Self on the Beach

Hello lovely readers, how is this forecast finding you today? I’m currently posted up at my old faithful coffee shop attempting to get my mind clear. If my first coffee at six am didn’t do it, maybe my third at three pm will?

I was, perhaps, too optimistic about the Ten of Swords last week; that card certainly manifested in my life as a double-whammy of seasonal grief and just plain old bad luck. Which is why, when I turned the cards over for our reading, I was incredibly relieved to see the Queen of Cups leading the way.

This card is a generous healer, and it appears that we’re stepping into this role for ourselves (and perhaps others) this week. The Ten of Swords from last week is a “Tower-lite” type of card. We need to get through it before we can really do anything else. Last week, we took some baby steps out of the woods through a new focus on work or creativity via the Page of Pentacles. (For me, this was a renewed zest for working on my business after being waylaid by another sickness.) This week, we’re in a much better place and able to make sense of what we’ve been through. It’s time to apply some soothing balms to all those tiny and not-so-tiny cuts and bruises.

I’d like to jump ahead briefly to our next card, the Knight of Swords. We’ve had a proliferation of Knights lately and they’ve acted as cautionary tales. Intense and impulsive teenage energy is not working for us these days, it seems! It sure can be tempting, however. This week we’re being instructed to keep an eye on our predilection for grand statements, absolute thinking, and defensiveness. The Knight of Swords reminds me of that kid who was too into debate team; similarly, you may feel called to turn everything into an argument this week, including with yourself.

This flies in the face of the Queen of Cups, and that very dynamic is actually happening visually in this reading: The Knight of Swords leaping at the placid Queen, sword raised. If last week was any indication, the last thing we need at this moment is more swords. So, again, this is a time to chill out with the analysis, be mindful of how you’re communicating (and if you really need to be in the first place), and see if you can better understand the energy behind these impulses. There’s an aspect of performance to all knights. Who is this really for? Try to peer behind the posturing to identify the feelings driving your need to explain and be heard.

I’m sensing a slow journey to balance happening over these past few readings. Don’t panic if things seem agitated or unstable right now. The Queen of Cups is a lovely affirmation of our dedication to maintaining equilibrium in challenging situations. Things change, constantly - think the tidal environment this Queen lives in - and going back and forth as the scale returns to stillness is part of the process. A feature, not a bug. Life gets hard - the Ten of Swords shows us this - but this week we’re showing up for ourselves and reinforcing our promises to care for ourselves.

Now I’m especially excited to talk about our final card, the Three of Pentacles. Oh, I love this card, and if you’ve been following along, we’ve been having quite the journey with the pentacles suit for the past two months. Last week, the Page of Pentacles capped our reading with its illustration of genuine interest and focus. Think to what grabbed your attention last week, shining through whatever difficulty the Ten of Swords represented for you. This week, you’re able to take this idea and do something with it. Even better, it’s with other people. The solitary journey we’ve been on is starting to end as we open up to the world around us.

Personally, I’ve been fascinated by this pentacles growth cycle. Last week, I was shocked to see my excitement around work continue amidst some fairly intense chaos. No matter how burnt out I felt, I was still excited to get back to my projects as soon as the dust settled (and my kid could go back to daycare). Take a moment to notice where you’ve been consistently lit up. It may be subtle, but it will be present. This week brings with it a whole bevy of opportunities to grow the excitement you feel around work, creative projects, or changes to your schedule. Talk about your ideas in public, ask friends for advice, and see who you can collaborate with to bring these into further focus and reality. It may end up that tending to these parts of your life will be an integral part of you self-care.

I keep thinking back to the Ten of Swords from last week. Why, you might ask? It’s so upsetting and intense, like an ex-boyfriend’s confrontationally gross death metal t-shirt! I know, I know. But I’ve been really feeling this card. And it’s so tied to our first card this week, The Queen of Cups. What I’m feeling here, is a powerful lesson about grief and processing difficult experiences that could use some focus and even celebration.

Both the Ten of Swords and Queen of Cups are found on beaches. The Ten of Swords lies facedown on one, the fingers of one hand making the sign of benediction seen in The Hierophant. If we approach our bellyflops as an opportunity or a profound blessing, how does that change our experience?

Furthermore, imagine if we embrace the beach we’ve flopped onto. What if we watch the tide go in and out, let the salt water heal our wounds, learn the rhythms of a place where pain and suffering come and go. I’m imagining this as a possible path for us this week. That we rise up from the Ten of Swords and take a few steps onto the throne of the Queen of Cups. What similar triumphs have you witnessed in yourself? How have you become an expert of your own healing? How have you learned to live on this beach?

The Ten of Swords also has a sunrise. It’s a slow affair. We see it as a thin band of yellow in the background. It’s also the same color as the pentacles in the entire pentacle suit. Has there been a similar slow-dawning realization in your life? In your work, maybe, but also in something undeniably physical and mundane in your life? Pay attention to these subtle, slow illuminations. Sometimes it’s easy to take the sun for granted along with the light it gives. But there may be a new realization dawning in your life, one that’s as natural as day itself, but no less miraculous, and with the potential to warm your path moving forward. What new truth is shining in your life now?