DECEMBER 2017 TAROT READING: KING OF CUPS, QUEEN OF SWORDS, FOUR OF CUPS
December is upon us.
And as always, it seems to sneak up from nowhere, only to clamp down on our thoughts, feelings and actions as everything begins to revolve around party planning, gift buying, meal prepping, and plan making.
How does this time of year make you feel? Ecstatic? Overwhelmed? Exhausted? Light?
The rollercoaster ride of emotions surrounding the holidays can be intense. I'm sure we can all recall moments holding back tears of frustration while having to defend ourselves for still being single, or still being in school, or still being a vegetarian. Just as we can recall moments of being overwhelmed with joy as we share a beautiful meal with our loved ones, gifting or receiving the perfect present, being warmed from the inside out by perfectly spiced mulled wine at an outdoor market.
So let's talk about this rollercoaster ride and call on the Divine to bring us a hint for how we can survive it!
This month, three cards revealed themselves as your message from the Universe.
Starting with two suit cards: the King of Cups represents the calm, diplomatic wisdom that comes from years of experience being an understanding ear for anyone who comes to him seeking advice, and the Queen of Swords represents the non-nonsense, and honest way of moving through the world, meeting challenges and disappointments with a smile and a witty comeback.
As the holidays approach, as does the demand on our attention.
A million distractions come out of the woodwork pulling us in a million directions; often directions that we extremely dislike.
“I felt overstuffed and dull and disappointed, the way I always do the day after Christmas, as if whatever it was the pine boughs and the candles and the silver and gilt-ribboned presents and the birch-log fires and the Christmas turkey and the carols at the piano promised never came to pass.”
Turning now to the third card, the Four of Cups, we are given an interesting message when considered in relation to these two royal court cards.
The Four of Cups is us when we are hiding in the bathroom drinking a bottle of wine to ourselves in order to avoid having to interact with all of that yucky, unconscious energy of the outside world.
It represents the times when we become self-absorbed and disengaged from our reality, because we don't feel like we have anything to gain from it.
How tempting it is to scream, run away, shut down when shit gets crazy at a family dinner, or in the middle of a shopping mall on Christmas Eve. We've all been there, and we've all reacted in a less than ideal way on occasion.
But is that the Path?
December 8th is celebrated by Buddhists as Bodhi Day: the day that Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment and became a Buddha.
Looking to the Four of Cups we see a man in a similar position to that which the Buddha was in when he attained enlightenment: cross-legged in a serious introspective meditation under the Bodhi tree.
Given that we pulled this card for December, we have no choice but to make the connection!
The first step of the Buddha's eightfold path is having right intention and perfect understanding of the nature of reality.
To obtain enlightenment, we must first understand that all suffering comes from our wanting what we don't have and wishing things were not as they are.
This message for December speaks of the generosity, compassion, and openness that we must focus on demonstrating, especially over the holidays.
Rather than going within and making this season one about me, me, me, and how life is so incredibly unfair, what with all the consumerism and the waste and the noise and the clutter and the madness, let us call on the outward facing energy and strength of our inner Queen and King and face the next month with grace, humility, and understanding.
“Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.”