Care, Conflict, and Determination

This week’s group of cards has a uniquely direct energy and feels more linear than usual. Sometimes a reading is a medley, a swirl of themes and emotions that color the entire week, and other times it’s a story: A leads to B leads to C. Today, we’re given the latter, and our story begins with the calm, nurturing, and savvy Queen of Pentacles. This card sees us focusing on our own spheres of influence. What is it that we touch and tend to daily? That we can change, nourish, and encourage with regular care? We may also be occupied with questions of growth and protection, and I think to how this time of the year has us hunkered down and awaiting spring, planning our gardens and repairing what’s been broken or worn out over this recent period of activity.

Because of their aptitude for both attention and planning, this queen encourages us to enter into the week with a sense of capability. What happens when we calmly accept our responsibility to care for our lives and then simply go about the process of caring for it? What if we assume that we absolutely can do what we need to feel safe and solid?

In this way, I think that the Queen of Pentacles is surprisingly powerful. Under this card, small, incremental acts add up to impactful changes. Think of the ways that you’ve been accumulating experience through your regular practices and the ways that this dedication has built structure for you. The beginning of the week holds the possibility that some of these projects have reached a point where they’re now self-sustaining. It’s also possible that whatever new practices and endeavors we begin will be blessed with this card’s formidable nurturing energy.

Occasionally cards will also act as a beacon. When we embody both the impressive experience and the full heart of the Queen of Pentacles, others are drawn in like moths to a flame. Particularly since this queen has some of The Empress’ parental warmth, some of the attention can be out of place or inappropriate: be aware of people trying to take advantage of your generosity, time, and attention in a way that doesn’t honor your space and humanity.

This brings us to our second card, the Five of Swords. You might remember that we had another five, the Five of Wands, last week. We’re clearly going through a period of discernment through conflict! But while last week’s energy was more well-meaning and chaotic - our toes being stepped on by overeager and inexperienced dancers - this week’s could be more harmful. Note whenever someone in your sphere attempts to bring you down through their words or actions. They may be threatened by your focus, personal boundaries, or success in pentacles-related areas of life. Why, exactly, doesn’t matter, but the harm this can cause absolutely does.

The call could also be coming from inside the house. In this case, self-criticism or cutting takedowns of your growth and capability might come up. Do you feel guilty for having resources? Taking care of yourself? Approaching an exciting new chapter? Changing? As usual, the fives give us an important reminder to pause and re-evaluate: do we want to take on the harmful messaging - regardless of its source - wholesale, or do we dare to say no and adopt another interpretation?

Looking at our spread, I see another thread to pull at linking the Queen of Pentacles and Five of Swords. Jealousy, envy, and harmfully competitive energy may come into focus during this time. Thankfully, the Queen of Pentacles is a strong card. Don’t feel like you have to get off your throne in order to address the conflict of the Five of Swords. It might not be your fight in the first place. While cultivating calm and focus - minding your own beeswax, so to speak - take note of what messaging is attempting to push you off your balance. This is helpful information, both to point out what (and whom) to avoid, but also how to recognize similar behavior in the future.

While all of this is somewhat sticky, our final card is extremely encouraging and galvanizing. The Chariot indicates that this tension is bringing us closer to our will and agency. Even more, it may be preparing us to make an exciting and important decision. A shift is on the way, one that’s moving us from the contained, well-mapped territory of the Queen of Pentacles and into the unknown of The Chariot. When I look at these two cards, I gain a sly appreciation of the Five of Swords. While our initial experience of its unpleasantness might be acute, it doesn’t last long. Whatever setbacks, snide remarks, or minor betrayals we face this week, they ultimately only bring us closer to what matters to us. Our goals and vision are no match for this pesky energy, and we emerge fired up and inspired to take action.

I’d also like to note that, since the Five of Swords is in the suit of the mind, that some of our unpleasant experiences this week could take place in our heads in the form of memories and/or repetitive thoughts. The Queen of Pentacles offers a helpful inspiration for relief: Tending to your daily needs, getting in your body, and making small gestures of care to others will distract from and ultimately soften the harshness of the Five of Swords.

Ultimately, the real beacon in this reading is The Chariot. Be aware of how you’re approaching an important launch, one that taps into deeper sources of meaning in your overall life. A card that straddles the line separating preparation and action, ideas and reality, and planning and execution, The Chariot shows the moment we commit to a path of action and step out of the conceptual and into the adventure of the real world. I love seeing the Queen of Pentacles beginning this reading as it shows us that we’ve been gently planning and preparing for this moment. With this card at our back, we can rest assured that we’ve done our due diligence to prepare for this moment. The rest will unfold in conversation with the world itself.