Let's Get Metaphysical

The dream about the lightning bolt still troubles me.

I believe dreams sometimes activate the dormant 90-percent part of our brains and allow us to "see" things. I also believe dreams sometime trick us by only trying to make sense of the brain's daily intake of images and sensations, resulting in a dream about buying cotton candy at a street festival from your best friend in big ol' high-whore drag. There is no deep meaning there. Just something funny to recount over brunch.

However, I've had several dreams in my lifetime that still stick with me today: the dream about the Rapture when I was in my early teens, the dream about the walls fading away for the cloaked man outside, the dream about being bitten repeatedly by rattlesnakes resulting in my current phobia of snakes, and the dream about flying just out of reach of Freddy Kruger's arms. But that might have been just my brain saying, "Hey! Watch this!"

So anyway...the lightning bolt.

Last night, Hotass and I made dinner - a good ol' Southern meal of white beans, turnip greens and cornbread. And because we're drunks, throw in a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

After dinner, while we sat around burping and wanting to fart but having way too much class to do it in front of each other, we lit some candles and incense, and did a quick tarot card reading for each other.

I've had my deck since I was in college, and while, I don't particularly think my readings are good since I still read the book for every card, the cards and the interpretations still are pretty insightful. The Pink Lady's first reading was, even if I do say so, pretty freaking amazing.

In his reading for me, he flipped the Ten of Swords over, and it took a few seconds, but it dawned on me. The card is represented by a prone figure, face-down, being struck by lightning and embracing another.

The image is similar to what I recall from my dream. Struck by lightning by a lake, lying face down...although the other person throws me for a loop.

In a traditional deck, the Ten of Swords is represented by a man face-down next to a lake with ten swords in his back. A pretty dismal scene if you ask me. Ten seems a little excessive.

In my deck, the card represents ruin. An image that represents that this is the lowest possible moment and things can only improve from here. Some things are beyond our control, and our best possible solution is to endure.

When I asked Tarot.com for advice on this particular card, the answer was:

Protect yourself while the storm rages and focus on rebuilding after it passes.

The card in the Advice position suggests a course of action which will harmonize what you want with what is currently possible.

The Ten of Swords in this position advises that you lay low for a while. Don't make a move. Keep yourself as safe as possible until the drama, even the possible trauma, plays itself out. Once the turmoil dies down, then you can assess the damage and start to make repairs. The
situation can be compared to a hurricane moving through the neighborhood. You can't be sure whether it is going to pass over a corner of the field or whether it is going to slam into your house.

In the face of such unpredictability, protect yourself, hope for the best and wait it out. Sometimes, an extreme turn of events serves as a pressure relief valve for all the unexpressed and unresolved energy that had been building up. Trust the process even though things may seem pretty drastic right now.

The dream seems to make sense now. But it's what in the cards that makes me wonder now?