Bringing Ideas In Sync With Our Will ~ Tarot for 23 February 2018

The hand of inner wisdom and guidance reaches forth from the rocks to grasp the ancient tree of knowledge. The 6 of Swords is titled Science and illustrates six swords, four pointing upward and two pointing downward suggesting the interaction between knowledge learned in form and the inner knowledge of Spirit. With the majority of the swords pointing upward toward Spirit, it appears that the balance favors our Higher Self. More traditional depictions of the 6 of Swords describe a journey, often over water, to new beginnings, but the solitary feel of this card from the Haindl Tarot describes a more personal, inner direction to the journey, possibly towards awakening and enlightenment. This is supported by the 61st hexagram or gua from the I Ching titled inner truth and mystery as it speaks to our desire to know life’s universal principles.

Haindl uses indigenous cultural icons along with ancient deities to represent Court cards and he uses Krishna to depict the Prince of Wands, calling him the Son of Wands in the East. He apparently looks at Elemental directions differently than I do. Depending on one’s persuasion, Air and Fire typically are reversed (sort of) or at least it seems that way. My correspondences for each suit are Air/East/Swords, Fire/South/Wands, Water/West/Cups, and Earth/North/Pentacles (Stones, Coins, Disks). So I typically ignore Haindl’s reference and use the traditional names. But it’s nice to look at who these people were even if only in an effort to understand Haindl’s perspective. Krishna represents love and compassion which also aligns with the intelligence, charm, and protective nature of the more traditional Prince. But he’s also a trickster at times which also aligns well when our Prince is a bit ill-dignified and rebellious.

A predator swoops down on its prey in the 10 of Wands. Ten flame-tipped spears point downward into form suggesting the will is focusing on illusion. The card is titled Oppression. Are we oppressing others, as the targeted prey would suggest? Or do we oppress our own progress by too many commitments? Are we so overwhelmed that our clarity is limited? The 54th hexagram from the I Ching is titled The Marrying Maiden and refers to how our ambition drives us forward. This would suggest that while ambition can bring success, we need to keep our will in check so that it facilitates a positive outcome, otherwise we may get in the way of our own progress.

Another truth from the 61st hexagram is that silence is the potential of inner truth. Our outer expression should reflect our inner truth. But sometimes, our overactive will propels us onward and we forget to begin in Spirit, becoming caught up in the illusion of perspective, our ambition preventing a more balanced experience. What I find interesting about silence being the potential of inner truth is that if we would just be silent, we might learn something, or remember something we’ve forgotten, or maybe allow another’s viewpoint into the conversation.

The overall numerology of the reading is seven or the number for divinity and magick. But within the seven, the fourth is a position of rest. Three on each side of the one that balances. In this case, the balance is between intellect or ideas and our will.

Ideas versus will. When they’re in sync all kinds of things can happen, some positive and some negative. We’re seeing this unfold in our country with the debate over guns and gun violence. One group believes there should be no weapon that a private citizen can’t own while the rest would like assault weapons banned and increased background checks while the so-called president wants to arm teachers so they can “nab” the bad guy. I’m sure there are also some who would like to see the 2nd Amendment banned completely, but some folks do like to hunt and some would simply like to be able to protect themselves in the unlikely event someone breaks into their home. Because those things don’t require a semi-automatic or automatic weapon, and the AR-15 now seems to be the weapon of choice when murdering large swaths of children, many people feel it’s time to reinstate the Assault Weapon’s Ban.

My husband is a Vietnam veteran and is horrified by what continues to transpire all around us. We both supported the Assault Weapons Ban and couldn’t believe when Congress ended it. He was in tears when he heard one father describe how his blessed baby girl’s spine was severed by numerous rounds that entered her fragile body. No one should have to experience this. And yet, some in our country expect families to do just that.

We must listen to all sides in the conversation, and use our will for more than aggression and conflict. But more importantly, we must listen to our inner voice and allow our Higher Self to guide us in the days ahead. Because it needs to be days now to solve this issue. Not years.

We owe our children the safety they deserve. We’ve let them down. Let’s stop doing that.

Blessed Be