Kitchen Table Tarot

7 of Swords, The Lovers, Ace of Pentacles

Hello friend, and welcome to my kitchen table. This is your Thursday read, posted a little late—Friday was a pretty high-key day and I needed to take an energetic timeout. I hope to have a read up for Saturday but I will assess on the day. I hope that if this resonates with you that the guidance helps bring you clarity and light; if it does not resonate, you are still welcome here, of course! ♥️ This one ran a little long, so let’s get to it.

This is one of those readings that comes across to me as a continuation of the last. As always, quite a lot of shuffling took place between pulls, so I do interpret this as the second half of a 2-parter (all depending on whether or not another “episode” pops out in the next). In the previous read, the 7 of Swords was like a minor accent on the two salient parts of the read (walking away and leaping into the fullness of life), a reflection of the toxic environment that triggered the 8 of Cups event. The guidance was that this “reflection” would shrink over time, as it is processed and integrated. I don’t have a sense for time or timing, but this feels to me like the periods of confusion and recurrent dark moments that come from the pre-8 of Cups experience will last a little longer than anticipated, so if this is you, try your best to put down the sword. The sword is comprised of your defenses, learned behavior from the toxic environment and social hierarchies, and an intense preoccupation with never being controlled by another person again. This might make you feel mixed up and unsure of who to trust, keeping your distance from people by unconsciously falling back on the toxic ways you were treated by your abusers. Learned behaviors, in this case, could be hewing to a particular mindset or life belief aimed at improvement, healing, and general excellence. This is general, but I get the vibe of “church” or “church like,” meaning something that has particular expectations of its members, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be a church, or Christian for that matter. The point is: to serviceably get past this traumatic experience/group/connection, you have to identify those behaviors and barriers so you can unlearn them and put the stabby thing down. Being shady and cutting people with your trauma is no way to live, and I say that from my own experiences, and with so much love for you and your pain.

In the center is the Lovers. The 7 of Swords energy is the obstacle blocking your way to union and balanced connection, and this could be with a person or an integration of parts of yourself. Healing from the trauma of mistreatment will bring your dualities into harmony instead leaving you feeling fractured. So if you know you have a little more work to do, I wouldn’t be too eager in looking for a literal lover—but be open to connecting with other energies. You can still guard yourself without going into complete isolation! But being in union with yourself isn’t a consolation prize. It is a reward that appreciates in value. It’s not as “tarot read friendly” or possibly personally desirable for you, as a connection between soul mates in physical bodies, but it’s the foundation of loving yourself. Loving yourself will look like different things to every person. For me it’s when I make myself laugh, or surprise myself with an accomplishment and think, I’m pretty cool, tbh!, or when I stop negative self-talk and replace it with a kindness. If you are not in a place of self-love at this time—and it’s not constant, as we are human beings—remember that if you can love someone else, you are capable of loving yourself. Lizzo once said, “if you can love me, you can love yourself,” and that has been my experience in life as I got older and mellowed out some. The love that I have and demonstrate to others doesn’t come from a finite well. It’s like kudzu! It grows everywhere! And in that abundance I saw good things in myself. We are all on our own personal paths and the journey takes time. Everyone processes and grows in their own good time. So I don’t tell you these things to convince you to see it my way or think that’s the only way, but to share my own human experience and perspective. All I encourage you to do here is take whatever vibrates with you. If it’s for you, you’ll know. And if it’s not for you, you’ll know. 😉

If you are feeling lonely for physical human connection, I’m sure that doesn’t feel like a consolation let alone a prize, and I feel you. Union with yourself won’t put someone in your bed at night (if that’s what you’d like to have), but at least you can hog the blanket.

Regardless of the nature of the union, the energy is significant. The Ace of Pentacles suggests that all this could lead into new opportunities for abundance and self-sufficient prosperity, but the 7 of Swords is also serving as a reminder to be balanced—and use your discernment. Take care that offers are above board and won’t lead to any shadiness (shifty bosses, issues with being paid, cultures of bullying or coercive tactics to ensure compliance and uniformity of behavior), and in turn, check yourself for suspicion and dishonesty. Sometimes fibbing feels safer, but life is far easier if you only have to keep track of the truth. You don’t have to be an open book under a magnifying glass to conduct yourself with honesty and clarity.

The Ace of Pentacles in this position feels like a preview of the next priority to assess or keep in balance. The more positive Pentacle cards may suggest already having or anticipating incoming material abundance of some variety. If you are working steadily and have a comfortable buffer, or are experiencing a period of prosperity, this could be for you. If it is, mind that money doesn’t become the Thing(™) for you. Currency itself isn’t evil, but the pursuit and worship of it to the detriment of all else has caused many unions, both literal/external and spiritual/internal, to retreat to separate corners. Having security and safety are obviously quite important, and money truly goes a very long way towards mental/spiritual development by taking care of our most basic needs so we have the energy and resources to put towards matters of the internal world. Simply put: if we have a roof over our heads, food on the table, utilities, and some extra money to upgrade those things to business class, we do much better mentally and spiritually. If you’re facing eviction and don’t know where your next meal is coming from, quality of life crumbles. So in this society money is a necessary thing and having it doesn’t automatically make you bad, but we should all learn to coexist with it in such a way that puts focus into work instead of wealth hoarding.

To summarize: while healing from your 8 of Cups event may take a little longer than originally forecast, the union that waits on the other side will aid you in placing said event into manageable context—that is to say, understanding how you grew from it rather than helplessly assuming that something bad had to happen to bring you something good. Trust your own discernment throughout to weed out dodgy opportunities from legitimate, remember to love yourself, and keep on truckin’.

Again, I hope that anything you find here may help you figure something out or feel recognized in love and understanding. And remember, you  are always welcome at my kitchen table. -KTT 🌻💛