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Tonight, I used two of my oldest decks - the Legend Arthurian Tarot, and the Gilded Tarot. I've used both of them enough that they feel like old, trusted friends, and that was exactly what I needed for the question I had in mind.
Recently, we've been having some conflicts with the neighbors that live below us. We live in what is, for the most part, a quiet, peaceful condo community. However, our downstairs neighbors have consistently played loud music and watched their TV at such a volume that their noise is constantly invading our space. We have written letters to the HOA, talked to our landlord, and talked to our neighbors. It is a stressful situation for us, because if the family downstairs gets evicted because of our complaints, we worry they will know that we are the reason for their eviction, and we share a two-car garage with them. It has become a constant source of stress for both R. and I, and it is beginning to affect our ability to get necessary work done.
So, My question was... How should I handle the situation with the neighbors with wisdom and strength?
I pulled:
1. Ace of Cups (Arthurian)
2. Six of Swords (Gilded)
3. Three of Swords (Arthurian)
4. Four of cups (Gilded)
I see the Ace of Cups from the Arthurian deck as a reminder that while this is a highly charged situation for us, emotionally, the same is true for our neighbors. There are a lot of really primal issues going on here... family, security, feeling safe in the space where we sleep and eat, and while we are feeling those things, the family downstairs doesn't have it easy either, what with the threat of eviction if they step out of line hanging over their heads. I see this card as a reminder of our common humanity (it's easy to think of the people downstairs as them with a hint of disgust as I think it...), and it's also a mirror, showing me why this situation upsets me so much. I'm usually the most non-confrontational person you could hope to meet, but about half the time, I'm the one gunning to go downstairs and give them a piece of my mind. This is why.
I see the Six of Swords from the Gilded deck as a representation of boundaries and turning points. There are all kinds of boundaries being crossed here. Their noise in our space. Their kids clomping around in our porch. Their smoke in our house every time we try to open a window. I bring these things up because they matter. Feeling like our home is ours is important to us, and one of the reasons that we decided to rent our own place instead of sharing with room mates as we had done for so many years. This situation is making us feel like the boundaries between our space and theirs are non-existent, and putting us both on the defensive. However, this card also represents a turning point. The symbolism of "crossing the river" is big. I think that this is saying that we are at a decisive moment now. We have to act wisely, stay in contact with our landlord, (who is completely aware of the situation), and be smart about how we act and when we confront them. If we play our cards right, things will come out in our favor. Change may be slow, but it's coming.
The combination of the Three of Swords and the Four of Cups, one from each deck, spoke to me very strongly when I saw them lying on the table. It's as if these two decks put their heads together to say, "You may feel betrayed by this situation--this was supposed to be your lovely first place together, and the neighbors seemed so accommodating at first--but don't let the negative experiences you are having right now be your primary focus. Don't let the neighbors take away the good things about living in your first place." And immediately, I was thinking about the meals we've cooked, the people we've had over, the good times we've had here, and the issue with the neighbors seemed smaller than it had been. Not so small as to be invisible, but smaller.
Finally, I think that it's significant to note that there are no Major Arcana here. It's like the decks are saying, "someday, you'll look back at this, and it will be inconsequential. One growth experience in a long series. A blip on the radar." I like that perspective, and I"m going to do my best to let that guide my responses in the coming days.
Recently, we've been having some conflicts with the neighbors that live below us. We live in what is, for the most part, a quiet, peaceful condo community. However, our downstairs neighbors have consistently played loud music and watched their TV at such a volume that their noise is constantly invading our space. We have written letters to the HOA, talked to our landlord, and talked to our neighbors. It is a stressful situation for us, because if the family downstairs gets evicted because of our complaints, we worry they will know that we are the reason for their eviction, and we share a two-car garage with them. It has become a constant source of stress for both R. and I, and it is beginning to affect our ability to get necessary work done.
So, My question was... How should I handle the situation with the neighbors with wisdom and strength?
I pulled:
1. Ace of Cups (Arthurian)
2. Six of Swords (Gilded)
3. Three of Swords (Arthurian)
4. Four of cups (Gilded)
I see the Ace of Cups from the Arthurian deck as a reminder that while this is a highly charged situation for us, emotionally, the same is true for our neighbors. There are a lot of really primal issues going on here... family, security, feeling safe in the space where we sleep and eat, and while we are feeling those things, the family downstairs doesn't have it easy either, what with the threat of eviction if they step out of line hanging over their heads. I see this card as a reminder of our common humanity (it's easy to think of the people downstairs as them with a hint of disgust as I think it...), and it's also a mirror, showing me why this situation upsets me so much. I'm usually the most non-confrontational person you could hope to meet, but about half the time, I'm the one gunning to go downstairs and give them a piece of my mind. This is why.
I see the Six of Swords from the Gilded deck as a representation of boundaries and turning points. There are all kinds of boundaries being crossed here. Their noise in our space. Their kids clomping around in our porch. Their smoke in our house every time we try to open a window. I bring these things up because they matter. Feeling like our home is ours is important to us, and one of the reasons that we decided to rent our own place instead of sharing with room mates as we had done for so many years. This situation is making us feel like the boundaries between our space and theirs are non-existent, and putting us both on the defensive. However, this card also represents a turning point. The symbolism of "crossing the river" is big. I think that this is saying that we are at a decisive moment now. We have to act wisely, stay in contact with our landlord, (who is completely aware of the situation), and be smart about how we act and when we confront them. If we play our cards right, things will come out in our favor. Change may be slow, but it's coming.
The combination of the Three of Swords and the Four of Cups, one from each deck, spoke to me very strongly when I saw them lying on the table. It's as if these two decks put their heads together to say, "You may feel betrayed by this situation--this was supposed to be your lovely first place together, and the neighbors seemed so accommodating at first--but don't let the negative experiences you are having right now be your primary focus. Don't let the neighbors take away the good things about living in your first place." And immediately, I was thinking about the meals we've cooked, the people we've had over, the good times we've had here, and the issue with the neighbors seemed smaller than it had been. Not so small as to be invisible, but smaller.
Finally, I think that it's significant to note that there are no Major Arcana here. It's like the decks are saying, "someday, you'll look back at this, and it will be inconsequential. One growth experience in a long series. A blip on the radar." I like that perspective, and I"m going to do my best to let that guide my responses in the coming days.