Your Week Ahead: February 13 to 19, 2022 – Love Is Open

Every now and then, it feels as though everything is aligned so well. Sometimes we are challenged, and at other times, we don’t need to be confounded by life’s mysteries. There is a flow that is blessed both in our commune with the divine and in our vibrational relationship to what we encounter. This week’s reading shows a distinct relationship between how we feel about ourselves, how that recognition is mirrored back to us through others, and the circuit of interconnectedness that creates our future prosperity.

If we take a few minutes to meditate on these three cards, we may begin to see the subtle messages that lay in them. The main element is openness. There is a contrast between the man in the 9 of Cups with his arms crossed and the extended arms of all three characters in The Lovers card.

This is further developed in the Ace of Pentacles with the gate in the garden showing a path out to the mountains beyond our “known” perimeters (making a direct reference to The World card and the wreath that opens up a new cycle). Deeper still, the 9 cups behind the man are full, highlighting the open receptive nature of the cups suit, while he is closed off and turned away from them.

The Lovers card takes a central place in the reading, not only because it lies between the two others, but also due to its superior placement as a major arcana card. It therefor takes greater context and meaning.

While The Lovers represents unity, it also recognizes the value of separate components. In the absence of unity, the elements fall apart and are no longer in cooperation or coexistence. This becomes the shadow side where we experience it as a searching or longing for that which we think we don’t contain.

Thus a breakdown of The Lovers quality is foremost a breakdown and fragmentation of our psyche. We become unbalanced and unfulfilled. This, we can argue, is how we become cut off from almost every pathway to growth. We become identified with an unsolvable equation that is based on an external source of resolution. It is the root of disempowerment.

From this premise, we place ourselves on continuously lower grades of self-worth and of rule following obedience, not to mention becoming satisfied with whatever comes along to temporarily fill in these gaps. The angel brings together the disparate elements within us, showing us that true unity is fundamentally experienced within us a complete, powerful and beautiful expression of love – more specifically, self-love.

Indeed, we often realize this after a period of not feeling connected with ourselves. The Lovers then represents that emergence (or reemergence) from our subconscious. It no longer becomes a question of looking for a special quality in another person, or about looking outwardly for success in order to feel satisfaction.

We can now look to the 9 of Cups and take steps to ensure we recognize our achievements, successes, and our value in the world. We need only take time to turn around and acknowledge it. This is a special card. It shows some history, perhaps one that has had some sacrifice involved.

The 9 of Cups is sometimes said to be a “wish” card. When we see it, we make a wish. I would offer that this is an intention to be more open and to invite joy into our lives. If we can do so based on the platform of self-worth, it might indeed create a special rendezvous.

When we begin to understand that we are complete individuals inseperable with a universe of positive potential ready to manifest before us, we begin creating our experience from a thriving perspective, not of lack. We take a central role on the stage of our life not because we are egotistical maniacs, but because of the value we feel about ourselves. This is the light we shine out in the world and what everything then responds to.

The beautiful relationship, the better lifestyle, the awesome friends, the successful career, whatever it is we want, comes to us when we stop looking for it as an external source of happiness. They arise effortlessly when our inner unity is nourished and tended to.

This doesn’t mean that we absolve ourselves of effort. A certain amount of action is always required. However, the struggle is what is left behind and the notion of effort and action are redefined. Action becomes not what we do physically, but what we shift vibrationally. It is the effort of non-effort, the surrender of tension and force, and the peace that no expectation brings us. In this state, we invite lasting and meaningful growth because that integrity has its roots in our projection of self-respect. The recognition of this process is called gratitude or appreciation.

Finally, as the magical hand in the Ace of Pentacles appears out of the cloud that supported the angel in The Lovers, it appears that something special is unfolding. There may be an opportunity to consider, one that will open our world in ways we didn’t expect. There may simply be the feeling of refreshment and of appreciation for what one has. There are no expectations here, only openness. Whatever magical blessings may arise, take the pentacle out of your garden and into the world of possibilities and see what meets you there. Your path is blessed. Go forth.

Affirmation: I have done well, I have done really well. There may be much that I want but I take this time to feel satisfaction with where I am. I love and honour myself as a unique individual. I know that I have so much to offer but I am not worried or rushed about expressing that. What comes to me mirrors me. Thus I am at peace in the blessed timing of all things. Let that peace be my torch that blazes into the future.

Thanks for reading, and I wish you a wonderful week!

Daniel Palmo

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