Fours as Winds?

The text below is a small compilation of some reflections I posted at the Temple of Wisdom, regarding the apparent contradiction between the number 4 and the idea of Winds. Many people who start studying the Playing Card Oracles are surprised to see the number 4, usually associated to stillness, structure, foundation and order, being symbolised by Winds – rather dynamic forces.

I spent a long time thinking about this, and came to my own conclusions about what the number 4 really represents, and how it matches the idea of the Four Winds very well. Hopefully, my ideas will help other readers and students. 

For a while I thought that the number 4 – a number of stability and structure – did not relate at all to the idea of a wind. After all, winds are an unpredictable element. They bring you rains, but they can also steal them away in a matter of minutes. They can be a welcome breeze in a summer day, or a hurricane!

I began to meditate about the 4s and I realised that, while winds can represent unpredictable forces, in the case of the cards they usually symbolise a steady, constant energy. The problem is when we automatically think of the number 4 as stillness - structures are not necessarily still. But they usually behave the same way, go in the same direction, focus on the same goal.

The 4s are symbols of single-mindedness.

Even that mischievous "South Wind" (4♦) is constant in its disorganising tendency. When it's blowing near you, you can be sure things are going differently from expected, no matter how sure the situation may appear. Now, if you happen to have the "North Wind" (4♠) too, then you'll probably be caught between two opposite and strong forces, each trying to have things done in its own way.

So, when thinking about the 4s, I no longer think just about structure, but also about constancy. Constancy is a kind of stability. So the Winds may represent a constant energy, a constant influence that blows you in one single direction. This too can be seen a structure and stability, as opposed to the real chaos of the number 5, in which everything is coming from all directions.

In a broader sense, the 4 winds together represent the 4 directions, the 4 elements, the 4 seasons, the 4 walls... the general structures of nature that surround us... or confine us. So the 4s can represent an influence that confines you to one single kind of vision or attitude. A limiting influence.

The number 4 does not make me think automatically of 'stagnancy', although some people really give this meaning to this number. All four winds in one reading – an excess of number 4 – could indicate stagnancy, because when you are in the middle of all four winds you are basically going nowhere! The structure is too strong around you.



 In a more positive context, this same combination may show that you found balance between all the 4 energies.

The "East Wind" (4♣) in the company of some heavy cards like the 8♠ or the 6♠, could indicate an unwillingness to change, to move. This idea is reinforced by a combination of even numbers - stable numbers.

Meditating about the PCO has helped me to expand my own views on the number 4!

Nothing in the head... everything in the mind.

First of all, I'd like to thank all my friends who wished me good luck with the MRI.  For those who don't know it, I have been having bouts of hemicranial paresthesia, mostly involving episodes of numbness in my face. Now, I do suffer from migrained and trigeminal nerve sensitivity but this is very different from anything I ever had before!

But thank goodness, the results were good! Nothing in the brain and skull area! That's such a relief. We may have to investigate the spine area... I still have to talk to my doctor, see if he wants to try other things or wait to see if the symptom will go away on its own.

The more I think about it, the more I think my Pilates teacher (who is also a physiotherapist) is right – my constant neck/back tension could be the source of the problem. I am a very stressed person, and the fact I have not been sleeping well makes it even worse. I have trigger points in my neck and upper back area (she told me that), and these can cause many symptom, from pain to numbness, in different areas of the body.

If that's the problem, then it's something I can deal with. Through Pilates and Yoga exercises, I can try to cure the physical symptoms. But as we know stress is also psychological, and this is also part of the problem. What could be making me THAT stressed?

Perhaps my mind is the biggest trigger point of all. It's the true source of my blockages.

In a moment of great worry, I did a 4-card reading with my Playing Card Oracles about what could be causing the facial numbness. The in the Head position was the 2 of Spades - a card of disagreements, strife, conflicts and... inner turmoil. We discussed the reading at the Temple of Wisdom, but it was hard to pinpoint the cause of the problem due to our general lack of expertise in the medical field (only one member is a healthcare professional, and he did bring some good and objective ideas) .

However, the more I look at this card the more it says to me that the roots of the problem are not just organic, but psychological. The two faces in the card, yelling at each other, could easily be two side of me unable to come to an agreement. But why can't I hear what they are discussing about? And more importantly – who is the judge of this conflict?