Cross--and Maybe Double-Cross

I learned this years ago from my gran, like looking at hands or dreams, and I haven't used it in decades, but today I felt that I needed it.  Love's been a little bit hard on me, and so it's time to examine some archetypes to see what I should do. 


This isn't fortune-telling; this is image coupled with imagination, leading to insight.  

Central Issue:  Page of Swords, reversed

The use of clever argument and eloquent speech to mask the truth.

(Lies and a grief) 

 Obstacle:  The Chariot, reversed

Lack of discipline and poor direction fan the flames of a situation already out of control. 

(Some say the world will end in fire) 

Goal/Achievement without change:  Ten of Swords (ruin)

Sadness and desolation in the aftermath of a catastrophic and total collapse.

(Ashes ashes we all fall down) 

Foundation of the situation:  Four of Swords (truce), reversed

Restlessness and mental disharmony. A lack of vigilance that could lead to disaster.

(I am inhabited by a cry) 

Something to be released:  The Hierophant

Being supportive, sympathetic and loyal. May also indicate a religious ritual, such as a marriage or an initiation.

(Dame Prudence, she is so mild) 

Something to be embraced:  The High Priestess

A pure, exalted and gracious influence. Education, knowledge, wisdom, and esoteric teachings. The forces of nature. Intuition, foresight, and spiritual revelation of the most mysterious and arcane sort.

(When I open my eyes you are what I wanted to see) 

Me at my best:  The Star

New hopes and splendid revelations of the future. Insight, inspiration, courage and enlightenment of the spiritual self. Body and mind and converging towards the light at the end of a dark time.

(Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars--Whitman's accord with nature) 

The Shadow:  The Fool

Nonchalance at the threshold of gaining all or losing all. Extravagance and intoxication with life.

(A man in black)

The Unexpected Truth:  King of Pentacles, reversed

An unyielding businessman, with a gift for identifying weakness and exploiting it for personal gain. A blind devotee of business as usual, unconcerned with the unintended results, and contemptuous of new ideas. A person full of greed and avarice, easily corrupted by luxury or the temptations of the flesh.

(Would you marry it marry it marry it?/Come here, sweetie, out of the closet.  Plath's "The Applicant")

The End Result, which requires change:  Temperance

Calm and restraint. Self-control, patience and tact in handling situations. The act of applying balanced spiritual and psychic forces to physical life.

(Think of what is within you, without you.  James Galvin) 

_____

Off the cuff:  

So many major arcana (powerful stuff, a strange choreography of energies) 

Too many swords (thinking, thinking; conflict, pruning, cutting away)

Odd number of reversals (things out of whack, head over heels equals imbalance) 

Only one pentacle (only one thing to realize, in one's gut) 

No cups in a romance reading????  (where's desire?) 

No wands in a romance reading???? (where's growth or support?)

____

I want the end result, so it's time for a change. 

Out of the woods now.  I see what to do.