Four of Swords - Reflection

My immediate impression of this card, the Four of Swords is one of the wholeness that comes from being centered through meditation, giving focus and clarity of thought.

The breath is essential for relaxation, because we need more that 80% of our oxygen for our brains to function properly and this gives us the ability to concentrate. Many of us breath shallowly from  the top of our lungs instead of diaphragmatic breathing which gives an optimum amount of oxygen.

The Four of Swords brings the four directions and the four elements to my mind, all that give balance, and strength. In the business of life it is more often than not, that we either think we can't, or don't take or make the time to get centered so we can find some good, orderly, direction, through withdrawal and reflection. It is a good habit to develop and one of the main reasons I have journaled for over thirty years.

Here is Oretes is in exile in Phocis. He has been forcibly exiled, regardless is peaceful and contemplates the four swords set in a pattern before him. Whether we are forced into some kind of exile or if it is voluntarily, we can choose to take advantage of this time for reflection, meditation and some self-examination, and hopefully return as a better person.

I think of Nelson Mandela who spent so many years in exile, only to return to society as a person who set a great example and mentor to so many.

"Especially for those of us who lived in single cells, you had the time to sit down and think, and we discovered that sitting down just to think is one of the best ways of keeping yourself fresh and able, to be able to address the problems facing you, and you had the opportunity, also, of examining your past." - Nelson Mandela

Two of Pentacles - How Juggling Made Me Feel Balanced

 The Two of Pentacles is about juggling and keeping things balanced, without loosing site of other areas in your life. This requires learning to find ways to reduce your stress, learning how to relax, and to not take on more than you can handle. There is really nothing easy about this, but the more you practice, the easier it becomes, and it eventually gets to be a habit.

Many years ago, I went to study Mime, ( Commedia dell’arte) where among other skills, I took up juggling.
It really became a discipline, a skill I could adapt to my life, as a reminder, to take one day one, one step at a time, and to breath. Juggling requires that you master one task time, before you move on to the next. You have to learn to breath, especially diaphragmatic breathing, which helps you to relax, which is necessary to directly effect your ability to concentrate.

Juggling helped me when I was feeling overwhelmed. It taught me to put first things first, and to break things down in order to lessen my stress, and it helped me to not take on too many things at once. The physical, and psychological benefits enabled me to gain control of my ability to relax, through my breathing, and I could concentrate on the task at had, and go from there, doing what I needed to do next.

Like all of the Twos of the Minor Arcana, our drive for material goals must be grounded and channeled, if we are to master the skills required to achieve our objectives via the flow of creative energy.
We must be flexible, and willing to do whatever is necessary to receive the reward for our efforts made.


Juggling is a truly portable workout.
It makes you smarter.
It sharpens focus & concentration.
Juggling is the ultimate in stress relief.
It’s an exercise that doesn’t ‘feel’ like exercise.
You can juggle where you are, no travel required!
Juggling maintains and increases range of motion in the arms and shoulders.
It is one of the best ways to improve coordination.
Juggling is beneficial for all age groups and body types.
Helps ward off cravings.
Juggling makes exercising with family and friends easy.

Five of Pentacles - I Can't See The Forest For The Trees

Well now isn't this a fine howdy doo!  I drew the The Five of Pentacles this morning. I admit, my immediate gut reaction to this card, no matter how many times I look at it,  my reaction it always negative. It looks gloomy, dark with just enough impending doom to make me jump into bed and pull up the covers over my head! But that's just me.

When I am experiencing negative events especially fear surround financial insecurity, I can go into a quick panic mode and so I have to consciously take action to resolve whatever it is I am dealing with. So I did this this morning and I am feeling much better now. I reached out only to find there really was absolutely no need to panic. Seems this is a lesson I have a hard time learning because it comes up for me more often than I would like or perhaps it is a life long lesson to be learned.

The Five of Pentacles presents an individual focusing on their own distress and failing to see that help is at hand. Oh ya that's the card for me today!

When I think about panic I always reflect on when I got certified as a SCUBA diver. It was emphatically expressed to us over and over, to overcome panic, because it could kill us. As well, we had to plan our dive plans, and dive our our dive plans. We could make mistakes on our dive plans when being taking our exam to get certified as this would be an immediate fail, because this could kill you too. There is an important life lesson here for me I believe that I need to apply. Breathe deep, breathe in, breathe out, don't panic, and make a plan. Breathing is essential to staying calm, considering we need about 80% of our oxygen for our brains to function properly. It's only when we are in a relaxed state, when we can concentrate and make the right decisions.

Panic ensues when we lose faith in ourselves I believe, not unlike Daedalus did. He confused his self-value is  with his material security, and he lost his sense of direction. When this happens we can start again and reorient ourselves to the outer and inner level.

Next time I draw the Five of Pentacles, I hope I'll see it in a positive new light.