Ten of Swords - Blood and Earth

Here we see Oretes in the blood and the earth.When I study the Ten of Swords I see this card as a symbol of today's world. We can feel beaten down, overwhelmed and even enslaved by the furies, by what happens to us personally and or by the events going on throughout the world.

On the other hand people can impart hope to us and we in turn can impart that same hope to others. That said we can't hide our heads in the sand. Nor do we have to be slaves of disillusionment and disappointment to take into the future.

Like most people, I am concerned about the future and I want to remain informed and hopeful. Sometimes I think I listen to the radio too much, but on second thought, it's what the media reports that often leaves me feeling overwhelmed and a little despondent about the events in the world. Then I ask myself, what is it that gives me hope in a seemingly hopeless world.

Much of our hope is found in our very own nature that we have been born with. My mother always said you can tell a child's nature by the way they respond to and interact with the world around them as a baby, always smiling and happy makes for a happy adult. I believe this to a certain extent, but to say we are not affected by the way others treat us especially at a young age would be naive. Even as an adult we can be affected by the behaviour of others. We need to find a way to respond that provides a positive solution.


Last night while listening to the radio I heard Kevin Bales, a social scientist, activist and journalist talk about the deadly link between modern slavery and environmental destruction. Many of us might believe the days of slavery happened a hundred years ago and perhaps think it doesn't exist like it once did. We can't imagine that the comforts we have in the western world are made by someone who is controlled by subjected to slavery, and contributes to the destruction of the environment.

Although Kevin Bales' work is very serious, and difficult being a leading expert in modern day slavery, it makes you really wonder how he remains hopeful, seeing so many world wide desperate situations. In spite of this, he impressed me as a realistic and a very positive individual as he discussed his book Blood and Earth . He left me feeling hopeful, because he sees a solution to stop slavery and to save the earth.

If circumstances are dire, I am left having to decide what I can and can't change.  Looking to others who instill and impart hope is also where I can find serenity and hope.

Like Athene, Kevin Bales is a warrior and calls on us recognize the harm we have done to one another, to put end to it, and to recommit to repairing our world.

Ten of Swords - What Gets You Singin'?

Athene is giving those Furies the finger, telling them that's enough, back off, and has read them the riot act. The Furies have beat this poor bugger down to a pulp, and he appears to be dead in the water, without hope.
The Ten of Swords might look like a card of dread, defeat and victimization. And it a way it is, but there is hope and relief ahead. Oretes unconscious on the ground, is symbolic of a Christ-like kind of figure. Some might see Oretes as being symbolic of a victim.

There exists in this universe a life force for good, that helps us to find inner strength, and enables us to rise above our seemingly hopeless situation. I know this to be true, because I am speaking from personal experience. You don't have to look very far in this world to see examples of such horrendous circumstance that many have overcome. They come out the other side, and not only to lift themselves out of their situation, they will often help others to do the same through their example their own experience of strength and hope that comes from a power greater than themselves, from this life force.

I remember years ago, sitting in a living room with an elder, who I had so much respect for and greatly admired. She had been through so much suffering in her life. She was so strong, full of compassion, wisdom, humility, and gratitude. I put the question to her. Why is it many seem to get through life without suffering, and others get more than their share?

She had no pat answer, but she did share this. She said people who do experience more suffering are often able to experience compassion and empathy toward others, and have a depth of character that is often lacking in the individuals who don't experience this kind of walk in life.

I read the other day a comment the struck me, from another wise and spiritual woman. She stated that the Divine is not found in suffering but is found in joy. I've thought about this, and I asked myself is there joy to be found in suffering? I don't think so. But perhaps there is beauty and hope not because of the suffering itself, but because of what a person believes and how it changes them, and then they begin to can feel joy and the Divine.

I don't have the answers to this, but I know there are many important life lessons to learn through the struggle and heartache that comes with life. I do believe the God of my own understanding comes in through my wounds. We have the opportunity to decide how we respond to those wounds. We either lay down and give up, or we sing a special song, and maybe we even dance till the end of love.

I think Leonard Cohen said it best in his song You Got Me Singing.

Ten of Swords - Released and Redeemed

 Visually this card is not a pleasant one to look at, and always gives me a visceral reaction in my gut. Upon further reflection, I am always reminded things may look bleak here, because Orestes is seemingly lifeless and left for dead after being painfully defeated by the three menacing Furies. However this card has a strong message of hope.

This scenario represents the conclusion of a very difficult, and painful time. The fact is, this is the beginning of a new future that lies ahead, now that the truth has been faced. Athene has disarmed the Furies. She has clarity of vision, and impartial judgment. She symbolizes the mind's integration of dark and light, being the goddess of Justice, representing our human capacity to have reflective judgement and rational thought.

This imagery makes me think of the biblical principle about the sins of the fathers being visited upon the children. In other words these inner conflicts are passed down from generation to generation because grandparents and parents cannot honestly face these problems and their children inevitably suffer until insight can be gained. The good news is that once the crisis is over, life can change, and the sun can then rise again.

Athene represents having an impartial reflection, where those involved are not judged. There is always the hopeful possibility of being released and redeemed from our past mistakes and conflicts.

Ten of Swords - " For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Drawing the Ten of Swords today, after drawing the Nine of Swords yesterday, made perfect sense to me as we see Orestes beaten down and overcome by the torment of the Furies. Athene the goddess of Justice has come to put a stop to this ancient curse with clarity and vision.

I was also having my own continuing battle with the Furies again, but I took time for impartial reflection, and saw the end of a difficult situation, which this card represents.

Finally with some patience, my hacked pay pal and bank account issues are straightened out, and over. I really didn't want to have to make the calls, listening to muszac and being put on hold for long lengths of time, but if I knew didn't, I'd end up in another kind of mess.

When human beings have their feet to the fire, then and only then it seems, do we get the motivation to take action. Sadly this sometimes can feel too little to late. It's why those wise adages, proverbs and sayings exist, like, "Why put off tomorrow what you can do today?'

If you choose to maintain hope, fight a good fight, and come out the other side, you feel triumphant and proud that you've see things through to their conclusion. Many of us are good at beginnings and endings, but are unable to follow through with the middle bits, and we give up.

 If we didn't have struggles we couldn't feel the triumph that comes from overcoming. If we didn't have the darkness, we'd never be able to experience the warmth and light of the sun. Darkness is good, as is light.

What makes you weak should make you strong, when you can follow through and overcome.
Like Orestes, I think I need a nap!

Ten of Swords - The Star of Bethlehem

I've been so busy since mid May and all through June. I've been feeling overwhelmed which gets me down. I've had little time to keep up with my blogs or for that matter, even getting the lawn mowed. So it is lovely to have three days to myself, be able get caught up some, and look forward , having more free time to come again soon.

When we reach  low points in life we need to reach within and find an inner strength to rise above. This is the message of the Ten of Swords. It looks like a dark card but we can turn things around, if we choose to do so. We can choose to lift our attention away from the problems we are so focused on, and onto the enormous things beyond which inspire, give us hope, strength to continue, and persevere. The sun is rising, amidst the darkness of the night.

The alignment of Venus and Jupiter on June 30th 2015 in combination with the full moon tomorrow makes for an interesting force of energy that I think inspires and renews the spirit.  Some scientists have conjectured that this alignment is what accounted for the The Star of Bethlehem. It occurs rarely, and this event will not be reviled again until 2023.

Venus and Aphrodite representing the goddess of love, and Jupiter the god Zeus, the inner father, embodies a sense of raw power, a force of nature, where hope, creativity and beauty are symbolized.

This celestial heavenly event in the skies is truly a thing of awesome beauty, and hasn't been seen since the time of Christ. That's a long time! One can't help but think that this rare occurrence is significant some how, and in someway. Perhaps like the Ten of Swords it represents the ending of a difficult situation to make room for a hopeful future to begin. It is up to us how that future will unfold and it is vital that we continue to be hopeful, and backing up our hope with action.

Ten of Swords - How The Light Gets In

Here we see Athene the goddess of Justice. She reflects wise judgement, clarity of vision, and the integration of both the light and dark. With her owl always close by or perched on her shoulder, represents the ability to see and hunt in the dark. Athene is emphatically telling the three Furies enough is enough. Oretes is unconscious on the ground, seemingly defeated and spent under a darkened, blackened sky, with the rising of the sun behind the mountain range in the distance.

I remember many years ago seeing Edward Gorey's book, I can't think of the title, but I do recall very vividly one of his illustrations like so many of them, that are a full of dark humour. I think perhaps it might have been in The Inanimate Tragedy. This one particular illustration comes to mind today after drawing the Ten of Swords.

Edward Gorey

The Ten of Swords in the Rider Waite Deck is really dark with a poor bastard dead in the water, having been impaled in the back by those ten swords, and he really looks like he's beyond hope.

Ten of Swords

 None of us get through life without experiencing death, destruction, distraction and maybe even debauchery of some sort.

The Ten of Swords is a card that appears initially a card of despair and hopelessness. It isn't a bleak as it might seem. It is a card of endings, but not without pain, and some suffering. Ya I know that sucks, but as Leonard Cohen says in the lyrics of his song Anthem, "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." This statement is one of hope, in knowing there is no such thing as perfection, and this is a good thing. Things may end, but then they also will begin again. One door closes, another opens. There is darkness, but there is light, hope and love.

This card today speaks loudly,  poignantly, and a little painfully to me today. I really kind of wished it didn't, cause it hurts a little. But for me, it's necessary to embrace pain, live life on life's terms, and it's important for me to have a good sense of humour, even if it is a little dark by times.

Oh sure, I could run away, drive my self to distraction through a variety of means, addiction, perfectionism, and all the other 'isms, but I have already done this for a good part of my life. I know it gets me nowhere fast, and really in the long run, I might as well be one of those tragic inanimate objects, like in Edward Gorey's illustration, because it makes me dead to my feelings, which in the end would only make me less of a human being. This is not freedom.
There are many ways to die, not just physical death. Spiritual death in my opinion is worse than physical death. I choose the hope, light and love of a spiritual life, though I may physically die in the imperfect darkness.

Ten of Swords - Resurrection

 

The Minor Arcana card I drew this morning, the Ten of Sword's, is a very appropriate one for this beautiful and glorious Spring Easter Day. 

Upon first looking at this card it looks ominous as depicted in most renditions. It is a card of perfect desolation, representing an apparent hopeless ending. The darkest hour is just before dawn, but there is major change and transformation on the way.

In fact, it speaks of triumph, conquest and resurrection, in spite of the harrowing and fearful imagery of extreme danger, bloodshed and fear. The man who lies limp and defeated has been tortured and seemingly clings to life by a thread. He is a Christ like figure. However upon closer examination, the emphasis is actually on overcoming, and triumphing over defeat, and on the resurrection of life and rebirth.

 In the distance, the sun is slowly rising in the horizon, heralding a new beginning in the midst of the defeat. The sun is life giving.

Once the crisis is over, the sun shines again. We have been freed of some deep rooted wound and burden within ourselves, that has been released and redeemed but our suffering. It is the final conclusion and the end of a difficult situation. A new life begins, and the sun shines brightly upon us.