Weekly Reading: Pick your distraction

Water and Earth usually make a good pair in a reading. Water softens Earth, and Earth stabilises Water. In this reading, Nichomiah's festive presence surely eases a bit the impact of the dreadful 8 of Spades.

But you know, when the 8♠ shows up is because we need to stop. Look. Listen. Something's not quite right. The 8♠ is known as the unluckiest card in the pack (as opposed to the 8♦, which is the luckiest), so even though it has a water companion to dilute its effects, it still demands our attention.

Sometimes, we prefer to dawdle through shallow pleasures to keep our minds distracted, than to tackle what is actually bothering us. We know something is not right, but we focus on something else, kinda hoping that it will go away on its own. And this is what this reading reveals to me: there might be a feeling of unease this week, but we will be reluctant to look at it, to give it voice inside us. Like Nichomiah, we will pick our poison – whether it be work, sex, alcohol, Netflix, empty spiritual rituals, self-pity – and look the other way.

Now, I'm not saying that we have to focus on the problems all the time. Everything is about balance. Pleasures and distraction are healthy too, in the right dose. There are days in which we just cannot afford to look into the abyss of ourselves, it's not the right time. However, something darker is asking for attention. And as the Moon begins to wane, it may be the time for us to consider facing what we have been trying to avoid.