The Balance of Authenticity, Individuality & Community: A Tarot Reflection for the Summer
Reviewing our Tarot Reflection for the Spring
Our Tarot Reflection for the Spring introduced us to the concept of ‘source’: A place that we can go to feel energized, revitalized, and re-centered. Our source is like our wellspring. Our oasis. It is a place where we allow our fire — our ideas, passions, and desires to be expressed freely, a place where we find like-minded individuals, friends and allies, whose encouragement and inspiration stokes our flames of passion even greater.
This past Spring, The Four of Wands called to find that place of ‘source’. To rediscover what that place is, to envision what it looks like, what kind of people we’ll invite there, and how we can use that sacred space to heal, to grow, and to come into our own being.
The Ace of Wands from the Spring Tarot Reflection directed us to take a deeper look at how we relate to our own inner fire, and how we manage our energy. Where we source it from, what we choose to expend it on, and the way in which we express it. Once we find our Source, and reignite that inner flame of passion and excitement, we are directed to focus on the abundance of potential the Ace of Wands carries.
With that Ace of Wands, we must need to have a clear idea and purpose in mind. We need to find a distinct direction to channel our energy and effort towards. That is how we meaningful changes are made, by holding fast to what motivates and energizes us, to always keep in mind the end goal, and to avoid being too inflexible.
Spring being an experience of rebirth and rejuvenation, we needed the fiery energy of the wands to stir us awake from our wintery hibernation. Now, having wielding those wands throughout spring, our minds move to a new season, the Summer.
A Tarot Reflection for the Summer
(featuringThe Green Glyphs Tarot)
“How can we connect to nature’s present themes of abundance and fruition to invite those same themes into our everyday; especially to those seeds of intention we planted during the New Year and the Spring?”
This is the question at the heart of our Tarot reflection.
We rediscovered our source with the Four of Wands, and learned to wield all the potential that comes with the Ace of Wands, but now we brought to a new phase of life. One where it is self expression and authenticity that is pulled into focus. In this new phase of summer, that small torch of the Ace of Wands erupts into a burning pyre whose heat and brilliance matches even that of the Sun. It is learning to dance with the flames and not get burned. That is the lesson Summer has to teach us.
A Note about the Green Glyphs Tarot
The deck used for this reading is the Green Glyphs Tarot by James R Eads. I have been a long-time fan of James’s work, and his latest addition to his divination collection is no exception.
The Green Glyphs Tarot is minimalistic, simplistic, but it offers a unique perspective on the four tarot suits seldom seen in tarot decks. Many artists go to great lengths to preserve the essence of the traditional meanings in their own art style, but James chooses a different approach.
In the Green Glyphs Tarot, each of the four suits represent a different story — an allegorical fable full of lessons and morals that strike different, but no less evocative chords. The Suit of Wands is now the tale of how humans found magic. The Suit of Cups is told through the tale of how elephants learned to carry water. The Suit of Swords is the tale of how stars are made. The Suit of Stones tells the tale of how the ocean created the land.
Compared to traditional tarot interpretations, these cards offer a novel twist on the suits that I am enjoying greatly. This is the magic of the tarot! Even after decades of reading and using the cards, new meanings and new interpretations can always come forth as contemporary artists add their own perspectives to the traditional meanings of the cards!
Finding our Authenticity through the Cautionary Tale of the Seven of Swords
The Seven of Swords presents us with quite the simple question: Who are you? Who are you, really?
Simple at face value, when we truly dig in, we soon realize that this question could not be more complicated. The question of who we are opens up so many other doors, so many other questions that must be answered all in order to find the truth.
What do we stand for?
What do we believe in?
Are our actions consistent with who we believe we are?
Are our thoughts? Our mindsets? Are our assumptions? Are the people we surround ourselves with? The habits we subconsciously perform every day?
The Seven of Swords implores us to answer those questions wholeheartedly because life must be lived authentically. There are no other options, for a life that is inauthentic is not a life at all.
We have to question ourselves and our self narratives. To find ourselves, we must try out different ways of being and thinking, entertain new thoughts, possibilities, perspectives and philosophies all to understand who we really are amongst the mess it all.
Life must be lived authentically, but what does that truly mean? What is ‘authenticity?’
Authenticity is acting in accordance with your values and beliefs, no matter the situation or the external pressure you may be facing. Authenticity is bringing your unique self and your unique contributions to whatever sphere of life you are occupying. Being authentic starts with simply being aware. Understanding your own core values and beliefs but never holding them to be so inalienable that you forsake kindness or the humanity of another.
Life feels authentic when it is lived with compassion, integrity, and truth. The Seven of Swords is thus a cautionary tale for when we are not living with authenticity. A life lived unauthentically makes us feel lost. It undermines our feelings of self worth; it creates inklings of doubt that grow into overwhelming fears and anxieties until we finally act more in line with our inner truth.
The message of the Seven of Wands is that we simply have to be ourselves, our unique, authentic, and unapologetic selves, however uncomfortable or frightening, or daring, that makes us.
“This above all:
To thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
Daring to Break the Mold - Following the Example set by
the Seven of Wands
The Seven of Wands is a card of deep seated conviction; a declaration of individuality; defiance against injustice and adversity. It reminds us that creating meaningful change, especially that of living our lives with authenticity, requires us to be willing to break the mold, to draw outside the lines, go against the grain, and find our own path.
We possess unique perspectives and experiences that no other person has. Despite whatever perceived lack of confidence or competence may make us questions ourselves for breaking the mold, the Seven of Wands invites us to see the mold for what it is — a baseline, a prototype, something that we are invited to adapt and change to suit our own needs and desires.
Life is full of all kinds of molds. In almost every aspect of our lives, we will be told how to act, how to be, what to say, what to do, to some extent. There is always some level of expectation placed by on us by society or culture, however obvious or discrete.
Our task is to question, radically, to discover our own answers as to how we want to act, how we are meant to be, what we want to say, and do. And when we ask these questions, let them come from a place of curiosity, not cynicism.
Our goal as spiritual beings is to form our own unique relationship, not only to the spiritual side of life, but to the mundane as well. To do this, we need to be willing to step outside of the boxes life and society have prescribed us. The Seven of Wands asks us to innovate our lives and our relationship to life as only we could. To dream and envision what only we could conceive of. To leave our signature mark upon the world, and to let ourselves be seen despite the fear of acceptance.
Until we first accept and love ourselves, we will be stuck living out someone else’s idea of who we are.
“We are not on a journey to save the world, but to save ourselves. But in doing that you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes, there’s no doubt about it. The world without spirit is a wasteland... The thing to do is to bring life to it, and the only way to do that is to find in your own case where the life is and become alive yourself.”
The Balance Between Individuality and Community - The Lesson of the Two of Stones
The two Sevens in this reading point us towards the idea of radical individuality and authenticity. The Two of Stones appears to balance their messages with a reminder — that as individual as we may be, we do not inhabit this earth alone. Individuality doesn’t mean a lack of community. It isn’t an inflated sense of ego or importance, is a prerequisite for being a part of something larger.
Individuality is not a lack of community, it is a community made of remembers that respect each other for their individuality. A community of people who live and let live, and who don’t allow the mire of differences in opinions or beliefs to prevent the larger group peace.
Let our priority this summer be finding out who we are, defining ourselves and living that truth proudly, yes, but let us remember that the work that involves does not happen in vacuum — that we ourselves don’t exist in a vacuum.
Individuality, especially in modern western culture, is heavily overemphasized. We are a culture of extroverted individualists, but deep down we all crave community. We are social creatures, after all. So, let’s build that community we want with whatever means or tools or resources we have at our disposal. Let us work to build a future where the question of living authentically will never have be pit against the norms of a society or community.
“How can we know ourselves by ourselves?... Soul needs intimate connection, not only to individuate, but simply to live. For this we need relationships of the profoundest kind through which we can realize ourselves, where self-revelation is possible, where interest in and love for soul is paramount.”
