This Precious Alchemy is reader-supported. I would be honored and grateful if you considered becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This week, our card is the Sweeper from Resilience Alchemy. What have we been holding on to that is no longer needed? What might we have missed or forgotten because the dust and clutter obscured our view? The Sweeper comes to help us as we sweep the dust from our house.
We will still be whole and complete, even if we let go of things.
Just this last week we passed the Spring Equinox—the time of year when daylight and darkness are equal. This Equinox is associated with the coming spring season in the Northern Hemisphere.
Might the Sweeper be inviting us to do some spring cleaning?
The sisters in Resilience Alchemy are the mentors and teachers of the deck. Think of them as guides. Whenever I pull a sister card, I like to imagine myself as her apprentice. What special wisdom is she offering for the week ahead? If I find myself struggling, how might embodying her help me in finding my way through?
This week, the Sweeper asks us to look around ourselves with new eyes. She invites us to rearrange and reinvent, to clean and organize so that we can see what we might have otherwise missed. No matter how aware we may think we are, there will always be secret corners in our lives that we’ve forgotten or neglected. What treasure might we discover if we do some dusting and clearing away of unnecessary clutter?
Remember that most cards in Resilience Alchemy are excellent metaphors, too. Is the Sweeper inviting us to do some mental/emotional spring cleaning? Maybe there are outdated ideas we’re ready to let go of. Truths we’re ready to gently question and reexamine. Relationships that have run their course. Hopes and dreams that we realize don’t resonate anymore.
What does this present moment ask of us? And what might we wish to sweep away in order to come to this present moment with love and joy and without self-judgment?
A gentle caution:
I often struggle with all-or-nothing thinking. The idea that one something must end before a new something begins. That I cannot hold more than one identity at the same time. That I must get rid of all that’s come before in order to move forward in my life.
But as I write this down, I recognize how unhealthy and unrealistic my thinking is. So as we do our sweeping this week, let’s all strive to be aware of our intentions. Are we clearing away dust, or trying to erase parts of ourselves or our lives that we dislike? Are we getting rid of unnecessary clutter, or acting precipitously? This can be a fine line, so tread it gently. And try to be kind and curious with yourself as you go.
Questions for this week:
What do rivers sweep away? What do they leave behind?
Looking back, what old idea of myself am I ready to let go of?
Looking forward, what new idea of myself am I ready to inhabit?
What have I swept under the rug that I need to face and clear away?
What might I need to be patient with, instead of sweeping away?