This month’s card for us all is the 3 cups. Traditionally this card is about friendship, celebration and a feeling of camaraderie and connection with others. As I look at the 3 cups in this deck though I see a seemingly strange image at first, three women kneeling over urinals looking as if they are feeling sick. There is an energy of masculine and feminine having none of the usual expected boundaries. This leads me to see the idea of our friendships are with people; the gender we are, though sometimes bringing issues to explore, actually doesn’t define our friendships. We meet with each others spirit in true friendship. True friendship goes beyond societal norms.

I also see here the connection of how our friends see us through not only the good times, but also the more challenging times where we are not at our best. In this card there is a feeling of us all being  ‘in it together’; sharing the sickly times as much as the healthy ones, sharing the times when we have over indulged, made mistakes and got into difficult situations of our own making. Our friends understand us and may be ‘in it with us’ at least metaphorically if not physically.  This month is a time for us to recognise our joint journey through life, though the challenges each of us have may be different, we can accept each other as we are, and see our similarities in our struggles.

There is a feeling of celebration and having had a wonderful time together, perhaps too much even. Also a need to get rid of that which is toxic, and purge ourselves of the things we do too much or take too much in of.  It may be as well as accepting our friends for who they are this month we also  need to decide for ourselves where our boundaries are so we are looking after our own energy systems. Our boundaries helping us to be friends with ourselves. The more of a good friend we are with ourself the more we will have to offer others in friendship.

So for this summer month of August our focus is on allowing our friends to see us more fully, recognising we are all in this life together, perhaps making mistakes and overdoing things sometimes, yet allowing closeness in the mess of it all. There is a need for our own self defined boundaries too. Celebrating ourselves and our own uniqueness in the company of others who understand us.

I feel it is a time of coming together and understanding though we are all different there is a shared experience we have of getting through life in the best way we can. As we focus on what is shared and trust both ourselves to deal with our own toxic issues, so we can also trust others to deal with theirs; as a friend we just need to be there, not to fix anything. As we allow support from our friends being there for us, non-judgementally standing with us, we find our own ways in life, so too we are able to offer this to those we are close to.

Take time this month to celebrate with your friends, accepting them as they are, and joining with each other. You might need to watch your own tendency to overdo things, but there are no true mistakes in life only our lessons. As you accept yourself as fallible and also lovable, so you may see your friendships in a different light.

So this month is a time to explore your friendships and your boundaries, as you consider all those you connect with you may find there are more friends around than you expected. People may not live up to what you would like them to be, but they may be offering you unconditional acceptance more than you realised.

You might also decide some people are not linked with you in the way you thought, and a boundary may be needed to restore the friendship to a balanced state. It is likely as you stand by your own boundaries and needs without expectation you give the friendship the best chance it has to deepen. Whatever results you will know it is based upon truth and each persons highest path.

In this holiday season you may find yourself visiting friends near and far and reconnecting with those you have not seen for some time. Enjoy the season and celebrate your togetherness, expand your connections and meet new friends through each other. See love connecting us all together as we walk through the challenge of life.