Actually, not long ago! These same cards showed up in the exact same position in my New Moon Reading of March. It's interesting to see a repeated pattern in a spread... and what are the chances of this happening, right? Of course, this time the bottom cards are different, and that changes many things, but it still feels like the cards are saying "Marina, you are doing it again...".
I confess I did this reading out of impulse. I was feeling rather down and seeking clarity about my emotional life... The truth is that, right now, I should be ecstatic, as I am finally graduating, after nearly 7 years of hard work, while going through pandemics and floods and whatnot. But instead I feel... a bit dead on the inside. And that has been impacting my relationships, especially with BF.
So, like with the previous reading, we have the 7♥, the Sword of Healing, looking like it's duelling the 9♦, Gawain. My first impression was that there's a healing factor that wants to come into the reading, but is being kept out by the 9♦, which is a strong card of protection. Now, you might be wondering, why would Gawain protect one against healing? Well, the truth is that healing... hurts, sometimes. It involves scrutinising wounds and pains that we are not always ready, or willing, to face.
The card below the 9♦, which is in the Torso position (the prime place to look for anything concerning one's emotional life), represents whatever Gawain is guarding. And here we have the 5♠, the Impotent King, a card of limitations, of "entrenchment in the known" as Ana writes in her book. And think this card shows that the heart is in a very barren place right now, precisely because it's guarding itself so strongly. Objectively, the 9♦ in the Throat position could represent a fiery, defensive communication that can be "scorching for the unprepared" and is used to keep the heart safe. But the heart is not thriving in all this safety; instead, it's getting drier, more fearful, more isolated.
Then we have the bottom card, in the Foot position, the 8♥ (The Faun). This card looks a bit odd in such a 'serious' spread, but for me it has two effects. First, it softens the 5♠ above it, showing that not all lost for our Impotent King. Second, it's in the position of the physical body, so I can't help but connect it with sexual impulse – the heart may want to stay protected, but the body is ready for "high mischief", as Ana says when she describes the Faun. And I kind of like the way the Faun looks like he's about to creep up to the Impotent King and give him a scare!
So, how to connect all this? Like I said before, an opportunity for healing is near, but there are strong defences in the self that fight to keep the status quo, because true healing often involves letting go or changing certain dynamics that no longer work. And while the 7♥ is a healing card, it is still a sword, still a tool of change. Aggressive communication has been a way to keep the heart safe, to avoid the upheaval, at the cost of the heart's vitality. However, there is still a strong instinctual energy in the body that is making itself know and might end up triggering change too.
Gawain (9♦) is trying to keep the Impotent King dry, protecting him from that water from above... without realising that there is water coming in from the bottom...
In this reading, I feel like the divide is between the conscious forces that ruthlessly defend stability – in typical Diamonds + Spade fashion – and the subtle, yet powerful, emotional and instinctual forces, that can heal, but are also unpredictable.
This is such a powerful message, and makes so much sense to me, that I believe I will come back to this reading many times in the coming days. I am always in awe of the profound magic found in the playing cards...
No comments:
Post a Comment