The introspective energy of the currently-overlapping Mercury retrograde and Venus retrograde has been hanging heavy in the air for the past couple weeks now. The collective themes of these two highly-influential backspins involve facing your shadow side, uncovering hidden fears or feelings, and digging deeper into the past to find the truth — even if that means opening up old wounds and dealing with emotional issues that you’d previously run from.
With Mercury reversing through radically honest Scorpio and Venus backspinning in justice-oriented Libra, there’s a huge emphasis right now on facing the facts, no matter how difficult or upsetting that may feel. The truth isn’t always pretty — usually if you’ve repressed something, it’s because it was too painful to accept or deal with directly at the time. With that in mind, it makes sense that this week’s tarot card is the Three of Swords.
The imagery on this card just about says it all. It depicts a red heart with three swords stabbed through it, and dark rain clouds storming in the background. This simple yet dramatic visual perfectly illustrates the symbolism of heartache, emotional pain, sadness, and inner turmoil.
This week might shine a light onto some of the emotional blows you’ve been suffering with, whether those are a result of recent struggles or sad situations from long ago. Digging through old memories, accepting the realities of the past, and facing the feelings that have been shoved into the shadows can be painful and triggering — but the only way to truly heal these wounds is to acknowledge the swords that are lodged uncomfortably in your heart, and then start pulling them out.
Purge away some of the painful baggage you’ve been carrying around.
You’ll have a beautiful opportunity to work through heartbreak this week, as both retrogrades are reaching a positive breakthrough moment. Mercury meets with the sun to form what’s called a Mercury cazimi on Nov. 4, and this alignment gives everyone temporary X-ray vision, allowing you to see through your own BS as well as everyone else’s. Might there be heavy emotions involved? Of course — but you’ve got to feel it in order to heal it. On the same day as the Mercury cazimi, Venus locks into a gorgeous alliance with growth-seeking Jupiter, bringing potential reconnections with people or ideas that you thought had been lost to the sands of time. You may have a chance to seek closure or solace with another person, or process the sadness you’re feeling with someone you trust.
This may be a challenging week emotionally, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and a rainbow that comes after the storm. Plus, this week wraps up with a beautiful new moon in Scorpio, which will feel like a clean slate and a fresh start — especially if you’re willing to work through your baggage — so use this as an opportunity to purge away some of the painful baggage you’ve been carrying around so that your heart can start healing.
