It’s hard to know what to say when the energies of a spread for challenging times are not the sort of soothing, “it’s not as bad as it seems” response we’d like to see. That’s the case with this Gateway spread I laid to help us get a handle on what we’re going through, as a global species, in this pandemic. I promise, by the time we get to the end of this reading, there will be a vision worth the challenges of the journey.
The positions I chose are “what we must leave behind”, “the gateway we’re passing through”, “what we must activate to move forward” and “what’s in the background throughout”. The deck is The English Magic Tarot, one of the decks I enjoy using at RenFaires. The deck itself speaks to the need to shut down as much auto pilot as possible, acknowledging that life has a new twist and requires fresh eyes.
We can see lots of rough, challenging change in the Fives of Swords and Coins. King of Cups wants us to be emotionally mature during the transition (anybody else throwing up their hands here?), and VI The Lovers speaks of difficult choices.
If you haven’t already run away to hide under the blankets or eat a giant-sized portion of the ready-at-hand comfort food, let’s look deeper at what we’ve been thrust into.
The contentious, winner-take-all Five of Swords is in the What We Must Leave Behind position. Thank goodness for small favours there. This is the energy that keeps us at each other’s throats, constantly re-fighting old battles until we’ve vanquished our opponent for good and all. Which, of course, never actually happens. In this deck, we also have a reminder of how useless it is to lose our heads over battles we cannot win. The Red Queen’s go-to “Off with his head!!” must leave our repertoire. It’s the fight to return to what used to be that is futile. The very hard news is that we don’t have that option.
The Gateway we’re passing through is the challenge of insufficient resources. Many are feeling the financial and material strain of the Five of Coins. Most are aware of the low energy reserves; those who are dealing directly with the Covid illness, most of all. We’re out of our “I know how to handle this” comfort zone. Everything takes more effort than usual.
There’s a call here to help each other where we’re able, even though we’re all tired and strained. Benefactors may appear, but they may often miss the mark, because their concern is more with their reputation or ego, than with the need surrounding them. We need to make sure we’re not moving toward generosity with that attitude. We’ll need to keep our eyes open to our fellow travelers through the portal, noting what they truly need to get to the other side with us. We are all the walking wounded right now, doing the best we can. Many of us may back through the Gateway, not yet able to turn from the past toward the door that leads to the future. That door is not yet open, and we don’t yet know what’s on the other side.
(Brief pause for perspective. . . . It would be wonderful if this were the sort of reading that was predictive. Although my readings often appear that way, I don’t focus there. I prefer to read the energies around us with an eye to helping us make use of what’s there, keeping us focused on the helpful dynamics and the signs and landmarks that mark our journey. It’s more about recognizing the useful path and being able to stay clear of the dragons and thorns, than it is about being able to say “here’s what’s waiting, now let’s play victim to it, good or bad”.)
Thus far, we’ve talked about tough and necessary change. We must leave behind the malicious energy of futile conflict (yay!). Our journey asks us to give up resources we’re used to drawing on, moving through the Gateway even though we’re tired and don’t really want to go.
What We Must Activate to Move Forward sends us deep into our souls. VI The Lovers is less about finding the meant-to-be relationship and more about recognizing how the choices we make impact our lives. It asks for self-awareness and self-knowledge and self-acceptance. It’s not about cutting off the parts of ourselves we don’t like; it’s about listening as deeply in the soul as we know how and making our choices from there. Easy to say when choices aren’t bound by, oh, keeping a roof overhead or fulfilling responsibilities to family or work. This is not about beating yourself up for not being able to see the way to follow your soul’s lead; it’s about tuning into your soul where you’re able, and not losing sight of what’s there, even when you can’t find a way to follow it yet.
VI The Lovers speaks to letting your inner drive, as well as your practical magic, have a voice in your daily life. It considers options, recognizing that some opposites can coexist while others are irreconcilable. Where does aggressive power and the subtle persuasion of natural cycles find a meeting point, a sharing of minds? If this doesn’t sound easy, the reassurance is that it gets easier the more you learn the habit. This is one of those growth energies where the Universe will be happy to help. Dip your spoon in, and you may find you have a whole meal. Dip your toe in, and you may find yourself caught up in the dance.
The most superficial layer of VI The Lovers is more obvious: how do we make time for those who mean the most to us? Again, there are choices involved. This one, not that. Sometimes the ones eliminated are not the convenient ones. Other times you discover that the choices you’ve made so far have already led you to a meaningful life built with a partner or family and friends. The beauty of this energy is that, the more you integrate the various aspects of you, the more your outer life reflects who you are.
King of Cups is What’s in the Background Throughout. At base, we won’t be able to get through any of this without being disciplined about our emotions. Yes, there are lots. Yes, lots of them are about tough stuff. No, ignoring them will not make us more effective. No, dumping them all over everyone around us will not allow us to do the deeper work that’s required. We’re going to have to be grown-ups about our emotions. Sit with them, feel them. Recognize where they provide clues and impetus into the new lives we’re all discovering. Feel them in the background of everything we’re dealing with. And do the work – all that stuff we’ve just discussed – anyway. When we have our mature emotions online, our creativity kicks in, in unexpected ways, at unexpected times.
This may not be an easy transition for any but the superheroes amoungst us – and even then! Take a minute, though, to focus on what a new world would look like if we were all in touch with the empathy, compassion and emotional tolerance that the King of Cups represents. What would the world be like if we were all able to live a life that represented the deeper aspects of our souls, if we were all able to make contributions to our communities that were meaningful to us? The transition itself is temporary; the challenges of the Fives will pass. The beautiful energies of the King of Cups and VI The Lovers have staying power. We can grow into those potentials if we keep our focus on that vision. This is truly an evolutionary giant step for humanity on planet Earth. We can do this. And we can do it together.