By Sarah Taylor

It’s worth noting that every reading we’ve had from Oct. 11 onwards has included a court card, representing an aspect of the personality: the Knight (King in the Rider-Waite Smith deck) of Cups appeared twice, on Oct. 11 and Oct. 25, respectively (there was a two-week break between readings); the Princess (Page) of Swords appeared last week; and this week the Princess has shifted into the Prince (Knight) of Swords — also sitting at centre; also leaning into a ‘difficult’ card to his right.

Three of Wands, Prince of Swords, Five of Cups from The Röhrig Tarot deck, created by Carl-W. Röhrig. Click on the image for a larger version.

It’s also worth noting that the Three of Wands that appeared back on Oct. 11, as the ‘current’ card at centre, is now, today, on the left, in the near-past position.

You have moved forward on the path of self-definition that you’ve chosen — one that may have meant going it alone. And you’re continuing to move forward, even if it feels like you’re hitting challenge after challenge. Sometimes paths are open, wide and smooth. Sometimes they feel like an obstacle course. Welcome to this second option, my friend. Careful as you go. It may seem like there’s a lot to lose but, really, what is held in this moment is the potential to negotiate familiar patterns that no longer need to have the same influence over you.

Last week, you brushed past “Failure”; this week, you’re rubbing shoulders with “Disappointment.” But you, Sword-wielding truth-speaker and insight-seeker, have grown a little wiser — more canny — over the past few days in a particular area of your life. You’re learning to discern what works for you, and what doesn’t. And you’re learning to say “no.”

“No, that doesn’t work for me.”
“No, I won’t do that.”
“No, that’s not who I am.”
“No, I’ve given you as much as I can give.”

You’re continuing to take back your freedom. Aaaaaaaand, just as you round the next corner on your journey, you come face-to-face with the hard, unforgiving planes of resistance. Emotional resistance. Your openness, your opening heart, is being countered by the cold, unfeeling walls of some kind of shut-down — whether from someone else’s behaviour or a circumstance that conspires to block you.

It might feel like it’s coming at you, so that you believe you have little or no control over it. That isn’t true. You have all the control you need. Not over that person or that circumstance, but over your response.

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When the Prince of Swords comes up in a reading — especially when he’s hot on the tail of the Princess — you’re sharp as the blade you’re carrying, for sure; but you also run the risk of contracting ‘foot in mouth’ dis-ease: a degree of back-chat that runs the risk of biting you on the ass.

That sword only needs to be used enough to reveal the truth, and so cut you loose from what previously held you back. Once you’ve done that, it’s going to take some discipline to stay at ease and ignore the urge to lash out. Especially when you meet with resistance.

You’ve got two secret weapons, though.

The first is that this particular form of resistance will be hard to ignore: you have the capacity to identify it quickly and pull back. Nothing needs to meet with the edge of your blade today.

The second is a support structure that may not be immediately obvious, because it has been with you all along. You may have ignored it, you may have taken it for granted. You may have turned your back on it. Funny thing is that it could be the one thing that has walked with you down this path of liberation consistently, quietly. You’ll know it because it reveals something to you about yourself that you would not otherwise see. Disappointment reminds you of its presence. You can turn to it if you want to.

But whether you do or don’t, you’ve got the ways and means to navigate disappointment so that it no longer disappoints in quite the same way it always has. Who’s to say it needs to disappoint at all this time? It feels like a blip on the radar of your larger mission: significant, but not your destination.

You’re meant for more than what blocks you. But what blocks you has the ability to free you further. Maybe it’s not so much a challenge as a gift.

Astrology/Elemental correspondences: Three of Wands (Sun in Aries), Prince of Swords (the airy aspect of air), Five of Cups (Mars in Scorpio)

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.