I pull the Queen of Pentacles. Reversed. On my Tarot spread for 2024, it came up as my lesson for the year.
It makes sense that I pull it again this week. It’s a little too on the nose. A little too cutting. But I guess lessons are rarely painless.
I look at the D&D sticker on my waterbottle “What doesn’t kill you gives you XP” . . . I think about the obstacle becoming the way . . . I think about how “Onward” doesn’t necessarily mean the easy road. It means you keep going.
The Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom book gives this definition to the Queen of Pentacles reversed:
“In readings, the Queen reversed can mean not trusting oneself in some specific situation. More generally it refers to psychic weakness. For cutting off the Queen from her vital connection to the heart results in nervousness and confusion. She becomes afraid, even phobic, mistrustful of others and especially of herself, doubting her abilities and her value as a person. This separation means more than being isolated from plants and animals. Rather it means a loss of daily rhythm in life, a dissatisfaction with the whole environment, and an inability to appreciate what the environment has to offer.”
I had nearly an all-pentacle spread for the new year. Seeing it play itself out validates the feeling of unease I had when I first pulled the cards. But the only way out is through. (give me every platitude, I’ll take it)
I liked what the book had to offer for a dual remedy:
“First, a build-up in confidence; besides emphasizing her accomplishments and good qualities a person can do this through mediation with the Queen right side up. Second, a grounding of the emotions in natural things, ordinary pleasures, satisfying work.”
My takeaway from that is to dig for my calm in the storm, focus on the tasks in front of me, and reconnect to other joys in my life. The amount of time I’ve spent lately at a desk, not getting up for hours at a time, not drinking water . . . I end the day with headaches, emotionally thin, and a pile of priorities I struggle to sort through.
Look, I know better than that. The remedy is not rocket science. But neither does it feel simple.
All I can do is try. One problem at a time. Hold onto what I can control. Go outside.
With Love,
Natalie