Five of Swords - 'You're Not The Boss of Me!'

I have been, and still am to a degree, a person that does not like authority. I believe I am not alone, when I say, I don't like being bossed around, cause I say to myself, 'you're not the boss of me!'

Being a very independent person, when I look at this card, the Five of Swords, it immediately gets my bristles standing on end. The figure on the right impresses me as an authoritarian, aggressive, superimposing figure, waging his accusatory finger.

My question this morning was regarding an experience I had yesterday while visiting good friends. This person showed up at my friend's house shortly after I had arrived. They seemed full of resentment and on the offensive, because I had refused their business offer, I was not at all interested in. I was neither rude nor even impolite toward this individual. I simply made myself clear was not interested, and it certainly was not my intention to offend her, and walked away.

I did what I thought was the best thing, and withdrew from this conflict, though I did not feel peaceful. I did not create, nor did I add to an already tense atmosphere.
This morning I was looking to the cards to give me some direction, though I knew deep within myself, what the answer was, and drawing the Five of Swords gave me some very affirming clarification.

I do have to say I wondered why this situation was bothering me, and I found myself somewhat preoccupied with what had happened. I will say I am not used to this kind of reaction, and I know that this will happen from time to time when you come across reactionary individuals like this. It just takes me off guard completely, as I don't expect it. I kind of go into a bit of a state of shock, and it takes me time to process just what happened, in order to try and understand it. I am glad to have my blog, and Tarot cards to help me do this!

So in this card we see Orestes, seated on the ground looking vulnerable and a little afraid facing Apollo. The message to Orestes, is to face his own limitations and what is before him, whether fair or not. For me, it is also about accepting the limitations and imperfections of others, even if I don't like their faults, regardless of how they have treated me. I can't take this personally. I need to know and remember that I have a thick skin. We all have a dark side that we must accept, but also we must believe in our light, to over come the darkness. There is "perfection in life's messes" as Anne Lamott says.