March 24, 2022: IV of Wands and V of Cups

Another rainy day in a string of rainy days.  

The card image of the True Black IV of Wands shows a beautiful wild golden bird flapping its wings as it breaks free from bindings that have held it prisoner.  Leaves and flower petals knocked loose by the flapping of the bird’s wings float down like confetti.  The keywords for this card are celebrating, events, freedom, and possibility. 

The image on the V of Cups cards shows Cups with cracks and leaking water, with a few seeming to be already empty due to a massive crack.  The image itself is pure black and white and seems depressing, desolate and "blah."  The keywords for this card are loss, defeat, sorrow, and difficulty.

Let's look at these two cards.  The IV of Wands tells of a release from bondage, probably not physical bondage but rather bonds that are caused by stress or worry, or challenges that hold us back or distract us from our goals.  The V of Cups is a card of painful emotions that might include despair, failure, arguments or discord, or the end of a relationship.  There certainly is no reason these two cards couldn't be telling the same message.  After all, the end of a relationship could also be a release from bondage, if the relationship was a toxic one.  The failure of one effort could offer possibilities to be obtained in a new direction.

We are dealing with two consecutive numbers, 4 and 5.  The number 4 tells of foundations being made, discipline, and some kind of authority created or dealt with.  The number 5 tells of movement that upsets stability and makes us defend our position in order to determine if it is strong enough.  A progression could be indicated here as well.

As far as Elemental Dignities are concerned, Air (Wands) and Water (Cups) are neutral.  Air is an active element representing heat that separates and Water is a passive element representing cold that binds, but they both represent wet that adapts.   They can tend to cancel each other out, but that does not erase the individual powers each element and suit has.  While Air is active and Water is passive, they both in their own way are able to adapt (with Air adapting in an outer and active way and Water in an inner and passive way).  

All together, this information tells me that the flows of energy and effects of my IV of Wands are a bit stronger than my more passive V of Cups.  There may be emotional discomfort today and perhaps, a bit of pessimism, but by the time I go to bed tonight, all will be optimistic again.  I need to be wary and aware of the power of emotions to distract.  Water affects Air in a passive manner by humidifying it, which could mean there will be a struggle to look past the uncomfortable emotions that might cloud my perception of possibility, but that possibility is there even if it is hidden in the fog.  After all, if we look closely to that V of Cups card, one of those 5 Cups is unbroken and filled with clear water.