Necessary Perspective Shift

The 4 of Cups, 5 of Cups, and 7 of Cups advise the reader that a shift in perspective is greatly needed. The 4 of Cups depicts a person sitting cross-legged at a tree, they are fixated on the three cups in front of them. They cannot see the hand emerging from the clouds gifting them a 4th cup. The 4 of Cups is a gentle nudge that we are focusing so much on what has already materialized that we neglect what is possible. It is not a coincidence that these 3 cards are all Cups. The Cups represent our emotional world. When we overidentify with our feelings and become emotionally overwhelmed we are no longer able to practice discernment or feel gratitude for what we have. We cannot see the forest from the trees. Ultimately, we are not our feelings, we are not our thoughts, but we often confuse this and get lost in our internal world. The hand outstretched from the sky also represents Divine Intervention. Benevolent Consciousness and Good Spirits are offering us the answer to our worries if only we could tune in to hear them.

 

In 5 of Cups we see that the person from the 4 of Cups continued to ignore the infinite possibilities available to them and chose to only focus on what they have lost. This person is in mourning, wearing a dark blue cloak with black shading. They are grief stricken, consumed by their emotions. The liquid coming from the spilt cups is dark red, it looks like blood. There are two upright cups behind the figure. It is a natural human grief response to focus on what has ended. We think about the pain of the loss, all the things we could have done differently to prevent the loss and all the things we will miss about what we lost. Although this is natural and we all deserve space to feel and honor our grief, it is also necessary to identify what gives us hope and what to be grateful for. What nourishes are soul, who hypes us up, where we feel confident, at ease and powerful. Practice gratitude for our access to clean water, plumbing, food, family, friends, etc. These acknowledgements lessen the feelings of overwhelm and being bereft.  If we only concentrate on the pain, we miss out on the healing tonic of hope, warming us up, urging us on.

 

The 7 of Cups is our last Cups card signaling a perspective shift could save us from ourselves. We see 7 cups floating in the clouds each one containing a possible outcome. In the cups we see a human head, a ghost, a snake, a castle, jewels, a wreath (in a cup with a skull on it) and a dragon. A figure stands before the cups, hand outstretched, but not selecting one option instead they are hovering and hesitating. When you receive this card in a reading it indicates you are hesitating because you are unsure of what to do. You could be overwhelmed with many options, or at a crossroads. The wreath with the skull on the cup symbolizes appearance vs. reality, what looks like a victory could end up being short-lived or complicated. This card (especially reversed) can also speak to disillusionment, we are bitter with our options because past choices have hurt or disappointed us. Now we are stuck in a paralysis unable to take a course of action because we are fearful that the past will play out again. Here we are challenged to let go of the fear paralysis, re-evaluate our options with Air-like shrewdness and practice discernment. Don’t be deceived by appearances, don’t covet the material and don’t let your emotional responses overwhelm your decision-making process.  

 

We could all benefit from a regular shift of perspective. So often we become too caught up with our emotions and thoughts. Detachment helps us recognize that we are fundamentally not our thoughts or feelings. We are not our past choices. We are not our fears and insecurities. We are beings of compassion and loving kindness. We are capable of infinite love. Many of us will be in a predicament and think there is only one single option that is “right”. The reality is that there are many avenues to get where you are going. When you feel confused and unsure of what to do next take a deep breath, ground yourself and listen to your Inner Knowing. If you need more guidance, use this spread below to offer you a new way of looking at a situation.

 

1.   Where do I need a shift in perspective?

2.   What kind of thinking is my current obstacle?

3.   How do I tenderly care for these parts of myself?

4.   What medicine would change my perspective?

5.   How do I integrate this medicine?

 

 

1.   Where do I need a shift in perspective? 8 of Wands, 8 of Cups

When I pulled the 8 of Wands I thought emotional regulation. There is a need for me to change how I regulate myself through distressing emotions. 8 of Cups is how I am processing the current collective grief of so many genocides happening worldwide. I am having a response as an outsider, an American looking in and as someone who ancestrally and presently has been victimized by settler colonialism. (I pulled two cards for this position. If you don’t get a clear message from one card or you need elaboration pull another).

 

2.   What kind of thinking is my current obstacle? The Devil

The Devil tells me that I cannot succumb to self-limiting beliefs. A part of me feels like the world is lost and cannot be found. Humans have done too much damage to Earth and to each other. So quickly we hurt Earth without even a thought that she is a sentient being. So easily we draw blood from each other instead of challenging ourselves to practice compassion in the face of our differences. What the fuck does writing a letter to a senator do? Or even showing up to a protest or posting on social media? Honestly, I don’t know and the cynic in me says little. But also, there is a competing voice that there is power in unifying as the proletariat and publicly denouncing that it is not ok to kill other people in the name of imperialism and power hunger. We have this opportunity to imagine a future where we are liberated across the world, where we kill settler colonialism, where we are not forced to perform in scarcity games dictated by capitalism.

 

3.   How do I tenderly care for these parts of myself?  Justice

The remedy to hate is love and there cannot be love without justice to paraphrase bell hooks. In these devastating times it is essential we hold a light to our ego, emotions, and actions. Tenderly caring for ourselves means pushing ourselves to a moral code we don’t simply post about, but embody. We need honesty to flow from us freely and to water our words and actions. Self-care does not mean giving myself permission to permanently check out from human cruelty. Self-care is not living uncritically in my bubble of consumption and destruction. Where can I give more? Not till I am empty, but if I’m going to test my limits let me test them now in this most worthy time. Now is an opportunity to define our edges. For example, I do not ingest content about violence and oppression before bedtime that is a hard no for me. What are yours?

 

4.   What medicine would change my perspective? 2 of Swords

Again, this image of a blindfolded person holding two crossed swords evokes Justice. Justice needs to be foundational. I also need balance. Balance in how I am processing my grief. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed with what is happening I dissociate. How do I stay in my body and still be present for so much sadness? I need balance in how I think of this historical moment. Let me approach this work with a marriage of intellectual discernment and heart centered intuition. I am blindfolded. I am not some political theory expert on genocide and ethnic cleansing, but I do know instinctually what is right and what is wrong. I do not need to be all knowing to demonstrate an ethical standing. I do not need an expert opinion to try to effect change in whatever ways I can.

 

5.   How do I integrate this medicine? King of Swords

I am invited to channel my highest ideals of integrity, justice, honesty and equity. When I am operating from my most skillful I am facilitating honest, conscious-raising conversations. I am giving my resources to endeavors that materialize my ideals. I am not letting myself become swallowed by pain. I am holding onto a vision of a liberated future. A King wields their power ethically by propping up the most disenfranchised and overshadowed. Integrating the healing quality of these cards is echoing and centering the voices of the survivors and freedom fighters, educating myself and letting Justice inform my love.