Hard Card: 9 of Wands
Sometimes the dust can settle and our nerves just aren't up to the task. We are still in fight or flight mode, ready to spring into action one way or the other at a moment's notice. What happens when waiting for that shoe to drop becomes ingrained in who we are?
Sleeping with One Eye Open
There comes a time when stress can be overwhelming. It can grow so big that it overshadows everything else that we have going on. We begin looking for things to go wrong, because everything else has been a struggle. Woe is me, we say, bemoaning the ever present threat of something else, anything else, infinitely worse than what we have in front of us right now.
The Illusion of Pessimism
When we speak, when we think, and when we act, we are creating. We are creating the world around us, or at least our experience in it. If we are busy filling our perspective with negative thoughts, words, and deeds, then that is what we are allowing to prosper. Of course we feel like we are channeling Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, how can we not? But the thing is, once we actually step out of that mindset, or even take action despite that mindset, we often discover that the other shoe, the thing we were so afraid of, doesn't exist. Pessimism becomes an illusion, a cage, one that we continue to feed as we watch for danger on the horizon, weary that the world will soon return to continue beating us down.
Gaining Perspective & Letting Go of Fear
Often in readings I will look back at numbered cards as they relate back to their Major Arcana counterparts and the ninth Major Arcana is the Hermit. The 9 of Wands, when looked at through the lens of the Hermit encourages us to look at the situation we have before us and do so realistically, without ego. If we take ego out of the equation we are forced to see the situation for the truth of what it is. This truth will allow us to make the next decision about where to go, what we need to do in order to get there, and let everything else that is not conducive to the success of those next steps fall away.
It's an empowering feeling, letting the nonsense fall away. When we put into perspective the things we are able to do, the time we are able to contribute, and do so without falling into the mindsets that broadcast negativity and slow us down, we begin to thrive and grow toward a future we choose. A life that we want to live, no matter what that means for you. I think the 9 of Wands is an important reminder that you're still in control, and that you're able to dictate the battle inside yourself more readily, and that internal battle—once won—will give us a new way to view the smaller battles externally.
We can begin to see that not everything is another shoe waiting to fall on us. It could be, just maybe, that the world is waiting for us to win the battle inside ourselves.
