Our spread for the upcoming week is all about family and our relationships, whether they be familial, matrimonial, or even our ‘chosen family.’
Our spread starts with the Four of Cups, indicating that while we have much, and even more is offered, we remain sad about how our relationships are going, and how they make us feel. This is a time of discontent, when we are lost in our own thoughts and reflecting internally to the point of ignoring the good that is before us. The card symbolizes dissatisfaction with where we find ourselves now.
The Four of Cups tells us that we should use our time looking inward to positive effect instead of just allowing our thoughts to dwell on what may be making us unhappy. We should let resentments go, lest we act our negatively, bringing ourselves even more pain. We need to find out, why exactly are we disappointed? What is the fundamental cause of our discontent? What is our purpose? What can we accomplish that will make us feel happy and fulfilled?
The Four of Cups is crossed by the Five of Swords, symbolizing that we may feel taken advantage of or are feeling hurt because of things loved ones have done to us in the past. We are holding resentments over those past hurts, and may even be unconsciously lashing out because of those resentments.
The Three of Swords crowns us, very plainly showing this hurt, and our sadness because of it. We should also understand when contemplating this symbol that personal growth will come to us because of the heartbreaks we experience.
The Nine of Pentacles is beneath us. It reminds us that relationships are always a two way street. While we may have been hurt by others, surely we have hurt others in turn. Our relationships offer much to us, but only if we work at them, and this card symbolizes the fact that if we aren’t willing to put in that work, surely we will end up leading a solitary life.
Together these cards show us that while we are currently feeling hurt and sad, and that these feelings have become a focus for us, we should step forward and make the first move to repair things in order to rebuild strong relationships and the joy they bring to us.
Behind us is the Ten of Pentacles, reminding us that we have, in the past, found great joy, stability, and comfort within our relationships, and that we can have those things once again.
Before us is The Star. It is telling us to have hope in the days and weeks ahead, for things will get better soon. The disappointments and dissatisfactions we now feel will give way to an abundance of happiness, harmony, peace, contentment, and beauty. We will learn to trust once again.
Together these cards show us the comforts and happiness our relationships have brought us in the past, despite whatever sadness or hurt we might now feel, and reminds us that things will soon get better, we simply have to move past these temporary emotional trials.
The cards making up this cross shaped first portion of our spread serve as reminders that others around us will make efforts, large or small, to repair the sadness we are feeling, and that we should be receptive to those efforts when they come. In addition to making efforts of our own.
The Nine of Cups shows that we see ourselves as quite loving and giving within our relationships.
That Nine of Cups is however contrasted by the Queen of Swords, showing that others are viewing us differently than we are viewing ourselves. Others are feeling that we are cold, distant, and judgemental. New people in our lives find us difficult to get to know or may find us intimidating.
Together the Ten of Cups and the Queen of Swords are showing us that while we may be experiencing feelings of hurt, we have hurt others as well.
The Page of Cups is telling us that we can fix the relationships that are currently causing us grief by simply reaching out with love. That instead of worrying about past hurts, we need to return to our innocence and remember how good it feels when our relationships are going well.
Standing in place of what will come, the King of Pentacles shows us that in the longer term we will once again feel the great stability that manifests in our lives when our relationships are strong and secure.
The lack of Wands in our spread symbolizes that the work we need to do to fix our damaged relationships is mental and emotional in nature.
Information about the card images used in this post can be found here.