Finding Peace Within ~ Tarot for 11 Feb 2017

 

Peace is our only choice in the end. And with emotions running so high these days, albeit with good reason, on last evening’s Full Snow Moon I decided to perform a ritual for peace. Magick can either be a response to one thing or another or it can be used to raise vibration. For this ritual, I decided raising vibration was my focuse and I performed some herb magick to assist in the process.

It’s interesting that peace came up in today’s tarot reading. I like doing tarot readings on the day after the full moon during its Crone phase for extra wisdom. Using my Thoth deck I drew four cards for today’s reading.

The Ace of Swords, 2 of Swords, The Devil, and The Moon comprise today’s reading. Two cards from the suit of Swords representing the Air element or our intellectual presence appear along with two cards from the Major Arcana. The numerology is 1, 2, 15, and 18 reducing to 9 or completion.

Beginning with the Ace of Swords, we have the root or foundation of the powers of elemental Air. A green sword rises upward from grayish clouds through a golden crown of light, a snake wound around its handle suggesting renewal and rebirth. The sun appears to be rising out of the clouds, a golden starfield above, consciousness arising from pure thought. The sword in its brilliance cuts through illusion, invoking balance and equilibrium.

The 2 of Swords represents Peace. Two swords pierce a lotus flower, crossed in balance. Two smaller swords appear in alignment, the upper sword piercing a crescent moon while the lower sword pierces the glyph for Libra, together representing the Moon in Libra. Angels with their hands in prayer adorn both swords’ hilts. Wisdom blends with clarity as the green color fades to yellow as a balance is struck, a peace born from conflict.

The Devil from the Thoth tarot is represented by a smiling three-eyed goat and is as phallic a symbol as you get. He stands above two round testes filled with potential life struggling to emerge. He is the ego personified, instinct and our primal nature representing the masculine or projective energy within. The Devil represents control over others and potential misuse of power and can suggest that we’ve become too focused on our desires at the expense of balance. A change in belief or attitude is needed when this card presents in a reading.

And then there’s The Moon, in all her glory last night. She lit up the night sky, her reflection making the snowy ground sparkle. In the Thoth deck, The Moon takes on an Egyptian feel:

Harris’s rendering is disturbingly haunting, but it is not too dissimilar to the traditional image. The path runs between two towers guarded by twin figures of the Egyptian god Anubus, god of embalming and guardian of cities of the dead. Poison blood drips from the dying Moon. The creature walking out of the water at the bottom of the card represents the scarab beetle, symbolic of the Egyptian god Kephra, who is the god of the Sun at midnight.¹

I love this card. The use of the scarab suggests emergence from nothingness, of transformation and rebirth. We look for what’s hidden when this card appears. But before we look without, we need to look within to find the transformative power we inherently possess. This card represents the realm of magick, of mystery and intuition. The Moon asks us to see the unconscious or shadow side of self and to let go of fears that are based on illusion.

There’s been so much chaos and concern over the recent election. The so-called new guy has abandoned all decorum, antagonizing other countries, and demeaning the presidency and our country in the process. He’s like a sugar-fueled toddler in a candy store. His gullibility and lack of impulse control is well depicted by The Devil illustrating his unrestrained desires overshadowing any intelligent action. More is coming out daily about his antics as well as the behavior of his cabinet choices with the impeachment word floating around.

The reading suggests that a rational approach is needed with peace as its goal but that seems beyond his abilities as I read reports that he’s hung up on another country’s leader. China seems to understand how to deal with him, however. They became the parent in the room to the new guy’s toddler-esque attitude and stopped talking to him after more than a few belligerent tweets. They literally (and physically) turned their backs to the screaming toddler. Eventually, they spoke and he reportedly caved to their concerns. You’d think he’d be nicer to them given how much of his tasteless crap is made there. But arrogant posturing is all he can muster. And now Iran is doing their own saber-rattling in response to the so-called new guy’s outbursts.

For those who voted for this guy, the reading suggests a dark night of the soul moment is at hand. They didn’t look beneath the surface, their specific concerns more important than the greater picture. Some were even drawn to his racist and sexist banter and will have to come to terms with what that says about them.

The Ace of Swords indicates that we possess great creative power ready to cut through the illusion and nonsense we’re now experiencing to create the world that we desire. Irrespective of the efforts of the so-called new guy to derail the process, our momentum is outpacing his and like the scarab, the chrysalis of peace will emerge into being through careful intention.

It doesn’t reflect a weakness to care about others but in fact a strength of character. Look within and find what prevents you from embracing this fundamental truth.

Blessed Be

References:

1. DuQuette, Lon Milo. Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot (p. 147). Red Wheel Weiser. Kindle Edition.