Like rain gentling a pool, grace descends to those who open in love and trust. The Star, ruled by Aquarius, invites us into some fierce healing, one that requires us to root all the way down until we are completely done. It is the tarot card that is the healer of nervous systems and trauma, asking only that we take the space and time needed to process and feel those deep feelings so that we can move through them to become the person we were meant to be.
The Star follows the Tower in the tarot, and even amongst all that destruction we can still find ourselves regaining hope and faith in the future. Out with the old and in with the new, as they say. This life will come with its inevitable challenges and you will come with your own individual set of limiting beliefs. The Star asks that we realize who we are at our core essence, who we are beneath all the layers, and begin to build a new appreciation for the Self. There is a sense of renewal that comes with this tarot card, one that could possibly lead us to discover the magic that is flowing all around you. If only we could allow ourselves to dream, to aspire, to elevate ourselves in any way possible so that we can follow the nudges of our own North Star.
It’s good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula Le Guin
Bad experiences need to be worked through, and at the same time all of your wonderous dreams are meant to be brought to fulfillment. The woman in the card is depicted as having one foot on the ground and one foot in the water. Even amidst the oceanic waves of our emotions there is somewhere to center back to – the Self. The key to all of this is to find the still and silent place inside yourself, for there you will find a sense of tranquility amid the trouble. Keep the faith, and as Casey Kasem used to say, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”
The Card of Defeat
We all make mistakes in this life, but it’s often what we do to amend those blunders that makes the difference. The Five of Swords, our guide from January 21 to January 29, warns that “treachery also may be implied” (Book of Thoth). It can be a sign of discord with others, a conflict of interest if you will. I have found that often times on our way to the top we may find ourselves lost in that mentality of having to win at all costs, leading us to potential betrayal not just amongst others but with our own value systems. This card demonstrates conquest over others through physical strength, which could very well turn into bad blood.
As a sibling to the Devil card in tarot, the Five of Swords can have a feeling of metal grinding on metal. This card is all about patterns and decisions, about learning how to think for yourself and not against yourself. Pick your battles wisely, as they will often lead to a more peaceful existence and stronger relationships. Sometimes that means giving up our own habits and the subconscious urge to relive those past emotions. Sometimes that means admitting your own defeat and learning from it as a way to be smart and wiser the next time, because there will in fact be a next time.
We need to realize that our path to transformation is through our mistakes. We’re meant to make mistakes, recognize them, and move on to become unlimited.
Yehuda Berg
We are all going to fuck things up in this lifetime and we must all learn how to forgive ourselves. It may very well have been a great idea at the time, but you now find yourself confronted with the consequences of your own decision. Forgive yourself with a cultivated compassion. You are a human. The key to dealing with these types of mental conflicts is to learn the art of re-centering, to liberate ourselves from the cauldron of guilt and shame, and to put ourselves on the direct train to self-care. Look at both triumph and disaster and try to see their deeper significance. Make use of the weapons of the intellect (the swords) as a means of healing.
The Card of Science
I find that often times we truly do know that it is time to leave a certain place, a pattern, or a behavior in this life. It’s usually our fear of the unknown, an uncertain future, that holds us back from moving on with our lives. The Six of Swords, which is our guide from January 30 to February 8, showing us that the “perfect balance of all mental and moral faculties, hardly won, and almost impossible to hold in an ever-changing world” (Book of Thoth). There is a grief that comes when you take that passage away from difficulties, but there is also a chance to recover after those same tribulations. Despite your sadness, the key is to remember that moving on is the best thing that you can do for yourself and your future.
Too much change from a bewildering world has perhaps induced despondency that you must fund a way to lift out of. Despondency is defined as a state of low spirits caused by loss of hope or courage. Support around you and what you are moving through is important. This is the time to really hone in on your boundaries, and quite possibly calling in support if you need it. Asking for help is never weak; sometimes it is the strongest thing we can do, and sometimes it’s the hardest thing to admit to ourselves.
I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing.
Hillel
The water in the foreground of the tarot card is choppy, while the water in the background feels like smooth sailing. That’s what life is like, isn’t it? There is a time to steer and a time to be steered, but the trick lies in learning how to flow between the two. This is when you decide what you need to take with you and what you can leave behind, moving away from who you used to be and towards whom you want to be. As we leave the emotional turmoil behind along with all that has been holding us back, we become free from those circumstances, inviting us up to look toward the future with open arms. Thus your hero’s journey begins.
The Card of Futility
It’s a tale as old as time, the one about the myth of not enoughness, and one we must all face at some point in our lives. The Seven of Swords, our guide from February 8 to February 18, represents this “intellectual wreckage” and warns the “results may be more disastrous than ever” (Book of Thoth). This tarot card represents an attempt to escape responsibility, of getting away with something, of deception. Deception can only breed mistrust and a pessimistic viewpoint, often doing the exact opposite of what was intended. We spend a lot of time arguing with others because we lack the courage to live our dreams. The Seven of Wands asks that we find the audacity to live them out, and the strength to face those unsolved puzzles of our lives.
This is a card that centers itself around the inner work that we think is external. Many times I have found that I have taken on too much, acting on impulse to say yes when I really didn’t want to in the first place. There was a lack of emotional balance on my part, a lack of knowing how to discern between my intuition and my anxiety, and a lack of boundaries due to a history of codependency. It is a paradox. Everything in life matters, and simultaneously, nothing in life matters. It’s the knowing that we are everything to somebody, yet nothing in the grand scheme of it all. There is a way to hold the both/and, to live in the grey area of this seemingly black and white world. We just need to figure out what that means for ourselves.
One has to live life forwards, but one can only understand it backwards.
Sören Kierkegaard
There are times when you have to grab the blades to succeed, but knowing your objectives and your motives will minimize the damage. You know that you can’t be everything to everyone, and that sometimes you need to put yourself first, even if it seems that no one around you seems to understand at all where you are coming from. This is a time to learn, to heal old wounds with new solutions, and to leave all of your doubts behind you just like to man depicted in the card leaves those two swords. Prioritize what is important to you and direct your focus and attention to the few tasks that will move you closer to the end goal. Sometime we have to learn that it is okay to let other people down so you don’t let yourself down. It’s a questionable risk, one that I personally believe is worth taking.
Mad love, Jenna
deck credit: Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, drawn in 1909 by Pamela Colman Smith under direction of Arthur Edward Waite
