Our Will Is Stronger Than The Current Devil In Charge

Yesterday was a difficult day. My laptop crashed and no amount of automatic recovery is going to fix it. I’ll have to take it somewhere (shudder the thought) and see if someone can at least transfer my data if not repair it entirely. I commandeered my husband’s laptop and I’ve been able to get my astrology and human design software loaded. Full disclosure: he’s never getting the laptop back.

So basically, although I’m missing a ton of stuff, I can open my blog and write which is all I really need to do anyway. I should have expected this given that Mercury is currently in retrograde so I’ve tried not to cry hysterically and throw things. Let’s just say I didn’t throw anything and leave it at that.

While I was waiting for one of my programs to install, I took out my Wild Unknown Tarot deck and drew four cards. With The Devil as the significator, the Wheel of Fortune, 5 of Swords, and the Son of Cups make up the day’s general influences. Air and Water are the elements influencing and the overall numerology of the reading is 3 or triple aspects, wholeness, and catalytic energy.

A shaggy goat with horns, flames encompassing his feet silently looks on, an inverted pentagram drawn on his forehead suggesting matter controlling Spirit. When The Devil appears, it’s a sign that our ego is at work. Representing control, self-imposed restrictions, instinct, and illusion The Devil asks us to look at how we’re processing our experiences. Are we letting illusion affect our perceptions or do we see past that illusion allowing a more dispassionate and balanced view?

A second card from the Major Arcana, the Wheel of Fortune represents prosperity, wealth, and completion. The Wheel turns signifying movement and the cyclical nature of our life. An owl sits on a branch at the top of this amazing rendition, branches covering haphazardly an eight spoked wheel reflecting the messy interplay of elemental energies in our lives. A crescent moon in her Maiden Aspect shines against eight stars in the night sky while the Sun dawns below. Ebb and flow and luck that is unexpected influences.

A worm is cut in half by a center sword. Four others have already penetrated, two piercing each half. The 5 of Swords represents defeat and loss. Illusion has overshadowed truth and we’re engaging in self-destructive behavior. We may feel torn between two decisions or experiencing interference from others. A breakdown in communication may be occurring with neither side listening to the other.

A regal swan sits peacefully next to a chalice with elemental energies bursting forth. A prince in other decks, the Son of Cups is sensitive, romantic, and chivalrous but when ill-dignified his passion can turn ruthless. Movement and travel are also interpretations, the Son perhaps on a quest of some kind. The beauty of the swan indicates spirituality and awareness of his feminine side.

The simplest interpretation is that even though I didn’t back up everything on my laptop, the result of a misplaced focus on my part, the cloud exists and unbeknownst to me, I have been backing up in it for some time. Recently I began putting my ancient grimoire files into Dropbox because I had a feeling something was amiss with that computer, and any pictures I really want are on my Facebook page. So, in all reality, while there are some things on that computer that if I were unable to recover them would be really sad, the blessing is that I have anything at all.

But like the worm in the 5 of Swords, I really did feel sliced in half by this. I need to rely less on technology and like the swan in the Son of Cups remain more present and balanced in my own experiences. The Wheel of Fortune reinforces this idea by its messy appearance, resembling TV antennas and electrical wiring. Although it certainly brings us all together, that unity can be a little messy at times as we’re all finding out these days.

The Devil as the significator for this reading is indicating that our will is at stake here. Like the goat, our feet should be held to the fire in an effort to keep our will in balance. When unified in a positive direction, our collective will produces prosperous results. But when the will is guided in the direction of hate and vitriol, the way our so-called president has been doing of late, then the collective will can bring untold damage.

Fortunately, it looks like most of us would rather be the swan than the goat.

Blessings!