Hidden Agendas – 7 of Swords
Today, I picked the 7 of Swords from Maria Kurara’s Black Cats Tarot deck as my Card du Jour and that got me reeling in a sense of dread about coming to work after a restful weekend. The card warned me of the prospect of being embroiled in a situation that involved people with hidden agendas. I truly had no time for corporate politics at this time, not especially, with the fact that after recovering from the upheaval of a departmental restructuring, we now had to get on with a ton of work around projects that were marked “urgent”. I had to steel myself to be wary of those whose goals were not aligned with mine or were not aimed at a higher good. This calls for an introspective approach to work issues. I reminded myself that I should not be reacting to anything or anyone when challenged today. It could be part of a hidden agenda to get me in trouble.
So I spent most of today keeping to myself, keeping my head down, and just reminding myself to be tactful and sensible at meetings. The day passed with no incident apart from a missing avocado that I had asked and paid for, but did not get, at the sandwich shop nearby.
As I tucked into my sandwich at lunch behind my desk, I waited with my guard up for anyone that might pass by my desk whom I thought fell into that description of the 7 of Swords. Every email that came in, was scanned in-between the lines for hidden meanings that I thought was meant to trap me into responding with one of my explosively sarcastic replies.
The only indication of what the 7 of Swords card might have pointed to, was my time wasted in trying not to get into any trouble of sorts, my inability to contribute effectively at meetings for fear of being slapped at the back of my head for not being aligned to management, and my open expression of sheer joy when a member of the management team called of a conference call due to conflicting appointments, hence delaying the project deliverables for awhile. I felt so guilty about making my work day so unproductive just because I built a “protective shell” around myself, more concerned with my own needs rather than that of the company.
Own up now. How many of you had fallen into the same trap when you pick a similar card to advise you on how best you should be managing your day?
So my day at work came and gone, and I hurried to my slew of back to back Tarot reading appointments in the evening. Funnily, out of the 3 readings I had done, the common card that showed up in the Advice position was the Judgement Reversed.
So this brings me to the next topic of accountability.
Accountability – Judgement Reversed
The reversed Judgement card from the Radiant Rider Waite Tarot deck updated by Virginijus Poshkus, was a poignant reminder to me that I could not be totally free of blame, for whatever could potentially happen to me, at work or at home. Every time we collide head-on with the “negative train”, we blame it on everyone around us and the external environment that we are in, but we forget that we are the artist behind that canvas we call life. We need to be accountable for our actions, knowing that every decision that we had made in the past, actually accounts for what we experience today. Why would I need to lie in wait for people with hidden agendas, welding a knife behind their back when I should be confident about the amount of meticulous effort and thought that had gone into my work? If there were changes within the department or the company, why would I need to build a barbwire fence around myself when I had made that decision to stay on with the company to deliver on its business objectives, aligned with the management team? When I made that choice to spend a good number of years with the company, it is somewhat like a marriage. I had chosen to commit my time and effort to co-creating a successful business with the rest of my colleagues. There will be rough days, and there will be great days. But most of all, these would be meaningful days built on my original decision to stick with it through thick and thin. Ultimately, I am accountable for my own decisions. If I choose to leave the organization in the future, then, I would need to ensure that I am accountable for the consequence as well. No complaints.
Ultimately, I needed to let go of my fear of changes and challenges that may come my way. I needed to let go of my dislike for certain people whom I worked with and who were responsible for some of the more unpleasant days I had at work, because it did not serve me well at all. I needed to let go of past perceptions of my role and my scope of work within my company when departmental reorganizations happened, because these perceptions only serve to limit the potential of what my team can do in the future. I needed to deal with past disappointments from people at work who indeed had hidden agendas. Clinging on to these limited my growth in the company. The truth of the matter is, I cannot control what happens within the environment, but I can control how I react to whatever happens within my environment.
One of my favourite cards is the Devil card from Judith McKay Stirt’s The Cook’s Tarot deck. It reminded me that I can never be bonded to negativity unless I allowed it. I had the power to break free from the chains of negativity in a tension-filled job, in the best way that made me most accountable to my family, my staff, my company and myself.
See how much Tarot can teach you with just 1 card in the morning? Not wasted at all.
About The Writer:
The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and an intuitive reader by accident who deploys the combined modalities of a Tarot, Numerology and Astrology overlaid with her Clairvoyant and Clairsentient skills to deliver her readings with authenticity. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist. She is currently running a consultancy based in Singapore called Sun Goddess Tarot, which provides confidential intuitive readings combining the metaphysical disciplines of Tarot, Numerology and Astrology via face to face and emails as well as readings at corporate and private events and workshops. A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she also mentors Tarot protégés on behalf of the American Tarot Association
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Email: Joanna@sungoddesstarot.com
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