Daily Tarot: Illusion Versus Truth

The Hierophant, the 10 of Swords, and the 6 of Cups make up today’s tarot influences. Swords is an interesting suit. It begins with the Ace as we manifest ideas from consciousness and ends with ten swords sticking in our back. And believe it or not, that’s actually a positive card.

Swords reflects our intellectual presence in the world, typically the aspect of Self that causes us the most difficulty. We think and then speak too much. And as the cards progress, the intensity of their message increases. It can be said that the even numbered cards reflect balance and the odd cards the need for such. But after the 6, things tend to go steadily down hill from there to the point where we’ve gone as far as we can go when we reach the 10.

In numerology, the 10 signifies completion. With the 10 of Swords, we experience the darkness before the dawn, the end of difficulty with a new day ahead. We see clearly now. The world of bodies is the world of illusion. Focus on form takes us out of alignment as we busy ourselves with irrelevant issues. Much has come at us over the progression of the suit. We learned early to act with integrity, to understand our dual nature, and to take the dispassionate view with the 2 of Swords. The direction of the swords has meaning, with most pointing downward. When pointed upward, it reflects alignment with our Source, downward reflecting our focus on the projection of form. When pointed downward, we experience the effect of the world by our eternal response to it. Pointed upward, we remain aligned in our Source Presence understanding the illusion for what it is. I see pentagrams in the same way, pointed up to Spirit, or down to ego or form.

We’re a constant focus into form. So our only real consideration we should make is where we put that focus. Do we focus on illusion or truth? Viewing ourselves as the creator of our own expression, we can put that focus to a creative use or we can become caught up in the machinations of others. Swords reminds us how easy it is to choose the second. And a choice it is that we make because all we need to do is to align with our Source Presence and everything becomes clear. The drama becomes unnecessary and we move forward in creative joy instead of trapped in the illusion of the egoic world. Collectively, we create the world we experience. We are the force behind everything we see. The Ace and the Two tell us to return to alignment, to return to Source Presence so that we’re not derailed by the ego’s destructive influence. Because by the time we get to the 10, we’re stabbed by everything they’ve got, broken and bleeding on the floor. And for what?

I think staying out of our heads is key. We name everything and then analyze it to the point of exhaustion. In the process, we find justification for all sorts of negative and hostile judgment of others, the entire process described in the suit of Swords.

The Hierophant signifies Divine wisdom and the enlightened teacher. Knowledge, structure, and tradition are reflected in the symbolism of the 3 shown with the Hierophant’s staff, hat, fingers, and on each column. Additionally, the 3 is found again when adding up the numerological values of the cards. 5 + 10 + 6 = 21 which when added together equals 3, reinforcing the influence of Divine wisdom and enlightenment. The Holy Trinity, intuition, and secret or hidden knowledge is present in the Hierophant card. Conformity and religion are also an interpretation of this card, but so is free will. The staff is pointing upward as is his right hand. Conformity is a choice and we’re encouraged to align with Source Vision, to think outside the box if you will. Step away from the norm of the egoic world and chart your own course.

The 6 of Cups, a Water Element card, signifies a gift or sharing with someone you love. It represents family and friendship, a cup that is full. It illustrates what can happen when we simply love. We make things too difficult when we stay in our heads too much. Our focus is on the illusion of form, a temporary situation at best, that rarely brings us happiness. We control instead of allow. We define everything and everyone to the point that if they’re not exactly who and what we want them to be then our happiness is over. Done. Finished. We give over control of our own creative vision to someone else.

The Hierophant reminds us as he points upwards to remember who we truly are. We are Source Energy. We are not the bodies we inhabit. We drive the bodies we inhabit. We are the Thought behind everything. When we remember that, we move forward in joyful blessings, our sword pointed upward in supreme balance. Our cup runneth over with love and happiness.

The more I work with the Tarot, irrespective of the deck I use, the more I see the cards from the Presence behind the form. We have far more control over our lives than we realize because we have ultimate control over how we see it. Do we see with Source Vision, or respond with the ego’s subjective judgment?

It’s the choice we make that determines our experience.

Blessings to all as the Dark Moon approaches!

~ Jan