Taking Back Control ~ Tarot for 24 Feb 2017

Taking back control is the theme of today’s DruidCraft tarot reading. Even though I’m a solitary witch and not Wiccan, I dearly love my DruidCraft tarot deck. I have Druid ancestry so it’s always resonated with me giving me a feeling of heritage or ancestry when I look at them.

Two cards from the Major Arcana influence two cards from the Minor Arcana in today’s reading. The 2 of Cups and the Ace of Swords along with the High Priestess and Cernunnos give us the feel of inner work giving way to new thought. The overall numerology of the reading is four or structure and Gaia energy reflecting issues of foundation in our lives. The elemental energies are Water and Air or emotions and intellectual presence.

Looking over the reading it appears to represent a  progression of thinking or unfolding awareness. The woman in the 4 of Cups is draped over a gnarled tree branch deep in thought. Three empty cups are placed before her with one overturned while another cup remains hidden from her view. She cannot see what she still has as her focus is elsewhere. The Four of Cups can typically mean a fallow period or a time for respite but in this case, it feels more definitive.

While the woman is lost in thought, she invokes The High Priestess within. In the second card of the Major Arcana, we see a priestess with her arms raised in supplication to the crescent moon above. Her eyes are closed suggesting an inner focus or presence. Her grimoire is placed before her on a stone table, a pentagram appearing on its front. Clouds and stars are above suggesting inner mysteries. A cat appears to her left on a rock by the dark water signifying intuition, perception, and awareness.

Cernunnos, or the Devil in other decks, reflects the egoic potential of form. We see Cernunnos himself, large and imposing, looking on while the lovers sleep below on the ground, satiated and at peace. While this individual can take on a negative aspect when he appears in a reading he can also indicate that relying upon our instincts might be in order. The woman may feel bereft from a lost or troubled relationship, her own needs too great perhaps to sustain it. Or the appearance of Cernunnos may indicate that she feels controlled by an outside force greater than herself.

A brilliant sword rises from the water, a new idea manifesting from pure consciousness. The sun rises in the distance with the promise of clear skies in the future. The Ace of Swords cuts through illusion allowing us to begin anew in balance and clarity. New ideas foster new beginnings as we see clearly both what is and what can be.

When our thoughts become focused on things beyond our control, we can become stuck and unable to move past the situation. A new perspective is needed. Like the woman in the 4 of Cups, we may be unable to see any value in what’s before us. Lacking clarity, The High Priestess tells us to go within and access our inner knowing.

The value of instinct is strongly reflected in the presence of Cernunnos. Are we allowing another to control our thoughts and emotions or are we choosing the state of being that we now experience? Either way, it’s still our choice to react either way.

Letting go and moving on isn’t always easy particularly if loose ends exist. But irrespective of how upsetting or annoying it all is, at some point, we have to pursue new experiences. In the final analysis, the reading is asking us to embrace our intuition and instincts and allow for the possibility of new experiences to enter out lives.

The Ace of Swords counsels us to cut through illusion and to see what’s in front of us in clarity and balance. We foolishly give control to others, believing they’ve stolen it somehow. But while oppression from without certainly exists, our primary source of discontent lies within. It’s the choice we make to either move in resistance to our experiences or to allow the fullness of the present moment to be our foundation. for it’s in that awareness that our real power lies.

Choose the creative power within and let go of that which no longer serves.

Blessed Be