The naked man and woman looking a lot like Adam and Eve stand in the foreground as the Angel Gabriel gives his blessing. A radiant sun shines over the scene. And a mountain peak rises between the two. Passion, an angel’s blessing, the combination of earthly delights and the divine. It’s interesting to note the man gazes at the woman and the woman looks up at the angel. Is she the element that provides the link between earth and heaven? Is this perhaps an apologia after the downfall of Eden with the snake and the apple and the loss of innocence…
This week pay attention to your relationships, romantic or otherwise, and find a way to honor and respect the special union of like minds.
I like how the King is a bit askew in this upside down position here. It points to what happens when this usually emotionally intelligent ruler is off his game. This week with the start of Mercury in Retrograde expect bosses to erupt when their flights get cancelled, professors to act as if they got up on the wrong side of the bed. That usually calm and collected sensitive authoritarian in your life is grasping for equanimity and it’s time to duck if you’re in the vicinity.
Are you too hard on yourself? Are you hard on others? Watch your judgment meter this week and remember that the best reckoning is partnered with compassion and mercy. Although the Angel Gabriel who blows his horn to call all to come to terms with their conscience is upside down his direct gaze pierces our heart and reminds us to welcome a repentant nature with the knowledge that coming to terms is not always easy. Namaste.
A king wearing flowing robes sits upon an upholstered throne with luxurious rounded edges. The curves of the throne correspond to the flowing emotions of this ruler’s heart. He holds a scepter (power) in one hand and a golden cup (emotions) in the other. His throne is perfectly balanced on the wavy sea where ships and fish appear in the distance. This week an older man of authority (boss, father, teacher) will show you the value of ruling with the information gained from the heart. Or perhaps you will bring this emotional intelligence into your own way of handling your affairs. The egg harkens to the mystery of new beginnings and the frog reminds us how to live in and out of the water so we never become completely submerged.
A knight rides on a white horse waving a black banner with a white rose. Seems innocent enough. However, upon closer inspection, we see that this knight is a sepulchral figure adorned in armor trampling over a variety of beings including a king, clergyman, young child and mother. The message here is that Death comes to us all; there is no escape. But what to do with this information for it is really quite bleak, isn’t it? The answer lies in the card. When we look more closely we notice signs of life…the white rose of rebirth and the sun arising in the distance between the two pillars. After death comes life, just like the African violet bloom at the top left corner of the picture here. It is on its way out, having bloomed into fruition, and is now making way for new blooms to come along. Nothing lasts forever. With this understanding of endings–whether relationships, family members passing, loss of a job–let us remind ourselves that on the other side of death is life and the prospect of new beginnings.
SpiritedTarot 