Weekly Forecast: March 20-26
We’re using a different deck than normal this week, for no other reason that that it was the closest to my morning writing spot - nestled in bed under a crisp, white duvet. Our cards have a similar energy, a focus on finding comfort and rest in difficult situations. Because, as you’ve likely noticed, The Tower is starting things off this week. What’s crumbling or has crumbled recently? What is making you tired?
The Tower is also present in our reading for the month of March which makes me think this isn’t necessarily a case of an obvious, immediate, or new “Tower moment:” catastrophe, misfortune, an abrupt ending. It’s more likely that we’ve been aware of and holding our experience of this card for some time, watching something dissolve slowly. This week the bigger story of that dissolution is coming into clear focus.
Now this is where our reading gets interesting. Instead of doing something with this new knowledge and perspective, we’re being invited to rest. The Four of Swords appears next, and I can’t help but imagine the two figures in the original Rider-Waite-Smith illustration falling from the burning tower… and into a cozy, inviting bed.
See where acknowledging and seeing things for what they are, even and especially if they’re upsetting, brings you a sense of release and even peace. I love how artist Mary Elizabeth Evans illustrates this version of the Four of Swords: the top half of the card almost seething with winding black, white, and red rectangles while the main character of the card rests peacefully in atop teal clouds in a green sky. No matter how intense and compelling ideas and messages around what things in your external life could or should mean, see if you can simply let it be as it is while prioritizing rest and healing.
The Four of Swords shows us a healthy way of dealing with our minds. We often place logical thinking as the primary function of our minds, yet we also use them to dream (and what could be less rational than the loopy, symbolic world of our subconscious?). This is a time to let go of controlling the narrative, “figuring things out,” or striving to understand, label, or identify. Simply letting go, trusting that things will filter through as needed, and stepping away from The Tower facets of your life, will be incredibly refreshing and, eventually, transformative.
Sometimes the frenzy of The Tower can be exhilarating; when something’s on fire, we know that the only task that matters is putting out the flames. But maybe The Four of Swords is also signaling that part of us is bored with this old dance. Be especially aware of things you’re tuning out, no longer seduced by, or even annoyed with. What is putting you to sleep? Respect this instinct as a message that you’re outgrowing stale dances of drama.
We have bigger things to tend to, and these are not about putting out fires or preserving structures just because they’re crumbling. At the end of the week, Strength bursts onto the scene, so if you were worried that all this napping was sheer laziness, you’re in for a surprise! I feel like this card appears when we realize we’re wrestling with the right problem; it’s deeply satisfying and such a contrast to the panic that comes with The Tower. Notice how focused and aligned you feel when you’re building something that matters to you - how the problems and challenges bring you closer to yourself, have you learning something valuable. Now isn’t that quite different from the panicked rush to survive that arises in The Tower?
Let yourself slowly wake up into your powers and goals as the week wraps up. Enjoy creating something for yourself, working with reality, and daring to sculpt something fun, meaningful, and completely different than what’s fading into the past.
Potential surprise/reframe:
There’s actually two I’m seeing here:
While we tend to talk about the cards, especially the Major Arcana, in terms of our personal journey, it may be that this week we’re contending with other people’s experience of The Tower. Is someone in crisis (most likely of their own making), sucking up oxygen with their panicked demands, or consistently framing their setbacks as catastrophes? Is it making you tired?? This would be a good time to step away and focus on the reality you find gratifying and constructive (Strength).
The Four of Swords is feeling like a mysterious invitation to me this week. This card is quite subtle, so we’d do well to create moments of stillness and silence for ourselves so that we can hear the nuanced messages bubbling up from our subconscious. Listen to your body, rest when you need to, and notice what feels easy, enjoyable, and restorative instead of what you think “should.”
This week, embrace:
Stepping away from the drama
Rest
Meditation, mindfulness exercises of all kinds
Engaging with the reality you want to reinforce
This week, avoid:
Burnout
Overcommunicating, half-baked ideas
Leaving your center, abandoning your own perspective
There’s actually two I’m seeing here:
While we tend to talk about the cards, especially the Major Arcana, in terms of our personal journey, it may be that this week we’re contending with other people’s experience of The Tower. Is someone in crisis (most likely of their own making), sucking up oxygen with their panicked demands, or consistently framing their setbacks as catastrophes? Is it making you tired?? This would be a good time to step away and focus on the reality you find gratifying and constructive (Strength).
The Four of Swords is feeling like a mysterious invitation to me this week. This card is quite subtle, so we’d do well to create moments of stillness and silence for ourselves so that we can hear the nuanced messages bubbling up from our subconscious. Listen to your body, rest when you need to, and notice what feels easy, enjoyable, and restorative instead of what you think “should.”