I've always found the Eight of Swords visually stunning. Its symmetry and balance of shapes with colors makes it a card I can spend time staring at and meditating with. One exercise is to stare directly at the middle flower while simultaneously trying to see the four flowers on the perimeter. After a minute or two, a wonderful interaction begins to take place between the two sections that result from the busy, almost shimmering intersection of the swords and the very stable segments made up of the two sets of four black lines. At times the card even takes on a three-dimensional look, with the center flower at the point of a pyramid and the four flowers at the four corners of the base. The red lines that break up the black become like steps leading to the top.
But what does this have to do with me, my intellect, thoughts, and words? I have relied much on the rational side of my brain this week. I've taken on a project I've been pushing to the side. But now I'm much more in control. There is now activity. My committee mates are on board. There is a certain buzzing of our industry. I've set aside insecurities. I haven't obliterated them, but I haven't allowed them to shake my more pragmatic approach to the situation. They aren't stopping me from acting, which in this case means thinking through things and communicating them in a clearly crafted emails and phone calls.
I'm often surprised at other decks that have such negative meanings attached to the Eight of Swords. Sure, there could be blockage, a trapped creativity or inabilty to act, but there is also good thinking and vision, which can take one to completely different mindset. There is no misery here. Just a reminder that there really isn't any situation in life that can't use a good dose of clear thinking. And when done right, such thinking can take us to places we've never imagined.
No comments:
Post a Comment