Six of Swords

Ah, the ever-tenuous Six of Swords.  In theory, nothing should be uncertain about sixes.  They are some of the most stable numbers in the tarot universe.  However, introduce a sword, and well, there is a reason why we don't let kids run with scissors.

At best, a six of swords represents temporary agreements.  I don't mean simply a "truce," though that's possible.  Swords are notorious for their ability to cut.  They can be sheathed, or more properly, arranged, for a time.  This is delicate work.  One hard pull, one word said inappropriately, and all can fall apart.

Swords allow us to execute our will.  They discriminate.  They are the agents of our mind and give power to our intentions.  They can clarify but hurt.  A six is always to me a lover who one day gets "clear" what they want from their sweetie.  The conversation that ensues is all swords; they can be handled well or they can pierce the fabric of any relationship.

Sixes are the heart, the center.  They represent a midpoint on the evolution to the Spirit and are half-way devolving to the Material.  Sixes are balance; balance is temporary; temporary arrangements can fail.  If those arrangements are represented by swords, acrimony and stress are likely just a crisis away.

It is this last point that this Politicard column will address:  stress.  I don't mean a New Age stress, like Starbucks runs out of Pumpkin flavored caffeine.  I mean this in terms of precarity.  So many Americans, by some recent studies, up to 50% of us, are in poverty or near-poverty (though admittedly I don't know what that last term really means).  We live paycheck to paycheck, neither saving nor getting ahead.  We live for the moment not because we are self-actualized followers of Ram Dass, but because we can't afford otherwise.

Far be it for the Mass Media to report meaningfully on the economic insecurity so prevalent today.  Every day there is some new macro statistic to suggest the truth of this condition and its causes.  Last week we learned the Fed won't stop the stunningly unsuccessful Qualitative Easing (implying that we can click our heels all we want, but we're not out of Oz yet).  At the same time a new study indicated that the poverty rate for African-Americans was over 27% and for Latinos, the number is above 25.  At the same time we come to learn that the top 400 richest families control more wealth than does Canada.  In other words, the top 400 would be the 11th richest country in the world, in absolute terms.  Huh.

And so, precarity.  Never in my lifetime has America seemed so insecure.  This isn't about deranged gun owners blowing away kids or Naval employees or whomever will be the next target.  This isn't about terrorists coming here (though it sure seems we are on the side of the same people who allegedly attacked us on 9/11).  And it isn't even the weather.

Precarity is a deep uncertainty, an economic condition marked by insecurity, fear, living increasingly marginally, skimping on the future while barely, sometimes if at all, getting by.  And if you, yourself, aren't, you probably know someone who is precarious.  It's not easy to admit.  No one likes to acknowledge they cannot meet their dreams even while barely keeping their head above water.

No one wants to be there when the center gives way.  Some believe the subconscious message of the Six of Swords is to be the first one to grab hold of a handle.   Witness the increasing militancy of local police. 

I would suggest we reach out, instead, that we put the swords down and extend our hands, non-judgmentally.  It's hard out there, brothers and sisters.  We can strengthen the precarity through community and communication.  And honest communication requires us to clearly understand the root and nature of our precarity.  This is the take away for the Six of Swords:  the presence of inequality leads to a fundamental uncertainty for everyone.