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The Four of Swords depicts Orestes in exile at Phocis withdrawn from the world, and in a contemplative state allowing for recuperation and stability.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

Seven of Pentacles - Seven Directions - Every Thing Is Connected

Pentacles concern our physical selves-all things connected to the earth element.

In this scenario we see an offering of the Seventh Golden Pentacle from Queen Pasiphae to Daedalus. He can choose to either accept or decline this generous gift. Daedalus looks like he is suspiciously contemplating whether or not to accept, as he is wondering what Queen Pasiphae's intention is, in offering him this Seventh Golden Pentacle.

In our Western culture we are more concerned with getting as opposed to giving, generousity is seen as suspect and not perceived as an essential virtue. Generousity involves risk for the giver and for the receiver, or both. But does this mean we should never accept generousity or be generous ourselves? We can either fail or be rewarded by generousity, depending on our attitude toward this virtue. The Seven of Pentacles warns against having a flawed character, that exhibits jealousy, greed, selfishness, and betrayal,

I love learning about the Lakota traditions. I see ancient cultures, such as the Lakota, as being very easy to identify with, and are aligned with my own spirituality. When I saw today's card that I drew this morning, it made me think about the sacred number seven, and about the meaning of Seven Directions within the spiritual tradition of the Lakota/ Souix. This card also brings to my mind the number four which is also of very especial significance to the Lakota. relating to the Four Directions.

I have always been very deeply drawn to circles of every kind.
From our formative years, through ages four to seven, artwork in the pre-schematic stage refers to children having a proclivity to draw representational images resembling symbols, often are in the form of a circle, these images may only be understood by the child, and often reflect elements in nature.

In light of this innate ability, and desire for humans to draw the circle, it makes sense that the circle would represent an ancient sacred symbol, inherently found throughout the universe, and within the world.

The Medicine Wheel is the most commonly found sacred symbol used by the Lakota to act as an important spiritual guide, and directly reflects the interconnectedness and interdependency of all living things. According to the Lakota tradition, the natural law of generousity states, that energy we use to communicate, returns to us fourfold. If we reflect the seven virtues, of prayer, respect, compassion, honesty, generousity, humility, and wisdom when communicating, this will in turn effectively help us to communicate, and make decisions that will benefit everyone. The Seventh Direction is centered around taking care of our mind, body, heart and soul. We are all part of a greater whole, and everything is connected. I believe knowing this, is a very much needed thing, in a world that is increasingly more disconnected an many ways, in spite of the "internet of things" being the way of the world.

" Nature projects the state of being in our inner world around us to the world around us. "
                                                                      -  David Little Elk