Of Snakes and Swallows: A Conflict-Resolution Spread
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’ve had this draft in the queue for some time and decided to finish it. The subject of the example reading was on my mind when I created the spread, but it could be used in any situation where “both ends are arrayed against the middle.”
As described in Benebell Wen’s I Ching The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes, the judgment for Hexagram 61 of the I Ching reads in part “Where there is a snake, there is no swallow.” She observes in the commentary:
“A perilous environment, and yet take heart — one will rise, one who will change that environment and bring back the swallows (symbolic of beauty, grace, an empress, messenger of good news, and the ushering in of a spring period. A prudent swallow will not flit about the garden when a snake is present. A prudent swallow will assess the safety of an environment before flying into it. The current state of affairs is perilous, absent of swallows. The first line can reveal a climate that is overly dominated by masculine forces, where a balance with more feminine forces (represented by the swallows) is needed.”
I seized upon the idea of a fundamental conflict between male and female energies as emblematic of the hostile cultural and sociopolitical environment in the United States and pressed it into service as the basis for a new spread. It contemplates the present, not-so-subtle assault on “masculine toxicity” (aka traditional male values), the consequences of which I see every day on the streets in the form of long-haired, bearded, biological men with eye makeup in decidedly feminine skirts (burly, bearded men in kilts I can understand if not fully appreciate within the context of Western culture— it’s not like they need to be unencumbered for battle, unless they’re skirmishers in the “Gender Wars” and require unrestricted mobility in order to flee the scene of the fray).
Because the embattled masculine demographic still holds sway in much of public life, I placed the “Masculine Hardline” in the middle row, with a perspective on “Feminine Inroads” (both overt and covert) into that hegemony occupying the top and bottom rows. I allowed reversals in this example reading.
The first column represents formative principles that are driving both sides of the rivalry. I pulled the cards before I settled on the titles, but the 4 of Disks (Power) could not be a better lead-in for the “Masculine Hardline” since the arrogation of mundane power has always been the guiding precept behind male dominance. The Knight of Disks (King of Pentacles) as the overt feminine posture brings forth the old cliche “Who’s wearing the pants here?” while the Empress in the “covert” position reflects the female desire for an equitable “piece of the action” (that is, to be recognized and respected on an equal footing). I’d say the male bastion (aka “good ol’ boy network”) is being sorely pressed by this double-whammy.
The Lovers in the “Moral Conflict” position of the male row suggests that an ethical choice is being confronted at a decisive crossroads, while the 2 of Wands (Dominion) in the overt feminine spot is holding the decision-makers’ feet to the fire. The reversed Knight of Cups in the covert feminine domain reminds me of what Nikita Khrushchev once said about the ideological decadence of Western society: “We will destroy you from within.” It portends an “overthrow” and suggests the tactics of jujitsu, in which an opponent’s own momentum is used as a pivotal feature in controlling the flow of combat.
The Princess of Disks reversed in the “Armed Standoff” position of the Masculine Hardline insinuates that men are facing a concerted effort to emasculate the “hardline” male prerogative since it implies abdication of the historical male quest. The reversed 2 of Cups (Love) as the overt feminine stance shows that there is “no love lost” between the two competing factions at the societal level, while the 10 of Wands (Oppression) as the covert feminine attitude reflects no let-up in the “pressure-cooker” atmosphere.
The “Parting Shots” column has me thinking that both parties will come away losers in the overt exchange. The reversed 5 of Swords (Defeat) suggests that men will succumb to a defeatist mentality, thinking “it just isn’t worth it,” while the reversed 8 of Cups (Debauch) — couldn’t Aleister Crowley have dispensed with the sexual innuendo and just called it “subversion?” — intimates further loss of female clout and credibility. Between the reversed 2 of Cups and this reversed card, the momentum begins to falter, but as is often said in the I Ching, “There is no blame” since the goal is legitimate even when the tactics aren’t always dignified. The 10 of Cups in the covert feminine position shows an unperturbed poise that will step in and “pick up the pieces” after the dust settles.
The “Cultural Fallout” column conveys the impression that both the male (reversed Princess of Wands) and subtler female (reversed Queen of Wands) agendas will “go down in flames” hand-in-hand as a result of the ultimatum delivered by Judgement (Thoth “Aeon”) in the overt feminine position. (Here the adversaries encounter three elemental Fire cards and are inexorably “feeling the burn.”) I sometimes equate this card to the scene from the first Godfather film in which Vito Corleone says “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” In other words, there is no going back once “the fix is in.” Crowley’s “thumbnail” description for the Aeon is instructive: “Final decision in respect of the past, new current in respect of the future; always represents the taking of a definite step.”
Overall, it seems to me that, given half a chance, the covert feminine mindset has a greater likelihood of achieving a lasting equality that isn’t predicated on grandstanding and one-upmanship. There is a line from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics that strikes a chord here: “One swallow does not a spring make, nor one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy.” The feminist ideal needs to move forward on a broad front with the supreme confidence of the Empress and avoid an “all eggs in one basket” situation that is encouraged by the confrontational environment. I probably shouldn’t say this in present company, but I can’t envision Kamala Harris as the quintessential Empress. Maybe the Knight of Disks.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on October 4, 2024.
