Today we’re using the Modern Witch Tarot by Lisa Sterle. The positions of the spread are:
- What is the theme of the week? Justice
- What is the challenge of the week? Ace of Swords
- What lesson is the collective learning this week? Six of Wands
- What should be increased as we work with the theme? Seven of Pentacles
- What should be decreased as we work with the challenge? The Sun
- What can we release to help integrate the lesson? Nine of Wands
- Top of the deck/context: Ace of Pentacles
- Bottom of the deck/deeper lesson offered: Ten of Swords
The theme of the week offers a peek into the energy affecting the collective. Justice is all about balance, fairness, cause and effect, and universal law. Justice splits the major arcana of the tarot (card containing major life lessons) right down the middle, so we can look at this card and understand that this week we’re looking at two halves of a journey. Whether that’s for a project at work, the development of a personal relationship, integrating different parts of the self into wholeness, or even making a career change. We’re looking at the current moment and understanding our decisions and personal sense of morality are what got us here. What you get out is always equal to what you put in. That’s why the scales on the card are balanced and the sword Lady Justice is holding is pointing straight up. She understands the immense power in taking full ownership of your actions without blaming unwanted results on anything outside the self. It can be so tempting to point to the way we grew up, the way an ex treated us, how our boss speaks to us, etc as reasons why we can’t or don’t have the results or we want. But the external world will only show you a reflection of what’s happening internally. As card number eleven, Justice reduces to the number two, which is all about choice and balance. Are you choosing to be the cause of your life experiences, or to be affected by them?
The Ace of Swords represents how this week will challenge us. This card, like all the aces, represents an opportunity being presented by Spirit. As the start of the swords suit, it represents a chance or a need to use the mind in a new way, or with a fresh perspective, supported by mindfulness. The mind uses information from the physical senses and language to make a representation or model of the world. Those models inform our decisions and behavior, which then lead to the results and experiences we have. Everything starts and ends in the mind. And even though we might know on a conscious level that some thought patterns aren’t helpful, changing or removing those patterns is a lot easier said than done. So, how can we go about rising to this challenge? Start paying attention to what is happening in your mind. How are you talking to yourself? What labels or judgments are you applying to your actions and the actions of others? After you notice more about your internal dialogue, start to notice how it makes your body feel. Is your chest tight? Is your breathing shallow? Do you feel flushed or just generally uncomfortable? The body gives instant feedback to our mental processes and when we notice our thoughts are making us feel disempowered, that’s the opportunity to pivot. It will feel foreign and take effort to monitor your thoughts and you can’t do it twenty-four/seven. Just set the intention and make the effort, and build momentum with little wins.
Because we are learning how to set things in motion for accomplishment. The Six of Wands represents achieving something or getting an objective win after being challenged and having to prove yourself in some way. As the lesson being learned this week, it makes sense when we consider the messages of the previous two cards. Circumstances are being moved in order to help the collective learn the cause and effect (and personal responsibility) of Justice. The challenge is in recognizing what unconscious habits, communication, and self-talk needs to be upgraded or removed. Once that challenge is met/overcome, we’re able to get the outcomes we want with less effort. We get into the flow state faster, and the next thing you know, you’re coworkers are surprising you with cake in the conference room for that great presentation you made, or that new client you landed. So, based on the cards we’ve gone over so far, I’d say this week is likely to result in some accomplishment that many in the collective might not have seen coming.
And the reason I say that is because we were guided to increase the energy of the Seven of Pentacles, which is all about analysis and review. It comes up when there’s a need to stop actively working on something so you can look at how it’s developing instead. You know that phrase, “You can’t see the forest for the trees?” That’s a good way to think about this card. When we’re too close to anything, the details can blur the big picture. And with this card falling beneath Justice, it’s reinforcing the message that the collective needs to look at who or what we believe is responsible for the way our lives are unfolding. This could be a good time to work with journal prompts on motivation and goal setting. You may want to consult someone with expertise or lots of experience with the thing you’re analyzing. Ask yourself what you can do or say to yourself to feel empowered, even in the pause.
The Sun has shown up as what we should decrease in the collective this week. Lots of tarot readers describe The Sun as an “always positive” card, or an automatic indication of happiness. I don’t. All tarot cards have light and shadow aspects, and I look at where they fall in the spread to determine what’s currently showing up. When I look at the imagery, the word “fun” keeps popping to mind. I mean, the little girl on the horse does look like she’s having a great time. But, underneath the challenge (or invitation) of the Ace of Swords, it reads to me like Spirit is saying, “Okay, you’ve sort of drifted into aimless territory a bit. Time to get focused.” In no way am I arguing that we’re being guided to have no fun or entertainment this week. Unfocused time and doing things just for pleasure are absolutely necessary if you want to function at your highest. Humans need time to decompress. What I am saying, is to lean a little more toward the left brain than the right for the next few days. Make mindfulness and new perspectives a priority. That doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t have any fun. It’s just a reminder to stay focused on upgrading your frameworks. By doing so, you can enjoy life more easily, because what you want comes to you with less effort.
Which is why the Nine of Wand is asking to be released this week. There’s something in your life you’ve dedicated so much time and energy to, probably without seeing the results you want, that you’re wondering if you can or should keep going. You’re drained, but haven’t completely lost the fighting spirit. Wands represent how we direct our energy and willpower. So, as a nine, we’ve reached a point where we’re wondering how much more we can take, before completing the cycle in the ten. In the light/upright aspect, this card can be encouragement to keep going. But as something to release to help understand and integrate the lesson provided by the Six of Wands, the Nine of Wands is asking the collective to stop approaching personal evolution as something you have to fight through. When you frame something as being “almost over,” you’re using the “I’ll be happy when…” framework. You’re telling yourself hardship is part of success, and if you use up a little too much energy in trying to achieve it, that’s okay. But we’re being guided to seek flow this week. We’re upgrading and/or removing mental models that reinforce the idea that running yourself ragged is the surest way to success. As we increase the thoughtful reflection of the Seven of Pentacles, we can return to tasks and responsibilities with more focus and a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.
Together, the Ace of Pentacles and Ten of Swords give the message that new beginnings in the material world come from releasing ways of thinking that blocked those changes and upgrades before. Earlier in this reading, I said everything begins and ends in the mind. These final two cards are the perfect illustration of that concept. The woman on the Ten of Swords has been hurt, blocked, attacked, belittled, doubted, denied, and judged by self-talk and communication from other people so much that part of her is ready to give up. Her subconscious knows it’s time to process and release. She can’t go any further carrying all that hurt. How could anyone function like that? Too often, we identify with our mental activity as though the words and pictures in our minds are us when they aren’t. You are not your thoughts. This kind of release can feel like a part of us is dying when what we’re actually doing is deleting old software that has ceased to function. That’s the only way to grasp the Ace of Pentacles. We have new material opportunities and blessings when we give ourselves permission to see reality with new eyes.
Final Thoughts
Look at your life and what you like about it. What would you change? Who or what got you to this phase? Are you using empowering language in your self-talk? Where could your energy use more direction? How might you be making things more difficult for yourself than necessary?
You can ask for help in your assessment from your higher self, loved ones, a mentor, or work through your thoughts by writing in a journal. You can even get a tarot reading for clarity. The point is, we’ve been invited to upgrade our minds to make it easier on ourselves in getting what we want out of life, now and in the future.
Let me know if this reading resonated in the comments below!