Friday Writer Tarot
Winds of Change
I’m changing things up a little on these weekly tarot posts. First, I’m just calling it Writer Tarot now. Second, I’ve created a Spotify playlist for the music I post for the cards. Hope you enjoy!
The card for today is the KNIGHT OF SWORDS. I pulled it from my Modern Witch tarot deck by Lisa Sterle.
Swords is the suit of the intellect and the suit of Air. The knight is a card associated with Air, and thus intellect, as well. Knights indicate a fast-moving, intellectual approach, they have a job to do, quests to go on, or investigations to oversee. This is heady energy, friends.
It’s interesting we got this card because last week we also got a Knight—the Knight of Wands. Where then the Knight’s Air plus the Wand’s Fire equals MOAR FIRE, this is Air plus Air—a message about assertive communication and courageous ideas.
The Knight of Swords speaks their mind. They tell people off. They have a point to make. They believe in the righteousness of their reasoning and will defend truth and justice.
Anyone been spending their days fighting with people online, lately? Goddess knows there’s lots going on to shout about. Writers, especially, tend to have a lot of Sword energy—thoughts and words are our weapons. We are champions in the arena of ideas. It’s hard to walk away from a battle, especially when justice is on the line.
However …
Sometimes we can live so much in our heads that we forget we have bodies and hearts that deserve tending, as well. We need movement and rest, time to reconnect with our feelings, and we need to check our priorities. A brain housed in a body that’s been exercised and fueled combined with a heart that’s listened to and honored will work way better than a brain in a hungry, tired body with a heart that’s walled-in like poor Fortunato.
See, all of that energy we’re using to tell off that racist dude from high school or Tweet a razor-sharp observation is energy we’re not giving to our Real Work. Yes, we must challenge injustice. Yes we must call out -isms. It is important work, no doubt.
But your Real Work, if you are a fiction writer, is to write stories that encourage justice, tell the truth, and explore ideas. This is not to say we should set out to write a STORY ABOUT JUSTICE (this will be a topic for a future craft post, I’m sure). It’s just to say that your energy will see greater payoff if you’re focused on putting that righteous energy into your Real Work and not on proving a stranger wrong online.
Unfocused and ego-driven intellect is just a lot of hot air. Focused intellect can bring the winds of change.
Knight of Swords Playlist
Think by Aretha Franklin
Check My Brain by Alice in Chains
Communication Breakdown by Led Zeppelin
Back in Your Head by Tegan and Sara
Road to Nowhere by The Talking Heads
Poetic Justice by Kendrick Lamar
Paranoid by Black Sabbath
Wind of Change by Scorpions (have you listened to this podcast?)
All You Writers by !!!
Have a great weekend and happy writing, friends!