Knight of Swords reversed/King of Wands. In an upright position the Knight of Wands tells of progress related to spiritual quests, ideas and projects. The Knight is the one who does what the King requests, no questions asked, which is why I mostly see the Knight as representing the element of Air. Mostly. So that would make this card Air of Air, and not containing much emotion or compassion or inner guidance. But, the card is reversed, so in some respects it becomes a supporting card to the King of Wands, who would be Fire of Fire, and committed to his intention of maintaining assertion and action. This King is experienced enough to be able to keep the fire burning while not allowing it to get out of control. I will be able to infuse my logic with the suggestions of my inner voice today, and I will be able to keep the fire banked yet still alive.

My Thoth card is the Nine of Disks reversed. “Gain” and the satisfaction of knowing that my harvest is bountiful because I worked hard. I am being told that the time to harvest is not yet upon me, but I am being reminded that I can’t allow my efforts to weaken.

My Legacy card is the Two of Cups, flavored by The Wheel. The Two of Cups tells of the ability to recognize and understand my feelings, and tells of the presence of emotional connections. It promises fulfillment, and it shows me the reflection of myself in my lover’s eyes. How lovely is that?! I need to see this stuff through The Wheel, which reminds me of the cycles of the world and of my life, and also reminds me to ride the energy and make use of the direction of the flow. Even of I am experiencing a downturn of the Wheel, that energy can be useful to me.

My 6-digit date number is 7, the beginnings of the degeneration of the number 6, and also a bit of a pause.

My horoscopes: “You generally enjoy philosophy, metaphysics, and other forms of higher thought, Sagittarius, but today you could find yourself almost obsessive about them. You might decide to sequester yourself and concentrate on these concepts. This is a great day to do this, because intellect combines with intuition to enable you to understand and make sense of abstract ideas. You can apply them to your everyday life. Go to it.”

And: “It's time for some self-reflection, Nancy. If you want to make things easier for yourself today, it's simple, all you have to do is stop for a minute and take a look at the person you have been turning into over the last few months. It may even be best to talk about these changes with a close friend of yours. That will help you to see things more clearly. . . .”

And: “Taking care of your people is important, but taking care of yourself should be a priority for you now. If you're feeling a bit ragged doing special projects for work and helping your family with their kids, you need to put your foot down. Tell them that you're raking some spare time. It's about time that people started to respect that -- which goes for you, too!”
I have been thinking all day about the concept of the “echo” as presented in Vedic Bodywork, and it is making me remember a little essay that I posted on the Sacred Mists Forums earlier this week.

From the Vedic Conservatory website:

“Listening for the echo” is a fundamental technique taught in every Asian style of bodywork. It is experienced when a practitioner is in full expression of a compression or a stretch. It is the ultra subtle sensation that results due to the communication between the spindle cells and the brain. Within the belly of muscle or tendon there is the computer department, the group of specialized cells whose job is to detect pressure, heat, and intention etc. As these neurological assemblies register and record impulses, they also bio-electrically submit this information to the central nervous system.

This eventually includes the brain which responds accordingly issuing the appropriate reaction. The time required for this communication to complete the essential full cycle is where the “echo” is to be experienced. We are eavesdropping on this communication with consciousness, respect, courtesy, and sensitivity. This enables us to procure the most desirable technique available. Subsequently we are sensitized and are given privy access to proceed with perfect savvy. That is, we can settle deeper into the compression/stretch or inversely, we act assuredly and in confidence as we release.

By Michael “Mukti” Buck

I love this! The echo happens when the practitioner moves with a slow reverence as she/he moves the receiver’s body into the asana or stretch, reaches the receiver’s threshold, and then pauses, waiting patiently. And the echo comes; I know this for a fact because I have felt that echo already, within my very young practice.

Now, here is my essay from earlier this week:

I am just coming off a three day intensive weekend; I am proud to say that I have been certified in Vedic Bodywork Thai-Yoga Massage. This workshop has been an incredibly transformative experience for me, and I was very pleased that I had an hour and a half minimum drive home this morning because it gave me a chance to begin digesting the huge download of knowledge, wisdom and experiences I received.

As I drove, I became aware of something. I create consequences. Yes, I know; we are all taught that concept in First Degree. My mind knows this without a doubt. But suddenly, I “felt” this concept with every fiber of my being. Me, sitting in my car and hurling up the Turnpike; I am creating consequences, both large and small, just by passing by. Consequences that flow in front of me the way a bow wave flows in front of a moving ship, and consequences that scatter behind me like trash spilling out from the back of a speeding garbage truck. The car moves the air, and maybe a few bugs splat on the windshield. The presence of my car could end up preventing an accident, or causing one, depending in part on my attention and driving ability. The imposed captivity in the car could allow me the time to solve a problem, or brood on a hurt and thus increase its manifestation. The lists of possibilities go on and on.

Where am I going with this? Simple; we all need to slow down just one notch. We become so focused on our busyness and meeting our responsibilities and taking care of those in our charge and making a paycheck and stopping at the grocery store, and oh darn, I forgot to get gas, and on and on and on. This busyness feeds itself, and we end up devoting more and more of our focus, focus that would be better spent in keeping our own workings fine tuned, on maintaining that mad merry-go-round that is our physical and mundane lives.

I am not saying that you should chuck it all, not by any means. What I am saying is that if you slow down just a tiny bit, that gap in tension that is created can be filled with the awareness of the consequences of your passing through your own world. Rest assured, those consequences are there.

Most of them are good consequences. And if you are distracted, you will miss experiencing them. That would be a shame.

The two essays combine nicely, don’t they? Pausing at the threshold is valuable. I learned this during my weekend workshop, and it appears that I am already meshing this concept into my own Craft and Practice.

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