Feeling trapped can take endless forms, but the escape always begins the same: reclaiming your own power.
Maybe you grew up in a doomsday cult and didn’t feel like you could leave—your family will shun you. But eventually, you did anyway. (Okay, probably not. That’s on the fringe side.)
Or maybe you felt like you had to keep trying harder to please your impossible-to-please parent. Then one day, you realized that parent was a raging narcissist and the love you’re seeking isn’t there, because they are not capable of giving it.
Or maybe you’ve stayed in a relationship that you know isn’t healthy because the thought of being on your own feels overwhelming. You might worry about financial challenges, or whether you’re strong enough to start over.
Whatever has you feeling trapped, there’s an exit door. Next week’s forecast points out how simple it is to take it.
Notice I said “simple” and not “easy.” Those are two different concepts entirely.
Next Week in the Cards
Sometimes, the cards are like poetry. This week’s forecast has a bit of that flair, with an interesting juxtaposition in these two draws. ‘The Devil and the Nine of Cups’ sounds like the title of a song, or maybe a legend of some kind.
Pictured, my well-loved Legacy of the Divine deck.
Outlook: The Devil
Look to where you feel trapped, where you have no choice or voice. The Devil’s entrapment always has some element of compliance or shared responsibility from the entrapped individual. Often, it’s in the form of options you’ve determined unacceptable or unthinkable. Now is a good time to take a second look at those options.
Advice: Nine of Cups
Make the choice for your comfort and contentment. Focus on what you ultimately want, not the path to get there, and not how your choices might be judged by others. What leaves you feeling the best? What do you want to accomplish? How do you address your needs?
Some might call this “selfish,” but that’s often what people say when they want you to prioritize them. If you struggle with guilt, remember you’re not doing anybody any favors by saving them from the consequences of their own actions. You’re just prolonging the pain for everyone.
That means you can go no-contact with that emotional abuser, no matter what title they hold. You can let the in-laws figure out their own solutions. You can choose to be around the energy that feeds you and say, “No, thanks” to the stuff that doesn’t. You can take care of your own mental health because no one else is gonna.
This isn’t wrong in the bigger picture because your first and foremost job is to maintain your own stability. And we’re not without love. Often, reaching out or helping others isn’t just what we want to do, but it also gives us some of our greatest joy and satisfaction. Self-interest includes loving others.
The difference here is that we do this according to our desires, not someone else’s demands. That freedom isn’t baked into your choices themselves—it’s how you conceptualize the choices. You can have freedom regardless, because freedom lives in your head. It’s about how you think about the choices you make, far more than which choices they are.
This is a week to find freedom from the sense of bondage so many are acutely feeling now. Listen to your heart and leave others to do the same. The caveat here is: they don’t get to tell you to mind their hearts, and you don’t get to them to mind yours. Everybody in their own lane, please.
Now, for you:
Ask yourself where you feel stuck, trapped, or without choice. What assumptions or beliefs are keeping you in this position? How might you challenge them to create freedom?