… I’m taking the day off.
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move though really I’m traveling
a terrific distance.

Stillness. One of the doors
into the temple.

Mary Oliver, from A Thousand Mornings: Poems

(and be sure to watch “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” which premieres on PBS tomorrow, Aug. 25).

With a heavy Piscean Lunar Eclipse on its way this week (which will be visible in near totality across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Western Asia), plus the ongoing, frightening, infuriating, completely bonkers news cycle, are you as exhausted as I am?

In that case, I have good news. Welcome this week to the Four of Swords.

Fours in the Tarot are about stabilizing, grounding, and the possible completion of a cycle.

The Swords are ruled by the Element of Air and so they center on the mind, attitudes, communication, and knowledge.

Most of the Swords revolve around conflict and pain, but this Four offers its quieting influence. This card indicates a time for stepping back, rest, and renunciation of worldly pursuits within a sacred space.

Yes, please.

But I can already hear the arguments in my head that I have TOO MUCH TO DO! And, more in alignment with the Swords, too much to worry about.

The Dreaming Vision

The mystical discipline of “incubation” is well-documented. From the cult of Asclepius to the Brahmin priests, from medieval knights-in-training to Carl Jung, in this practice, the seeker lies still, as if lifeless. In imitation of the state of death, sometimes for days, this was known to induce divinely inspired dreams, prophetic visions, poetry, healing, and deep trance. Such practices are common in magical and spiritual initiations to this day.

And so we see a man, lying on his back atop a sarcophagus, his hands pressed together and pointing upwards, as if in prayer. Is he a carving? Or is he a living person? Based on the practice of induction that is almost certainly being depicted here, this scene inside a chapel or some other kind of sanctified place would indicate he is stone-still but alive. If not awake, still deeply aware on the inner planes.

The Energy is Ramping Up in Cosmos

For most of this week, we are still in the eclipse window. And for several days this week, including today (Monday), we are tiptoeing through long Moon voids. So instead of pushing for magical or energetic change right now, take this as a time for quiet receptivity. And perhaps some serious prayer. Just remember that when you make your divine pleas, be sure to listen for the reply.

Our weekly news and astrology expert, Elisabeth Grace tells us that after this day adrift in an all-day Void of Course Moon on Monday, on Tuesday —

At 7:04 AM ET, Mercury (how we need to think and communicate) leaves Leo for Virgo. Honor and reputation may be a big part of the morning’s headlines, as Mercury is not only 1) super high-functioning in Virgo (one of the signs it rules), but 2) will be conjunct the Fixed Star Regulus, which is all about honor and reputation. Mercury will only be in Virgo until September 10th—make the most of it in your contract negotiations and editing efforts.

This knight has come to a most critical moment in his initiation. We are seeing that he is being challenged on his ability to be still, to listen to the Divine, and to represent the highest ideals of Knighthood. His honesty, chivalry, and integrity are being tested. He could “cheat” and fall asleep or slip into a nearby corner and start scrolling through his feeds because there is no one there to catch him if he does.

Except that his faith tells him that he is not alone, and that is the point.

With the potential for even more stress to be ramping up in the week ahead, our virtue as well as our ability to quiet our busy minds may be tested.

Furthermore, Elisabeth writes that on Thursday, just ahead of this pivotal Full Moon/Eclipse–

An exacting idealism about getting things right is reflected by Mercury’s meet-up with Sun at 1:03 PM ET. This is a cazimi Mercury—Mercury in the heart of Sun, traditionally considered a moment when Mercury is exceptionally empowered. Ideas, information and communication may be illuminated with unusual clarity: a lightbulb moment, a revelation, or a message that cuts through the noise. Pay attention to what comes to light.

Such flashes of insight and revelation are what happens when, like the knight, you step away from the world and undergo the rite of incubation. It is specifically this millennia-old practice depicted by Pamela Colman Smith that shows us how to to receive vital, non-ordinary promptings.

Elisabeth’s essential analysis of “Fried-Day’s” Full Moon/Eclipse notes:

A Full Moon in Virgo pits a discerning mental energy against the empathy-driven needs of Pisces Moon. The illumination potential of this Full Moon may come through intuition informing intellect.

Which is precisely what the seeker in this card is attempting to do.

By the way, I recommend that you make her full article a high priority this week; it’s truly essential reading. And when Diotima Manteneia’s take comes out later this week, I urge you to seek it out as well, if you don’t already subscribe.

Preparing for Our Knighthood

As world events continue to spin faster and faster and the deadly roller-coaster that the United States has become gets more frantic, perhaps it would be best to step back, for just a little while.

When I think of how much hard slogging we’ve all been enduring in this very challenging time, I am guessing we could use a little nudge to pause. And listen. And go deep.

What divine downloads are calling to you?

Hit Pause. And wait.

With the off-the-rails political dramas in the U.S. and the existential dread now permeating nearly every facet of life, we are tired. Shattered. Exhausted and hurting down to our very souls.

And it is clear there is yet more big trouble ahead, even if we do somehow manage to have a free and fair election in November. How can we prepare, when so many of us are just worn down to nubs with barely any attention span left?

I think our card’s timing acknowledges that. And it is not lost on me that you are (hopefully!) managing to read this rather longish post.

Now, in these last days of Summer, a magical door has opened. Consider this an invitation to  suspend at least some of the daily grind that surely awaits after Labor Day and listen for the guidance of the Divine One(s). Let us quiet our Swords-y minds and wait for the insight and inspiration we most need.

Perhaps this would be a good time for a media fast. What if you made it a point to go a day or two without screen time? Or maybe cut back to timed increments?

To help you wean yourself away from staring at your devices, maybe you could create an unplugged retreat that revolves around all the solitary pleasures of a childhood Summer. Even if your world as a kid was less than storybook idyllic, as Tom Robbins reminds us, “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.” What would that look like for you?

And if this sounds more like indulgence than a knight’s vigil would be, you are right. But I have a feeling it’s exactly what Doctor Tarot is ordering for you: quiet activities that replenish you, as well as taking the time for holy silence broken only by the loving whispers of your spirit and your Guides.

Protecting Your Most Precious Possession: Your Consciousness

In this time of ever-escalating change and conflict, anxiety is the new normal. Super-charged, over-stimulated, driven by performative (often false) influencers, we are caffeine- and adrenaline-amped, wired-in 24/7. We spend every waking minute immersed in a cacophony of opinion, infotainment, distraction, and the commoditization of consciousness. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) has been normalized, even though we know it can be toxic.

If we never unplug or take a time-out, how can we know what we really think?

And how will we be ready for the wild ride that surely lies ahead? For, like the dedicant who seeks knighthood or the mystic who vision-quests, we are offered this time to step away from the world.

What changes do we envision?

What are we ready to release forever, once and for all? Now is our chance to permit the breathing space we long for. Before we enter the next phase.

What soul-flight do you crave right now? Here is your invitation for such inward work. Refilling the sacred well of your imagination, your thoughts and your inner Voice can offer wisdom and insight not gained in any other way.

The Four of Swords indicates that even if you are, by necessity, immersed in the hubbub of this Summer season, please carve out a little time for introspection, solitude, and silence.

Are you wishing you had time for quiet reflection?  Solitary meditation and prayer may bring you new understanding. A visit to a place that is sacred to you could bring solace in the face of difficulty.

This is a time to hear your own voice, know your own opinions, and see your own authentic visions.

What rest do you hunger for right now? What quiet healing is available, if only you could turn away from the world for a little while?

Seek peacefulness. Allow yourself the gift of taking your time.  Sort out what only you can, offering yourself an untroubled retreat within your soul.  Pause and stretch into the profound freedom of doing nothing.

Thus, may you be the better prepared for the more challenging, active times that surely lie ahead.