Metaphors, Regulars and Shorts

Metaphors for the Month

By Suzanne Wagner

Safety is overrated.
by Suzanne Wagner

Osho Zen Tarot: Morality, Intensity, Moment to Moment
Medicine Cards: Squirrel, Mountain Lion, Beaver
Mayan Oracle: Akbal, Kan
Ancient Egyptian Tarot: Queen of Swords, 2 of Wands, The Devil
Aleister Crowley Deck: Queen of Wands, Ruin, Change
Healing Earth Tarot: 4 of Rainbows, 10 of Wands, 2 of Rainbows
Words of Truth: Shame, Purity, Female

Do you feel like you are building a bridge but the materials are either not showing up or are defective in some way? Welcome to the club. You have weathered the first storm of 2016, which was the Mercury Retrograde in January with Jupiter also going retrograde so I am sure in January there were many small bumps and irritations. I know all of us wish that some of this intensity would slow down for just a moment but the situations in life are altering so quickly that, midstep, you have to readjust so you don’t fall down. That makes everyone feel a bit off center and uncertain. But we might as well get used to being a little bit uncomfortable for the next seven months. The swings of extremes are becoming the norm.

It’s interesting that in the Mayan Oracle we have two archetypes in sequence, Akbal and Kan. Akbal is like the dark, deep, and fertile ground, and Kan is the seed preparing to sprout. So, as darkness before the dawn, we are preparing to open to a new possibility. The weakness suggested by these cards is that you can become too self-critical, too internal, and too afraid of change. But change is all there is in life. When you refuse to change, you begin to die.

Right now the mirrors are very close to your face. The upsets and triggers that set you off mirror your disowned patterns. That’s why Akbal dominates the energies right now. February is all about embracing your inner shadow processes to learn from their gifts. Not an easy task when the ground beneath you feels unstable.

This is a month when insecurities are clearly on the surface. You doubt your choices and you doubt the reasoning behind them. The bottom line is that you do not feel safe.

But safety is overrated. Being safe often means being in a box and not coming out. Well, the box is soaked and the sides are bending and beginning to collapse, so it’s no longer safe in that box, anyway.

This is where movement is better than no movement. Creative processes are messy and fraught with unseen circumstances and outcomes. But seeds sprout (Kan). You can’t turn back.

Really, it’s not as bad as your mind makes it out to be. Outside the fear you’ve been holding onto so tightly is family, connection and love. The storm is over if you let go.

Discover what’s beyond the mind’s distorted window. Smash that image of guilt, shame or not being enough. Just go forward into the purity of your being, trusting that it is enough. Be brave. Lead yourself into the fertile transforming fires. Nothing your mind tells you is correct. Feel with your heart and move your body in the direction that it’s magnetically drawn toward. You are thirsting for new experiences. You are feeling bored with your old self. You long for a new way to perceive reality. Take the risk. Open to what shows itself to you and let something besides your mind lead you onward. u

Suzanne Wagner is the author of numerous books and CDs on the tarot and creator of the Wild Women app. She now lives in California, but visits Utah for classes and readings frequently. SuzWagner.com

This article was originally published on January 30, 2016.