Seven of Swords

As Mercury squares Pluto today, you may need to think about the power of your own thoughts and words. Both the ability they have to do harm and the ability they have to do good.

Swords stand for our intellect and mental processes. If you have some form of work to do that you need to really put your thinking cap on to get done then this is the month to do it.

Do not waste your time pondering over what might have been you have a task to complete and you need to get on with it. A clear mind and a clear conscious is needed.

The central figure in this card — from Stephanie Pui-Min Law’s gorgeous Shadowscapes Tarot — is a masked man dressed as a blackbird, surrounded by his blackbird friends. He’s hidden himself at the base of a boulder, having stolen a sword from the Guardian Swan.

The question today is, are you the Swan or are you the masked man?  Do you need to be on guard against trickery and deception, or are you the one who’s tempted to use your ingenuity for questionable gains? Mercury square Pluto can bring trust issues to the forefront and can also fuel your own treacherous impulses, which can see you trying to outsmart even the most honorable foe.

The ravens are there delivering messages and perhaps warning you to be on your toes. But the message here is one of being wise about what you think and wise about what you say, because you never know when a misplaced word or misconstrued sentence can come back to haunt you later.

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Eight of Swords

As Mercury opposes Saturn today, you may need to think about your own limitations, and how you’ve contributed to the obstacles that stand between you and your goals.

The Eight of Swords speaks of self-imposed limitations. You may feel powerless in your current circumstances and may be so caught up in blaming the people or events that have brought you to this that you’re unable to see a way out.

In this version of the card — from the gorgeous Shadowscapes Tarot — we see a graceful swan rendered almost entirely immobile by a the thorny branches of a blackberry bush. Eight Swords are placed strategically around her, amongst the decaying carcasses of earlier captives.

She longs to break free, but her struggles against the confines of her “cage” cause her to get even more tangled in the bush. A tiny hummingbird flits above her taunting her with its agility.

But look closely at the hummingbird and you can see that it’s not taunting at all. It’s actually showing the swan the way out. It flutters its tiny wings and coaxes her toward the light.

If it can just get the swan to stop panicking and calm down, it can navigate its way through the brambles and disentangle her from the brush.

The Mercury / Saturn opposition can be a tough one. It tends to make things seem much worse than they are. Saturn represents limitations and restrictions, and its opposition to the planet that rules thoughts and ideas (Mercury) can make your situation seem more bleak.

But as always with the Eight of Swords there is a way out. It may require a bit of ingenuity — much like is seen in this card. But it mainly involves simply opening your eyes, changing your perspective and finding a workable solution.

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 Six of Swords

Have you been thinking of going on a journey? Planning it in your mind but for some reason putting it off or not wanting to go.

The Six of Swords shows you have a path laid out before you that you may not wish to take. Instead you may feel as if you wish to stick with the safe and comfortable route you are already taking with your life.

Often times when we are meant to change something but are resistant to it the thoughts and ideas we have will keep popping into our minds urging us on towards this change.

The Sun and Jupiter are in sextile today, making way for both clear thinking and a desire to be on the move. This transit can make you feel hopeful and optimistic for the future. It can serve as a beacon to guide in the right direction, even if the reasons are not yet clear.

Your unconscious will find a way to place synchronicities within your path until you finally get the message that you must change in order to grow.

In this card it looks as if you have help on the way where you may find you don’t need to do a lot yourself as you will be swept up and gently guided onto your next step. This is another feature of the Sun / Jupiter aspect, made all the more pronounced as Mercury eases into Libra.

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