The day went by slower, and each time I received upsetting news, I would sleep the hours away in my attempt to pause my suffering while fast-forwarding through it. And not to mention, the message that the cards dealt me this morning: to take each problem, one step at a time.
Today I pulled the Emperor card. A powerful, authoritative character among the Major Arcana, respected for his practicality and decisiveness as he is feared for his assertiveness and candor. The Emperor is characterized by an old man sat on throne of stone. He is clad in striking crimson garments; in his hands are his symbols of power. A golden scepter on his right hand, and the golden globe – to symbolize the world, on his left.
Behind him is a great mountain; this suggests the limits of the emperor’s power. That while he rises above others, there are powers greater still – ones that he, too, submits to. This is a reminder that there are powers that no man, no matter how wise or great, can ever hope to eclipse.
At the foot of the mountain, a river flows. Yesterday, I wrote about the connection between water symbolizing feelings and intuition. When we see the Emperor, we see masculine energy personified. Unfortunately, that misleads us to think that the Emperor abandons his heart or his feelings. Yet the river flows. Hidden it may be by symbols of power, but it flows still. Just as our feelings remain flowing in us, nevermind the stoicism to suggest otherwise – they flow, as sure as the blood in our veins do.
But what does this teach us? What has the card taught me that I did not already ignore for most of the day? The answer was as plain as the paper in my bullet journal. The Emperor gets things done because he is methodical in his approach. He is practical in the way he deals with the problems ahead. Like the emperors of old, the way to conquer an ordeal is to break things down.
Divide and conquer. That was the lesson today. The day was slow and wrought with its own challenges. I was not going to solve all of it at once, no matter how much I wanted to. What I could do though is simply face one part of the problem, one block of the equation at a time. I cannot calm the chaos at once, but I can take it apart, piece by piece, into smaller ones that I can.
I cannot solve every problem today, but I can face them, with a little direction, will, and discipline.
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