Seven of wands and Eight of Swords

It would seem that the cards are asking us to focus on the restrictions we have in our lives this week. If you look at the two characters in our tarot pictures, they both appear to be placed in a restrictive environment. The fact that this has happened is not in question, what we need to figure out is why.

Both these characters are portrayed as being trapped in an impossible situation.

The character in the Seven of Wands seems to have been backed into a precarious mountain top by the pointing and prodding of six fiery wands, presumably held by six angry people. Why?

The character in the Eight of Swords has been placed in an ominous circle of upright swords, blindfolded and bound by eight crows that seem to be holding her captive. Why?

When I look at these two cards I feel the need to state the obvious to these two people. I want to point out to the man in the Seven of Wands that he has a large dragon with a huge wingspan at his disposal who is poised to fly off in any direction and free him from the uncomfortable situation he has been placed in by other people who seem to have pushed him to the edge. And, I want to shout to the lady in the Eight of Swords, “they are only crows, they are no match for you. You can jump and shout and scare them away and free yourself easily!”

Of course, in our own human lives we aren’t sitting on dragons or tied up by crows, but, these pictures symbolise how our own actions and thoughts, plus the actions and opinions of others can get us into restrictive and life limiting situations. 

It seems that we are being pushed to examine our current circumstances and to ask ourselves what restricts us. Do you regularly tell yourself you can’t do something, or go somewhere or have a passion or career you wish to pursue but keep telling yourself not to try? Is there something in your life you wish to change but you have convinced yourself that you can’t? Is there someone who constantly steals your energy and makes you feel small, worthless or unable to follow your true path? Do you resonate with the feelings of being trapped, harassed or cornered? Does your own mind and actions, or the actions of others, make you feel unable to be your true self?

If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above, then please understand that you are not alone. Usually we are our own worse critic and the thoughts in our own mind that we have about our appearance, personality, abilities and weaknesses can lead us feeling pretty awful and lacking in confidence. It takes a great deal of practice to stop listening to our darker, negative thoughts that we inflict on ourselves and have kind and supportive thoughts instead. 

Similarly, we have all been in a position where we have let someone else or a situation make us feel cornered or restricted. We have all had an experience where we have been desperate to ‘prove ourselves’ to others, when maybe we didn’t need to at all, as we were already more than enough and we were the only person that didn’t realise it!

I feel this week we are being asked to challenge ourselves – to stop in our tracks whenever we say, “I can’t because…”, “I don’t deserve…” or “I’m not capable”. And when we hear these words in our head to take the time to examine the real reason why we put these restrictions in place. Is it lack of self-esteem? Negative influences from others? Or it could be because you need to acquire skills, qualifications or maybe just need to accept help – which are all easily obtainable. 

Similarly, if we are being made to feel uncomfortable or backed into a situation that is not serving us, ask yourself where you feel you should be instead and what you need to do to get there. Is your ego or pride keeping you in a place which is not nurturing your soul? Are the people around you taking your energy and there is a need for you to establish healthier boundaries? Are you finding yourself in unnecessary arguments or justifying yourself to others when you really don’t need to be?

In whichever way these cards resonate with you this week, the overall message is that we could all be spending our time and energy in a much more healthier, sensible, soul-nurturing way if we channelled our thoughts and actions into expanding our horizons and allowing ourselves to see the limitless possibilities in our lives. 

It’s time to take off the blindfold, shake away the crows and critics and find your own magical dragon who will fly you off to a brand new adventure. And, before you say, “No, I can’t because…” remember you can also say, ”Actually, yes I can.”

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