Move With Grace

From the Hezicos Tarot, the Knight of Cups; from the Way of the Horse, False Self:

We may wear now one mask and now another, and never, if we so desire, appear with our own true face. But we cannot make these choices with impunity. If we have chosen the way of falsity, we must not be surprised that truth eludes us when we finally come to need it and that confusion reigns.

– Thomas Merton

The imaginative and sensitive Knight of Cups signals movement in the emotional realm. Perhaps that resentment we've held onto for years gets chipped away. Maybe we gain the courage to introduce ourselves to someone we wanted to get to know better. Or it could be that those who have been in the depths of grief decide a walk in the sunshine would be nice. Yet the False Self card warns us not to act in order to conform to external expectations or ideals. We must let our actions stem from a sincere heart. 

Falls the Shadow

From the Hezicos Tarot, the Sun; from the Way of the Horse, False Self:

Between the idea

And the reality

Between the motion

And the act

Falls the Shadow

~T.S. Eliot 

The four compass points on this Sun remind me of a joke. An inebriated fellow was pulled over for greatly exceeding the speed limit. When the police officer asked him where he was going in such a hurry, the man answered, "I don't know, but I'm making damn good time!" The Sun suggests energy, but also a need for clarity. It doesn't matter how fast we're going if we don't know where we're headed. The False Self card looks at this idea from another angle. The false self is a mental construct of the ego that attempts to control our choices so that they coincide with socio-cultural norms and familial/peer expectations. It reins us in with a fear of missing out or a sense that we must fit in to belong. But this masked persona is not our true self and will never leave us feeling content and whole. With discernment, however, we can root out our people-pleasing behavior and instead turn toward our authentic self, making choices from our own core values and goals.