Five of Stones:

On loss, mistakes and Weathering the Storm

The Grieving Elephant stands at the edge of a cliff in the height of a storm, far away from fallen pile of five amethyst gemstones. Elephants are incredibly sensitive creatures with strong family bonds, but this elephant is alone, desperate to get to the happiness and love associated by the amethyst. Fives relate to war, competition and loss, while Stones hold the powers of wealth and support. This is a card about loss — the loss of support, resources or wealth, probably related to a family member or loved one. Perhaps you’re going through a costly separation, lost a loved one who acted as a primary resource or supporting force, or are experiencing a costly medical issue or natural disaster. Drawing this card is a sign that you’ve recently gone through, or are going through, something traumatic and difficult, or haven’t yet processed something that needs to be processed. The kind of loss you’ve suffered isn’t something that is easily overcome. It’s going to take time, effort and belief to recover. It’s likely that you’re grieving, and that your grief is significant and needs to be honored. But it’s also important to focus on what you still have, and what you can hold on to from what you’ve lost: how to save your memories, the lessons you can carry with you, skills and experiences that can be repurposed or used for growth. Use those things to energize your creative flow. You may be in debt in some areas, but you’re not starting from zero. Your feelings may be overwhelming now, but just like the storm, they are temporary, and there is beauty to be found in both the lightning and the power of human emotions. Your feelings and emotions are an energy that can be molded and shaped.

If you’re feeling blocked:

The Five of Stones might be an indication that, instead of overcoming a loss, you’re suffering from the anxiety of worrying about a major loss. People tend to feel losses much more intensely than they feel gains or wins, so the fear of loss is a major cause of stress and anxiety. These things are toxic fuels of creative flow: they can certainly inspire and motivate action, but they’ll eventually lead to exhaustion. If you’ve suffered a major loss in the past, it might feel like you always need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. You might become too risk adverse to truly live a meaningful live, or you might be taking overly excessive, dangerous risks out of desperation or despair or a belief that better opportunities won’t come. You might be tying yourself to a job that you’re terrified of losing because you’re worried you’ll lose your home if you have to go without a paycheck. You forget there are many ways to get a paycheck. It can be realistic and practical to try and prepare yourself for hard times, because hard times are when we grow the most. But you absolutely must spend an equal amount of time or more dreaming of and working toward the absolute best-case scenarios too. What if everything goes right? What if Lady Luck shines on you? What if things go your way? What if it is true love, what if it does catch on like wildfire, what if everyone loves what you’re sharing with the world? Focus on the things you want to manifest.

Creativity exercises:

Create a tribute to something or someone you’ve lost or miss

Make an abstract painting, poem, collage or sculpture that describes your current state of mind

Write a letter to yourself from 10 years in the future when you’ve accomplished your biggest dreams. Telling yourself what you have accomplished and how your biggest challenge helped you get there

Get inspired by the theme of elephants, or the color purple. Feel free to do a word or thought association for either: what do you associate with elephants? Gift exchanges? Silence? Intelligence? What about the color purple? Grapes? Royalty? Write down five associations for each and choose one at random.