TAROT

Queen of Wands § Knight of Swords § Four of Swords

The Queen of Wands is generally pretty keen on letting us know her thoughts and feelings. This remains true, but her signature confidence might require a little bolstering at the moment. The cycle of grief that carried the Queen of Wands—and many of us—over the threshold of the new year has brought about a pivot in perspective. The change is significant enough that it will affect the Queen’s values and desires. It will take some months for her to fully integrate her revised point of view. The Queen of Wands is a fan of change in general and even she is feeling a little motion sickness, so you are in good company if you are experiencing the same. Steady yourself as best you can and know that soon enough your new stride will suit you perfectly. If you are the sort that rarely feels competent, this could be a very important corner you are turning. If you are more accustomed to feeling steady, like our Queen here, you might find yourself hungry for something you are uncertain you can accomplish. In either case, your worst choice is to ignore the angst you feel. Instead, make a note to yourself about it; be as concise as you can in describing what you feel. But don’t try to fix it.

The Knight of Swords meets up with us on the path this month. Her attitude is one of resolve in the face of her chosen challenges. She will remind us that pursuit of a goal means traveling the road that exists in reality, not the one in our minds. The quality of bravery is the tension  between danger and desire; it is the outcome of weighing the consequences of unfulfillment against the hardship of quest. The Knight of Swords knows what she is doing, but if we keep asking her to make promises she will leave us behind. If we cannot risk failure, we are not prepared for success. Think about it. The Knight of Swords would like our company, but only if we have something to add or the maturity to act in service to something larger than ourselves. The Knight of Swords prepares as well as she is able and then she makes her move; at some point you have to jump. There are only so many questions you can ask and so many classes you can take before you just have to leap. The key is focus. Put your eyes on where you most want to excel and take meaningful steps toward making that a reality. This is a time of both seriousness and joyfulness.

The Four of Swords is an ideal card to round out this month’s reading. It represents a basic, if temporary, peace. This is where we will come to rest after our current period of action. For some of us this is just a literal period of rest following the festivities of Carnival, but for many of us there will be layers to the peace we seek. Recent changes in taste or outlook or desire all need integrating into the latest version of our psyches, and the time and space for this will come soon enough. That angst we took time to name and notice with the help of the Queen of Wands? Return to them and see how you feel about what you wrote. It is possible to shift into a vastly different way of approaching your life than what you’ve previously done. Don’t be surprised if you are suddenly able to let go of something you thought you could not live without. Making peace with what is true is the deepest solace we can know; it is where we make home in the soul of the self. Making peace with reality means gaining acumen for taking action in that specific milieu. There is extraordinary power in both forging peace with reality and developing self-knowledge, especially when they ride tandem. May our deepest angst find material purpose.