For the world this month, the cards told me this:

King of Pentacles

A card bright of colours, a masculine figure of contemplation. The bulls flanking the throne whisper Taurus, Taurus (reader, I had done this session on the cusp of Taurus season), looking strong, confident, decadent. The King holds the pentacle lightly with one hand, opulence of lush green surrounding him and upright, intricate architecture in the background.

What of the pentacles? What of the King? What did it mean?

(Reader, you must understand, I had never pulled this card before).

To slow down. To contemplate. To think deeply about the life that you are currently leading and whether this is the path that gives you what you need (and maybe, a little of what you want, because we know those two things are not always the same).


This King has everything that he has ever wanted and wished for. The decadence of the card suggests that he is in a place of wealth, of abundance. But a tiny voice tells me that perhaps the contemplation is for something more – for moving past the point of “wealth for self”, towards a point of wealth “for the world”, whatever wealth means – perhaps a small act of kindness for a stranger, perhaps a commitment of time to a cause that moves your soul and shifts your world.

(I check my notes. As a novice reader, I am constantly referring to texts and sources to decipher, to go deeper, to better understand.)

This King is the fatherly figure – a provider of guidance, secure in his capital that he has generated but perhaps thinking that it is time to do more. It is time for you, your community, this world, to translate the vision that you have been nurturing for all this time into something tangible, something resilient, like a practice. It is time for the final fulfilment of a creative task or whatever venture it is that gives you life.

The King says onwards, my child. Continue this path that has been walked before, somewhere, by someone in this long tale of time. Move onwards in this journey and get ready to harvest your wealth – be it material, or spiritual.

—

Queen of Pentacles

(Reader, when I look at cards, sometimes, the story is made known to me, almost instantly, especially when the cards are answering questions that I have about myself. But other times, the cards take time. I mull over them for days. Eventually (like life, like the ways of the Universe) the story emerges. It always does.)

She is alive. She is so alive and she is fertile. This is the time, She says. There is so much life, so much light, so much goodness and happiness and the season to harvest is starting to begin. She is the card of a season of new beginnings, of new life. (Reader, this word is almost a thrum in my head – life, life, life, life. I see green when I close my eyes, and when I look out of the large windows of my house, I see the beautiful lushness of new leaves on trees, fresh from spring rain, and I look back at the card, and the thrumming continues.)

The Queen feels like the start of a new chapter, the start of new birdsong in an early Spring morning. There is the picture of a goat – the goat represents fertility, of an abundance that I, a Capricorn Sun, immediately feel may be more spiritual than material. The Queen reminds you to be more kind and nurturing – even if it is difficult when the world around you is steeped in chaos and malady. Be soft, She croons, no matter how often this world tells you that hardness, that being assertive, that some misinformed idea of strength, is needed. Be soft, She croons because life, with all its beating hearts and blooming buds is ultimately as soft and precious as a baby bird’s feather.

Create the space in your life for alignment with nature, to reach a space of aliveness that your heart desires. Find ways to connect yourself to life, the old ways of living, where all living things found their way to and away from one another, an intricate mating dance. Let your compassion guide you, as it guided those who walked this Earth long ago.

The Queen is guiding you.

—

Ace of Swords

(Ah Reader, when I see a card from the suit of Swords, I sigh, because this is the suit I grapple with often, and the hardest. Swords represent the intellect and the thinking mind, and we know that the thinking mind is where the monkeys run wild.)

The Ace is the first card of the Swords, the beginning of the mythical story that the Swords wish to tell you. The Ace of Swords is a powerful looking card – a hand is grabbing a sword, surrounded by clouds and there is a halo of light, and all I can think about is that the Hand of The Divine is reaching out to you, helping you forge a path, and quickly another image comes to mind, the story of the Excalibur, cast into the Lake of Avalon, only to be wielded by Arthur Pendragon.

I think about the responsibility that comes with great power, and in the case of the Ace of Swords, the power of the intellect, how there is a pool of power in our intuition which nudges us towards the better ways of the world, but how like all power, it needs to be received with wisdom so that we may be guided for the greater, rather than the individual’s, good.

The Ace reminds you that there will be challenges because this is life, and life is balance, and balance is a series of experiences that you might perceive to be better or worse, but remember that you are armed with a great and unyielding tool – your own intellect and potential. Your mental clarity will help you navigate the fog ahead, on the days where the sun hides behind stormy clouds, on the days when it seems like there is nothing ahead. There will always be distraction, white noise that clamours for your attention and wishes to derail you. Push it aside.

—

(Reader, did I not say that the story always reveals itself?)

The Ace goes back to the story the King was starting to tell – while the King firmly pushed you – go onwards child – the Ace reminds you that yes, capitalise on your wealth even when there are challenges before you because you have all you need to chase your soul’s song. The Queen croons softly above this all, saying, this is the season of new life, there is immense possibility, remain ever soft in this journey.

The King, The Queen and The Ace chorus – pursue the truth that you seek, because this world needs it. We are here for it, for you.

…

Arathi Devandran curates personal experiences, snapshots of the world and the stories people are willing to share with her through prose and poetry www.miffalicious.com