In Love and Partnership With Others ~ Tarot for Sunday, 16 October 2016

 

Severe weather accompanied this Full Moon in the Pacific Northwest. The Oregon coast sustained the most damage with two tornadoes touching down. We experienced high winds on the high desert but other than some debris, we fared far better than our coastal neighbors. But the clouds cleared and the winds abated somewhat for last night’s Full Moon ritual. Today’s tarot reading is from that ritual.

Two cards from the Major Arcana along with a card from the suit of Cups make up this Full Moon reading. A black opal is placed beneath the cards. A stone of Libra, opal increases intuition, communication, creativity, and personal power. And at first blush, the reading appears to center around issues of love.

We’ve been witnessing behavior from a presidential candidate that has left many of us in shock. I was thinking about how we move past all of this when I shuffled my Thoth deck and drew these particular cards. The Lovers, The Priestess, and the 2 of Cups suggest that coming together in loving commitment to each other is one answer.

But with the 2 of Cups, we have the suggestion that a better balance between masculine and feminine energies are what’s necessary. Patriarchy is masculine energy run amok. It’s out of control and destructive. And it leads to the sort of behavior we’re hearing about from the male presidential candidate.

The 2 of Cups suggests that we find an emotional balance, that we see the benefit of reconciliation and partnership, of reciprocity. When patriarchy takes control, we lose that balance and the projective oppresses the receptive. So finding that balance again brings empathy into the masculine awareness so that they see the effects of this kind of behavior.

The Priestess is considered the planetary Trump of the Moon and the counterpart to the Magus or Magician in other decks. She is the Triple Goddess, the Feminine Divine, and it’s her intuition and inner wisdom that rules our unconscious Self. She’s that inner voice of guidance, of the Higher Self. A veil covering her eyes, the Priestess relies on inner vision to know truth and the way forward. Her outstretched arms, in supplication to the Moon, her harp lying on her lap, she aligns in Source Presence, energies in balance.

Beyond the obvious suggestion of balance, understanding self in others is one of the ideas expressed in The Lovers, a notion reinforced by the 2 of Cups. When we come together in partnership, life is no longer simply about the individual. Maintaining a balanced perspective, we see our effect on that relationship, understanding that its success is assured by expressing ourselves in balance with our partner. How they feel matters to us as we surrender to the greater aspect of the relationship.

In light of the behavior we’ve been hearing about, it would seem that this individual has trouble with this kind of balance, preferring instead to force his will upon others. The Lovers stand before the Priest as he blesses their union. They’re in balance with each other, each bringing something to the new partnership that’s forming. A feeling of equanimity is fostered by this scene, with love as its premise. What we don’t see is one individual dominating and controlling the other.

Love and compassion will be what brings us together in the end. The odd man running for President will go back to wherever he came from and life will go back to normal. Because that’s what always happens. Things go back to normal. But should they? Because is that how we got here in the first place? Is it that nothing ever changes and that’s what accounts for this man?

Does this man represent a tipping point for us? Could it be that all of these disgusting reports we’re hearing about will shake us up enough that we pay closer attention? How men like this man behave should be horrific to all of us. It’s not locker room talk. It’s not a boy’s club mentality. It’s not, as one of his sons says, reflective of a successful alpha male.

For anyone to believe his behavior is appropriate is sad, for they’ve surely lost their way. As the cards tell us, we go forward together in love and balance, treating all with respect and dignity. We let our Source Presence guide us, listening to that inner voice each of us has.

We have a better future ahead than the existence of this man suggests.

Blessings to all!