It’s about “putting clarity and ideals into action; social justice; and doing the right and aligned thing, even when it’s hard,” she adds. Thus, the King of Swords compels us to embody “leadership, expansion, and expression, by sharing our experiences, taking aligned action, and bringing others together,” she adds. “You can be honest and kind, which comes down to honoring your own experience, what you know to be true, and disentangling from blame,” she says, adding your best bet is to be direct and true to yourself. “No need to soften your message—which often leads to passive-aggressions anyway.” “It’s time to parse out fact from fiction,” she notes, suggesting taking a moment to pause and breathe. “Ask your inner wisdom for the truth. Too much overthinking about our relationships seldom leads to better results.” Rather than overthinking, remain open in your communication. (Just don’t let anyone gaslight you, she adds.) “Allow space for your intuition—rather than an overactive and nervous inner monologue—to come through.” “In this case, it’s often about coming to a new level of clarity on your mission or message—which can help align your career and finances with your ideals,” she adds. Ask yourself how you can refine or clarify your mission and how you express it to yourself and others, she suggests. In this case, Vanderveldt suggests asking yourself where you feel held back in your career and how you can shift your mindset to focus on your unique wisdom rather than what you lack. “Stopping your thoughts from running the show (what we practice in many seated meditation methods) creates an opening for the clarity, honesty, critical thinking, and integrity that the King of Swords commands,” she explains. “Sometimes the challenge just lies in seeing and realizing this as it’s happening,” she notes, adding this takes mindfulness and practice. She suggests allowing yourself to be curious and open, as well as recommitting to yourself. “Make a space for thoughts and ideas to flow freely,” she adds, whether that be stream-of-consciousness writing or recording a voice memo to talk it out to yourself.
