Free Reading #11, for 2021 Mirror Dragon Tarot

Mirror Dragon Tarot

Each week when I do these readings I set up my reading space with black fabric (for the photo, mostly but it also allows for and smooth, calm space to focus on the cards) make sure I have undisturbed quiet time; dogs are out, husband is at work/play/store/whatever, phone is off, etc… I begin with a quick grounding meditation and settle into a centered peace to ask for guidance in choosing the cards which will be most appropriate for the week ahead. I shuffle the cards with my intent in mind and spread them in a dealer’s “ribbon spread”. Then with eyes closed, I ask for the Center card, the West card and finally, the East card, reaching out to the spread, touching the cards and choosing the one that feels most fully under my finger tip, then sliding them into their positions. Before opening my eyes I return to a calm, centered state and do my best to sense whether the three cards I’ve chosen are the most fitting for the highest and best for all involved. Only then do I turn them face up and photograph them for the reading. There are times when I see the three cards before me and groan or breathe a sigh of relief but I always use the cards I’ve selected ”blindly”.

That said;

As the indomitable Bette Davids said in the movie All About Eve, “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.” Or week as the case may be. It doesn’t have to be tragic or ruinous but this week it looks like we’ll be facing some anger as well as some pretty strong determination.

The Center card for the week is the Queen Of Wands.

This card represents our intent, our will and the clarity of purpose those things define. It’s also the feminine aspect of those traits so the implementation leans more towards the heart than the mind and is, therefore, softer, more accepting, more able to relax in the face of difficulty and more flexible when it comes to compromise. The knights/kings and queens of the tarot are the royalty of the suits. They embody a regal demeanor of powerful leadership and intelligent guidance. These traits will serve us well if we can keep focused on them in our dealings with others this week.

The West card is the 10 of Swords.

And herein lies the bumpiness. This card is the epitome of the negative traits of the Swords. Reason divorced from reality, an unyielding demand for group consensus, the need to cling tightly to one’s own view even in the face of facts to the contrary. There are times when we all feel threatened and in that state of fear we grab onto what we’re familiar with whether we know it’s right or wrong because the fact it's that it’s our reality becomes the most important issue. We shut away our softer side where we look to collaborate rather than compete in favor of determination to make things go our way. This feeling of protectiveness often stems from times when our ideas or points of view were ignored, discarded or even ridiculed. We find ourselves feeling a need to hold the line just because we think we need to be “right” even if we know that isn’t the reality. In cases like these our intellect defines our fears and feelings of self recrimination to the point where we’re afraid that if we give in and compromise we fall back into being ridiculed or discarded. So we fight doggedly for our own point of view to the exclusion of all others. Our point may, indeed, be accepted but what if we can’t support it? If we put ourselves in a position to be proved wrong after the battle it took to get that recognition the resulting disappointment and loss of trust becomes more painful and unwanted than whatever it was that caused the conflict to begin with.

The East card is Art.

This another of the cards in the Thoth deck that differs from the Ryder Waite Smith system. Its number, Major Arcana 14, is represented in RWS as Temperance. Art is more about recognizing opposing forces and finding the spark of creative energy where the two interact while temperance is about realizing, after the fact, where Grace touched an interaction changing its form to one in keeping with a higher aspiration. They both find similar outcomes though Art allows for intent, recognition and action to be part of the process. In alchemy the mysterium coniunctionis -mysterious conjunction- seen also as the marriage of heaven and earth reflects this interface. Carl Jung also wrote about mysterium coniunctionis, the separation of chaos (heaven) and the active and passive principles of soul and body, then the connection where the two encounter and experience each other. In the Art card I see the realization of the “magic” that's found in that connection. Okay, so what does that have to do with us this week? Being a Major Arcana card is a tip-off that there is a life lesson here, pay attention! While staying open and aware is tough in the face of differing opinions and an argumentative environment, that’s where we'll be able to see the light that shines through the cracks in our intellect and logic. We just need to find the courage to relax our personal ego shields and take an honest look at the dynamic of the opposition itself. For instance; in a work situation, you and your boss, colleague or employee have a difference of opinion about how to accomplish a task. Whether the timing varies or the resources come from different places or the distribution of labor doesn’t look the same, it can still be seen that the outcome will be what everyone wants when all is said and done. This interpersonal landscape is perfect for emotional factors to cause friction. If you’re the boss and you want something done in a particular way, like the way you do it, you might take issue with an employee who does things differently (and maybe better?). In Sticking to your own position you undercut your employee and may even lose the chance to learn a new way to do things. If you’re the employee, in sticking with what you think is right you undermine your relationship with the boss and maybe miss a chance to learn by experience. When we can find the connection, the place where opposing forces meet and the interaction found there, we see the spark of common intent and redirected purpose. The lesson of Art is to find and harness that spark of connection. Use it like the spark plug in an internal combustion engine, let it fire a tiny explosion to drive the piston up to turn the crankshaft triggering the reaction in the next cylinder and the next and the next and the next, moving the entire vehicle forward.

In Conclusion;

We have a chance this week to find the power contained in difficult interactions. The 10 of Swords is one of the toughest cards in the deck, the energy it represents segregates our emotions and spiritual instincts from our intellect. Because we so often use our intellect to mask our fears and inadequacies we find ourselves in confrontational situations unable or unwilling to compromise. With the Grace of the Queen of Wands as the central figure we find the strength and integrity needed to face anger, fear, bitterness, control issues or intentional misdirection with a cooler head. In fact, I believe the access to this cooperative ability is part of the lesson of Art this week. Anger can be a great motivator, triggering creativity, courage and inner talents but it can be equally as destructive if we let it overtake those other attributes, and the ability to keep our balance while angry can be pretty challenging. If we can find the spark of creative motivation between those two opposing forces the power there is immense. This week we may get the chance to put that theory into practice. One more thing… We might not be directly involved with all of this tough energy flying around. We could just be getting a chance to learn from what’s happening around us. Either way, buckle those belts, take a deep breath and keep your eyes open for the connections and their opportunities.

Have an honorable week.

Light, Tory

TIP for the week: Nothing is more damaging to a new truth than an old error.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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