I slipped outside yesterday to sip coffee on the front porch, stealing a few minutes between the rain showers.
I was inwardly irritated at the Universe over a week’s worth of unrelenting rain, if you want to know the truth. After days and days of dark clouds filling the sky, I was feeling emotionally waterlogged enough to match the weather.
“Would it kill you to give us a little sunshine, damnit?” I grumbled under my breath. (The neighbors already think I’m weird enough.)
That’s when I took notice of the flowers.
My humble little flowerpots scattered around the front porch were bursting with pretty little blooms. I may get tired of all the rain, but it obviously was doing wonders for those flowers.
I was still looking forward to brighter weather, but in that moment I stopped feeling so bothered by the rain. I could see where it was serving a useful purpose.
The bigger world feels like an exaggerated version of unrelenting rain to me right about now. I have been feeling waterlogged by all of it. But now, I’m also wondering what flowers might be blooming as a result.
Next Week in Tarot
For the outlook this week we got the Nine of Cups (Water), with Strength as advice. The gentle imagery is from the Good Tarot deck. Don’t worry–I’ll go back to seeing other decks. But for today, still, I was looking for a gentle voice.
In fact, the voice here was so gentle, it confused me.
Weekly outlook of the “wish card?” I’m missing something. That seems utterly unrealistic.
I seldom speak explicitly about current events here. It’s not like what’s going on out in the world isn’t already baked in to any discussion of the universal vibes. Mostly though, I already hear countless voices doing just that, preaching their perspectives. I’m not saying there isn’t value in all of those voices or the missions their speakers undertake. It’s just not my mission.
Stepping back from the particulars, however, doesn’t mean I’m not impacted.
It’s cloudy other there. I want something much sunnier than what I’m am feeling. It would be difficult to characterize the world as anything short of “stormy” at this moment.
That’s why these cards confused me. Because really, Tarot….
“What on Earth am I supposed to make of that forecast?” I wanted to know.
The Hermit.
Oh. The Hermit.
I got it.
The Nine of Cups here–typically denoting feelings along the lines of contentment, satisfaction and pleasure–is an outlook that will remain accessible, but on an individual level. It’s not automatic. In the rain, appreciation for what that rain brings is a perspective that must be chosen and cultivated to take root.
This mermaid pictured on the version card has collected her treasures and they are defined as such precisely because she’s chosen to treasure them. I may not value the string of pearls the way she does, but that’s totally irrelevant to her. It’s her appreciation itself that elevates the objects to the status of treasure. Her joy is internally generated.
The Hermit reminds us it’s honing views and following intuitive nudges that refine our inner landscape. He doesn’t need the world to validate his conclusions about what good and right. He cultivates his own garden in that regard.
In terms of advice, Strength always suggests to me a very gentle yet never wavering approach. She lives her truth with a gentle, consistent integrity. The salient piece of Strength’s advice isn’t really about what one is doing, but rather how it’s done. Living the best version of what you consider right, humbly and without deviation, is exactly how to embody the core energy of Strength.
So if you consider your role of greatest satisfaction preaching loud and proud with the mission of converting hearts and minds, so be it. Do that! If you find the most satisfaction in living your personal truth, hoping in the process to cheer and encourage others doing the same, so be it. Do that! Plant your flowers.
There is always rain. There always will be rain. But there are always sunshine and flowers to follow as well. Whether we’re noticing mostly rain or the sun in any given moment, we do have choices. As for me, I’m on the lookout for some flowers.
Reach out if you’d like a personal consult. We’ll look at how you can cultivate your own flowers.