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By Sarah Taylor
We have a revisit to the Six of Swords today — a card we last saw in the same position at right on Sunday, July 5; three weeks ago. We also have a whole lotta swords — which means that there is a whole lotta mental activity going on; a focus on inner vision — or the lack of it; and shifts in ways of thinking and entrenched beliefs.
Prince of Swords, Seven of Swords, Six of Swords from The Röhrig Tarot deck, created by Carl-W. Röhrig. Click on the image for a larger version.
Today, there is a fight for freedom, from something, or someone — or someone who represents that ‘something’ to which you no longer need to be in disempowered thrall. The solution is to go back: to go back a step from Seven to Six, and to remember back to the beginning of the month and the shift that started then, when you felt that movement from a lack of clarity to illumination.
That illumination is bringing into sharper focus the very thing that was causing your confusion. It is no mistake; you’re now ready for it in a way you’ve never been before.
Remember back to the beginning of this month:
“What had remained unclear in the painful skirmish of the previous card that is implied by the Six’s presence — the Five of Swords — has now had the light of consciousness trained on to it. This consciousness is fearless; it simply wants to see. There is currently in you a willingness to see what The High Priestess knew all along. You are at a point of admitting to yourself and others what you had sensed, and in a way that sets everyone free. This light generates forward movement, the solution to what seemed like an insoluble problem, the ironing out of a wrinkle or two — or three — of misperception.
There is the understanding of something at hand. A “light-bulb” connection is made. New shores beckon.”
Those shores still beckon. They are there, waiting for you; a part of you is there preparing for your arrival. In the meantime, you have unfinished business. You have a dragon to contend with. The thing is this: it is yours, no one else’s; it has been unleashed by the breaking of the bonds that no longer hold you — even if you might believe that they still do. So while at times you may feel decidedly dwarfed by what you feel is facing you down — maw gaping at you, clothed in obligation, resignation, conformity — you have it in your power and wherewithal to step away and choose another direction.
How?
Hint: your body can help you. This reading is all about the mind, and the solution you seek does not lie at the level of the problem. If you feel a visceral contraction under circumstances that tug you back into the past, pay attention. If you feel an expansion, pay attention. Both are paths. One of them you have travelled down many times before. Are you sure you need to go there again?
Maybe you can turn around, step away from an entirely convincing illusion, and into what has been patiently calling you for a while now. This state that calls you makes sense to you in a way that might, at first, confuse you. It holds its own perfect logic — it just might be that it is a land you’ve not travelled before, only hearing about it from other stories, from whispered tales your soul has spoken to you in those subtle spaces that you may be tempted to pass off as meaningless.
But a part of you knows. It is not your mind. It is not even your body — though your body is able to connect to it. It is your intuition, an innate, timeless wisdom that you are able to access and comprehend when your mind is quiet enough to serve as a reliable interpreter.
But first, this dragon: a part of your mind that has created a paper tiger so large that it feels fearful. This is not reliable interpretation. It is a larger-than-life representation of an idea that has fed and grown on your belief that it is real. It has kept you standing there, in front of it, in the hope that you’ll avoid what might happen if you do anything else.
Isn’t that interesting? It doesn’t need to do a thing. It is just there. It is you who holds the key to release. You can either stay there, you can engineer the means to create enough sabotage to believe you have been attacked by it — and so, again, you stay — or you can step away in a moment of gentle, self-loving rebellion.
No need to run at it and scream. You’re simply running and screaming at a mirror. Step away from the mirror and you step away from the game.
Paradoxically, this transforms what once felt oppressive into the means by which you extricate yourself. You, and the force it held, have the potential to (re)unite. A part of you is no longer at war with yourself. You no longer have to project this war onto another.
Remember! Remember your connection to that source of illumination; remember how it is that you are capable of feeling when you care about yourself; remember the wisdom you can access when you tap into a place that lies beyond and beneath your mind and the chatter that resides there.
“There is the understanding of something at hand. A “light-bulb” connection is made. New shores beckon.”
Astrology/Elemental correspondences: Prince of Swords (the airy aspect of air), Seven of Swords (Moon in Aquarius), Six of Swords (Mercury in Aquarius)
If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article explains how to use the spread.
July 4th, I began what would be the process of ending a 3 year relationship. It took a few days to fully shake things out. I think my dragon is the part of me that feels like no one, not even family, truly understands me. My dragon thinks everyone wants to control me, thus making me want to control everyone first before they have the chance to get me. Go to sleep, dragon.
For me, the biggest pain and the greatest freedom has lain in the understanding that no-one truly understands me, Michael.
That particular dragon can be terrifying and beautiful, and need not be overly entertained. It may be that you have other, more important work to do.
Thank you, Sarah. I was reminded of a really important journey I took about a year ago that featured a dragon that led me into some depths that I’m just now accessing in the physical sense. I *really* needed to remember that source of illumination. Thanks for providing the path to help me see it so literally.
You’re welcome, Amanda! And thank you 🙂
It is always powerful when cards from my personal readings show up in the weekend reading. I puzzled over the 7 of swords last fall. Futility. I got a clue when I realized the monster with scary big teeth is made of old neckties and chintz sofa cushions, a dragon of my own imagining, indeed. The futility is in fighting something that doesn’t really exist.
This reading brings that home with clarity, and the other cards bring it into my current moment of moving through the illusion, no matter how scared I am.
Thank you thank you.
You’re welcome, (((((((Carla))))))).
This just in, and reminds me of the 7 of Swords.
“The Evolution of a Dream”
Dream is implanted into brain.
Dreamer becomes thrilled.
Dreamer becomes terrified.
If no action is taken, terrifying thoughts grow into flesh-eating monsters. Dream is considered unrealistic.
If action is taken, Carla, terrifying thoughts are revealed to be paper tigers. Confidence soars, miracles unfold, and dreamer begins to saunter.
Either way, nothing remains the same.
Gr-r,
The Universe
It occurs to me that how we respond to the 7swords determines the impact of swords 8, 9, & 10.
Sarah: Thank you for opening a door on the other side of what has been my perspective, helping me to see more of the culminating moment that otherwise would have been possible. Some of it a bit over my head, but enough of it resonating with other observations to know you are presenting a valid and appropriately nuanced sense of our aggregated moment.
Thank you so much, Len!
Incidentally, when I surrender to the words that come through, I have a strong sense that they’re not really speaking to the ‘head’. I’ve no idea where they go, just that they’re going somewhere.
Thank you for providing the validation of the stepping away process I firmly committed to at the beginning of the month. The. Mirror is my family-of-origin and the Dragon came alive at my father, the patriarch’s, funeral back in spring of 2012. The journey of Saturn in Scorpio through my 12th house has been standing in front of this Dragon. I visited my mother in May, while she was in the hospital and my intuition came through loud and clear – luckily I listened to the message that that may be the last visit home. I had those conversations with her that I needed to have. I collected the pictures and such that I would have regretted leaving behind. Her body is still physically with us, but her mind is unravelling. And it is time, and it is ok, for me to step away from my birth Tribe. And step toward the new shores that are beckoning.
Thank you for offering your experience here, Josie. That is also a kind of dragon I’m familiar with.
I hope your travels are smooth!
Jul 06, 2012
SCORPIO – Weekly
You can turn the mental or emotional pressure you’re feeling into a brainstorm. The psychic radar known as astrology looks like you might be stressed, even to the point of panic attacks. Don’t be fooled by the subject matter: remember that energy is energy, and the first skill of the Scorpio Jedi is directing all energy into a constructive, creative or healing force. By all energy, I mean everything from passion to anxiety, from desire to curiosity. The key is going to be remembering this when the energy manifests in some form you would not prefer — and keeping your head on. Meanwhile, I would maintain a good vibes posture. Walk away from arguments. Remind yourself how safe you are (and if you’re not, make a decision), and remember that the light you hold around yourself shines out into the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlot0i3Zykw
Just perfect. Thank you Sarah.
It must be so cathartic as a singer songwriter to write a song that expresses your emotions and touches those of others and then take it on tour. Surely by the end of the tour the emotion is sung out the bridges crossed and just the upbeat is left?
Music is so amazing. All art actually?