#card 6

Welcome To The Nightmare untrained / musical twilight parade four star

Alchemy. Art by Jackson Nathan, from the Etherea Illumination Deck.

#6: ALCHEMY Sign: Virgo Gift: Diplomacy Shadow: Conflict

Gift: Diplomacy The gift of diplomacy makes its way when you allow the invisible barriers between you and the other to v a n is h, letting true and authentic love in. This is not the artificial mold of love born of the people-pleasing tendencies of white lies and fair weather. This is an honesty that knows the perfect timing with the appropriate words. When you delve into this gift, it's as though you've downloaded the essential recipe for resolve; instead of infusing more conflict into a situation, you lessen it by adjusting your behavior and energy to what is needed in the moment -- the work of a true alchemist. This is accomplished only when you've mastered your own emotional state (having witnessed firsthand its chaotic unreliability) and operate using your inner guidance system. When you free yourself from your tumultuous inner world, you become the catalyst for peace.

Shadow: Conflict The shadow of conflict appears when you are overly identified with your emotional state, a turbulence that wreaks havoc on your entire system. There is a lot of deep-seated emotion packed into this theme; feelings, moods, and sensitivities are all present. There may be a fear of intimacy, perhaps due to early-life experiences when you were attempting to navigate your emotional world, resulting in extreme self- reliance as a defense mechanism. On a collective level, this has materialized as borders, racial divides, and war at large. It is a source of separation and the seed of tribalism. You either own those aspects of self that plunge directly into conflict and keep it as a dysfunctional sanctuary, or, contrastingly, avoid conflict at all costs to remain the people pleaser. To unravel this war-prone programming on the collective level, we must first seek to de-condition individually. Through the shadow, you have the potential to resurface with the soft armor of the gift.

Love. Art by Maria Surducan, from Timemongers.

UPRIGHT: the desire to share the world with others, prioritising love (be it romantic or not) over power and comfort, a sense of safety and community

REVERSED: loneliness, fear of being hurt, see also: Isolation

THE STORY: The chalice was always a symbol of community (and of shared resources). It’s interesting to see how the Greek dionysiac cup transforms into the Christian chalice (quite literally, in the case of Cup of the Ptolemies). The Love card governs the cups suit, drawing inspiration from traditional Tarot, later replaced by hearts in the regular playing cards deck.