The Joys of Creative Alchemy

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Fantasy/Reflection/Balance: This is what popped into my mind as I turned over our cards for the week - How refreshing to have a clear narrative in a group of cards! As we wrap up the month of March, it’s clear we’ve accumulated a wealth of inspiration. Our task now is to foster the space in which our personal alchemy can do the work of filtering out the best and most resonant ideas.

While this all may sound (and eventually look) wise and placid, we begin in a rather loopy place. The Seven of Cups looks like an acid trip. Treasure overflowing from a chalice, another holding a slithering snake, then one with a dragon? A castle? A shrouded figure that resembles a low-budget Halloween ghost?? It may be overwhelming at first, this amount of creativity and curiosity. We’d be wise, however, not to panic or try to superimpose order on this insane bounty. Like any vision quest, there is a distinct “uh oh” moment when we realize we have to relinquish control in order to truly receive and experience the new. That’s simply the price of entry, and it’s not so destabilizing once we accept it and walk through the door.

I love this card because it reminds us how how messy and unpredictable creativity is. Since we’re dealing with the cups suit, there’s a focus here on emotional creativity in particular. How have you been approaching the parts of your life that summon an emotional response? Your desires, passion projects, connections, and relationships - pay attention to what really means something to you, even if you’re not sure what exactly yet. In fact, the not knowing is the biggest clue that you’re at a cusp that could lead somewhere important, worthwhile, and, therefore, somewhat intimidating.

If the beginning of the week sees us swimming around in exploration or reverie, by midweek we’ll be craving some solitude to sort through it all. With that in mind, let yourself lean into the wildness of the Seven of Cups while it’s here: follow any points of curiosity down into their respective rabbit holes; let your mind flit around like a butterfly collecting interesting facts, beautiful works of art, and stimulating conversations; dream outlandish futures for yourself - best possible scenarios, solutions unburdened by the constraints of reality, partnerships that flourish and grow. Once you’re thoroughly satiated, exhausted, or both, take the time to step away and regroup. No matter how frivolous, scattered, or overwhelming this first part of the week may feel, it’s doing important work to set us up for some big “Major Arcana Moments,” starting with The Hermit.

What’s there to say about this solitary figure? They’re serious, sure, but above all, they take themselves seriously, and invite us to do the same. What has been kicked up in your recent searching? What about wanting is pointing you back towards yourself? It’s easy to underestimate the cups - the emotional and ephemeral are not exactly valued in our society - and this week is a time when we’re being asked to respect what we’re being drawn to emotionally as integral to our navigation system. What we wants matters, and there’s no way to reason our way out of these desires, especially if they’re enduring, light us up, and affirm our sense of self.

If the Seven of Cups and The Hermit are two sides of a scale - collecting/experiencing inspiration on one end, integrating and understanding it on the other - then Temperance represents the point of balance in between. This is a dynamic, flexible, and holistic card. While The Hermit can be extreme, needing absolute solitude and silence to discern one’s North Star, Temperance invites us back into our everyday lives. There’s refreshment to be found in weaving in pleasure, inspiration, and creativity with our lived experience. Start by doing, step away from the conceptual, and practice engaging with the ongoing process of balance. We can always adjust as we go; just look how beautiful the world is when we do so.

I’m leaving Temperance quite open in this reading for a reason - this is a deeply personal card, and I want to leave the possibilities here open for each of us, since they’ll likely be wildly different. The good news is that the combination of the Seven of Cups and The Hermit is thorough. We’re going to know what we’re working with by the end of the week, and we’ll also be having a lot of satisfying fun putting things into motion. Trust your instincts, protect your perspective, and start doing the little things that light you up.

Another point to highlight in our reading is that, while it has big energy around personal growth and transformation, the overall feel is, well, chill. There are no Towers in sight, and if their aftereffects are still on the scene, The Hermit is gifting us with the fortitude and independence to walk away and say “no thank you” with more ease than usual. Enjoy the pockets (or expanses) of time, minimal drama, and distraction and see what you can do to relax.