This weekend I gave myself a couple of tarot readings on different days. I don’t have a pic or even the cards with me now, but the card “Power” came up twice as did “Third-Eye Chakra”, a card about partnerships, and one that was similar to the Empress card in traditional tarot. The message was that I have all the tools I need at my disposal for the journey ahead and, though difficulties may arise, I will meet each head-on, utilizing partnerships with others. 

One card indicated a past love might be rekindled, maybe not in the physical but via memories and reflection upon the past. This is interesting to me because I was thinking of my heart connection recently because of the dream I had. I also found my old tote with my school counseling stuff from my last job in it. During that time I had been in despair over the loss of my heart connection and struggling with my then-husband at home who was basically losing his mind at the time and taking it out on me. I came across small pieces of paper that I had written my thoughts on. If I recall correctly, I had been unable to post in my blog not only because of my crazy then-husband but also because I was at work from 7:15am – 4pm and could not find time to blog/journal. I found letters I had written to my heart connection as well as plans for the future and even made some predictions about what would happen in the future. One of those predictions was that I knew my then-husband would become more and more difficult and erratic over time. Oh boy, did he ever! It wasn’t all at once but enough that, over time, it was clear he was not a safe person for me to be around. 

Dream – Save the White Kitten

Speaking of my ex, I had an interesting dream that gave me some perspective. 

In the dream I was inside a house with my ex. He was asking me if I could buy him and someone else a white sweater. For some reason, I agreed, and began to search online for the sweater (warmth, protection, comfort). I ended up purchasing it and he was grateful. He approached me and I remember tensing up, not knowing his intentions and worrying he would blow up on me for rejecting his advances. Instead of making sexual advances, however, he laid his head on my lap. Recognizing he was seeking comfort, I relaxed and stroked his hair. I told him, “I’ve missed you.” 

The dream shifted. Still in the same house with my ex, I was looking at an unopened box (information/gifts yet unknown). My ex asked if I had returned the items inside it. I said I had and he pointed to it and said it looked like I hadn’t. I opened the box and saw it was full of wrapped up items. I picked one up but didn’t unwrap it. Instead, I placed it back inside the box. I was unsure what to do. I had returned the box yet it was still there, unopened and items undisturbed. Do I remove the items and use them or do I return them again? For some reason my sister (aspect of Self) was there with me and she seemed critical of my situation. I think she was asking me to just keep the items. 

Again, the scene shifted. I was inside the house and my ex had given me some food for a white kitten. The food was in two bags. One was cat food and the other a bag of white rice (success, new beginnings). The two were to be combined when feeding the kitten. When I went to feed the kitten the two were already combined. I saw the food floating in milk, looking somewhat like cereal (reminds me of OBE where I was told “Sometimes you want cereal”). I scooped it up in a bowl for the kitten. The kitten came to eat but a black tomcat came over and took over the food, hissing with hairs up on his back. I grabbed the black tomcat by the nape of the neck, took him to the door and tossed him out. When I tried to close the door I found it was broken and the entire side of the house was a wrought iron fence that was broken and rusted. Parts of the fence had fallen over and someone had tried to repair it with copper wire. I pulled the wire secure but a brown bear came at me from the other side and barreled over the fence, knocking it down. Panicking, I went for the kitten, grabbed it and its food and placed it up on a high cabinet where nothing could get to it. I looked at the house and saw the entire wall was a mess of wire and debris. It wasn’t going to keep anything out.

Reflection

I woke from this dream knowing the symbolism straight away. Cats are the Divine Feminine but can also be desire/sexual attraction. I think the white kitten represents me as the Divine Feminine but I am not yet fully mature. The black tomcat is my ex and is symbolic of his sexual aggression. I save the kitten from unsafe conditions – I saved myself from unsafe conditions. When I tossed the tomcat (my ex) he came back as a bear, which feels accurate to what happened in real life. He became someone I didn’t recognize, shifting into a very, scary and unsafe person. 

I also recognized how, had I left my ex ten years ago when I first brought up divorce, he would have been much, much worse than he was when divorce actually happened. Because I waited, he was the one with a new romance, not me (he thought I was leaving him for my heart connection at the time). I think he would have been much worse 10 years ago because of his jealous rages and the insanity of thinking his possession (me) was being taken from him. The amount of torture he put me through (emotional mostly) at that time would have escalated into potentially a very disastrous outcome. I believe he had the potential to cause me physical harm and would’ve had I proceeded to leave him as was my original intention. 

I’ve always thought I failed miserably not leaving back then, but now I think otherwise. I think I may have taken the wiser, safer path. I protected myself (the white kitten) the only way I knew how. At the time I had just opened up to my Divine Feminine (kitten) and was very vulnerable. Now I am stronger, the struggles of the last ten years with a man I knew could not handle losing me, helped me build strength I would not have had otherwise. I kept saying to myself, “I need him to be in agreement” before I push for divorce and it was accurate. It was not for monetary reasons like I told myself, though that was a bonus, but for safety reasons – spiritual reasons. I had to find my inner strength, create and enforce healthy boundaries for myself, and heal.  Though I don’t feel I have healed completely, I do feel stronger and more capable now than I did back then. My writings reminded me of just how vulnerable I was. 

The returned, unopened box in the dream could represent information, new data, that I previously “returned” or rejected for some reason. I think this box is full of gifts that I refused previously and now they have returned to be opened. I seem unsure about taking these gifts. In the dream I worry about getting in trouble for it, so perhaps I am worried the information in these gifts will cause problems for me. Or maybe the gift is revealed by the scene that follows? 

As for the sweater and comfort portion of the dream, I recognize that my ex’s behavior stemmed from his emotional immaturity and an inability to navigate the changes in our relationship in a mature way. He allowed his sexual frustrations to overwhelm him and used his physical size to intimidate and coerce me into doing what he wanted. This worked for a short while, but as I developed and maintained healthy boundaries for myself, explaining as often as I could what I needed and wanted, his tactics failed. His response was to double down on his efforts to the point that he began to verbally and physically harass me. The more he pushed, the more I pulled away. So his efforts backfired on him. All he wanted was to be comforted, his ego stroked and his sexual desires satiated. Thus, the dream showed him doing what he should have done but was unable to do for his lack of maturity and the rage he felt for being denied his carnal desires. 

I hope he has learned from his experience with me. I hope he has become more emotionally mature. Perhaps this new girlfriend has given him what he was seeking? Will he abuse his gift? Who knows.