Justice § Nine of Swords § Knight of Cups
Justice can see you—if not right through you—and she is going to ask you to back up your claims. Her scales do not measure the quality of souls, only the weight of wrong action. Her appearance means reckoning and she has no use for flawed theories about who deserves to have their grievances handled first. Justice says: Every injustice is the precise injustice that must be addressed immediately. Speak aloud to Justice, ask her questions, listen to her answers, because she did not forget that what is fundamentally right will necessarily create the most potent and satisfying societies. The exploitation necessary to maintain imperial power can and will be noticed in the most mundane of tasks and interactions. We can expect to confront the flaws in every system of relationship we participate in. Emotional overstimulation is a tactic of oppression in this semi-automated class war. It works to shut some people down and send others into outbursts too random to amount to political change. If you wish to move someone through these oceans of overwhelm, assess where their shame lies and find the sorrow that bedrocks it. Connect to that sorrow and keep it company, because sorrow will act on its own convictions whereas shame will always run for cover.
The Nine of Swords is your steward through the long dark night of the soul. This card marks a period of time spent with one’s own guilt and regret—or the lack of meaning inherent in acts of abuse. Hours spent despairing can create more despair far too easily, but the Nine of Swords has a plan. She points out that we keep a collection of psychological oddities: bits of conversations, flashes of something that may or may not have happened, a string of random slights ordered so perfectly they must mean something. But, she says, they are all only phantoms. We can and must act as witness to our own experiences, feelings, and beliefs if we are to break the habit of cycling over and over through events of the past that will not resolve. The Nine of Swords teaches us to accept what is our own even if it hurts, and to allow for shapeshifting memories to remain with the night. The Nine of Swords stays with us, always, until our own private dawn breaks over the horizon and we move on.
The Knight of Cups might explore miles off from her path just to chase down a whim, or she might choose to go to another place on the map altogether. Should you take her as flighty or unserious, however, you will never learn the secrets of her longevity. The Knight of Cups avoids traps with her slow stride and her long attention span. When the Knight of Cups is sending dandelion seeds into the wind, consider which way they blow because she has her reasons for laying low. We must listen to our instincts and give ourselves the respect we deserve. If the Knight of Cups finds out the most dangerous person she knows is looking for her in the next town, she stops, sets up camp, and reads a big book until her absence forces her adversary to move on. She values active imagining—it is the reason she has the patience to wait anyone out. Playfulness and self-compassion will always frustrate and confuse the mind of the dominator. See the Knight of Cups for who she really is and slip the trap of telling yourself that care will always fail. May our dreaming restore us.
reading by Michelle Embree | michelleembree.com
illustration by Gurleen Rai | zimteemo.com
