Lots of “N. 4” energy in today’s reading! This number can signify stability; and in Tarot it often means a state of rest and repose. It’s the number of meditation. So let’s talk about it.

Crowning the deck is the 4 of Cups, which signifies that somewhat morose emotional state we end up in when we don’t practice mental and spiritual hygiene. Limited perspectives of the world start to dominate our view and we fail to see the good around us, instead focusing on what’s wrong. Emotions become stagnant. But there’s a way to clean them up!

As a meditator, the 4 of Swords is my main “meditation” card. It appears when we need to rest, recharge, recenter, and refocus our energies. In today’s draw the 4 of Swords presents us with two results of meditation practice: Judgement and Temperance.

Meditation clears out the fog in our head and allows us right Judgement of life. It’s not even really judgement per se… because we end up dropping the incessant judging of everything that arises in our awareness. “I like this smell; I don’t like this sound; this sensation displeases me; this emotion is unwelcome…”. All of that suddenly calms down when meditation becomes a practice… or it can be dropped altogether in advanced states. In any event, Judgement also refers to the Voice within us, and meditation allows for silence in our minds so that we can hear our inner voice of true calling.

The other effect is Temperance. Meditation allows us to peek into the ultimate nature of reality and in that way join heaven and earth in sudden flashes of Oneness within our very hearts. Equanimity is cultivated. Instead of knee-jerk reacting to events and sensations, we engage with the world from a place of powerful stillness. The flow of air and fire around this card also reminds me of our breathing and how we watch the breath, in and out, as we meditate.

So this is an invitation for you to get serious about meditation as a daily practice. It may take some trial and error until you get it right, but there are plenty of resources!