Start Today with Guidance and a Glimpse of Possibilities

It’s unusual for The Tower not to provoke a visceral reaction; this powerful card depicts the fall of a vast edifice built atop a summit of stone that must have seemed utterly indestructible before being struck by an unforeseen bolt of lightning.

The Five of Swords depicts a victorious figure in the foreground, gathering the Swords of the opponents he has defeated who have turned away, in the background, disconsolate. A grey, choppy sea swirls beneath a turbulent, ragged sky, suggesting both emotional and mental disquiet.

The High Priestess sits, stable as a rock yet fluid as the waters behind her, representing one of the archetypes of femininity. Here, she is the untouchable mystery: the curtains behind her screen our view of the sea, representing the cost of looking upon such power. We may glance it in snatches before the veil falls back into place again. And yet these brief moments of absolute clarity can be some of the most important of our lives, if we heed them and use them.

The Queen of Pentacles depicts a Queen sitting on her throne. It signifies either you are in a position to care for others and provide for them generously in a material way or that you are in need of such in return. The Queen caringly looking at the gold coin in her hands indicates both her wealth and her nurturing quality. She is a prime example of someone who takes on both domestic and provider roles.

Just as The High Priestess is one archetype of femininity, so The Empress is another: from mystery and the profoundly spiritual, we now move to the Mother Goddess figure. The Empress reclines comfortably on her throne, surrounded by the abundance of the natural world, her body language open and at ease. The water that was hidden in the previous card here flows freely, pooling at The Empress’ feet. Yet her connection to the fertile earth does not denote a lesser power than that of her sister; it is her great strength.

In the Five of Cups we see the figure of a woman, who epitomizes sorrow and loss in the manner in which she stands, head down, regretful, desolate, and - we sense - deeply alone in her sadness, quite possible by choice. The three spilled Cups that are the source of her grief lay on the ground before her; behind her stand two remaining upright Cups, as yet unseen, or unheeded.