Seven of Swords - What Interferes with my Ability to Make Discerning Decisions

This card, the Seven of Swords relates to our ability or inability to make rational decisions, and doing the right thing. Of course making the "right" decisions is much easier said than done, no matter how good our intentions. The adage, the road to hell is paved with good intentions comes to mind. As human beings we can easily deceive and betray ourselves

I know this through experience, decisions that I've made in the past solely based on emotion have often lead me down the wrong road. But I learned from these mistakes. I've also learned about discernment that  enabled me to fine tune my ability to make decisions using my intuition and my mostly sensible mind!

The mythic figure of Orestes in the Seven of Swords represents an application of mental energy in a cautious and cunning way. Fact is Orestes must live with the decision he makes and the consequences that follow.

Although Orestes is walking a dark path, there is a shining light behind him that enables him find his way, if he chooses to be led by this light.

It's easy to fool ourselves into believing we're doing the right thing, without a thought to how our decisions will effect others in the present, or in the long term future.

My experience has been that when I've made decisions based upon my emotional reactions, or on my intellect alone, void of having any balance between my head and heart, this mostly resulted in a negative outcome. And I've paid a price for making decisions this way, because my ability to make discerning decisions has been hindered and interfered with by my emotion. It's what I'd call having dis-ease of the emotions, which is manifested in numerous ways, be it alcohol or other addictions.

So this card for me has a significant and important caveat. I'm reminded to allow for faith in the balance between my intuition and intellect to guide my way, enabling me to make discerning decisions in my life based on faith. That's what makes you strong.



If you love somebody
Then that means you need somebody
And if you need somebody
That's what makes you weak
But if you know you're weak
And you know you need someone
O it's a funny thing
That's what makes you strong
That's what makes you strong
That's what gives you power
That's what lets the meek come sit beside the king
That's what lets us smile
In our final hour
That's what moves our souls
And that's what makes us sing
And to trust somebody
Is to be disappointed
It's never what you wanted
And it happens every time
But if you're the trusting kind
This don't even cross your mind
O it's a funny thing
That's what makes you strong
That's what makes you strong
That's what gives you power
That's what lets the meek come sit beside the king
That's what lets us smile
In our final hour
That's what moves our souls
And that's what makes us sing

Written by Jesse Winchester • Copyright © BMG Rights Management US, LLC

Four of Swords - Trust Your Intuition

Swords are about the mind, the intellect and using rational thought to direct you in your decisions. Up front I am not a sword kind of person. Oh I love a thinking with clarity and using my mind, especially when it comes to life long learning, but only if it`s balanced with the intuition.

Sometimes you can make decisions based on rational thought, and that can be a good thing, but you might also have such and overwhelming intuitive sense about a particular person or situation, that far out weighs, over and above any logical thought you might have. You may also think, perhaps I am being too quick to make a decision and you hold back, if your intuition isn`t working so good. But when intuition surrounds your heart, soul and gut, well you need to listen to it.

This is exactly what happened to me this past week, my intuition antenna was picking up signals loud and clear. The Four of Swords is a great reminder and confirmation that I did the right thing, even though it wasn`t something I could completely explain in a logical way, and could have doubted myself. My decision was based on some rational and commonsense reasons, but I generally based my decision on my strong overwhelming intuitive feelings that I could not ignore.

In the past if I didn`t trust my intuition, it was when, I`ve got myself into trouble. This isn`t what I like to call new age ``woo woo` thinking, but something very real, important and shouldn`t be ignored.. Trust your gut, it will give you strength by way of your inner reserves. Our intuition comes to us through exploring creativity, dreams, synchronicity and by having trust in it`s ability to guide and give us insight into the unconscious and subconscious.

I realized that because I have continuously and increasingly trusted my intuition over the years, and especially through my Tarot readings my intuition has become strong and has served me well and continues to so.

The Four of Swords depicts Orestes in exile at Phocis withdrawn from the world, and in a contemplative state allowing for recuperation and stability.

 This card causes me to reflect on the Indigenous First Nations, Four Directions that represent North, South, East and West that are symbolic of the basic needs, Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generousity.

Page of Cups - Tenderheart

When I was little, and a teenaged girl, I was very much this kind of Page of Cups, and exhibited all the page's qualities, emotional, intuitive, inquisitive, naive and innocent. I was pretty regularly getting myself into some kind of pickle from an early age, prone to getting my fingers, arms or feet stuck in some kind of contraption. When I was four I stuck a candy in my ear, and at ten shaved my eyebrow off, and at 14 climbed the Guelph water tower because I thought I was in love with the boy who climbed the tower with me. All of which was mostly out of curiosity that I did these things, and because I thought with my heart, which left me blind sighted. I had no foresight. This carried on into my own relationships, and in the matters of the heart, resulting in a lot of heart ache, because of having a too trusting and a naive nature. I continued to make bad choices and life decisions, but I did manage at least to keep both my eyebrows on my face at this point, although I did give myself some really bizarre haircuts!

As a typical Gemini with my moon in Pisces, and being a water person in every way, I certainly relate to the Page of Cups. The page's negative experiences in life can make them jaded and cynical. If we can find away to hold onto the positive personality traits of the Page of Cups, within ourselves, and learn to temper our emotion with the more prudent,  logical, and intellectual aspects of our nature, we can come into more of a balanced state of being between or head and heart. I have spent many years doing just that.

 I am thankful through the Grace of God that the hurts, difficulties, and even tragedies have enabled me to keep my heart open. This has happened only through discernment, and wisdom that has come with experience, knowledge, understanding and healing the split between love and spirit.

When you are a tender heart, like this Page of Cups, it can be a blessing and a liability, in that this can leave your open heart vulnerable to being hurt and broken. This is the major pitfall of this Page. There is an honesty here, that is not always appreciated by everyone. The Page of Cups is as ready to cry, as to laugh, and there can be those that love these very transparent qualities present in the Page's nature, but some will simply take advantage, see them as a fool, and believe they deserve what they get for being so stupid and naive.

The balance between giving others the benefit of the doubt along with magical thinking, or not seeing reality as it is, can be a precarious tight rope walk for the Page of Cups in today's world, that seems full of unscrupulous individuals, who have hidden agendas, and are only looking out selfishly for number one.

The Page of Cups is a card of love and the world is in need of the loving hopeful idealist that sees the good in people, perhaps when we can't see it in ourselves.