The power of your emotions

Water. The element of life. Nothing on our planet would live if it weren’t for water. Our human bodies are made up of about 60% water. It is in us, in our air, in rivers and lakes, in the oceans, underground, in every plant and animal. Water connects us all. It also connects the tarot cards. The Arcana of Cups is ruled by it. The Major Arcana is also connected. Whether it’s the High Priestess, Temperance, or the Star, we see it everywhere. And here, all these little streams and rivers flow together.

The sea, over which the King of Cups reigns, stretches across the entire deck. His arms even reach into the Fire Arcana of Wands. It is everywhere and always reflects our feelings. It reveals vastness, promises distant adventures and places never seen before. It awakens our longing to go on a journey, to ourselves and at the same time to the world. Because the journey to ourselves eventually leads us to places and people that suit us. People who feel exactly the same way we do, who have the same views. It takes us to places we have only dreamed of, but as soon as we arrive, we know: “This is where I always wanted to be.”

The King of Cups does not like sitting on his throne. “Too dry,” he often thinks to himself. He prefers to be here in the sea, bathing, swimming, diving, and simply drifting with the current. He enjoys it because he knows what every single drop of water contains. Every memory, every tiny spark of emotion is captured here in the sea. They are not always the same, because the current takes some away and leads them down other paths, while others are washed ashore. Some of your dreams have probably already flowed through the king’s hands.

What makes this king so special is his ability to express every little spark of emotion. He wouldn’t answer the question “How are you?” with a simple “Fine.” He would tell you why he feels good. Whether it’s the sunshine or the birds singing, he would tell you, right at the moment you ask. If I asked you right now how you are, what would you answer? Right now, at this very moment. What feelings are there? In my rehab, I learned that it is helpful to say what feelings are there. So start your sentence with: “There is…”

Then you can say what that feeling is. Don’t judge it, just describe it as you would describe an object to someone who has never seen it before. What is there? Is there perhaps satisfaction because you just have a fresh cup of coffee in front of you? Or maybe some resentment because you just thought about the things you still have to do today? No matter what it is, name it for this very moment. After all, I wanted to know how you are doing, not how you felt this morning. Do you notice the difference? Often, we either say we’re fine to end the conversation, or we digress and talk about our stressful morning, the annoying commute to the office, and so on and so forth. But when we answer the questions for this one moment, it looks different. Are you still frustrated because you were stuck in traffic today? Why now? You haven’t been stuck in traffic for hours. Or is it more about the feeling that you wasted time? Use the power of the King of Cups to clearly articulate what you are feeling in this very moment.

Just as water flows over all the cards and through all of us, so does karmic balance. We don’t always feel or sense something immediately in a situation; usually it happens much later. Then, when the moment is over, we are introspective. Sometimes feelings linger as a reaction to what happened. As in the example of the traffic jam, we can dwell on this feeling for hours, and even if we have suppressed it, it comes back up again. Just as karma provides balance, our feelings also demand this balance. Our body still holds on to it, but why? What really happened to us in that moment? Why are we so upset about this one situation or this one sentence? Especially with negative emotions, it is difficult for us to get to the bottom of things, but be assured: every feeling is a reaction to an action or a situation. Every feeling is a result, which is why the “Karmic Justice” card fits so well.

This tracing back is not always easy; sometimes it even hurts a lot. My biggest problem last year was that there was always immediate anger. Boiling, all-consuming anger. I learned to look at why there is anger and, above all, whether there really is anger. Sometimes I was just annoyed, other times I felt hurt, the next time I was sad, and then I was just extremely tired and irritable. Rarely, even if it did happen, was I really angry. Using the above technique, I managed to better identify my feelings and thus feel them more clearly. It also helped me to find the reason for the less positive feelings. I learned something about myself. About myself and how I can interact with the world in the future.

If you want to try this experiment, I recommend writing everything down. Especially in the beginning, when we are not yet used to this process, our brain wants to fight it or simply forget it. Write down all the feelings you have. Feel free to do this exercise several times a day, as a little mood analysis. Or when you feel a feeling coming on, write it down. It’s best to use your cell phone for this. We all have them with us anyway. Give it a try and, if you like, let me know what you’ve learned.

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