Jackie's Strength

This is an interesting one. At first, this card, the 5 of Swords, seems to visually step outside of the Rider Waite tradition, but when you look at it closely, it is pretty similar in intention. In the traditional image, a main figure gains power over two characters in the background. We don't immediately see that here, but when we take into account the woman's mirror reflection behind her, it could easily become her defeated opponent. Since they are one and the same person in this deck, we might ask ourselves 'who it is that we are really harming by our actions'.

The little white book that comes with this deck offers good food for thought. It says "Failure can be positive if you understand your mistake. Don't repeat the errors: the biggest defeat is the one that could have been avoided".

This card reminds me of my friend, Jackie. She once had the same hairstyle. It's funny how friendships fade away like the image of the woman in the background of this illustration. As two mates who lived in each others pockets (and for a while, in the same bedroom), we always maintained that our friendship would never die. Even though I got a message from her recently, after telling her I had changed my number, I get little more, so I'd say our friendship is pretty much on it's last legs. From what I understand, she still sees old friends I introduced her to and my ex boyfriend, even if I haven't seen her or them in many years. I think of her sometimes. In fact, it's strange that this card turns up today, because I dreamt of her last night for the first time in a long time. How can you know someone for over twenty years, to the point that they are actually like the mirror image of yourself, and then get to a point where you no longer know them at all? I miss the good times with her, but with so much water under the bridge, I am not sure I'd know what to say to her if I saw her now.

So where does this card sit today? Rather than Jackie, I'd say that this card is describing my boyfriend, who had his telephone interview for a job just half an hour ago. Unfortunately, it didn't go too well, through no fault of his own. The signal on his phone kept cutting out and the interviewer could not hear him properly. He sounded defeated in his first message to me, but in the last, he appeared more positive, saying he had spoken to his agent and wants to try and organise another go after 5 o'clock. Now this is where today's advice comes into play. As the cryptic little message in the little white book states, he must make sure that the same problem doesn't affect the call again.

Illustration from The Tarot of Reflections by Francesco Ciampi