Looking towards the moment or the now, can give insight into where we are and where we need to move on to. Particularly in this journey of Self- Love, and discovery. 

With the Dark night of the Soul, still around us, it is time to look towards the light we need within, to do that we need to move forwards, through and into the fourth position of the Celtic Cross, where we look at our more recent past.

4th Position: Queen of Swords – The Recent Past

Our recent past, can extend from 6/8 months to the last year, give or take. Within this position, and particularly when it is the Queen of Swords, it can be very easy to slip into defensiveness and blame. It is a protective mechanism designed to stop us from hurting, but it is also an armour that gets worn to protect us from any trauma’s perceived or real.

Swords generally aren’t known for their kindness, the Queen of them more so. Tread gently with yourself and try to canvas a sense of love for all that you are and can be. Don’t shy away from the wounds, and certainly don’t bandage them up too tightly, instead treat each one and allow it to heal.

Learn forgiveness, learn to love this wounded person, and best of all learn to cultivate your inner smile. It begins with something small, and the rest takes shape from there.

By now we’ve dug pretty deep and discovered a lot about the person we have been and have the potential to become. 

Within the Celtic Cross, the spread begins to move beyond the confines of the now, the present and starts to address the hidden aspects, our motivations behind asking the question or questions that we have.

The fifth position now begins to look at that which is hidden, staring with the reasons for asking our question…

5th Position: Four of Swords – What We Must Know at this Time.

The proverbial crossroads shows itself again here within the Four, and indeed within the Fifth position of the spread it is about knowing where you are going. The journey of Self-Love isn’t ever going to be over once you have – if you ever have all the answers you desire. To truly understand yourself, you need to make peace with who you have been, who you are right now, and also who you may possibly evolve into.

Deep stuff this self-love! So, embrace it and make your peace with you before you move any further forward in the journey. Otherwise, you’ll end up back at this crossroads, facing this same matter over and over until you find your own self, and your own peace with every facet of the person you have been and will be.

We’re reaching the conclusion of this second part to the Self-Love Celtic Cross, here at this point in the reading, the sixth position reveals to us the heart of the matter, giving us resolution to the reason that brought us to ask the question in the first place. However, it is not the end of the reading, not truly there are other aspects to cover, now let’s look at what is being revealed to us at this time.

6th Position: The Hierophant – Resolution of the Matter at Hand

The Hierophant is the gift, or one of the prophets hidden within the esoteric nature of the Tarot itself. Within this deck Cernunnos represents knowledge, particularly the knowledge that must come to light. 

Where Self-Love is concerned, it is about working with the Shadow and the Light, the more shadow work that is done, the more aspects come into the light, until a balance is found between them.

The answer to the self love riddle is to find balance within yourself, a place that can house both the dark and the light in almost equal measures. It is not an easy place to create, but once established; well almost anything is possible.

With a resolution (of a sort) revealed, the last aspect of the Celtic Cross deals with the person asking the question. Since there isn’t an actual questioner, let’s look instead at the idea of Self-Love, what facets do we need to look at in this journey of self-healing and self-loving.

7th Position: Queen of Cups – Conceptualising Self-Love

This idea of Self-Love its not that new, we’ve often soul searched, traversed our inner self looking for answers. Transcended our own lifetime in search of reason, a means to see beyond our self, and our limitations. As soon as we let go of this cultural and societal need to prove our worth to something that itself is a concept, well then, we really meet ourselves.

The Queen of Cups is mystery, is the part of the soul that we never really bring into the light that often. She represents our hidden parts, the sub-conscious desires, or needs that we don’t often fulfil. In this case our need for Self-Love, we’ve been so used to needing the permission of others, to be something, to have something, that the only person we haven’t sought permission from is our self.

To give ourselves permission to just simply be, well that is perhaps the greatest gift any one person can give themselves. To be, to simply be without reason, is simplicity and perfection, as this is where the soul resides, its where the capacity and understanding of self and self-love truly begins.