Your Week in Tarot: February 22-28, 2016

I hope you had a nice weekend, as you and I head into a new week—and a new weekly reading!

This week starts off with a full moon.

This week’s going to start off with a full moon, and I don’t know if you’re “moon sensitive” (a term I learned from my teacher, Doreen Virtue) or not, but I started feeling some of its effects the past couple of days.

So let’s see what’s in the cards for the week ahead that could coincide with the full moon, shall we?

I’m going “old school” with the choice of deck for this week’s reading. Assisting me is the Universal Rider Waite Tarot, created by Arthur Edward Waite & Pamela Colman Smith; this particular variation of the Rider Waite is colored by Mary Hanson-Roberts, which gives the deck a “softer” feel than other versions. The deck is published by U. S. Games Systems, Inc.

As always, with these weekly general readings, I take the deck in hand, shuffling the cards, and asking this question: “What do we need to know about the possibilities for the week ahead?”

This week’s video reveals the cards for our reading:

If you prefer to read the post, here it is:

After shuffling the deck and pulling the three cards for this reading, I turn the remainder of the deck over to look at the card at the bottom, which I consider the foundation for the week.

The card is The Sun.

The Sun, in my opinion, is the best card in the deck, outshining all other cards. It’s a card of clarification—so things this week could become clear.

Clarity comes when you choose to become more conscious about yourself and how you move through and experience your life. What would you be willing to see more clearly this week? What situations are you willing to “clear up” this week?

The Sun is also card of personal freedom. What would you be willing to do this week, as a step toward your own sense of freedom? The Sun suggests you have the energy to take that step.

In addition to that, The Sun is a card of achievement. It’s a card that asks you to look at all the achievements in your life—those things that have brought you moments of great (personal) happiness and satisfaction (meaning you accomplished those things for yourself—not with the expectation of making others happy with you). The Sun wants you to know those were your moments of “brilliance” and “radiance.”

And this week, there may be more moments to come!

Moving now to the three cards I pulled: the first for the beginning of the week; the second for the middle of the week; and the last to round out the rest of the week.

For the beginning of the week, we have The Fool.

The Fool can suggest that you’re about to embark on a new journey; it may be literal or metaphorical.

This is a card of new experiences; you’re about to experience a new chapter in your life. You’re getting a clean slate and a fresh start—what will you do with it?

The Fool can suggest that wherever this new chapter takes you, you may not have the experience—but that’s okay! You can’t know everything going in—sometimes you have to learn along the way. The best experience comes when you, as Nike so fondly says, “just do it.” There will always be a phase or stage where you’re the beginner, the novice, the one who’s “green” and just starting out.

The Fool can suggest having a sense of awe and wonder about it all; it’s about seeing your world with a fresh set of eyes, with a child-like innocence (The Fool can sometimes represent birth and children in their formative years). What new way could you look at—and therefore have a new experience of—your life this week?

The Fool is a card that can tells you to take that leap, as our Fool stands on the edge of a cliff. It’s a leap of faith, knowing and trusting that Source—the Universe (indicated by the white sun in the sky, which is also a nod to The Sun card)—has your back, and will support you along the way.

That first step, though, can be a scary one to take. For some, The Fool can suggest being carefree and spontaneous, and for others, it can mean being foolish and reckless. We’re not all wired the same way. And that plays into how you’ll view—and experience—new phases and stages.

And, while I’m on the subject of how we’re wired, the Fool also is a card that asks you to be Who You Are. You’re a different and unique expression in this world you’ve chosen to be born into—and you’re being encouraged to show up as yourself.

Moving to the card for the middle of the week, we have the 10 of Swords.

The 10 of Swords is one of the more troubling cards in the Tarot, and causes many people to freak out a bit when it shows up in a reading.

For me, every card has an aspect of shadow and light, so this will be my approach the 10 of Swords.

From a shadow perspective, when the 10 of Swords appears, things are coming to an end. This could mean that the worst has happened.

This can suggest ruin, failure, doubt, suspicions, and betrayal (the sense of being “stabbed in the back”). It can mean hitting bottom. It can mean overkill (one sword would’ve done the trick—but ten is mighty excessive, yes?).

The “point” is really being driven home here, which leads me to looking at the lighter side of the card.

In Tarot, Swords is considered the suit of thoughts. From a higher level of awareness and perspective, this card is asking you to examine the thoughts that keep you stuck. Fear paralyzes you, and can cause you to choose inaction. The same can be said for over-thinking a situation, which causes “paralysis by analysis.” The same holds true for (self-) doubt.

This is something to consider, especially since 10 of Swords comes after The Fool; this can suggest that a fear of failure may keep you from taking that all-important first step in the next phase or chapter of your life.

When it comes to the betrayal aspect of the 10 of Swords, this is what Spirit once revealed to me: When we experience a betrayal by another, it’s somehow reflecting how we have betrayed ourselves.

In this sense, the 10 of Swords is asking you to consider in what ways are you not being true to Who You Are (for that is what betrayal is).

Now, I’m not so much a Pollyanna that I don’t realize that Life can throw some extreme challenges your way at times. But, at the core of those challenges, there is the message (Swords are about communication) that something needs to change—some way of living (Swords are also about lifestyle) needs to (finally!) come to an end.

And sometimes you might need to get the message in a melodramatic way so it will get your attention and wake you up.

When this is the case, the 10 of Swords is asking you to stop having, what I call, that “Young & Restless” moment—and turn off the TV. You don’t need the drama anymore (I always hear Mary J. Blige singing “No More Drama,” which has strains of the theme from “The Young and the Restless” in the song).

If you are prone to “drama,” what do you get out of having Life present situations and events to you in such a way (How do you contribute to it and engage in it?)?

With The Sun in the reading, one thing is clear: It’s shining a light on the 10 of Swords—and on a possible situation in your life that you need to seriously consider closing the door on—once and for all.

For the end of the week, we have the 4 of Pentacles.

The 4 of Pentacles can suggest being possessive, that you might be trying to hold on tightly to what you’ve got. You’re working hard to reach your goals, but your achievements (going back to The Sun) aren’t bringing you that sense of satisfaction.

This card can be encouraging you to not be afraid of change (hinted at by the 10 of Swords), and to be on guard about clinging to the status quo because it’s all-too familiar.

The 4 of Pentacles can suggest holding on to things because it creates a sense of security—and change can bring out all your insecurities, which you can consciously and unconsciously try to avoid at all costs.

When this card appears, it asks you to consider being open to new ideas and the opinions of others.

The 4 of Pentacles can also suggest that your fixed ideas about security and safety may be holding you back from fulfillment (The Sun), but change is way too scary (10 of Swords).

Since The Sun is also a money card, with the 4 of Pentacles, you may not be the extravagant type because you don’t want to waste money (this card is about conservation and being conservative)—you want to make every penny count. You may believe that a certain amount of selfishness (this card carries the image of someone who is greedy or a miser) concerning both your time and money (two of the most valuable commodities we desire) is needed to build a solid financial foundation.

For me, the 4 in Tarot is about foundation and creating a framework. In its more challenging sense, this number can also be about limitation and restriction, as its symbol is the square—or a box. How might you be boxing yourself in by living an existence of only limitation and restriction all the time? What small way might you begin to loosen up a little bit, so you can enjoy some of the good things in life (The Sun)?

This week, be willing to find your inner comfort zone, and also be willing to think outside the box.

To round out this reading, I’ll take the numbers on all the cards, reducing them to a number between 0-22, seeing what Major Arcana card will be the Lesson card for the week.

Adding 0 + 10 + 4, we have a total of 14. The 14th Major Arcana card is Temperance.

Temperance is a card that encourages being flexible, adaptable, and “going with the flow,” which is symbolized by the streaming liquid flowing from one cup to the other. Temperance encourages this because it’s also known for going to extremes, and asks for balancing that tendency out.

Connecting it to the others cards in the reading, Temperance with The Fool talks again about taking that first step. Here, the angel has one foot on land, and dipping the other foot in the water, which is a visual pun for “dipping your toes” and “getting your feet wet,” phrases we use when doing something for the first time.

The first step for you this week may simply be finding ways in which you can “test the waters” before jumping in.

It can also mean a time of “experimentation,” as I read Temperance as experimenting with chemicals in a laboratory; experimentation, again, would imply trying something, possibly for the first time.

With the 10 of Swords, Temperance shares something in common; the angel on the card is Archangel Michael, who also is the angel associated with the suit of Swords. If there is something that you’re bringing closure to this week, you can call on the angelic energy of Michael to keep you safe and protected, as you have him cut the energetic cords to what is no longer serving or supporting you—and that would include any drama kings and queens connected to the 10 of Swords.

Aside from Michael, the angel on Temperance can also represent your guardian angel, and the message, in this respect, is for you to know your guardian angel is also watching over and protecting you.

And a third angel I associate with this card is Archangel Cassiel. I first connected with Cassiel during a Reiki session (another aspect of this card) many years ago, when he introduced himself to me while I was on the table receiving Reiki from a practitioner. I remembered his name (he imprinted it in my mind) and, when I got home, I “googled” him. I discovered he is the angel of temperance and sorrow, known as the “angel of tears.”

So, if the 10 of Swords turns out to be an upsetting situation, you can call on Cassiel to help you through the sorrow.

And with the 4 of Pentacles, Temperance is a card of compromise. On one side of the reading, there’s The Fool, a card of being carefree and spontaneous; on the other, there’s 4 of Pentacles, all about being conservative, with a need for stability and long-term security. Temperance, on one hand, is reflecting the extremes showing up in these cards.

On the other hand, Temperance, being a card of creative, win-win solutions, is asking this: Instead of looking at this as an “either-or” situation, how can it become “and” or “both”? How can you take that first step in your next chapter—and—have your need for security and stability be honored?

The 4 of Pentacles, from that standpoint, would suggest the resources you would need to “get a hold of” so you can have the best worlds.

And that puts the lid on another weekly reading. I’m wishing you a Tarot-tastic week!

For your own personalized Tarot reading, please visit me at jameshimm.com for all the details.