Four More Swords

We're in the home stretch of this tumultuous year which also means I'm checking in with my penultimate card in my reading for this year.

November's card was the Four of Swords.

Swords is the suit of the mind and covers our thoughts, ideas, clarity, learning, communication, etc. Basically, it represents anything that goes on up in our head. When an abundance of Swords cards show up in a reading, my first reaction is that there is a lot of mental activity going on and most likely, overthinking or that some truths will be revealed. Needless to say, it is not the best suit to show up en masse. But, while it may carry some negative and difficult energies, every cloud has a silver lining, every storm shall pass, and all the rest of the growth-from-adversity cliches you can think of.

So, while the suit itself can be difficult, not every individual card is. I view the Four as one of the nicer cards in the suit.

We see a man in armor in repose. Admittedly, it looks like it may be an effigy, but most descriptions of the card state it is not. He is merely resting, albeit in an apparent mausoleum as suggested by the stained glass window. Tarot card meanings build from the preceding card and lead into the following one. The Three of Swords shows a heart pierced by three swords and the Five shows someone holding three swords and two more lying on the ground. Two figures are walking away, seemingly defeated. The main character appears to be smirking or gloating.

The Three of Swords depicts emotional pain; I mean what other meaning could it be with a heart pierced by three swords, pouring rain and some very dark clouds? The Five suggests a situation with a winner and loser; apparently after a confrontation of some kind. The main character's expression suggests he won, most likely underhandedly. With the Four coming between the two, it suggests resting after the storm to gather strength for the upcoming confrontation. The battle may be over, but not the war. Aside from the possible morbidity of resting in a mausoleum, what more quiet place could one find in order to gather some thoughts before the next battle? Perhaps withdrawing within oneself would be an alternative.

Sometimes a card will appear in order to suggest what the seeker should do-some advice, if you will; use the energy of the card as a way to navigate the situation at hand.

And I think I should have done that instead of thinking this would be a calming, restful month.

With the Four of Swords' energy and the High Priestess as the central card and energy of the whole year, that's what I should have done. Instead, I did quite the opposite. My mind went into overdrive. I was overanalyzing quite a lot.

I found myself overanalyzing the direction of my life. Where is it headed? It seemed to be heading in a direction prior to the pandemic. Can it, or even should it, head in the same direction post-pandemic, whenever we emerge from it? Should I change directions? 

I was thinking of my finances which have turned a corner in a more positive direction and how I can maintain that positive momentum.

I found myself looking at my connections to others in light of differences of opinions on both the political climate and pandemic situation.

It was this last point that really hit home. I think I've covered that in a couple of recent posts. Yet, as the situation gets worse, I can't seem to shake it.

I still found myself to be somewhat judgmental of those who don't see the pandemic as seriously as I do-especially government officials who think it's' not their job to enforce a public health emergency. I am doing my best to help keep myself and others healthy in order to not overwhelm the hospitals or further exhaust our doctors, nurses and other medical personnel, and straining our beleaguered healthcare system, as fucked up as it already is, pushing it to its breaking point. And if I'm doing my best, why isn't everyone else? Do they not even care about others? And if they aren't seeing what I am seeing, doing what I am doing, and reading what I am reading (from epidemiologists and virologists, no less-not only the mainstream media) then they are rejecting me.

Yes, I went there.

And from there I went into my own personal mausoleum and withdrew even further from society. How much further can one go when one can't leave one's own house except for essential needs? One withdraws more from social media, I guess.

I just couldn't take all the negativity.  

Yes, I know we all need to make a living. But, let's not get so caught up in making a living that we forget to have a life even given the difficulties that we're experiencing now.

I understand one other thing as well. We all want and need a healthy economy. I agree. It would be great. But, economies do recover. Eventually. In time. Too slow for some, I know. Yes, we live in an age of instant gratification. And we don't like change. But, we did eventually recover from the Great Depression and the Great Recession. Both times. Even if it did take years.

But, what if there are not enough healthy producers making or providing enough goods or services? What if there were no consumers healthy enough to spend money? How much longer will it take for the economy to recover?? Seriously.

A healthy economy ultimately depends on a healthy population for both the supply and demand.

Period.

So, maybe the Four of Swords was suggesting I take a break from social media to gather and analyze my thoughts so I can then let them go. Hanging on to this judgmental attitude isn't healthy, mentally or physically.

December should be interesting.

The Ace of Swords...reversed.

All card images are taken from the Radiant Rider Waite Smith Tarot, (C) 2015, US Games, Inc.