“Don’t create problems you don’t have,” is one of my favorite stock pieces of advice. It’s easy enough to say, much harder to apply. (It’s often ignored; maybe that’s why.) Most have done the whole catastrophic visualization thing at some point, including me. But some get sucked into the mindset as a way of life. I get the fear that drives it, but it seems a tremendous waste of energy to me—frequently at a time when that energy is needed elsewhere.

Today’s Tarot is the Tower, inverted. Astrologically, the Tower is associated with Mars, which is not surprising, as the violent disruption of this card is readily evident. This card shows a building being struck by lightening, usually on fire and about to topple. Mars in action! Many versions add people falling from the tower. Obviously, this is an unsettling image (and hence, one to pay special attention to), but softened today by appearing inverted. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention that sometimes, that toppling tower is a good thing.

Yes, it’s a good idea to look ahead. I’m not trying to start a fight with the Capricorns. It makes sense to consider the possibilities, look at where you’re heading and decide if you like it. This helps! But seriously, how often is the whole one-thing-leads-to another scenario carried out to it’s totally illogical conclusion? A setback is just that: a setback. It’s not an inevitable disaster. You can ignore the problems, deny it, fight the reality long enough, and make yourself a pretty little disaster out of that setback, sure. I’ll concede that point readily. But for goodness sakes, it’s not a foregone conclusion! Ask yourself how realistic is that fear?

A huge amount of angst out there is not directly borne from disruptions in real life or likely outcomes. It’s from the meaning people assign to what happens, the “What will I do if…?” questions, focusing solely on horrific imagined futures which have no logical basis. Once you start down that road, every single layer of what-if gets saturated in fear and dread and there’s no more balance. You begin to construct a self-fulfilling prophecy because you’re defeated before you’ve taken a single step to address your real challenges. Your decisions are based on a pre-assumed worst case scenario. That takes you straight to the place you are consistently visualizing.

It’s natural to get those flashes of panic, for sure. When my husband lost his job, initially I was terrified. I wasn’t sure I’d make enough to cover our needs and wondered how we’d be able to manage. I’m not immune to being scared. In reality, we made a few adjustments and in general, felt almost no pain over the whole thing thus far. We didn’t need to resort to any desperate measures–and after seeing what happened with his old employer, I know that Tower toppling was a huge blessing. But the first few days after it happened, you couldn’t have told either of us that. Now, I’m not entirely sure what the future will look like, but I don’t equate uncertainty with disaster. I am moving ahead one step at a time, with faith. And you know what? It’s working flawlessly.

Today, the inverted Tower tells me what you’re seeing is not the complete disaster it may first appear to be. When you’re under stress, you have enough to deal with already. Why add the pain of (incorrectly) assuming everyone and everything will continue to be a complete mess from now on, forevermore? That’s pointless, untrue, and effectively drains you of energy that could be better used to improve your current situation. If the bad thing happens, you’ll deal with it then. Even then, why suffer the pain more than once? Use this time to shore yourself up; no matter what, you can use the strength and hope available with a more optimistic assessment than inescapable doom.

Do you see catastrophe lurking around the corner?

Mystic Dreamer Tarot (Book & Cards) by Heidi Darras and Barbara Moore

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