The Sanctuary that is found in the 4 of Swords.

I get quite frustrated when I have those cards that keep hounding me. I know why it happens. It’s because I’m not wise to their exact message. And lately it’s the 4 of Swords. Any reader knows that if it keeps appearing no matter what, then it’s trying to tell us something important.

I’m very good at giving advice and encouragement, but I’m an expert at self criticism. I try hard to be open and aware and practice what I preach, but I lack patience often, and am prone to learning my lessons the hard way.
If I sense something is not going to work, I have this terrible habit of manipulating things so that it fails or ends, just to have it over with. Often to my own detriment. My logic tells me that this fast tracks the road to finding closure and peace. I feel now, that at this point in my life, if it doesn’t raise my vibration then it’s not for me. This then leads me to look at why and what and how. Which turns into over thinking. This interrupts my process of working to attain inner peace.

Finding inner peace is quite painful at times. There is so much shit to sort and sift through. It really isn’t as simple as waking up and taking a few meditative breaths. It’s a drawn out process. One where a lot of rotting useless stuff needs to be dealt with. So much dysfunctional thinking and automatic feelings need to be re-programmed. It’s tiring at times. The strange thing is that you begin to feel the benefits fairly quickly. A taste or a teaser of what is to come.

There is lots of inner work to be done. If that makes sense. The swords suit is very brutal when we look at it laid out in front of us. The respite of the 4 is like a soft fluffy cloud to curl up on sometimes. I think it enables us to tackle everything that inevitably smacks us hard with a little more grace and composure.

I was thinking as I lay in bed the other night, gee whizz, if I dwelt too long on the harsh reality of the negative parts of life, I’m screwed. So I decided not to. I changed my focus to all the blessings of my own life – which to some may seem minuscule – but to me they are amazing! It’s perspective isn’t it.

There is nothing stopping us from returning to the 4 of Swords as many times as we need to. No one can go on and on without regrouping and recharging often. The personal path to inner peace is not an easy one. It’s learning to let go of attachment, learning to forgive and learning to love in a different, less judgmental and conditional way.

Taking time out enables us to regenerate and repair. It allows us to truly find comfort in the blessings. Just as our bodies need sustenance and sleep to sustain us, our minds do too. Over thinking, over analysing, can lead us to the darker aspects of the Swords suit, and just as our bodies grow weak our logic, rationality and clarity weakens too.

It is not a failure to take time out for mental health. It is imperative! If we cannot spend time with inner silence, how can we ever know peace? I think for those of us who have constant mind chatter and feel everything deeply, without these precious moments of the 4 of Swords, in which we are able to rest, we would go insane.

Let the world turn without your sword drawn for a while every now and then. Go to your special place and just be. Take a day, a week – whatever length of time you need to fully recharge. Then, pick up your sword and charge on. 💙

I love the sanctuary of the 4 of Swords. Despite all the turmoil, sadness and worry outside the walls, there is safety and quiet. It teaches us that peace is attainable, the trick is to learn how to carry that within us all the time! Until I have mastered the gift of lasting inner peace I will treasure my 4 of Swords.

Much love,

Tess x