Breaking Free with Intentionality

A few quick announcements before the forecast:

Dear readers, I was just thinking about our central card, The Magician, this morning. I’ve been having a refreshing and nerve-wracking experience lately taking risks - finding something I want to grow and making a gesture towards doing just that: putting myself out there, taking initiative, speaking my truth, making an offering in the honor of change. As I was mulling this over while getting ready for the day, I thought of The Magician and how it perfectly encapsulates this energy, and now here it is! Does this mean anything? I don’t know! But I am taking it as a spark of excitement as we begin this week, because why not? Tarot is all about seeking out meaning, and part of that involves choice.

We enter into the week feeling preoccupied. There’s a great deal of mental chatter crowding our headspace and it’s reaching a point where we’re risking (or already experiencing) paralysis. The Eight of Swords shows a sticky spot of our own making, but before you get busy blaming yourself, this fact is actually quite helpful. If we’re thinking ourselves into a corner, we can get ourselves out of it, but not without some bravery and intentionality. What thoughts and ideas have led you to this place? Yes, this is a swords-y opportunity to really observe what’s holding you back. A very annoying type of opportunity, for sure, but we can learn a lot about the very habits that are blocking our energy right now. Take time to do an inventory of your self-talk and reasoning, especially around what’s possible in your life. It’s a wonderful time to shed these pesky thoughts and habits, so let’s make the most of it.

You might be approaching an important breakthrough and that exciting possibility is triggering a resurgence of doubt. Look at the background of the Eight of Swords. You can see an impressive castle perched on the cliffs, signifying achievement and security. The figure in the foreground, however, is bound and blindfolded, surrounded by swords. Yet the swords are hardly an insurmountable barrier, and, in fact, their sharp edges are the perfect tool to sever both the bindings and blindfold. In this way, we’ve chosen to remain stuck for some very valid reasons that we’re now outgrowing. Tenderness, respect, and non-judgment will be crucial if we want to both identify and move beyond these issues.

I’m sensing a possible connection between this Eight and our card in the same position from last week, the Eight of Pentacles. Our self-doubt and stasis might be tied to our work, vocation, or domestic life, or at least triggered in this area. Speaking for myself, I know that when I approach success I tend to revert to old thought patterns. Pay attention to how you’ve been progressing in whichever pentacles realm is most resonant for you lately - might it be kicking up worries and self-sabotaging tendencies?

I’ll be plain here: Beware of elaborate arguments about why you can’t do what you’ve been dreaming of, especially if you’ve been steadily working towards that goal. It may also be because you can see how much farther there is to go, but this perspective is glorious! A sign that you’ve been working hard enough and grown big enough to finally see a finish line. Yes, the castle in the Eight of Swords is perched on a cliff - we’re going to have to do some work, we can see it’ll be arduous, but we can also see the payoff on the horizon, closer than ever. This is good news! Don’t trick yourself into thinking it’s safer to be stuck in this stinky swampland. It’s not where you belong.

So what to do? The Magician is shining a bright light on our entire situation mid-week, much like a welcome change in the weather. Because this is a Major Arcana card, and because it deals with themes of creativity and energy, I’m sensing that a lot of our path is coming into focus naturally. There’s a shift in energy and our creative light will be too powerful to ignore. Follow what lights you up, create in the name of expression not solely ambition, and you may be surprised to see how easy it is to detach from the Eight of Swords.

This is a reading with the type of transition that I can’t help but rhapsodize over. The Eight of Swords is downshifting into the poignant, mature, and peaceful Six of Swords. I’m just noticing how the Eight of Swords features a swampland with small rivulets of water while the Six of Swords features a deep and wide body of water. It’s as if our emotional and spiritual tides are coming in, lifting us up and ferrying us across an expanse that once felt arduous and intimidating.

Emotion and action are twin forces that can liberate us from the restrictions of our negative self-talk this week. Dare to channel your energy by expressing yourself - through creativity, decision-making, communication, and thoughtful gestures. A key strength of The Magician is their ability to stay current with their energy. This is the opposite of overthinking and requires a lot of mindful presence. We can’t work with what’s happening if we’re tied up in our own thoughts. I’ll also say that this can be intimidating. The world of The Magician is bright and this can illuminate things we’d rather not see. Yet this card paired with the Six of Swords indicates a willingness to change coinciding with a natural change of season. Let this carry you forward while making the authentic gestures the moment requires of you.

I’m giving you the sparknotes of this since we have a hefty reading already. Key areas to focus on are: