Ace of Swords reversed/Three of Swords. Today I am being told, or warned I should say, that a situation that is not new needs to be addressed. The Ace of Swords represents a double edged sword that is used with conscious and premeditated intention, and can represent the potential for achieving new enlightenment by successfully overcoming upcoming challenges. This Ace can warn of the approach of this type of challenge, alerting a Seeker to be aware of and prepared for the approach of possibly unsetting energies, or when reversed, it can tell a Seeker that the potential for such events is fading, or that the Seeker is not handling the events in a positive and effective way. The Ace of Swords tells of the presence of quite a bit of power; what it does not tell us is how effectively or ethically that power will be used. That is the job of the other Swords Minor Arcana cards. Unfortunately, my other card, the Three of Swords, is also warning me; it is warning me of the potential for logic and power to cause or bring me some kind of pain or hurt. What I need to remember is that forewarned is forearmed, and that sometimes pain and discomfort are necessary; pain is a great motivator! Hopefully I will see my way through whatever this day brings me, and wake up tomorrow morning feeling more confident and empowered because I chose today to make lemons into lemonade.

I looked over my cards for the past week, and I see a pattern. Over the past 8 days I have thrown five 6 cards in a row (only one of which was reversed, the other four upright cards were Cups and Wands), four Queens (three of which were Pentacles reversed), and three 5 cards (two Wands and a Pentacles). The balance that is happening is within my emotional and creative self. However, I seem to be neglecting or shifting my focus away from material affairs and “inner housecleaning,” and perhaps that is what I have been missing over the past week.

Okay, now I feel a little better. Let me tell you, my heart jumped when I saw that Three of Swords this morning. That is the one card in the entire Tarot that I really don’t like. I can deal with the chaos of The Tower, the binding addiction of The Devil, and even the hidden dishonor of the Seven of Swords much easier than the heartbreak of that Three of Swords. Not that I want any of them, but I have always had self-confidence issues, and this card really “cuts close to the heart,” if you know what I mean. All you Tarot enthusiasts out there know the usual image of this card: a heart or flower pierced by three swords, and usually there is some blood involved. But you know what? I have come a long way. I am a knowledgeable and powerful witch; I can make all of this turn out good.

My horoscope is a little more encouraging: “The day ahead should be excellent. You've been searching for meaning behind recent events in your life. No doubt, there have been a lot of changes both on the job and at home. And you are bursting with new ambitions. Today, dear Sagittarius, you're likely to put all these new experiences into a mixing bowl, stir them up and be grateful for the thrilling life you are leading right now! You may not have any specific answers, but sometimes feeling grateful is an answer all its own.” I can do grateful!!

I went to a craft store last night to actually see and hold some different gages of copper wrapping wire, so that I know exactly what I want to work with. I also bought two small packs of the two gages that seem interesting to me, so that I can play with them both a bit before buying them in more quantity through a wholesaler. I played with my logo a bit, too, reducing it to see how small I could go without loosing effectiveness (pretty small, and it still works), and thought about hang tags and explanation cards, particularly for my Reiki charged beach glass. Baby steps are a good thing!

I have another good weekend coming up in Cape May. Last weekend we had a positively witchy baker and her man stay with us; yep, there was a groovy red Volkswagen Beetle parked in our driveway all weekend! This weekend all of my sisters-in-law and I will be having a “girls’ weekend.” We call ourselves the White Sisters, LOL, because we are so pale when we first go out onto the beach in the early Summer. We try to get together without men or kids every Spring, and usually go shopping (no!! really?), we try to see a few chic flics in the movies, and out to dinner on Saturday night (Freida’s Café, here we come!!), and then sit up and drink rum and fruit blender drinks and talk about our men. How good is that??!!??