It’s been a while since I finished the first 3 books of Frank Herbert’s Dune series. I’ve forgotten a lot of what happens in the books (making a mental note to reread then to prepare for the upcoming film), but the Litany Against Fear is something that really stuck with me.
The Litany Against Fear is meant to be recited to calm and focus the mind during times of fearfulness and peril. It goes:
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over and through me.
When it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
For the longest time, I let my fears control me. My nights were either sleepless, or overrun by anxious thoughts and nightmares. The Nine of Swords hounded my self-readings—serving as a waking reminder of the fears I carried with me in the day and brought into my bed at night.
I failed to grasp the true message of this card, which very much reflects the Litany Against Fear. All that time, I kept running away from my fears or letting them paralyze me. I never FACED them. But once I did, things started getting better, slowly but surely. 🖤
It’s never easy to face your fears, and it’s never a one-time, big-time affair. You have to keep facing them. It’s hard work. Some days and nights are harder than others. But keep at it. Remember what the Litany Against Fear says: permit fear to pass over and through you.
Fear only stays for as long as you permit it. Face it. Understand it. Then let it be gone.