Messages of Divine Love are weekly intuitive readings offered for a heart-centered collective. Weaving in social justice themes with tarot & pop culture storytelling, these are intended to be a geeky, uplifting start to your week.
A Peek at Last Week…
Last week, the theme focused on bringing out the best in our team so that the pressure doesn’t build on one person’s shoulders. Yet, I continue to see a number of people who continue to insist that we have to back a certain candidate as an all-or-nothing, do-or-die command. It got to me so much that I added my two cents this week with an extra post.
And if I sound uncharacteristically harsh, welcome to my sharp side - the side that pulls the hoops out and squares up when a community I love is being threatened. I’ve faced off against leaders before, and I’ll do it again. I’ve lost friends before and it will happen again. So when I see trans friends I love being lectured to by privilege wrapped in panic, the knives come out.
I say all of that because when I tell you this week is going to require our surrender, I don’t want you to mistake my meaning. It is not to give up in anticipatory defeat, but to offer ourselves to something bigger than us alone - and that starts with surrendering to equality.
INTRO NOTES TO THE DECK & READING
I have often referred to myself as the Queen of the Crossroads. I make a decent companion for the intersection of patterns and opportunities, fear and love, obedience and defiance. I prefer to stand, lantern in hand, showing you the truths that stand with you. This week is all about those kinds of choices. We have no choice - we are going to have to leave the old world behind if we are truly committed to building a better one.
That means, in part, rejecting the conventional wisdom. Nothing about this electorate is as predictable as we think. The impact of massive government layoffs, rolling tariffs, and shuttered research programs has yet to be felt - neither have the population shifts we can expect from deportations, trans bans, and worsening economic conditions.
Surrender seems like the most counterintuitive thing we could do right now. Still, we cannot simultaneously serve the desires of the old world with its extractive policies and restrictive conditions, while claiming we're all about that collective care life. We can't be throwing out absolutisms and false dichotomies while also declaring war on the us vs. them narratives of the right. Friends, we are better than that, aren't we?
Where We Are This Week
Nine of Swords (R)
Third Eye Chakra
The things we have been through in the past month, much less the past year is EXACTLY what was predicted by oracles, lawyers, activists, astrologers and policy wonks. And when you have that many agreeing all at once, you know the nightmare is real. This card shows the confirmation of that - worst fears coming true. but that doesn’t mean a) we’re going through it alone or b) that it has to cut us as deeply as it might have. Here, foresight is power. We have seen the deceptions, faced the difficulties, crawled through the dark, and stared down the barrels of defeat too many times to give up now. The misery we imagine can be lessened if we apply that same forethought to each other. Apply your big, beautiful brains to more than describing the nightmare and instead devising how you’re going to help people pull something beautiful out of the rubble.
From Our Guides
Four of Wands
Heart Chakra
Some brightness from the guides this week, confirmation that home is wherever the heart is at. We are each calling in old and new souls to help us build not just a sense of security and integrity, but a network of support to help you become more of Who You Really Are. Unconditional love does not mean we avoid conflict or demand obedience; rather, if we treat accountability as an act of love, as an invitation to make the human family whole again, the perspective shifts, doesn’t it? Play with that idea this week and see what kind of world you can build from that idea alone.
Messages from Lady Gaia/Mother Earth
Six of Swords (R)
Throat Chakra
The Earth is ready to move forward, recreating a world that holds the promise of replenishment, not the resentment of extraction. We are going to have trouble letting go. We are clinging so tight to abstract concepts like “democracy” and “freedom” but failing to connect it to the living, breathing dynamic of that. Democracy is about choice and voice; freedom is about autonomy and direction. All four of these dynamics are at play in our collective governance and all four are under threat in the current environment. But if we keep clinging to abstracts instead of living the truth of those concepts, we’ll remain tethered to the old, never breaking away enough to accept the new.
Messages from the Ancients
Six of Cups
Sacral Chakra
Back-to-school time always gets me nostalgic for the past. We lived close to the State Fair and could smell the roasting chiles, hear the concerts from the grandstand, and see the nightly fireworks if we sat at the corner. It was a neighborhood thing; we would all come out every night to watch them together. Just like we all came out to support the steelworkers when they went on strike. Or to help a neighbor when her husband died. So when I think of collective care, I think about the safety of the neighborhood I grew up in, the trusted people who lived near me. These are the memories invoked by this card - that sense of safety, the connections we have to one another.
Generational healing and cultural humility are woven into my Surviving Your Tower Moment class series. I am teaching Class 2 on Thursday. Learn more here:
Messages from Our Future Selves
The Fool
Crown Chakra
In order to get to the future we want, we have to believe it is possible. We can’t take a leap without that critical quality of direction that I mentioned earlier. From now until the universe says “Go!” your one and only job is to believe that the impossible really is possible. That doesn’t mean buying into false hope or lecturing people on positivity; it means embodying that vision in how you show up in the world, even if it feels foolish. But that doesn’t mean wandering off aimlessly, it means knowing the sign and jumping out towards it because it’s the right thing to do. THAT is what it means to surrender.
Messages from Mother Mary
Two of Swords
Solar Plexus Chakra
When different paths, different possibilities are weighing you down, Mother Mary wants you to listen to your gut. Snip away the doubt, let go of the mental conflict, and surrender to what your internal compass is telling you is right. Many of us will have to make these choices soon, so make sure you know how to synthesize your wisdom with the external validation you need to make the right choice.
Extra Card
Two of Pentacles
Crown Chakra
We have arrived at the point where we can no longer carry someone else’s load for them, and no one can carry ours either. That is not meant to be an isolating sensation, but one that should empower us to let go of the baggage that isn’t ours. For example, I can no longer carry the responsibility for our family’s cabin, so I am wrapping up the estate so I can finally be free of that burden. It hurts to let it go, but it frees up my mental space to carry better things. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help one another, but it means decluttering our expectations so we’re not dragging all our shame, guilt, and resentment with us.
Undercurrents
Ace of Swords
Throat Chakra
We have enough going on that we don’t need to be borrowing more trouble. While I’m often in the business of projecting what a policy or practice will do, if I’m off balance, it quickly turns to catastrophic cascades of “what ifs”. This is the kiss of death right now. It is one thing to know something is on the horizon, but quite another to exercise the discernment to know what is worth your reaction. Don’t let others’ speculation pull you away from your path. Stick to the facts. If the facts are not yet fully known, file them away in your mind and wait until you do.
Final Advice
Eight of Cups (R)
Root Chakra
The eight of cups is a goodbye - how permanent it is will be up to us. These are about our emotional connections, even our deep, soul loves, but also our ancestral patterns. If you find yourself going back to the same well over and over again, you have to ask Why do I keep doing this to myself? We cannot change anyone else, but we can open a new door for ourselves. If you find yourself going through an unsatisfying revolving door, stop to assess whether it’s stubbornness or sadness causing you to continue reaching back? What will it take to finally surrender this chase?
PARTING WORDS FROM A GEEK EMPRESS
Democracy is about choice and voice; freedom is about autonomy and direction.
This week, we have a choice to abandon the bullshit narratives that keep us locked in an exploitive dance with one another and instead embrace a brighter tomorrow built from consent. And we can't build a world of consent if we ignore the consent of the most vulnerable to the means of their own governance, their autonomy, choice, direction, and voice. All of which are directly under threat with the gerrymandering in Texas right now.
But not just in Texas. It's also happening in the Democratic Party to a sickening degree. The willingness to abandon anyone who is trans, disabled, or an immigrant right now has been egregious to watch, both from a legal/policy perspective but also a spiritual one. If we ignore the consent, the will of the people, then what the fuck are we even doing here? Who the hell will ever trust us with leadership if we shout down all criticism, silence all dissent?
And why the ever living fuck are we choosing a candidate before we even know how these redistricting wars are even going to play out?
Yes, I have strong opinions, but the policy bruja in me is screaming out in frustration - it didn't have to be like this, like any of this. But now that we're here, we're going to have to go through some hard lessons about surrender. Because none of us are making it out of here without finding trust in one another again. And we can't find trust when our consent is being trampled on and assumed over and over by the people who call themselves allies. Someone is going to have to surrender their one-size-fits-all approach to finally pull forth a message that matters.
And for our inspiration this week, I present Coach Walz who just gave a rousing speech to the Democratic National Committee and my gawd, someone put him in charge of messaging, please!?
“We have to make the case to them that the alternative and what we provide, the quality of life, the enhancements, the ability to form a union or send your child to school safely, the ability to have thriving economies that work for everyone…”
“We are proud of the diversity of this country. We’re not shying away from diversity as a strength and equity as a goal and inclusion being the air we breathe. That’s what we should be doing.
“We are strong. We are strong because we challenge each other. We are strong because we’re held accountable. We’re strong because we believe there is a place for everyone here.”
What part of the vision speaks to you? Is it worth surrendering our pride and paranoia in order to make it happen? Because, like Walz, I think we all agree, “The cruelty must end.” Period. End of story.
Now go forth and make that happen!
As always, may blessings follow you throughout the week to remind you that you are never alone: We are all connected 💖
New Class! Surviving Your Tower Moment (Part 2)
Next Thursday 8/28 (6pm Mountain - via Zoom)
I hope you’ll join me for the next Surviving Your Tower Moment class happening next Thursday.
Picking Up the Pieces Together
In this second installment of the "Surviving Your Tower Moment" series, we will be examining how these moments of sudden change impact the people around us, including our own trust issues with what help to accept and what "help" to avoid.
In this 2-hour session, we will be covering different conflicts and collaborations that present themselves when humanity is facing its worst day. You will like how to call in the heroic helpers, the soul teams that work collaboratively and cohesively by your side, but also how to manage the naysayers and saboteurs who will waste your time with unsolicited advice and judgment. We'll discuss conflict styles, honoring & setting boundaries, consent, and trauma-informed advocacy strategies.
I promise, I won't make you role-play, but I will ask you to contribute your voice in a meaningful way - I learn just as much from you!
This is one of a 3-part series leading up to a deeper Reiki for Heart-Centered Leadership Course happening in October.