There Is Only Light

Combat or Competition

Q: An overview of the world situation*

In the 5 of Pentacles, what appears to be fiery conflict between a group of young men from a distance becomes a friendly competition as we move closer to the apparent combatants. (you can see the images on my Mastodon)

We see this everywhere: between counties, between corporations, between political parties, between individuals. The conflicts are apparent but when we focus more closely we see collaboration. The reversed card suggests to me that the individuals involved have been attempting to keep the truth of their friendly relationships hidden. Remember, it’s always individuals. It’s Putin and his internal and external allies waging war in Ukraine, not Russia; it’s Musk and his fanbois and sycophants, not Tesla or X ripping off the US taxpayers and mining our data; it’s Trump and his enablers and inflamers, not the US building and filling concentration camps that are slowly but surely turning into deathcamps.

But, recently, the clouds of illusion have parted and the Sun has been allowed to shine out. We are seeing the truth of how deeply and thoroughly the rot of promoting only conflict and competition has spread, is continuing to spread. For example, the slow, steady release of the sickening Epstein files and the exposure of those who participated, those who looked the other way, and those who even now are jealous that they missed out. (eg 50% of incels believe that sex with children is just fine).

In the US, too many of us are still blindfolded, believing we can depend on the Justice of the courts, the laws, the constitution. But in this reading, the card is reversed. She does not wear a blindfold, she sees clearly, and she knows that at this time, we cannot rely on the courts of law - those who are breaking the laws are the president, his henchmen/women, and those they hire to wreak injustice.

I pulled a final summary card - the 6 of Pentacles. We see a wealthy man holding scales, like those of Justice, doling out a few coins to one beggar and ignoring another. This is the economic reality for most of us - millionaires and billionaires dole out the coins to some, excluding others entirely. Tarot Master Rachel Pollack suggests this is a situation “that allows people to come together and to make something of their conditions.” This is what we are seeing now in Minneapolis, in Portland, in Chicago, and other towns and cities around the country.

As I mentioned in my first post - I don’t use tarot to predict the future, only to understand the current moment from a different perspective.

*I am writing from my perspective as a natural born citizen of the US. I am sure that my perspective would be different if I were naturalized (what a weird concept), an immigrant, a migrant, or from a different country or hemisphere.