Card #1 (Your “A-Game” Self): Eight of Wands
Card #2 (Where You’ve Been): Four of Pentacles
Card #3 (Where You’re Headed): Seven of Wands
First Impressions
At first glance, I see in this reading two different pairs. The more obvious one is the wands–two out of the three cards flipped were from this suit. The second pair are the two figures represented in this reading–one on the four of pentacles and the other on the seven of wands. These two pairings, I believe, are key to understanding this reading.
The Individual Cards
Before we get too deeply into the relationships between the cards, I always like to begin by evaluating each of them individually in their positions. I want to be able to “hear” what each of the cards is trying to say on their own before moving on to listening for the harmonies they create together.
Four of Pentacles
On the far left of the spread (Card #2), you have the four of pentacles, and its position represents the energies and influences of the past. On a personal note, this card in the Rider-Waite deck has always been endearing to me because the man depicted seems so charmingly content with his lil discs all around him–and that feeling of contentment really gets to the heart of this card.
The suit of pentacles frequently represents the physical or external world, so I’m seeing this as a general feeling of satisfaction with your everyday life. I’m not saying that you’re rich beyond your wildest dreams with a supermodel spouse and three genius children, but I’m very strongly picking up a feeling that, on some level, you’ve recently felt like you have “enough” and you are “enough.”
Seven of Wands
Now, let’s move to the far right with Card #3, the seven of wands. You can tell just by looking at it that “content” or “enough” are probably not good descriptions for the card. The young man depicted is clearly not currently having a great time–he appears to be defending himself from an attack–but I don’t want you to walk away with the feeling that this card is all doom and gloom. Especially considering the fact that this occupies the position in the reading that represents the upcoming energies and influences at play.
I will discuss this card a bit more in a moment, but for now I’ll say that, within this context, the card does not read as defending yourself against an attack, but rather, it reads as offensive–fighting for what is yours and what you need.
Eight of Wands
Between these two “people” cards, we see the eight of wands with not a soul in sight and not much action depicted. And it sits in the Card #1 position–your ideal self, or how to bring your A-game to the coming days.
At first this card puzzled me, because it’s definitely the outlier in the spread. But the more I thought about it, the more it became clear that this card is indicating a necessary shift in priorities. And as we move into the next section of this reading, its meaning will become clearer to you as well.
How the Cards Relate to One Another
We’ve looked at the cards in isolation, so now it’s time to take our individual pieces and assemble this collage of symbols.
Shifting Priorities
At the end of the section above, I mentioned a switch in priorities, and that’s the first relationship I want to examine here–the movement from pentacles to wands. At the beginning of the reading I mentioned that pentacles is often a suit associated with the physical, mundane, everyday world–but wands are the opposite.
They frequently represent the spirit world or spiritual and religious concerns.
I see this movement away from the mundane and towards the spiritual as important for your wellbeing in the coming days. The four of pentacles shows that your everyday life in the “real world” is not necessarily perfect but at least running smoothly to your liking for the time being. The seven of wands shows me that that’s not necessarily the case when it comes to your inner, spiritual life.
I mentioned earlier that the seven of pentacles in this context is a card about fighting for what you need and what is rightfully yours, and I believe that when we examine it within the larger spread, what is rightfully yours is some inner contentment and growth within your soul.
Now is really the time to focus on things that nourish you spiritually and help you grow as a person. Only you can figure out what helps recharge your batteries in that way, but I’m seeing that seeking those out and supporting the “inner” you will be important in the near future.
How Do You Get What You Need?
Fighting for this spiritual “me” time doesn’t have to be aggressive and physical–it’s more about making it a priority for yourself and communicating that to those around you.
It’s about fighting off the feelings of procrastination when it’s time to meditate or working out a plan with your spouse to get a half hour of kid-free time every day after work. Like I said earlier, nourishing your soul is important, but how you do it really comes down to your unique situation and preferences.
If you’re new to the world of your spiritual wellbeing, it might seem silly to focus on such intangible things.
Why should I be doing yoga or reading poetry when I could work on progressing in my career or growing closer with my family? However, it really takes a healthy balance of nurturing both your everyday and your spiritual life to keep them both on track. Things might be running smoothly now in the mundane world, but it’s going to be a different story if you allow yourself to wither internally. Don’t completely reject your obligations or normal life in the coming days, but you should absolutely focus some quality time on your inner life in whatever way you normally do that.
To Wrap Things Up
I truly hope this reading has been illuminating for you and has given you some things to consider as well as some potential courses of action. Before we say goodbye, here’s a summary of what I saw in your reading:
- Things in your everyday life might not be perfect currently, but I get the sense that, at the very least, the more mundane parts of living are running as usual–it’s not all chaos, all day.
- A move towards more spiritual-minded concerns in the coming days will be important to your overall wellbeing. You should be seeking out things that make you feel more complete on the inside.
- Seeking out those spiritual things does not necessarily come naturally or easily for you. Whether it’s your own inner voice telling you that it’s silly or life’s other obligations preventing you, you’re going to have to actively plan and seek out what will nourish you.
- A healthy balance of addressing life’s everyday concerns and spiritual concerns will help sustain and stabilize your wellbeing in the long run.
Once again, I truly hope I’ve given you some important things consider, and I hope you come away from this reading with a feeling of hopefulness about the future and your ability meaningfully impact it.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to, in some small and unusual way, share in your life and its inevitable victories and disappointments. I wish you the best in the future–however it unfolds!
Blessed Be,
Didi Clarke