New Moon Reading – Friday January 27, 2017

This months New Moon Reading is clearly about relationships and our own individual state of mind or state of being within them. This can be a love relationship or a work relationship, or with whom we are sharing some type of responsibility or commitment.

Where the story begins seems to suggest that there was a definite climate of considerable mental and emotional stress. There was a feeling that what was happening was unreasonable and unfair. Under these circumstances, we can feel a bit helpless, as if we have no choice but to step away and take some time to regain some composure.

The 6 of Swords is showing a covered figure and a child being taken on a boat to a distant shore by someone who seems to be interested in their wellbeing. The waters are calm. There are six swords pegged into the boat that are surrounding the two travellers and it almost feels like if one of those swords were pulled out, the boat would fill with water and sink.

The message here is about a needed retreat and that whatever was causing duress can wait for the time being. Here, we can go to a place where we can receive what we need. As we look ahead to the 2 of Cups, what we need seems to be about space. Space to open up and love, space to communicate and listen, space to give and receive. When I saw this card, the first thing that came into my head was “reconciliation”.

The message of the 2 of Cups can be much deeper than the love between two people. Here we see the Caduceus, the staff of Hermes and intertwining serpents, the symbol of medicine between the two figures. The man is reaching out to the woman and she is receiving his gesture. When we make space for another, we have the potential of experiencing deep healing within ourselves.

Relationships can become complicated and confusing when too much pain is projected onto another and then mirrored back to us. We become unsure whether or not the issue is new or is a repeated pattern in our lives. To address who is before us in a positive approach without making the other person feel as though they are responsible for all our life’s fallibilities puts things more into focus.

We can move forward without blame, and we can lead by example by taking ownership of our past. As we sift through the material we can navigate with more awareness and mutual understanding. The space created in the 2 of Cups is allowing us to grow within the relationship, to strengthen it, and to reveal to us what is alive within us as individuals and as partners.

Perhaps in the 5 of Pentacles, we see that this healing has become a commitment that we will invest ourselves in as we work together. While this card shows some contrast to the more positive overtones of the 2 of Cups, it is not without some special significance.

The five “hardship” card shown is a midway point on the way to the ten “fortune/completion” card (which is implied, not shown). The two figures in the 5 of Pentacles are injured and cold, walking outside the church as if not being allowed in. This card can imply both a checkpoint in the relationship, but also its improvement. Questions we can ask when we see this card are, “Is this relationship still contributing to my wellbeing? Am I participating or following? Is there enough space in this relationship for me to be myself, for me to be creative?”

Notice that the two cups are the same colour as the stain glass window. What is being shown is the need for integrating a higher awareness into our relationships and reaching for it more consistently so that the warmth of our inner sanctuary becomes the warmth of our relationships. If we fill our own cup first, we will have much to offer. The stain glass church window represents the connection to our higher selves and how that becomes a sustaining force in our lives when we are committed to it.

Thanks for reading!

Daniel Palmo