the many colors of anger

I have found anger a very useful emotion - even a shield. It carefully conceals the true depth of my experiences from me. No matter what the instigation my mind embraces my most favoured reaction – rage! Not distress, sadness, grief, fear or even anxiety. It has a lot to do with the manner in which I have learnt to process life. It is often said to many a trauma survivor – “I don’t know how you could have survived this?” – In other words had I been in your shoes I would have wilted like the delicate flower I am and fallen apart at the slightest provocation. The truth is that it is anger that separates the survivor from the victim and a fighter from the loser.

Needless to say there is a very special place in the tarots for anger. Not one card but several cards reflect various shades of anger that a person may experience. I think as a tarot card reader one of my favourite observations is the many colours anger appears in. Some years back a rather fierce young woman came to me for a reading. With her strong opinions and flashing eyes she epitomised the “witchy woman’s” flying sparks and flashes of lightning. I was mesmerised. As we were reading the cards I realized – here was a woman who had seen tough times in her life and had learnt to survive despite it. Much as she owed her many colors and the vermilion temper to her experiences the cards were very clear in their message to her.

The devil appeared along with death, a powerful combination. It was time to let go off the obsessions of the past – allow yourself to be free from the controlling compulsiveness of the devil and accept that change was imminent. Death also pointed to the fact that the change would not be easy and would come with its pain, a difficult task for a person whose personality has somehow got interwoven with the anger she holds within. It is absolutely true that the very same anger that leant you the edge can become outdated and make it difficult for you to accept your softer & gentler self.

Most of us spend years trying to battle the anger within us, whether its is betrayal, jealousy, humiliation or even greed in multitude situations we use distractions to manage it. Whether it is shopping, alcohol, conversation, food or sex, distractions can only provide a brief respite only to return the anger in full force. The cards however always indicate a healing and nurturing process for the self. As a reader you have to help others make that journey for themselves.

The tarots reflect this is several ways. Many other cards – the 5 of swords with its direct message of a brief but fierce conflict, the 7 of cups with its fantastical illusions, the 5 of wands signifying jealousy and competition, the 7 of swords in one of its shades signifying betrayal and the 8 of cups asking a person to leave disappointment and disillusionment behind all provide us with many reflections of anger. These cards appear in various symmetries and combinations in readings indicating various circumstances but with an underlying experience of anger for the receiver. But as a reader I believe it is my responsibility to not only spell out the eventuality but also look for the messages that the cards send the seeker to help them find peace and tranquillity.

A friend once asked me, have you ever met anyone who is so completely angry that they have no hope of feeling calm. The answer is no. While in a reading you may see several colors of anger, you will also see several shades of hope. Look in the spread for the underlying causes of the anger – is it a current experience that causes it, is it greed and avarice that results in inner unrest, is it misdirected anger about issues unaddressed or is it an ingrained experience that favors this emotion? It is in the cause that you will find the cards, which will provide help. Look for temperance for healing and mercy, the star for positive spirit and hope, the high priestess for guidance and counselling, the empress for regeneration and self healing and even the 4 of cups or 4 of swords for immediate disengagement and enforced rest.

All you need to do is tell the story that anger can only be dealt with through acceptance that you have a reason to be angry, the realisation that it is the most powerful of all emotions and help find ways of channelizing it usefully.