Through the Thread and the Five of Swords, this week we’re being called to release distraction and reconsider our priorities. Can we let go of our need to be right in order to find our way back to our deepest meaning?
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The Thread Archetype
How fun! This is the first time I’ve drawn a card from a different deck (Kim Krans’ The Wild Unknown Archetypes), and I love that The Thread is what came up.
To me, the Thread archetype is a symbol of profound connection, similar to how threads weave cloth together. It fastens us not only to each other, but also to our experience of life.
The myth of the labyrinth and Ariadne's thread is a good example of how we might experience the Thread archetype. The story follows a hero named Theseus, who must navigate a complex maze to slay the half-man, half-bull creature known as the minotaur. Ariadne, the goddess/princess, gives Theseus a red thread to help him find his way back out of the confusion of the labyrinth.
I believe that the Thread card comes up when we need this sort of guidance back to meaning and connection.
In the light, it is the Thread that guides us back to real meaning. It can show up as synchronicities and wonder, reminding us of what is truly important. It is what keeps us going when we feel lost. In addition, by highlighting connections and the underlying unity of everything, the Thread in the light helps us to see the bigger picture (or tapestry) of any situation.
In the shadow, the Thread can become knotted up and bind us, making our perception too narrow as it ties us to one point of view. Or, on the opposite end, it can make us feel scattered by leading us around in circles, like when we ruminate in endless mind loops. Perhaps most commonly, the shadow of the Thread shows up in our lives when we simply don’t see it at all; when it is obscured by distraction or chaos.
Some questions to consider this week:
In the guidebook for this card, Kim Krans has this quote: “Recall a moment in your life when you felt fully alive. The Thread is waiting for you amid the details of that memory.” What enlivening memories do you have that can help you find the Thread?
What distractions have been hiding the Thread of meaning from you?
Can you release these distractions this week and refocus on the Thread?
How do you know when you’re in contact with the Thread? Do you feel it in your body? Does your energy feel different?
Five of Swords
In this card we see a person looking smugly over their shoulder at two others. There is a sense that these others are defeated or dejected. Meanwhile, the main figure holds three swords (more than they could efficiently utilize) and two more have been tossed aside. Because the suit of swords has to do with our mental energy, this whole scenario has something to do with the way we think.
To me, this card is calling our attention to that strange trait we all possess (at least to some degree) where believing that we are right is the most important thing; that our thoughts and ideas are victorious over anyone else’s. It’s asking us to examine where we hold this sort of righteousness in our lives. What thoughts/ideas/beliefs are we unwilling to hold paradox about? And can we take notice of the cost of such righteousness?
How does this pair work together?
What I see here is that the figure from the Five of Swords has made it to the center of the labyrinth and defeated the minotaur. Now he must choose between holding tight to his swords or setting them aside to follow the thread out of the maze instead.
Where have our own rigid ideas of right and wrong kept us imprisoned? What thread of meaning can we pick up instead to lead us out?
Wow, it feels like this week we’re going to be getting mighty real with ourselves. As always, practice kindness with yourselves in the process. Let’s discuss it all in the comments below.
Oh this is wonderful Jenna! I really love your words on the Thread. I had not thought it to be a guide back to our core truth, back to our vision or deepest REAL. I, until now saw the thread as a binding shackle. And while sometimes it can be, other times it is a guiding light, a way forward, a safety link.
And our threads can be frayed and broken and torn, and whole and magical and connected. And as you mentioned it IS like a tapestry...for our thread affects the WHOLE of the greater picture. How we treat our thread is also important too, isn't it? To care for our thread, to respect it, to tend it...to that it can be both strong and gentle, soft and supportive.
Oh how I love this ...THANK YOU x
I just found this old Native American story told by Michael Meade. I am continually amazed at all the threads I am finding now, many through the weavers of the future I am finding here on Substack. I love the hope this thread story offers for our future.
So, here's to us, searching for and gathering threads to weave the world anew.
"As she pulls thread after thread from the chaotic mess, she begins again to imagine the most beautiful garment in the whole world. As she weaves, new visions and elegant designs (beyond what preceeded them) appear before her and her old hands begin to knowingly give them vibrant shape."
https://www.wisdom2be.com/essays-insights-wisdomwritings-spirituality/qsk7bs52yrp1hqu94aa5w52dkh6hdz