"An Opportunity To Repair Imbalances..."

When SELF magazine urges you to Slim Down Your Way, they really mean their way. Take a look at the difference between Kelly Clarkson's real physique and the chop-shop version of her featured on the SELF's latest cover. In a master-stroke of irony, the accompanying interview with Clarkson boasts plenty of quotes from the singer claiming she's perfectly happy with the shape she's in.

In response to the backlash to their botched cover, SELF's editor-in-chief Lucy Danziger claimed that the retouching was intended "only to make (Clarkson) look her personal best." Danziger had lots to say about Clarkson, actually:

"She is happy in her own skin, and she is confident in her music, her writing, her singing, her performing. That is what we all relate to. Whether she is up or down in pounds is irrelevant (and to set the record straight, she works out and does boot-camp-style training, so she is as fit as anyone else we have featured in SELF). Kelly says she doesn't care what people think of her weight. So we say: That is the role model for the rest of us."

That's enough furious backpedaling to shrink practically anyone down to a size 2, and if you start contorting your logic to the point where Danziger's rebuttal actually makes sense, you'll definitely be Hot By Saturday. When the truth of the matter is so obvious, why resort to lies? Instead, SELF's bleeding hypocrisy just runs all the redder.

This is an excellent model of your brain under the influence of the Seven of Swords. If the Six represented all of your faculties operating in perfect equilibrium, then the Seven shows what happens when you start to lose your balance -- while obliviously clinging to your confidence. In your haste to make arguments, you make the wrong ones, and embarrass yourself. In your haste to win battles, you choose them foolishly, and the war is lost. Whether you've overestimated your own ability or underestimated your opposition, the outcome is the same. Here's hoping you are able to withdraw and regroup before your foot gets any further into your mouth, and that you're smart enough to do it discreetly and graciously -- making a big show of trying to bounce back will probably draw even more unfavorable attention your way.

Small mistakes and mistruths pile up quickly; your immediate impulse may be to avoid or whitewash them, but you'd be better off directing that energy toward honest evaluations and aboveboard corrections. The Seven may seem like a scold, but it's really an opportunity to repair imabalances before they become so deeply ingrained in your nature that they seem like a natural part of your identity. In the process, maybe you'll find the Motivation Secrets That Will Work For You. Hellooo, Satisfaction! [Via]

Previously On Arcanalogue: The Seven Of Swords