Mentally preparing for finals: Developing healthy study habits and keeping your head high.
For this reading, I was able to answer a question seeking guidance for students finals.
Each card pulled in this reading represents something specific. The first card drawn represents the general theme of the situation and how it’s impacting the querent; the second card is a more direct word of advice on how they should go about it. The third and final card warns about what the querent should avoid doing.
The card chosen for the theme was the X of Swords. Swords are traditionally the suit assigned to the air element – they represent tasks we hate dealing with, but must. It’s often seen as an intellectual suit.
The art for the X of Swords pictures a lively, upscale party, with a woman in the center talking to her friends. The rectangle depicts a different perspective, where her back is impaled with ten blades. The original Rider-Waite deck illustration isn’t much better: A prostrate figure lies dead on a battlefield, with ten swords lodged into his back.
People are often afraid of drawing this card due to these depictions. For a drawing about finals, this may represent that the querent is anxious about their final exams. The X of Swords usually means things can’t get worse than they are now. The cycle is going to start over soon and things will become more manageable again. Exam time doesn’t last forever.
The context of the situation is quite frightening, indeed, but the word of advice for the querent is The Lovers, which is a positive omen. Its number is six, making its core idea one of recovery from a hard situation. Its art depicts a man and a woman standing in front of each other on a subway, their attention fixed on another reality, one where they embrace each other.
The card is, unfortunately, misunderstood by most readers, who interpret that it is about literal relationships. Often, it represents the querent realizing they must devote themselves to something greater than one person. The Lovers operate as a call to action.
Alternatively, it can mean the querent has to confront a decision they don’t want to make. In an academic context, that decision might be putting more time into studying. Along with X of Swords, the cards are saying that the journey isn’t going to be easy, but with follow-through and devotion to the cause, the querent can succeed.
The final card pulled in this spread, the V of Pentacles, represents what the querent should not do in preparation for exams. One reality depicts an army of soldiers (stylized after London guards) marching in perfect lockstep, while the other shows one soldier in the middle – battered, wrapped in bandages, disheveled and on crutches.
As mentioned in a previous drawing, fives represent conflict. The part of the story where the hero realizes they’re overpowered and can’t deal with everything on their own. With Pentacles, it’s associated with ruin and financial destitution.
X of Swords continues the theme that things can’t get much worse than they are now. However, it can still be interpreted as a hopeful message, because it indicates that the querent shouldn’t fall into despair.
Big assignments, projects and exams pile up, but the cards say not to worry. You won’t be going through this alone, and the school offers many resources to students who are struggling with academics.
In summation: Yes, finals might be a challenge, but you’ve got this. You just have to keep your eye on the prize. It’s better to begin preparing for them now so that better study habits can be formed over time.
If you would like to have a reading done, tell me what ails you at [email protected]. Until then, best of luck with finals.
