SU Libra reads for Stronglove

[Libra]

Hey you! I'm excited to be partnered with you! What is the unseen you'd like to shed some light upon?

[stronglove]

hey, me too!
here’s my ‘conundrum’
i feel like i’ve been on a threshold, at a crossroads, forever and would like to know what it is that makes me unable to move forward
if you need to know more, just ask

[stronglove]

just thinking about that significator card.
a while ago i did an exercise from benebell wen’s ‘sightsee the tarot’ about the tarot cards connected to my birthday, and my court significator is the queen of swords (which btw also happens to be benebell wen’s significator, and she designed that card for the button soup tarot....) and it feels pretty spot on, so i would like you to use that card as the significator in this spread

[Libra]

Sounds good! Btw - my normal court signifier is the Queen of Swords too!

[Libra]

Hey Stronglove! Thanks for your patience this month - like I mentioned, I'm still asked to go into work during this whole situation and the stressload of that drastically increased - plus, a friend got evicted JUST before everything went down and has been staying in my reading room. Just a couple days became ... well, who knows how long now, since he can't really get anyone who wants to risk interviewing tenants and such right now... Doing readings from my bed, with the one deck that I have out of my reading room, the beautiful Light Seers Tarot. I decided to shuffle the deck, use the bottom 3 cards as your root cause/underlying sources, the top one as the forecast, and then dig into the deck to find your signifier & the cards surrounding it for the influential energies. I don't usually pull more than a single card per spread position, so this will be a change for me!

Cards 1 and 2: These cards reveal the influential energies beside you. Queen of Wands & 4 of Cups

Cards 3, 4, and 5: These cards reveal the root causes or underlying sources that lead you to the crossroads. These are the issues to address first before full clarity can be attained. 4 of Wands, 10 of Pentacles, King of Cups

Card 6: the forecast, outcome or divine answer. Page of Pentacles

The first thing I'm seeing in your first three cards - your signifier & the influential energies - is that all of the characters are seated, not moving. The Queen of Swords faces the 4 of Cups, with her back to the Queen of Wands. The 4 of Cups & Queen of Wands carry very different energies, even though both are sitting down. The Queen of Wands sits cross legged, one arm holding up a flute joyfully, the other palm up holding a spark. She's grinning away and surrounded by candles. The 4 of Cups, on the other hand, sits kind of hunched over, a pile of singing bowls beside her, another being offered, with a rainbow flowing out of it. She apathetically ignores it. She's seemingly pretty invested in sitting in her boredom. The Queen of Swords has always been a character that is like a double-edged sword in my mind, and these two cards flanking her seem like they are really representing 2 aspects that she can slip into if she is forced to stay still for too long. The Queen of Swords can really get into her own head and if she is allowing herself to really fall into the realm of the 4 of Cups, well, that's when the archetypal coldness of her nature comes out. It's almost a jaded kind of energy, she's had a lot of experience and her clear vision doesn't allow her to be tempted by things or situations that look flashy or new - she can see, or believes she can see, how this "new" thing is really just more of the same.

I was listening to a podcast by Brene Brown this morning, and she said something along the lines of "If you aren't growing, you are dying" and I feel like that is really indicative of the Queen of Wands that you're turning your back on. The Queen of Wands in this deck looks like someone who'll see each of the candles surrounding her as their own individual piece of joy, finding interest in how every flame flickers with a unique dance. It doesn't matter that she is stationary in the image, her mind and soul are engaged and interested in what surrounds her and how she can interact with all of it. The Queens are all ruled by water, the suit of emotions in the deck, so that is the main thing that ties her to the Queen of Swords, that's their common ground. But, the Queen of Wands is that part of you inside that is asking you to seek joy and pleasure, to seek out fun & play. A Queen of Swords can get really in their own head, and you can see that in how the singing bowl, the cup of the Queen is locked up in the stone that she sits on. I feel like the crossroads you are facing right now is really coming from this place of feeling like you've got the experience and the knowledge and know what to expect and it just doesn't excite you - and yet, there's this part of you inside that wants to approach everything with a more playful, less serious mindset. To be able to feel that fresh enthusiasm and energy again.

The root causes, underlying sources, issues to address to achieve clarity, these were shown in the 4 of Wands, 10 of Pentacles & King of Cups. What I'm seeing here is a bit of dissonance between that craving for fun and this feeling of carrying responsibilities now that may hinder that. And it's not like the responsibilities you carry are negative in your life, you don't wish them away because you do find great happiness in them, and a feeling of fulfillment as well! It's just that when you are prioritizing them, well, that's where your time and resources are going, and there isn't much left for letting loose and having fun like you used to. Yet, I think it's the combination of the messages from the Queen of Wands & the King of Cups that carry the path forward here. The King of Cups in this deck has always kind of felt like a caretaker to me, someone who sees the big picture, but is also able to show people the path to doing good for the collective, while still being able to meet their own needs - and being a court of Cups, those needs that he address do tend to be on the more emotional level. He's able to look at the 10 of Pentacles and see how you can adjust and move the pentacles around so that everyone feels tended to and you can trust that they have everything they need and you can spend some time and energy on your own. When I look at the actual card itself, what I see is the joy that comes of being outside with your family, and also the joy of being able to step away, watch them from the window with a cup of tea and a laptop to write on, and know that they are happy and safe in the backyard. And then, we've got that ever-adaptable Queen of Wands. She carries just as much joy as the girls at the festival in the 4 of Wands do, without leaving the comfort of her own space. Her part of this message is that you don't have to seek external enrichment to have that sense of curiosity and enthusiasm.

The Page of Pentacles really comes in almost showing a blending of the energy of the Queen of Wands and the Queen of Swords. The Queen of Swords naturally carries a bit more of a quiet attitude than the exuberant Queen of Wands, and yet, that doesn't exclude her from the ability to look at things with that interested beginner's mind. As well, that Pentacle from the 10 of Pentacles gets carried up the spread, proving that there really is enough for you to take a bit of time and energy and other resources for yourself. The Page of Pentacles almost feels like they are channeling that creativity through the earth, up from the pentacle they stand on, mirrored into the one that they hold in their hand. Doing so requires a bit of quiet dedication, fueled by enthusiasm - along with being ok with being new at something, and knowing that proficiency means going through the awkward learning phase - and yes, that'll make the Queen of Swords in you uncomfortable! She's well used to being pretty darn good at things, but even she had to have an ugly duckling phase to get there.

Overall, I feel like these cards aren't really saying that you're actually at a crossroads, but rather that you've hit the peak of one part of your life, and that it's time to really start something new. There's a potential for boredom if you just sit at the top of your mountain, but starting to climb a new means being ok with possibly stumbling over new terrain, and looking at everything with fresh eyes and curiosity, because even if it looks similar to something you know, prejudging it has the potential to have you miss the magic in the individuality of what you're facing.

I hope you enjoy this reading! I'm adding in a PDF version with the card images, because, oddly enough, I find those easier than formatting forum posts lol!

[stronglove]

thank you so much for this! it is amazing how, while knowing almost nothing about me or my life, this reading and your take on the cards still rings so true for me. that page of pentacles is absolutely brilliant and exactly what i need to be able to move forward, incredible! how this all relates to my question is too personal for this forum so i will send you a pm later this week with more elaborate feedback
but thanks again, and the pdf file is really awesome.

[stronglove]

btw did you notice that in my reading for you both the queen of wands and the four of cups are present? really interesting.....