day 16: ace of swords (reflect)

12/16/2020

Peace family! Today we are looking at the final Ace of the series, the Ace of Swords (haha, the last sword).

Remember, the Aces are the source of raw power & potential within their respective element. Since Swords (Words) represent the element of Air, the Ace of Swords is the infinite energy behind all communication, whether in thought, speech, hearing, writing, telepathy or silence. It is being handed into the frame via the right hand, which means that the Air element is something we do, or express. Communication is active, not passive. Even as I typed that, I questioned it a bit- because imo (up until this post anyway), I felt communication is passive, yes? Don't we receive words, whether we hear them or read them? Aren't you receiving this word right now? But when you think about it...you have to think about it in order to receive it- which is technically active. (Ok, makes sense lol)

So the fact that the Sword is being handed via the right hand means that no matter what words we are given, we must first make the decision to take them or not, & then how to take them, which puts the responsibility of activity on the hearer. Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he said let he who has ears, hear, because you can choose to take what you hear one way... or another.

Words are a double-edge sword. When I was a child, my mom loved to say that life & death lie in the power of the tongue. If we study the picture, we see that the Sword enters the frame in a burst of light, illuminating the shadowy peaks & valleys below. This reminds me of the beginning of the bible, when God spoke, let there be light. Now y'all know how I love to break words down & take them at their sounds (let she who has ears, hear, not spell lol). So to me, let there be light also means let there be life & let there be lies. There has to be both, because the sword is double edged, yes? So if there's light, now we understand darkness. If we understand darkness, we see it lives in the depths & shadows. In terms of life, depths is also deaf- so we have light vs. depth & life vs. death. If you are a person determined to only "hear" truth & let deceptive words fall on deaf ears, then we can also say, lie vs. deaf.

As indicated by the crown on the top of the sword, we are ruled by our minds The philosopher James Allen wrote, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Notice that there are two types of growths spilling from the crown- one that bears fruit (abundance) & one that does not bear fruit (lack). Thoughts that bear fruit are thoughts that give life (Jesus said, I came so that you may have life, & have it more abundantly), & thoughts that do not bear fruit, yield death. This choice is crucial once you realize there are no passive thoughts, only active ones even when you hear them from someone else. Every single thought is a choice between abundance & lack, or life & death. This is where lie/ deaf comes into play, because you have the choice to decide that someone's words are lies as it pertains to your reality & allow their opinion of you or your circumstance to fall on deaf ears. We hear this choice hidden in our language all the time- return to sender, rebuke, ignore, don't pay it no mind, don't listen to them, that doesn't have to be your truth, silent treatment, no contact, etc.

No matter what a naysayer might say (even if the naysayer is faceless & masquerades as our own thoughts), we always have the power to speak life/light over ourselves.

Seriously, look at the picture; see how it appears that the peaks are the only landscape in the photo? That can't possibly be true though can it? Because common sense tells you that you can't have peaks without valleys. You can't have highs without lows. So even if the valleys are hidden, they're there. Which means that in terms of this picture, PEAKS LIE. Peaks only tell half the story. Hidden behind every peak (success/ victory), there is a valley (failure/ defeat). When you are in the valley, there is nowhere to go but up. But when you are at the peak, there is nowhere to go but down. How frustrating, to struggle & climb out of the valley, only to reach the promised peak only to realize that from that vantage point, everything must go (back) downhill. It's at that moment that our mental power becomes necessary, because once you recognize the truth that peaks lie, this becomes the perfect moment to SPEAK LIFE. What is life, but abundance? Growth, yes? So speaking life means talking to yourself & others with the expectation that any circumstance (peak or valley) will yield some sort of growth, or fruit that will someday be valued. It means being confident in value-able expanses (valuable experiences) rather than fruit-less and death here (fruitless endeavors).

This whole "linguistic gymnastics" is funny to me though, because when you break it down further you realize that speak life & peaks lie is also, SPEAK LIES. Even though the bible says, "thou shalt not lie," we lowkey do it all the time when we speak life over ourselves, except in this case it's called faith, which the bible describes as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. If something is "not seen," that means its in the darkness, yes? So the Ace of Swords is the reminder that through our faith, we can call forth circumstances out of the darkness (valleys) that we believe we will one day see in the light (peaks). In the book of Romans, when discussing Abraham's faith, it is written that he, "calleth those things which be not as though they were." Remember how Abram was an old man living alone with his old, barren wife Sarai? He'd had a dream where the Most High had promised him that he would be a father of many nations & Abram was like, How Sway I don't have any kids & I'm OLD. But God told him don't worry about all that, just trust. God then changed Abram's name to Abraham, "father of many nations," which means from the day Abram dreamed about a future different from his present, he went forth literally being "called a thing which he was not, as though he was." He was a childless man with a barren wife being referred to as the ancestor of millions (& sure enough his wife gave birth at the age of 99 & he is indeed the ancestor of millions).

This story represents the subtle distinction between faith & lying. Abraham didn't go around telling everyone he met, I HAVE NUMEROUS DESCENDANTS because that would have been an outright lie. Instead, he spoke the lie/life/ light over himself (only!) & changed his own name to represent his own vision, which was simply being obedient to his personal sight, or peak perspective.

The fact that we can speak light/lie/life (LET THERE BE LIGHT!) over ourselves & call forth circumstances out of the darkness proves that we are indeed God's children endowed with the same power & responsibility of our Father. In Isaiah 55:11, it is written that God said, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." In other words, if I say it, it's going to happen, PERIODT. What we often fail to recognize is that we have the same power, & it is activated by the two most powerful words in our language, I AM.

When Moses met God, He introduced himself as I AM THAT I AM. So every time we use that title, we create in God's name. What words do you put after I AM? I must admit, I have been guilty of putting the wrong shit & speaking all sorts of deathly circumstances over myself- I am so sick of him, I am so tired, I am exhausted, I am worried, I am broke, I am so fucking stupid, I am lonely, etc., etc., etc. & ALL of those things have come true because there are no idle words, only speaking or not speaking, just like there are no idle swords, only cutting or not cutting.

When I first began to study metaphysics & the law of attraction, this was the principle that used to trip me up the most, because I don't like to lie. But you don't have to lie to speak different circumstances over yourself. For instance, I am so sick of him can become, I am looking forward to the day when I feel differently about this person. Or, I am so tired can become, I am looking forward to feeling rested & rejuvenated. Or, I am so broke can become, I am in the PERFECT position to receive & truly appreciate a financial windfall. Y'all see what I'm saying? Reality is flexible but words are sharp so we have to use them wisely to bend & carve our lives.

The more we do this, the more we'll see miracles happen right in front of our eyes, as the wonderful things we've called forth, appear (a prayer). Truly, miracles are only the mechanism of experiences revealing our ability to communicate effectively.

Mir-a-cle = Mirror Oracle.

We are our own oracles & our lives mirror what we say.

(And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.)

(reflect)

8 Comments

Author

all of us.

disclaimer:
this is a magical space. magic is, by nature mischievous. with that being said, you should know that sometimes these pictures move & switch themselves for no apparent reason. i try to go back & put them in their rightful place as soon as possible but i don't always catch them in time. if you are reading a post & the pics don't match, don't fret.
the words won't move.
keep on reading.

Cheryl

12/22/2020 05:04:35 pm

I love this post so much and know it to be true! I work with manifestations daily in the mirror when I first wake up. There was one manifestation I said for 3 years regarding my financial health, and then one day I realized I had exceeded my income goal. That made me a 100% true believer.

Cat

12/23/2020 04:16:54 pm

That's powerful!

Kelsey

12/26/2020 08:26:22 am

Years ago, I learned from some mentors that our thoughts, and especially the words that we speak, create our reality. This taught me to be very mindful of how I was creating my life, and whenever I wanted to create a new reality for myself, I would create a declaration describing that reality. For example, "I am capable and I know how to take care of my body to be healthy." This of course is also true when thinking negatively about oneself, and it has been very powerful for me to be able to distinguish when I'm on autopilot declaring something negative about myself, because once I see that, I do have the power to change it.

Particularly with emotions, I've also learned that a slight change in language can shift my experience from disempowerment to feeling empowered by changing one word. Instead of "I am sad" / "I am angry" / "I am afraid", they become "I feel sad" / "I feel angry" / "I feel afraid". It's very different to think of myself as an autonomous being who feels things and doesn't have control over how I feel, versus not having control over who I am. Because, although there is so much to us naturally in our essences that we can't control, emotions are not who we are. We HAVE emotions. This helps me to remember the impermanence of emotions as well as the impermanence of pretty much anything that we experience as human beings. Remembering that my immediate experience will change makes them more bearable, if negative, and if it's a positive experience, I can remember to expect the moment when that will change too (when a peak becomes a valley) and not be so surprised or attached, or grip on to it for dear life.

Of course, that's all easier said than done, so it takes mindfulness and practice. This power we have of creating our reality with our words and thoughts becomes increasingly more powerful when in conversation with others. We collaborate (sometimes unknowingly) to create our shared reality. In the past few days, I've really struggled with this. My husband is such a worrier, and planner and is very solution-oriented, so my experience with him is often that he's constantly thinking about problems and how to fix them. If I don't set boundaries that support my well-being, then it's very easy for us to slip into situations where he's talking through problems as a way to find solutions and improve our lives, except it's occurring to me as complaining and not enjoying what we do have in life. That puts me in a place of feeling very down and miserable and feeling less capable of having a life that nourishes us. I want a little time to bask in the glory of our solutions before moving on to the next problem! I told him this the other night, and he realized that he can't use me as a sounding board for working through his thoughts and complaints about problems. He needs that support from someone else because it's too overwhelming for me right now as I'm trying to focus on getting ready for birthing this baby!

Dela

12/26/2020 02:45:13 pm

Reflect.

This card reminds me of my relationship in the present day. When my boyfriend was courting me, we would send each other raps back and forth. It was a dream to write each other poetry and send it back and forth, it made me feel special.

In that time, I hadn't done work around unpacking any of the trauma I experienced in previous relationships. And so I felt this upwelling of resentment begin to arise. I didn't have the language for it back then, but now I realize that....I hadn't forgiven my exboyfriend for our relationship. Much of my present day relationship reminded me of my exboyfriend which scared me. And because I hadn't forgiven Calvin (my ex), I took it out on my boyfriend now.

And so the words I would use when I was anger to my boyfriend were downright mean, and hurtful. And I never wish I would have said them. The most painful part is that I can't take it back. But I have grown from it and I've learned and am working to change my behavior and to change my words.

These days I constantly practice breathing through difficult conversations, and wiping tears because I'm feeling the heavy lifting of this work in real time.

The ace of swords for my represent 1) The language that I am practicing to use now, non-violent, compassionate, and loving... basically breathing life into the romance and love sector of my present relationship and 2) The shadow part of this would be when I am speaking from a place of unforgiveness. Forgiveness needs to be at the forefront of everything for me... otherwise I turn into a resentful, salty person.

Tanasia

12/26/2020 07:52:31 pm

Funny...it took me initiating into an entirely different religion for me to learn the true power of my words. When I joined Ifa, a part of my Odu stated that I must always watch the words that come out of my mouth...whether about myself or others because whatever I speak will come true. I mean...yeah yeah yeah is what I thought. The Bible does say the power of life and death is in the tongue, but I never took it seriously. Until, literally, everything I said, or warned someone about happened. All of it. In the exact way that I said it. Did it happen before? Maybe. Or maybe I just started paying attention.

Now, I am so careful. I have to be, because I am an oracle of my own life...and sometimes the life of others. The power of life, death, prosperity, happiness, and anything else you want in life is in the power of the tongue.

LMP

12/27/2020 02:45:42 pm

Reflect
This is the first Christmas since I 1. Became the family outcast and 2. My mother’s death that I didn’t feel really sad and wistful for a holiday with a large family gathering. I decided to see the good in the situation and realized that our peaceful little holiday allowed my small family to relax and enjoy each other in ways we have not when it was just us in previous years. I realized that while I like cooking, I really don’t need to recreate a menu that I grew up with which took about seven hardworking women, five half-assed men, and many reluctant teens and children. Anyone who might have been triggering on social media has already been unfollowed or has done so to me. It did help that most people I follow on social media are not gathering because of Covid. But even so I didn’t feel that same longing for what I don’t have. I did not feel sad or morose during the video chat with my husband’s family for not having my own extended family.

This relates to seven of wands too, where I just don’t perceive slights from things that people are saying to me as much as I used to. I am more likely to ask what someone meant rather than just jump to conclusions and argue based on my own assumptions. And more likely to let the smaller slights that are real just go. Allowing other people and myself to be flawed. Giving myself time to reflect before speaking. My husband and I managed to escape our annual pointless holiday fight. (Well there’s still four days! ;) To answer a previous question of Oubria’s, yes, this all feels like it’s happening in real time.

12/31/2020 04:26:27 pm

What a wonderful post! It made me reflect on the not so positive "I am" statements I've used throughout the year. I am so tired, I am so stressed, I am overwhelmed, I look a mess, I'm sick of this shit, etc. It wasn't until I read this post that I realized two things: 1). I've be way too harsh on myself and not manifesting light over my darkness and 2). I've become so accustomed to accepting my darkness that I am uncomfortable when others acknowledge my light. What in the ENTIRE hell is going on?!?! This post is everything I didn't know I needed at the exact time I needed it. You're always on point, Oubria. Thank you!!!

Ruth

1/20/2021 09:35:43 am

I loved this post.
But also high key, my intrusive thoughts tell me lies, even a litany of lies. So I appreciated it when you mentioned that sometimes it comes from one's own thoughts. Though I sometimes wonder, are they really mine?

I have a lot of feels over this post, and I'm thinking about what else to write, and I yawned and immediately thought I'm tired, and realized wait, I AM statements are like definitions. I am not defined as tired I am *feeling* tired. And feelings can pass.

Your whole hills and valleys thing, reminds me of the wheel of fortune.

Imma sit with this more.

40 days
of shadow work