12 May 18: Six of Swords/Air, reversed

Lose the dead weight.  Another reversed 6 today after yesterday’s reversed Lovers.

This uncomfortable card of the always challenging, mental suit of Swords upright shows us a man standing in a boat with his back to us steering away and across water to a city or town we can barely see on a far off shore, possibly another country altogether. In some decks he is accompanied by a another human huddled in a blanket at his feet, the very picture of misery. In some decks there is a child in the boat with them.

This is a gloomy card. The telling detail is the water.  He’s the only one who can steer his boat and get himself out of this, his passenger either cannot or won’t. He is fighting through choppy, violent waves out into calm, smooth, open ocean and as the suit is of Air, one can assume there were some bitch winds whipping up those waves. He’s been through hell, but is finally coming out of it. His 6 swords – all he/they have in the world – are all stuck in the boat like masts. This is about starting over somewhere else, or even recovering physically or from depression. You need a change of scene, as some would say. Travel can be very restorative. You should probably move altogether, as this card can suggest.  Or, you’ve had to move for some reason, and although you may not know what’s ahead, it’ll probably be something better. This is a card that encourages taking risks.

Reversed: you’re not out of the ‘choppy water’ yet, but hang in there. Maybe this sad human has managed to avoid eviction for another month – but still has to stress about next month. Maybe a move or a planned trip got postponed – again.

This card warns that even a tiny slip-up or a poorly-chosen word can cause a major mistake and cost you a job or relationship.

This is also a relapse card. There can be setbacks in recovery, whether sliding back into toxic substances or people to another ‘flareup’ of a disease. It’s a setback, that’s all – but how many have there been? There is an imbalance somewhere, and you probably know exactly what it is. Diet, sleep, exercise, you could be feeling the consequences of ‘backsliding’.

The 6 upright is the number of the planet Venus, and is linked to yesterday’s Lovers, which talked about choice and also the concept of staying ‘on the fence’ for so long the universe chooses your fate for you. This could mean finally opening up and communicating carefully, honestly and openly with your partner or significant other without drama, sarcasm or bitterness – and not ‘running away’  from the hard-to-talk about stuff. A trip together or re-locating entirely away from everybody all up in your business to work out your own future could help you both to see things a little more clearly (#notexting).

Though of course I’m sure he would never do that it looks very much like our gondolier has decided to dump his complaining, miserable old lady and all the damned swords (never enough for her) into the drink and swim for it on his own. Maybe she had the relapse. Maybe he’s sick of this shit. Maybe he’s staying in the boat and telling her to ‘swim for it’.

He would never really do that, though.