Today’s Tarot: No More Drama
The 10 of Swords is one of the more troubling cards in the Tarot, and causes many people to shudder when it comes their way.
For me, every card has an aspect of shadow and light, so this will be my approach with our card for today.
The Shadow:
When the 10 of Swords appears, things are coming to an end. For some, this will mean the worst has happened. This can suggest ruin, failure, doubt, suspicions, and betrayal (the sense of being “stabbed in the back”). It can mean hitting bottom. It can mean overkill (one sword would’ve done the trick—but ten is mighty excessive, yes?).
The “point” is really being driven home here, which leads me to…
The Light:
Swords being the suit of thoughts, from a higher level of awareness and perspective (the birds looking down at the figure on the ground), this card is asking you to examine the thoughts that keep you stuck. Fear paralyzes us, causes us to choose inaction. The same can be said for over-thinking a situation, which causes “paralysis by analysis.” The same holds true for (self-) doubt.
When it comes to betrayal, this is what Spirit once revealed to me: When we experience a betrayal by another, it is somehow reflecting how we have betrayed ourselves. In this sense, the 10 of Swords is asking us to consider in what ways are we not being true to who we are (for that is what betrayal is).
Now, I’m not so much a Pollyanna that I don’t realize that Life can throw some extreme challenges our way at times. But, at the core of those challenges, there is the message (Swords are about communication) that something needs to change—some way of living (Swords are also about lifestyle) needs to (finally!) come to an end.
And some of us need to get the message in a melodramatic way so it will get our attention and wake us up.
When this is the case, the 10 of Swords is asking us to stop having that “Young & Restless” moment—and turn off the TV. You don’t need the drama anymore (I always hear Mary J. Blige singing “No More Drama,” which has strains of “The Young and the Restless” in the song).
If you are prone to “drama,” what do you get out of having Life present situations and events to you in such a way (How do you contribute to it and engage in it?)?
And I’m Pollyanna enough to end on this note: When we do hit bottom, there is only one way to go—and that’s up.
