TAROT

Knight of Swords § Five of Pentacles § Strength

The Knight of Swords rides into the Crescent City prepared to join our longstanding struggle for freedom from empire. She knows revolution is a permanent condition—it is a way of life passed from generation to generation. Her energy is restorative as she assists us in orienting to a truth larger than any one problem; even a utopia, maybe especially a utopia, requires its populace to develop a mind and skillset suitable for maintaining a liberated collective life. The Knight of Swords uses her intellect to engage with forces and systems that must be dissolved. Her bravery rests on her knowledge, preparation, humility, and hope. If one simply presses forward like an enraged bull, that is reckless. Courage is taking on something dangerous with a full grasp of the obstacles ahead and the consequences that might accrue in the wake. Remember that the Knight of Swords is a master of calm and patience, too. Her speed and precision are peerless, but like a cheetah her energy must be reserved for the most tactical and efficient actions.

The Five of Pentacles brings news that you have likely been expecting, but you don’t much want to hear either. In the midst of disappointment, don’t allow past experiences to intrude on your current state of mind. Focus on what you have to work with and on taking care of your physical health. Adaptability matters right now because nearly everyone is making choices that hinge on the viability of the social systems around them. The Five of Pentacles encourages us to review our creature comforts and get real about our true thoughts on wealth redistribution. What do you truly believe about money and work and the allocation of leisure? For those who have many toys to play with, the time to assess where your energy is expended has come. For the greater number of people who must organize their lives differently in order to accommodate the shifting sands of global political life, waste as little as possible on regret and the urge for revenge. Your friends need your attention as much as your enemies want to siphon it away. You control where you dedicate your focus.

Strength is capable of great ferocity when it comes to the protection of those in her community, especially the most endangered members. What is good for the vulnerable is good for everyone. Strength advises us to narrow our focus on what we can do with our own hands and hours and days. Serve your partners and comrades and your neighborhoods as a steward to your own values and be trustworthy. There is no greater display of the qualities inherent to the archetype of Strength than a daily commitment to be worthy of the trust of others. Haphazard outbursts damage or outright destroy the good faith our friends extend to us. Under the stress of our current cultural life we should not believe that we can simply force our nervous system to endure this onslaught of manufactured scarcity and the frustration it builds. We must release our feelings, but not on each other. Your life’s work includes soothing and reviving yourself, it includes learning to discern the quality of your anger and taking control of how and where and when you deploy it. May we practice peace in our homes.