The Sun/Knight of Wands reversed. Perfect!! Today will be a day of light and clarity after a period of darkness or confusion. I may feel that I have come out of the time of darkness as a stronger and wiser person, better because of the challenges that have been overcome. I need to keep in mind that while the benign heat of the sun can burn away the fog of confusion and doubt, too much sunlight will dry up my connection to my passions and feelings and the voices within, and I will end up wilting in the desert, unable to bring forth enthusiasm, creativity and motion.

My Thoth card for today is the Nine of Swords. “Cruelty”; talk about a jolt of reality! This card represents the agony of the mind, and it reminds me that decisions and judgments made with the intellect only, and without mercy, compassion or love, are cruel indeed. I am being warned to be alert and aware so that I do not fall into the trap presented by this Nine.

My horoscope for today: “Restriction and discipline might not be your forte, dear Sagittarius, but realize that this may be exactly the type of thing that you need the most. Try not to disperse your energy in too many directions. Focus and channel your efforts into the things that you consider to be the most important. Make sure that most of your day is spent tending to these things. Have you hugged your loved ones lately?”

What a great couple of weeks I have had! My time between Memorial Day Weekend and today has been crazy. We had company in Cape May for Memorial Day Weekend, and the weather cooperated nicely. Then came recovery from the weekend and preparation for my trip to the Dominican Republic.

My dance partner, Sharon, and I left for the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, June 3; our flight was uneventful. We arrived with no problems, and Brian was there, waiting for us at the airport. It was probably 2:30 am by the time we reached Brian’s apartment. I had not seen Brian’s dog, Jeri, since last year, when he was only 8 weeks old. Needless to say, we were all up for a while, getting reacquainted. Even after we finally went to bed, Jeri went from my bed to Sharon’s bed, licking us and playing. We all slept for a couple of hours, and then began our usual D.R. morning routine: drinking coffee and talking. Eventually, we made brunch, and then headed out. Our destination: the Rio Jacagua! This is a stream, fed by mountain waters (and since some of the mountains in the Santiago area are 5,000 feet +, the water is sometimes chilly!); there is a lovely gorge with a waterfall that is accessed by a 15 minute hike along and through the stream.

We spent the afternoon there, playing with the dog in the water and watching all of the local children diving from the 30 foot cliff into the postage stamp sized area directly under the waterfall where the water was deep enough, just barely, for diving. Yikes!! Of course, there was a little showing off happening, as everyone knew that Sharon and I were not locals. All I had to do was take out my camera, and the craziness started. We stopped at the supermarket on the way home, and Brian cooked black chicken and yucca for dinner. Sharon and I crashed at that point, and Brian went out without us on Thursday night.

Friday morning we got up and out, heading over the mountains to Puerto Plata to spend the day on the beach. We had sunshine and warm, warm water, and as usual, we ate a late lunch and I got my “chivo” and fried plantains fix. Chivo is stewed goat, and needless to say, there aren’t too many places in the US where I can satisfy this craving. After we finished eating, we bought some dolce de coco and dolce de mani; yum!!!! We snorkeled among the reefs, walked on the beach, and drove around looking at some of the beautiful villas along the water. Then we drove home and rested for a bit, and headed out to Brian’s “disco of the day” for some dancing, followed by a cold beer at La Casita.

Saturday, after a leisurely morning drinking coffee and talking, we headed up into the mountains, to visit my “rock man.” We spent some time there, and Sharon and I both purchased amber and larimar. We also got some cornbread from our favorite lady’s little shop, which we call “Plaza de Cornbread.” Then we headed back home to rest up for the night’s festivities: some time spent at a casino so Sharon could play blackjack, followed by another evening of dancing, this time both at the disco and La Casita. I was able to find many “volunteers” at La Casita to dance the bachata with me. Viva la bachata!!

Sunday we all crashed, even Jeri. We went to the supermarket to buy food for dinner (local sausage, peppers, onions, garlic and rice). Brian decided to go to La Casita for a while, but Sharon and I stayed home.

Monday we did a load of wash and hung it out to dry, and then headed back to the river until dark rain clouds chased us home. We took the wash of the lines just in time!! The rain changed our plans for the evening; we had hoped to go to a gathering placed called H2O, but since this place was outside, we stayed home instead, and got to bed early.

Tuesday morning we got up early and went to the hardware store. We bought two shut off valves for under the sinks, one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom (which Sharon installed for Brian), and a bunch of flexible screening and wires. We put screens up on Brian’s bathroom and bedroom windows, and on one of the spare room windows, and showed Brian how to do it so he can do the rest of the windows. Then we packed, assuming that we would leave for the airport at about 3 pm for our 6 pm flight; however, a series of ugly thunderstorms along the east coast of the US nearly stranded us in the DR. Our 6 pm flight ended up being cancelled at 8 pm, but Brian was able to call a friend in JFK and get us on one of the two remaining flights out. We just made it to the airport in time, and luckily took off at about 11 pm, arriving at JFK at 2:45 am. It was 4:40 am when I walked in the door, after dropping Sharon off. An exciting end to a fabulous vacation!!

Besides a brief meditation acknowledging the full moon on Sunday night, I did very little in the way of formal energy workings. I did not pull Tarot cards and I did not even work formally with my chakras and shield; however, I connected in every way to the much more primitive energies to be found. These connections were primal and very powerful, and because I just opened myself to the raw energies and let them do their thing, I really feel recharged and renewed (even though I didn’t go to sleep until almost 5 am this morning). Between the local foods, the fruits (fresh passion fruit, papaya, pineapples, melons and mangos), the surrounding farms (tobacco and bananas and yucca, and squash, all planted in the dark and fertile volcanic soil) and huge mimosa trees and palm trees and evergreens (that look like the cell phone towers on Route 17 and the Parkway that are made to look like trees), and the green, craggy mountains whose peaks were often shrouded in fluffy, white fair weather clouds, and the intense blue sky, I felt close to the pure and refined energies of Deity in ways that I cannot reproduce within my cast circle. My Deities visit me within my circle, but I feel as if I am visiting them when I immerse myself into all the natural beauty that is the Dominican Republic.

The icing on the cake is that I lost a few pounds!!

I am ready and eager to get back to my responsibilities, especially the Tarot Class and the Historical Paganism Course at Sacred Mists. I must admit that, while I kept current with the homework submissions that are my responsibility, I did not even read the information that I printed out to supplement Lesson Two of the Historical Paganism Course. Actually, I am glad that I waited, for now I am in a much better frame of mind, eager and ready to tackle the history of the civilizations of Mesopotamia.

$