A Provocative Tarot Reading
Today I pulled the page of swords, as a reflection card. I’m always curious to see what ‘food for thought’ a card offers. Sometimes a card can be quite provocative as I found today, day 4 of my holiday, sitting poolside overlooking the Crocodile river and the Kruger park.watching a family of perhaps eight elephants, two babies and a couple of younger ones that made up the matriarchy, loitering on the other side of the river bank, hippos honked lazily as they submerged themselves in and out of the water, and no doubt a few crocodiles lurked….a scene to just sit and absorb and savour, so I was surprised.
This page gets onto higher ground to gain perspective in order to be proactive
I see the page of swords as an active card and the Page of Swords as advising us to be opportunistic, strategic even in taking our opportunities. The Page of Swords gets up onto higher ground so that he has a little distance to gain perspective of what is going on around him and having taken in the surrounding view and all the relevant information he uses his intellect and mind (swords) to go for what he wants.
I often say the Page of Swords is selfish, or is encouraged to be, in order to go for what we want, what we desire. He holds the sword of truth aloft as his surveys the situation, using his mind and intellect to make the right decision forward. He is strategic in his approach and judges the right moment to activate his opportunities.
So getting the page of swords as a daily reflection card for the week, I was quite surprised as it wasn’t a relax and enjoy kind of tarot card, more a you need to be proactive card, so my first question was?
Question
Is there a specific opportunity here, that I should be paying attention to? Taking advantage of?
Ist response…
The only answer I could apply was make the most of this opportunity. Of being on holiday with friends in a beautiful country with extraordinary animals and birds and nature.
Was there an opportunity I was missing?
Except for relaxing and taking it all in I was stumped. Mind you switching off the busy bottom, even on day 4, can be a challenge, from taking full opportunity of being on holiday and able to do nothing but be here now, fully present, taking in the most spectacular scene. And here I was, also thinking about all of this is terms of writing the blog?
Perhaps this is the moment to say how useful I find it to be ‘forced’ (on account of my website needing ‘original content’ to list well on google) to write down tarot insights as so often it is only by journaling and putting my inner thoughts on paper that I understand myself and it brings a whole new richness to my personal experience of a day, a week, a holiday. In a way these blogs become a best friend in lieu of a friend, partner, witness, by my side looking at this view for example, who can bring context and understanding by sharing the same experiences together. Although actually I wouldn’t discuss half of this with another. I enjoy having conversation with the tarot and myself.
But it got me thinking….am I making the most of it?
All pages take action. Did I need to be more proactive?
As the week progressed the insight of the page of swords became clearer.
Day 6 of the holiday had progressed. No longer was I wafting from terrace to a swim to walking around a golf course, we had driven to TomJacku, a small private game farm, staying with a a dear friend’s son and wife and their new baby and friends. A completely different vibe, working couples, half my age, managing to combine holiday, babies and working (on their computers and in meetings online) ending the day by packing everything into coolers and setting off for a sundowner and brie at the dam. The next day we were heading into a private game reserve in the Kruger Park where they shared a lodge. We would have to take all our food, water, booze, into the park so a big shop ahead, menus to be decided. There was a decided atmosphere of a group of very close friends who worked as a team. And had many adventures together. I wasn’t quite sure how to fit in which is when the page of swords came to my rescue because fitting in was going to require a certain amount of getting to know people, checking out the dynamics, observing what was going on and jumping in when the moment seemed right, to engage and connect and find my place in this new group.
So not in my comfort zone, no longer with friends I’d know for years and able to wander down for a swim when I felt like it. The page of wands was giving very helpful advise it seemed to me, almost explaining this was a situation where I couldn’t just sit on my laurels to get the best out of my holiday, I needed to to be proactive. And make the most of this opportunity.
Day 7. REWARD!! We arrived and on our first sunset game drive we had the most stunning sighting of 6 lioness strolling in the bush. I took a not very good video of four of them padding quietly passed us.
Here you can see four of the lioness of the six strolling across our path in the Kruger Park.