the Four of Cups I’m imagining a deep reservoir of water beneath the three cups on the ground. Are we in fact sitting on enduring wisdom while pretending we need to scrounge and scrape for inspiration? We can learn a lot about our desires this week along with any fears we have about our wishes coming true.

Take a look at the Ten of Cups. What do you see in this card? What does it make you feel? You’d be surprised at how upsetting this card can be to people. It can look flashy, garish - especially if you’re used to thinking that living your dream openly is dangerous, inviting trouble.

Fortunately, we have the Two of Swords on the other side, tempering our strong emotions. This wise card invites us to take baby steps. We don’t have to embrace an entirely new life wholesale, rush into good fortune, or change radically. There’s time to step into the rainbow-lit world of the Ten of Cups for a bit, then take a break and mull things over. Or, even better, just let yourself be so that its wonder can sink in.

Oftentimes we think that beauty, pleasure, and connection are fleeting, limited resources. The Ten of Cups, however, tells a different story. In its pure form, it depicts the eternal wellspring of connection. We can frolic together, yes, but we can also grieve together, struggle together, and yearn together. When done out of a place of authentic relationship, all of these endeavors become generative and, in their own way, gorgeous and transformative.

See where you can find yourself sharing in joy, connection, and bounty. Make room for whatever this brings up, and grand yourself the solitude or space to let the doses sink in. I have a feeling that this week holds an important revelation: an experience that points you towards the greater source of fulfillment that’s always there, no matter what happens.

This is a week of joy, surprised, and integration. Dream big, and don’t be afraid to embrace the rainbow when it appears.

This week, embrace:

• Taking it easy

• Being gentle with your fears

• Romance

• Connection

• Living your best life

• Respecting your dreams

This week, avoid:

• Overplanning

• Reclusiveness

• Shutting down emotionally

Get creative:

• Four of Cups: This card has been stalking us for most of 2022. This week, I’m feeling like its seriousness could use a shake-up. Try meditating on abundance, oversized dreams, outlandishly positive scenarios. Let yourself go wild, simply holding the images in your mind with gentleness.

• Ten of Cups: This card is begging us to get outside. Find a way to be in nature with people you love (or just like… for now).

• Two of Swords: I didn’t realize that there is a vast wellspring of water in this reading when I was riffing on the Four of Cups. It’s here in the Two of Swords! Which makes me think that we’re going to uncover a special source of enjoyment and acceptance this week. Preferably during the weekend, take some time to journal about where you noticed a sense of belonging, satisfaction, and peace. You now have a new source of insight and nourishment in your awareness. Congratulations!

Weekly Forecast: May 23-29

I love this reading. It’s jarring, effusive, then serene. There’s a sense of multiplication as we travel from the hardship of the Five of Pentacles and into the bounty of the Ten. It leaves us in a pensive place; we recede into the background for a spell, consulting with ourselves in the deliberative Two of Swords.

If you’ve been dragging your feet, feeling exhausted or “in it,” this week has a helpful message for you: No matter the difficulty, there’s treasure to be found in your everyday life. Soon, these cards tell us, that treasure is multiplying into something splendid.

This could happen in one of two ways:

1. A healing breakthrough - finding a new frame through which to view your recent struggles that catapults you into a phase of action and enjoyment.

2. A big change, addition, or opportunity.

This is all happening in the realm of the pentacles, a place where what we do, touch, and tend to comes into focus. And, even if you’re not familiar with tarot, the Five of Pentacles does a good job of broadcasting what happens when these areas get pinched in the grips of difficulty. It’s a classic “bad times” tarot card, and I like how it doesn’t mince words (or, rather, images) when illustrating what it feels like to struggle - walking into the wind, limping along, out in the cold.

When I draw cards like this I like to take a moment of recognition. Where have you felt exhausted, overburdened, and unfortunate? How can you extend compassion to yourself and your struggles? This is, interestingly, also the only card with snow in it. Some part of our pentacles experience (work, domestic life, finances) has been experiencing winter - a period of dormancy, energy conservation, and endurance. If you’ve been scraping by, not doing as much as you’d like or simply feeling limited, cut yourself some slack. It’s likely this has been due to necessity - the environment just isn’t in your favor - and the smart thing is, in fact, to rest and wait or keep things simple. Just getting by or even doing nothing can sometimes be the best and smartest decision.

If the Five of Pentacles is winter, our next card, The Ten of Pentacles, is the golden days of high summer. This is quite the jump! Something is bursting forth in the middle of the week, making me think that our slog through this blizzard of troubles is well worth the effort. Fives are the midpoint in each suit and all deal with the theme of challenge. Entering into the Ten of Pentacles shows that we’ve faced a stiff challenge, continued despite adversity, and are emerging into a vastly different landscape.

There may be some overwhelm at this shift, like squinting into the bright sunlight after emerging from darkness. It’ll be helpful to plan for some adjustment while not shying away from the bounty. The Ten of Pentacles is a busy card (can’t you tell??) and represents the riches of a life fully lived. Expect support and growth in your community, family, and partnerships. Look to connections between yourself, nature, and your ancestors. This is a complex and gorgeous tapestry. What’s coming together for you? How has enduring struggles helped heighten your appreciation of what really matters? Colors may look brighter, tastes sweeter, sounds clear and resonant. This is a time to appreciate what we have and revel in caring for it. Also, I might add, letting ourselves take up space and embrace our messy humanity as a participant of this wild scene.

This arc gives us a lot to think about, and towards the end of the week we’re mulling over what we’ve learned and how things have changed. The Two of Swords shows us taking some mental space to gain clarity and insight. I’d urge you, however, not to retreat too far from the warmth and bustle of the Ten of Pentacles. Like all tens, this card shows an important culmination. Don’t sneak away from your own graduation party in order to analyze or create a mental story. The story that is still unfolding requires our full participation.

Using what’s happening in our world of pentacles to make decisions, however, is well worth our time. Just be sure to pay attention to any impulses to pump the breaks, seek safety in over-deliberation, or intellectualize something wild, beautiful, and full of potential. Drawing trusted others into your decisions and internal debates can help mitigate the Two of Swords’ tendency to isolate.

Either way, it’s clear that this week is bringing about a pivotal change. Let yourself take in the riches you have (and expand your understanding of this concept) and use your new situation as a foundation for growth.

This week, embrace:

• Endurance

• Re-framing struggles

• Community

• Sharing pleasures

• Celebration

• Intuitive messages

This week, avoid:

• Despair

• Fatalistic thinking

• Self-isolation

• Intellectualization

Get creative:

• Five of Pentacles: An often-neglected side of the pentacles is that it’s the suit associated with the physical body. Take some time this week to do something physical that gets you out of your mind and into your body. It may even be satisfying to do something especially challenging, showing yourself that not only can you get through hard things, but that they make you stronger.

• Ten of Pentacles: We talked about how this card intersects with daily life, but didn’t draw on its powerful spiritual side. I see this card as the ancestral tarot card. Take some time to find out how your ancestors navigated hardship, ideally through conversations with family members (this card is also all about real-life community and interpersonal interactions). Do a small ritual to honor the struggles your ancestors have endured - I’m a huge fan of lighting a candle - while meditating on how you have been doing the same in your unique life experience. For those with tense family relationships, you may want to widen this frame and find a historical figure you identify with, within your cultural tradition or not.

• Two of Swords: Let’s focus on the more positive side of this card here. The Two of Swords is, in its healthiest incarnation, all about balancing intuition with intellect. This week, see how you can practice tapping into your intuition, starting with the prompt: What makes me feel good right now? (Think: however the Ten of Pentacles is showing up in your life. What’s so great here? How does it feel in your body?)

Weekly Forecast: January 3-9

Six of Swords / Six of Cups / Two of Swords

long journeys, tender homecomings, and food for thought

In a season that comes with a lot of pressure - ambitious New Years resolutions, plans for festive gathering, time spent with family - it’s reassuring to see a card that encapsulates the more poignant, quiet, and even melancholy side of the holidays and new year. Like the boat in the Six of Swords, the waters we’ve been traveling lately have been rough, to say the least. This week we’re gently floating towards a new shore; land is in sight, the waters are calm, and we can just begin to make out the contours of our new terrain.

The Six of Swords is a card that pulls at my heartstrings, something you don’t usually say about a suit that’s filled with violent imagery. Yet here I can see the truly bittersweet experience of viewing life as it is: the elation and tenderness of love; the fear of losing it; the frightening chaos and injustice of the world; the fascinating multitudes of color, beauty, and curiosity everywhere you turn. Taking this all in at once, accepting it, and moving forward holding all sorts of contradictions is difficult, adult work. In this Six of Swords, we see the middle of a journey rooted in this worldview. We’ve made a decision, set sail, and we’re halfway to the other side. What is it we’re reaching for this year? What hard work has shoved us off a familiar shore? And what can we just start to see emerging on the horizon?

This is a time to embrace the magic of the in-between, the animating tension of opposites, and the difficult but essential decisions we’ve made recently. We’ve been using our swords-y powers of discernment to chart our own path, and now is a good time to acknowledge the depth of these actions and to celebrate our integrity and bravery. Make room for all of the feelings as this card shows us that we have to leave things behind in order to effect any meaningful change. The Six of Swords is not without grief, but it also embodies the stirring of refreshing movement. We’ve done what we must and now things are just starting to unfurl. What has been set in motion? What is winding down, depositing us somewhere new?

As I type this I wonder if we may need to wiggle free of restrictive rituals, record-keeping, and reflection for the new year. Instead of making resolutions, why not look to our past actions to see what we’ve already committed ourselves to? We can then re-commit to those goals with more passion and specificity. Our reading shows a move from the cerebral to the emotional as we move from the Six of Swords to the Six of Cups. I’m delighted by this pair of sixes - we’re transforming! - and it’s rare to see the sharp and pointy swords segue into this flowing, feeling suite of water.

The Six of Cups, in particular, is a massively tender card. I’m imagining us reading the other shore shown in the Six of Swords and finding a cozy paradise. Perhaps we’ve made some changes in our everyday lives that have blossomed into something truly supportive. In what ways have we made our life more affirming? Think of the word “home” and see where it takes you - what homes have you cultivated, where do you feel the most yourself, and how much has this feeling grown over the past year?

When I think of the Six of Cups I think of the openness of childhood, that time when our true self was the default, bumbling around joyfully with interests, desires, and quirks on full display. We’re returning to this charmed place now, but with the strength of our adult selves to back us up. Whatever shame, repression, or discomfort we had to battle through to get here has been fought back admirably. It’s time to value and express ourselves in our full and weird splendor.

There may be some kickback towards the end of the week, however. The swords make a return, this time to the closed and cautious Two of Swords. We may feel tempted to close up like an anemone at the first ripple of danger. Take a look around, however, before making any hard and fast decisions. Is it justified fear or the shadow of something long gone? Old defense mechanisms can come up when we let our guard down. And, as we can see in the Six of Cups, sometimes we let in the wrong people either from openhearted naiveté over-enthusiasm. The good news is that we’ve learned so much - both how to enjoy life and to wield our swords to protect ourselves when necessary. It will be important to use this experience as a moment of clarification and motivation, not an excuse to go back or get smaller.

this week, embrace

• Contradictory feelings

• The sweet melancholy of being in-between

• Rest

• Enjoying simple pleasures, especially those that tap into your creativity/inner child/playful self

• Trusted and true friends and family

• Pushing through the desire to limit yourself out of fear

this week, avoid

• Big changes

• Intricate new projects

• Dumbing-down your struggles and accomplishments

• Over-analyzing what makes you feel good or brings you joy

• Oversharing with people who don’t understand or appreciate you

get creative

• Six of Swords: Set aside time to journal about the big change you’ve made this past year. In what ways has your thinking changed or clarified? Use your swords skills of observation, analysis, and discernment to see how your actions might point you to new and useful values. In other words, what do the things you’ve been doing mean about you, your life, and your goals?

• Six of Cups: Devote a chunk of time (however much as you can) to treat for yourself. Think of it as a date: set a time, send an invitation, and set the stage for something tender, memorable, and meaningful. Some places to look for inspiration: What you loved as a child, something exciting that only you would enjoy, a collection of simple treats you can spread out as a sumptuous buffet.

• Two of Swords: When you find yourself stuck, get curious. The swords are about our mental world and in this card we see ourselves backsliding from the growth of the six to the starting point of the two. But this can be helpful! Look around as see the why behind these thoughts. Are they self-limiting, shame-based, seemingly practical? It’s helpful to identify the places we go when we feel threatened so we can notice and then redirect moving forward. Treat this experience as an information-gathering expedition rather than a setback.

Weekly Forecast: November 25 - December 1

This week we’re in a tender spot, feeling our way through the beginning stages of something new. What seems like a stark contrast - the joviality of the King of Pentacles and the sensitivity of the Queen of Cups - is made even more so by our desire to think our way out of it. The Two of Swords shows deliberation, isolation, and emotional unrest. Might there be another way? Or, more pointedly, might there be something we’re missing?

I have a feeling that these cards are only representing a surface level. Both court cards and the Two of Swords involve highlighting a facet of our experience while setting aside or, at the worst, devaluing others. This is a good opportunity to check for balance in our lives. Are we extending outwards too much, stretching away from our central perspective? Or are we getting drawn inwards, preoccupied with worries or anxiety?

Either way, we’re certainly functioning well, all things considered. These court cards aren’t here for nothing! We can take their capability and use it to support us, too. How have we built a lush life for ourselves? What resources are behind us? The King of Pentacles shows these skills operating at their best. 

Yet there’s some unease here, as we can see with the Two of Swords. Perhaps we feel like we must choose between the bright, charismatic capability of the King of Pentacles and the emotive, wise introspection of the Queen of Cups?

(I have to admit, this is sounding more and more like the tension of spending the holidays with family! For those heading into that realm, feel free to see the cards in this light.)

Sometimes it’s most helpful to follow the lead of a card, to healthily engage with its energy. Allowing ourselves time, solitude, and the ability to think things over will help usher us through the inaction of the Two of Swords. There’s something important for us to learn here, so let’s start asking the questions and leave room to receive the answers.

And, if we’re missing the emotional wisdom of the Queen of Cups, we can engage with our intuition. The Two of Swords depicts a rippling ocean behind the blindfolded figure. Our intuition is telling us something and, most importantly, is right behind us. There may be some important insight in our restlessness, and we’ll only find out if we take off our blindfolds and turn around to examine it. 

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Weekly Forecast: July 8-14

This week's forecast it a departure from the usual: While shuffling four cards jumped out of the deck. Not one to pass by a fun happening, I decided to keep all of the cards. Paired off, they change the dynamic of the forecast quite a bit and I'm loving it!

Our top two cards are from the Major Arcana and, fascinatingly, they're mostly black and white in an otherwise zesty and colorful deck (the Apparition Tarot Deck by Spirit Speak.) This adds to the archetypal power of the cards. This week we'll be dealing with issues of fairness and values.

Below them we have two Minor Arcana cards, both in the suit of swords. So, in very un-subtle tarot speak, we're going to be spending a lot of time thinking about what is right in our lives and the world around us. Where is justice being done and where is it lacking? And how can we have a hand in righting the imbalance?

These cards highlight the importance of taking space to ponder these serious questions, preferably in solitude and far away from the wildness of our modern society. Giving ourselves the permission to block out outside noise is awakening us to what really matters. Any time we spend this week detaching healthily to heal and mull things over will be well spent.

Because we're also seeing outside injustices mirrored in our own experiences. It's a tender and personal path. Justice, our starting card, can often be intimidatingly abstract. "What do these ideas mean in my actual life?" we might ask. Here we have something outside of us awakening inner wisdom and insight into our past experiences. This is a time to walk towards any discomfort or defensiveness. What might be hiding beneath the surface?

With The Hermit we see that an inner truth is coming to light. It's a good time to ponder and interrogate our own moral code. How are we using it to better our lives and the lives of others? Is there a part of it that's not being acted on, causing stagnation and tension?

I can't help but think of the horrors of the news cycle presently and perhaps there's a thread to pull there. We may find ourselves triggered and tempted to turn away. These cards show us that we have a fine line to walk if we want to do justice to our emotional lives and our need to enact and support justice for all.

But I'm also heartened by the Four and Two of Swords, some of the most positive manifestations of their often-maligned group. They encourage us to trust our perceptions, gain clarity by stripping away confusing chaos, and to focus on what we can do in the here and now. Channeling our swords insights into action is the best way to do justice to these powerful cards.

And, indeed, it seems like we need some action. Not only is it important collectively, but individually as well. Spend this week examining what areas of the large concept of Justice ignite you the most. Like The Hermit suggests, this can take some time. Lean into the process: By the end of the week two paths will become clear. Choose the one that resonates the most, and don't hesitate to act. The most powerful and healthy communities are built by people who know themselves and know how to leverage their talents, skills, and resources for the greater good.

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Weekly Forecast: November 12-18

This week we're skirting around an issue that means a lot to us and, while we have a larger intuitive understanding of what we're dealing with, our conscious minds need to do some catching up. It's tender territory, in other words, but one we're slowly approaching and very ready for. 

How do we recognize this area of our lives? It's big, expansive and requires us to change our understanding of our capabilities. Look for a feeling of anticipation, the fizz of the alluring unknown, and a healthy bit of trepidation around a change, pursuit, or project.

What's quite beautiful about this group of cards is that we start with the Queen of Cups, one of the most intuitively robust in tarot. This queen knows that her power comes from her connection to herself and she respects her feelings as harbingers of wisdom instead of unwanted distractions or signs of weakness. Rather than "I think therefore I am," this card says, "I feel therefore I am." Her knowledge begins with her personal experience.

In this reading she tells us that deep down we're aware of what we need to be growing into; we've been taking the time to nurture it from a small seed into a sprout that's ready to be planted. The idea might not be in full focus, but the feelings surrounding it most certainly are.

What's interesting here is that we have a court card about intuition instead of a heavy-hitting Major Arcana card like the High Priestess or The Star. This means that we're easing into a new understanding of ourselves, experimenting with a persona like we might try on a new and daring outfit in the hopes that it suits us. 

Judgment, with it's far-from-subtle blaring trumpet, gives us a refreshingly straightforward answer. We're onto something here! The Queen of Cups outfit we're trying on fits us so well that people are cheering when we step out of the dressing room.Tapping into our intuitive selves, whether it's through a new interest, career path, or form of expression, is bringing us a new sense of fulfillment that's radiating outwards and making some very positive splashes in the world around us. 

Of course, this is also a lot to take in, especially if we're coming from the tender seed stage! The Two of Swords sees us retreating into familiar territory to regroup and reassess, almost as if we're trying to moderate the loudness of Judgment's trumpet blast. 

This is all well and good - the Two of Swords features heavy water motifs showing that intuition can still be included with the intellect - but we may want to watch out for retreating too far and using our rationality to reason ourselves out of a necessary change. 

Still, we can move forward at our own pace, giving ourselves plenty of time to acclimate to the large, resounding scope of Judgment's message. We can always consult ourselves as we chart this path, editing as we go. The Queen of Cups, however, tells us to follow our hearts above all and trust in the immense power of our instincts. We're on a very rewarding track and our deepest self knows it. 

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Weekend Send-Off: Seasonal Transitions

This week has been a nice, slow re-entry to post-Halloween life and I’ve finally had time to do some strategic business planning and dive back into creating blog posts and newsletters for you all. Maybe I’ll miss the hectic event schedule of October in a few weeks, but for now I’m taking the time to breathe deeply and re-center.

Here are some of the highlights from the past seven days - please share yours in the comments below!

Tarot Discoveries - Tea-Soaked Letter by Anna Burch

I love seeing tarot show up in pop culture, so it was fun to discover the cards in the music video for this delightful song. That three of swords looks ominous!

Witches in the News - “Real-life witches practice everyday magic in the Triangle”

It’s always nice to see positive mentions of witchcraft, metaphysical practices, and paganism in the news, so this feature by The Daily Tarheel is an all-around joy. And although the comment section isn’t the kindest, I did get a chuckle out of the grab-bag of defensive responses!

Repeat Tarot Card - Four of Pentacles

It seems like a lot of us have been feeling the urge to hold our resources tightly this past week. The Four of Pentacles sees us valuing stability and wanting things to stay the same, if only just for a little bit…

Listening, Reading, Watching

For some reason whenever I go to the library I pick up a bunch of intense books. Rarely do I come home with something lighthearted and simple (though I could probably use it!). Case in point: this week I checked out The Lucifer Effect by creator of the Stanford prison experiment, Philip Zimbardo (it’s amazing) and Sabrina, the latest graphic novel by Nick Drnaso.

I knew nothing about Sabrina going in and devoured it in one sitting. Perhaps foolishly, I assumed it’d be at least somewhat happy (there’s flowers on the back!) but, no. It’s a riveting and devastating look into our current relationship to truth, hardship, and social media while being uniquely and utterly itself. I highly recommend it to any graphic novel fans out there or anyone looking for an insightful and artistic take on our modern times. Though maybe not for general uplift an merriment ;)

And now, finally, our card for the weekend:

Two of Swords

Message: Focus in on a big choice in your life right now.

Embrace: Gathering facts, trusting your instincts, making space for information to come through.

Let Go Of: Confusing what could be a straightforward choice into something more dramatic, needing absolute clarity.

Guidance: It’s important to give ourselves time and space to mull things over; however, being too isolated can block out connection and creativity. The choice at hand can be exciting and expansive if we let it.

Weekly Forecast: January 15-21

The Queen of Wands is a vividly powerful character. Sitting proudly on her throne she has an air of anticipation about her. Looking at her expression it's as if she's only just sat down to realize there's something else to do, another tantalizing opportunity to seize.

This card embodies the dynamic power of our creativity. And yes, creativity here is a wide and encompassing term. Not limited to art, we can think of creativity as quite simply the act of creation itself. Making something out of nothing more than a spark of inspiration combined with our will. We envision, we decide, we make it real.

The Queen of Wands is uniquely clear-minded. Following our creative impulses has the exhilarating side effect of clearing out any and all cobwebs. There's no room for stultifying boredom, limiting self-consciousness, or crippling self-doubt when we allow ourselves to be in the world and interact with it. 

If the Queen has any secret it's that she does at time feel boredom, self-consciousness, and self-doubt; she doesn't, however, allow them to hold her back. In her nuanced understanding of herself and the world there's room enough for all her facets, the "negative" included. This week we're given the opportunity to embrace her mindset and allow ourselves the treat of manifesting our desires and ideas in real time, all while accomodating and valuing our imperfections.

Wands, beging governed by the element of fire, have a rapid energy and, left untempered, can get out of hand and engulf us. Think of the manic feeling that comes from doing too much in succession. The to-do list becomes threatening and our self-esteem hinges on our ability to check everything off as completed. The Two of Swords brings in a nearly perfect counterpoint to this energy: air to feed the fire and water to keep the flames contained so they burn just right. 

This card asks us to integrate moments of introspection so that the energy of the Queen of Wands can serve us best. Action requires rest, decisions require space, and expansion requires wisdom. The Two of Swords gives us all these things on two levels. The first is mental. We can take space to consider things, using our mind to reason through whichever crossroad we're at. The second is intuitive. Taking space allows the deep wisdom of our subconscious to bubble up and add its voice to the conversation. 

What a beautiful confluence! In giving ourselves moments between our actions this week we're engaging with our creativity, intellect, and intuition. It's no surprise then that's this is leading us towards our final card, the Ace of Pentacles. Opportunity is ariving in our lives in response to the hard work we're doing to integrate these many parts of ourselves. This ace will likely show itself in our work - there's an opportunity knocking that will give us a path to build on our stability and expand into a new phase. 

 All we need to do to recieve these gifts is follow the advice in the Queen of Wands and Two of Swords: continue creating with confidence and vigor, make room for our weird and wild selves, and take time to consult both our inner and outer wisdom. 

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Weekly Forecast: January 8-14

As a general practice, I like to cut right to the chase when more apocalyptic-looking tarot cards make an appearance in a reading. For this week we have the stabby Three of Swords and the cataclysmic Tower. Not doing a whole lot to lighten things up, the Ten of Wands concludes our array for the week.

It's rough stuff at first glance, but you'd be surprised that I breathed a sigh of relief when I turned over these cards.. There's a deep layer of meaning here that I'm glad to see, and an overarching theme of movement in an area of our lives that has long been characterized by stagnation.

We've been holding something close to our hearts that's no longer doing us any good. The Three of Swords speaks to the immediacy of our pain. Umistakably, this card shows us that when we're wounded we suffer. This experience serves to protect us (in feeling pain we can learn to avoid it in the future) as well as to summon our energy so we can begin to heal. Our body and mind are drawn to the source and, with our attention focused, we can see what's causing the wound, remove the source, and allow our bodies to do their work.

Without this experience we wouldn't have as rich an understanding of the world and of ourselves; pain and suffering help direct us towards our own path. There's a great deal of wisdom there when we peel back the layers. (And, yes, it's still painful - there's no denying that).

Interestingly, we also can remove some power from the hurt through experiencing and exploring it. Think of a toddler falling and scraping their knee. The shock of the fall and the pain makes them wail in the way only toddlers can: with wild abandon and piercing volume. Once calmed down, they find it's just a small scrape and, after a bandaid is slapped on, they scamper off on another adventure.

But what happens when we don't allow ourselves to process our pain in real time? Detatching from ourselves and holding onto the initial shock of an experience can cause it to become overpowering. What started as a scrape if we had only looked down and treated it becomes seen as a lethal wound. We may hide our pain, try to ignore it, or become afraid. All this effort is exhausting.

There's a tender side to the Three of Swords. In its simplicity, it can represent the vulnerability of our childhood selves and our original wounds from this formative stage. There's something bubbling up from our past experiences - a Three of Swords moment - that needs to be evaluated. This can be a tired, limiting family role or a feeling of powerlessness. Examining the deeper root of our unpleasant feelings this week will be illuminating.

And here's the good news: As adults, we can now reach down and comfort our distressed selves, put a bandage on our knee. Now is a time to direct healing energy and understanding towards our inner child, soothing some of the pain around an early hurt that's showing through in our daily lives and providing room to move forward.

When there's a big buildup of repressed emotion around an experience it often leads to an erruption. And that's what brings us to The Tower. In this situation, The Tower reprsents an inevitable and ultimately healing moment of catharsis. An experience this week will send us tumbling back to our younger selves and the suffering we experienced at that time. Rather than avoid this moment, we can lean into it, knowing that some old feelings need to be discharged and that kindness towards ourselves is key for both comfort and growth.

This is not easy stuff, yet there's a sense that this is it's time and we're ready to rise to the challenge. The Ten of Wands shows us reaching the end of a journey of self-care. Reconciling our current selves with past suffering - learning how to love, soothe, and ten to our inner child - is the final piece of the puzzle. While we may feel exhausted at times, we can trust that this is part of our journey. What's more, we're now armed with a wealth of knowledge about how we need to care for ourselves.

It's a winding road of practice and patience; knowing ourselves the way we do, however, gives us the strength to see and experience the Three of Swords and The Tower not as threats, but as essential parts of life that allow us to grow our roots even deeper and emerge as our own best advocate, friend, and healer.  

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