Our image of love is often hampered by traditional views, which often involve a couple consisting of a man and a woman living together, getting married, having children, etc. This idea is heavily influenced by how companies present it in a way that aligns with and sells to the mainstream, which reinforces the mainstream's idea of love.
In recent years, there have been changes in terms of who can love each other without judgment or social and legal persecution, and in how people love, whether together, long-distance, or with others. Love is often discussed in many religious and spiritual domains as a fundamental element of reality. In these domains, love is seen as the thing that remains when negativity, obscurations, and a sense of separateness are stripped away. From this perspective, every moment deserves to be a celebration of love, as every moment is underwritten by love. Celebrating love is to see life with clarity and gratitude.
On Valentine's Day, there's an opportunity to approach the holiday in a way that feels far from a Hallmark greeting card. By focusing on what is lovable within ourselves and realizing that we don't need an excuse to love, we can create a movement towards more refreshing self-talk. Whether we celebrate Valentine's Day alone, with friends, quasi-lovers, or a committed partner, there is an opportunity to show love regardless of gifts, dances, or performances, but because the conditions that prevent us from showing our love are self-imposed.
I believe that accessing love often requires us to let our guard down and be vulnerable. Love is like a warm blanket that feels like the ultimate place of safety. This feeling emerges when fear is absent. Vulnerability is the name we give to the dissipation of fear, which results in the lightness that lies beyond its dark blockades. Many of us have been taught, either by ourselves or others, to guard and protect ourselves from pain, often due to rejection. Falling in love can be surprising and leave us feeling like we've tumbled without even realizing how it happened. This is the result of surprise. The best way to overcome the blockades of fear may not be careful planning but a surprise attack.
That's where Tarot comes in. Tarot cards can be a tool for accessing love by surprising us with insights and revealing parts of ourselves that we might not have known to look for or allowed to come to the surface if we were seeking direct answers. Tarot cards help our minds weave through stories and force us to make connections with the cards and within ourselves that surprise us. They circumnavigate our inner world and find alternative routes around our blocks. Millennial Tarot, especially, is disarming because the names of the cards have such levity that the punch they pack is often doubly surprising.
This Valentine's Day, I encourage you to experiment with dropping your conditions for love, both for yourself and others. If it feels right, consider doing a tarot reading about loving yourself, seeing your own blind spots, and uncovering the conditions you hold for yourself to be "lovable." Allow yourself to get closer to the universe and all that is, because what could be more lovely than that?
Tarot Spread for Loving Yourself Without Conditions:
Tarot Spread for Loving Another Without Conditions:
Tarot spread for exploring how two people's relationship can experience more love without conditions:
