Cards for the Day: R’d 8 of Wands/R’d Knight of Swords: Where’s the fire? Slow down and focus.

It looks to me like we are all in a big hurry today — is it to put out a fire, or are we rushing to get to the fireworks (if you are in the U.S., which is celebrating Independence Day today)? Whatever the reason, there is no need for all this rush. Both these cards concern concentrated, focused energy, but when that energy is scattered and unfocused (as when the cards are reversed), it does us little good. Haste makes waste…calm deliberate motion usually ends up being faster. Notice that in the Yoga Tarot, the Knight of Swords is represented by eagle pose — but when it is turned upside down, the eagle falls out of the sky. Which, needless to say, slows the eagle down.

The solution here is to step out of the vicious cycle of rushing from one project to another. Take time to call your spirit back into your body and away from the thoughts that are darting all over the place taking bites out of you like little mosquitoes. As so often is the case with reversed cards, the solution is staring us in the face if we turn the cards right side up again. If we turn these cards right side up, we get warrior 1 pose and eagle pose, opening to the divine with courage and concentration, like a warrior. Notice also that both yogis on these cards are positioned against a background of blue: the color of the throat chakra. So my prescription for today is, don’t be afraid to take your time: slow down, concentrate, and say what you have to say.

Also, for those of us in the U.S.: take what I have said above and apply it to the American eagle, the symbol of our country. Rushing around and focusing on extraneous issues, such as the presidential election, will not help us to make progress. What is called for is strong, focused, concentration on the issues that matter. If we don’t apply our energy with focus and courage to the problem of making the world a better place, then, yes, the eagle will fall out of the sky. It won’t be shot down. It will fall because flight requires all the muscles in an eagle’s body to work together harmoniously, in concert, as the eagle hurtles through the sky toward a single point. When the eagle loses its focus and its vision, and begins to forget what it is doing, how can it help but fall?