I used to work in detox, and before that, a decade in mental health. I’ve had some education, training and plenty of experience dealing with all kinds of issues, substance abuse in particular.
But it wasn’t until I had to deal with it in my own family that I fully realized the power of denial. I used to marvel at the cluelessness “detox moms”–until I was one. Funny how much that can change, and how fast. Even having every advantage in identifying the signs, and it still took me forever to figure out. I didn’t want it to be true hard enough to block it from getting in.
Today’s Tarot Forecast is the Seven of Cups, “Lord of Illusionary Success,” associated with Venus in Scorpio. The title gives a great hint as to the vibe of this card.
Venus knows what we love, and in Scorpio, the desire is consuming. The Seven of Cups is about distinguishing between competing options or versions of reality. Like other Tarot Sevens, that choice is one we make alone. Others will try to weigh in, but the final say is yours solely.
The trick here is looking beneath the veneer to find the substance, because what you see is NOT always what you’ll get. Check to see if your desire is clouding your vision. Are you ignoring red flags or overlooking better solutions because you’re so deeply attached to a specific reality?
This doesn’t mean everything you see IS illusion. Some options are exactly what they seem, but you have to check! Look for what’s stable and sensible and real, forgetting what you want to see for the time being. Look instead for signs and confirmations you’ve a complete picture of the creation.
Have you seen this happen?
 | Mystic Dreamer Tarot (Book & Cards) by Heidi Darras |
Schedule a consultation with Dixie.
Pisces Moon here. Boy, am I acquainted with denial!! I was thinking about this yesterday as I realized that, weirdly, sometimes the solution is simple (although not easy to do) but our own desires make life harder. When I started facing reality and actually doing what needed to be done, things got easier. Denial is the big family disease; they demanded it. The abusive members got cut a lot of slack and the rest of us had to take the fall for them, again and again. I finally had to cut ties with my family so that I could survive. It’s not an easy choice. Family is idealized in this society, especially ties to your mother. But I couldn’t deal with the demand that I sacrifice myself over and over instead of letting the abuser pay the consequences of his actions; if I didn’t, I would be labeled as bad.
The tough part is being able to distinguish between faith and wishful thinking. I freak out when I’m told to have a positive attitude; my mother’s positive attitude led to a lot of destructive choices. “Oh, it’ll all be all right in the end!” Of course, I myself duplicated that pattern a lot. It’s a very sticky pattern.
Denial totally gets crazy sometimes. The investment people have in maintaining their vision of reality can be stunningly huge.
“The abusive members got cut a lot of slack and the rest of us had to take the fall…”
So concise Marly. Still living this. But it’s hard to confront when that person is also so charming and manipulative. And if you want to keep a relationship with their kids.
It seems like substance abusers are usually charming. Is it because they don’t feel as much stress as the rest of us when they have numbed it away, and therefore can seem carefree and full of fun? The most fun people I have ever known were pretty addicted.
Yes, it’s just an illusion. I have been trying to figure out which relationships are real and which are illusion and a waste of time and energy. Who is fake and who is real?
I feel so thankful for the real ones…
“It seems like substance abusers are usually charming. Is it because they don’t feel as much stress as the rest of us when they have numbed it away”
That’s also a tool of the trade. It’s one way they get access to other people’s resources to feed their addictions.
I pulled this card as the “result” card in a 3 card spread the other day. I “knew” what the card meant, but only today, reading your post, did I figure out what the card was telling me. Thanks for that.
Marly, another Pisces moon here, and boy do I know what you’re talking about. I too have had to cut ties with family over the years because I wasn’t willing to live their picture of what family meant. I was expected to give and give, and just be happy with the few crumbs that came my way. As a friend of mine once said, the black sheep of the family are actually the truth tellers of the family.
“As a friend of mine once said, the black sheep of the family are actually the truth tellers of the family.”
As a designated black sheep, I like that assessment.
Denial, not just a river in Egypt! My moon is in Pisces also & I have a VERY VIVIED & OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION.
Saying I can be “deeply attached to a specific reality” is an understand of gigantic proportions – GEESH!!
Dixie, This is great stuff and a continuation of you pulling cards to let me know I’m on the right path of “grieving” & letting go.
Dixie, you’re the PINK sheep!
I love that, CancerMom!!! ♥ From now on, I’m thinking of myself as the pink sheep.
Dixie! I’m so glad I found you! Can’t wait to delve into the site and catch up with old posts. I’ll be reading regularly! Hugs to ya!
Yay! Glad to have you here, Mabel.
Well, just wondering here, about the recent posts about manifesting and the possible laws of attraction, and how they relate to this post and “the current reality.” It IS tricky… kind of creating what one would like by feeling it as real already, having faith perhaps in its ability to manifest, letting go of the attachment to the desire, and all without going into denial or delusion about the current reality. Anybody have any insights to share to help clarify?
For me, it’s the difference between becoming attached to a specific outcome version a vibration/feeling/essence. The essences is what you’re looking for to get from the form, not the form itself. Like a warm feeling of companionship is an essence, a relationship with an individual is a form that could take. But even without that form, you can focus on building a sense of companionship with others and vibrate more on that frequency, thereby benefiting from being more in tune with what you’d like to create. It becomes easier to believe as you experience more of it.
I just posted an example of how this card played for me here; don’t know if it will help or not.
http://www.afoolsjourney.com/2011/05/22/metaphysical/tarot-in-real-life-seeing-whats-really-there/
Ooh! That was very helpful, somehow. Both your response and the additional post. Now that I realize how I do that too, I can be more aware about it and catch myself when I start to go there… getting all excited and attached to some form/outcome that does not necessarily ensure the desired feeling in the outcome, and certainly doesn’t ensure the desired form outcome either. Thank you!!