Radical Honesty
Libra and the Two of Swords
There’s something stirring in the collective subconscious. We know on an instinctive, intuitive level that there is an imbalance. There are too many injustices. We’ve reached a level of inhumanity and inequality that must be corrected. We can sense a collective desire to reach for harmony and equilibrium, but the power structures and systems that we live under will not allow it. Cognitive dissonance is created. A psychic break. A kind of lunacy. Like we’re trying to convince ourselves that everything is ok. That no one is being seriously harmed by the current hegemony. We protect ourselves from the harsh reality of this paradigm. Isolated in misinformation. A false sense of safety and security is prioritized over truth and justice.
It’s increasingly difficult to know what is true. Despite the technology that has become integrated into our daily existence. Despite the fact that we have greater access to information than any other time in human history. Truth is obscured by state media, politicians, pundits, celebrities, by AI, and by our own desire to know.
But knowing is not the same as understanding. It takes more effort to understand.
Do we even care to know? The “I don’t follow the news” folks shield themselves from seeing. It’s too uncomfortable, sad, or scary to witness. Some prefer “high vibes” only. Never really looking at injustices or allowing any kind of suffering or oppression to penetrate. Relentless positivity. There’s a tendency to wall ourselves off or turn away unless it affects us directly. Hyper individualism and the alienation of capitalism have convinced us that it’s not connected. That my liberation is not tied to yours.
We’re easily distracted. The pursuit of truth and knowledge is not valued. Social media rewards homogeny and obedience to the state. Critical thinking is punished. Trying to survive in capitalism robs many of the space and time to parse through the propaganda. The more privileged escape into consumerism. Some turn to their addictions. Or double down on their commitment to electoral politics like it’s a team sport. Jeering at POTUS. Waiting for the “right” politician to save us. Others remain on that basic level of headlines and hot takes. Never peering under the surface or looking at the dark underbelly. Allowing media to manipulate them into complacency.
The dominant power structure defines what is true. They tell us why we should fear, what we should care about, who we should empathize with, and where to direct our anger. Political violence is only directed at the state…according to the state. The ongoing harms of endless profits, stagnant wages, ecological crises, for-profit healthcare, Covid transmission, the police state, and genocide with U.S. weapons are obfuscated. It’s like a mass delusion. A closing off of heads and hearts. Folks are rightfully scared. But if we’re so focused on trying to protect ourselves from the truth, then we won’t actually see what’s harming us.
Injustices are occurring whether we choose to acknowledge them or not.
I feel more aligned politically and spiritually with those who seek truth. I’m an Aries rising, and the planetary ruler Mars sits opposite my ascendant at zero degrees Libra. It’s a cardinal sign in astrology. Action, motion and initiatory energy. Libra is an air sign ruled by Venus and associated with the major arcana archetype Justice in tarot. Libra is our values and what we desire. It’s how we create beauty together. Our relationships and how we relate to one another. The goddess and the warrior. It’s how we perceive injustices, our definition of right and wrong, and how we take action to correct inequities. I’m oriented towards equity, harmony, and social justice, but for most of my life I was blinded to the stark realities of this world simply because I didn’t make an effort to see.
The first decan of Libra is the face of the Moon, and it has associations with the Two of Swords in tarot. In the iconic Smith Waite card, we find a figure who appears to be at peace. Seated and blindfolded with arms crossed and two large swords in each hand. The crescent Moon and the waters depicted behind tells the real story. The Moon is a planet of phases, tides, light and darkness. It’s our intuitive sense of knowing. Life and death, change, and the cyclical nature of everything. Like a primal understanding of the world that we often suppress. The Two of Swords is a card of psychic block and a state of denial. They’re at a crossroads. They cannot remain closed off, avoiding any conflict or bad vibes forever. Libra is a cardinal air sign.
They appear to be in stasis or equilibrium in the Two of Swords, but balance requires motion. It’s not a static state of being.
It gives us a sense of control to grasp information tightly. Yet we often languish in whatever truth or cognitive bias makes us the most comfortable. We hold onto our preferred narratives like swords. Not knowing is scary, uncertain. Admitting that you were wrong is perceived as weakness. It takes effort to change your point of view. So we do this dance or balancing act. It’s like a mask we wear. Rationalizing everything. Blocking out what doesn’t make us feel good. Promoting positivity. Protecting ourselves from reality.
Is this still the age of reason? Or are we constructing a different epoch? What is this reality based on? Where do we find meaning? Our inability to agree on what is true, even when it is obvious, just, moral, or humane, is concerning.
I’m trying to live in a state of questioning. Knowing obscured my view. I cannot possibly know or even begin to understand everything. The rigidity of science and reason has trapped us in a fixed, dead world. The path of the mystic is shrouded in mystery. There is much we do not know about an animistic universe. I remain curious and inquisitive. Vigilant. Critical of harmful power structures. Looking with both eyes open, and feeling with my whole heart. Empathizing with the struggles of others. I listen to my intuition and messages from the collective subconscious. I can be wrong again and again. I can change my perspective, and it will only enrich my spiritual development.
The Two of Swords is a temporary state. We can’t stay guarded or closed off forever. The cardinal air of Libra is about moving forward or starting anew. Balance requires motion. We can make a choice at any time to take off the blindfold. We can try every day to see beyond what we know to be true. Question our biases. Help others escape the harms of ideology and blind faith. We can sit with the suffering of others and try to learn from it. Let it change us. Use our understanding of oppression to foster more love. Practice harm reduction and collective care.
Libra is a mirror. It’s relational. We see and we really listen to each other. We strive for truth and beauty together in Libra. The truth is that material conditions are becoming increasingly difficult. What if we were more honest with each other? When someone asks “How are you?” what if we didn’t offer a route response in reply? What if you’re not “good’? Could you try revealing your emotional truth in that moment instead?
We are changeable like the Moon. Our emotions and our physical needs deserve to see the light. Grief is radical, and it can create change when it’s expressed openly. There is beauty in our tears. Sharing our struggles is a radical act of defiance against a fascist state. Solidarity can help heal our wounds. Speaking your truth to others allows the sadness and grief to pass over you rather than becoming internally identified with it. It’s a phase we are moving through, like the Moon. Truth connects us on a deeper level. I yearn for more radical honesty in my day to day interactions with folks.
As fascism escalates, my biggest fear is that we will sleepwalk right into an even more inequitable world. That the ruling class will use fear and ignorance to turn us against each other. That they’ll cultivate more cognitive dissonance with their vision of the world. Confuse us with their hypocrisy. Manipulate us to ignore the oppression. Create a more complacent body of people as state violence increases. It’s easier to turn away or tune out if the threat is not directed at us. They’ll acknowledge our struggles while stoking misdirected anger at our perceived enemies. Especially if those folks are black, brown, or trans.
Fear is powerful. Trigger words like “terrorism” uphold a white supremacist reality and legitimize the police state. The ruling class prefers that we don’t know who or what we are really up against. But in our most honest collective moments, when we’re responding to natural disasters or I.C.E. raids, and it’s clear what the objectives are, we are so brave, so connected. Our love for each other is revealed.
Our true nature is so beautiful.
The Two of Swords reminds us that radical honesty can reconnect us with each other and make our choices clear. Naming our fears, struggles, and anxieties clarifies what our true objectives are. We become less alienated and more aligned by speaking up about our grief and our desire for equality. Our collective subconscious is brought to light. It’s not complicated or confusing. We intuitively know which choice to make.
Choose love.
The truth is that it’s all of us vs. the ruling class.
We move towards equity and seek justice.
Protect the most vulnerable.
Abolish the systems that cause harm together.
