Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Lovers/The Hanging Man reversed. Emotions that are related to spirit and the mind, and the importance of personal choices and their consequences, are the messages of The Lovers (Air, hot/separates and wet/adapts; Gemini, “I think,” curious, dial, intelligent, talkative; Zayin, two sided sword; the Path between Tiphareth, the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify, and Binah, female receptive energy, the origin of form and structure). The Hanging Man (Water, cold/binds and wet/adapts; Neptune, inspiration, spirituality, enchantment, altered states; Mem, water, the reflective quality of thought; the Path between Hod, which provides analysis and communication, and Geburah, where forms and structures are challenged or affirmed) in an upright position tells of stillness, surrender, seeing things from a different perspective and altered consciousness; most of the gifts of this card need to be earned somehow, usually through sacrifice. The Hanging Man in an upright position also warns us not to force an issue, but since the card is reversed, I may have problems not forcing things, and my important choices may not be dealing with altered consciousnesses or with surrender.

My Thoth card is The Tower. Eeep!! The Tower (Fire, hot/separates and dry/shapes; Mars, action, aggression, drive; Phe, mouth or speech; the Path between Hod and Netzach, the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration) lets us know what happens when we fight the flows of energies rather than allowing them to integrate. “Break down the fortress of thine Individual Self, that thy Truth may spring free from the ruins” is what Uncle Al feels about this somewhat frightening card, but he also feels that the total turnaround indicated by its energies can foretell spiritual renewal. Plans can change suddenly, but I need to choose to see the good in whatever results.

My Legacy card is the Ace of Cups reversed, flavored by the Five of Swords. **sigh** The Ace of Cups in an upright position corresponds with the signs of Fall (Libra, “We are,” partnerships and cooperation; Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, deep; and Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering), and it tells of renewal and a fresh start. Because it is reversed, I am being told that I may be neglecting my own emotions or spiritual needs; replenishment should be high on my to-do list today. There are no Earth cards in this spread either, which might give me a hint as to the nature of the imbalance. The Five of Swords (Venus, beauty, allure, pleasure, in Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, aloof) reminds us to carefully consider just how far we will go in order to get ahead. Perhaps that “low fuel light” regarding my emotions might put me in a bad mood today.

My 6-digit date number is 2, the number of balance, polarity, and the concept of distance between.

My horoscopes: “This could be a banner day, Sagittarius. Your spiritual and career goals come together so both are enhanced and neither is compromised. It's a neat trick. You can expect the opportunity to practice what you preach to come to you through a friend or colleague. Don't discount any ideas presented to you, as one will contain the key to meshing two of the most important parts of your life.”

And: “The day ahead will certainly not be boring! You're a little more mischievous than usual right now. The provocative imp inside you is determined to make you say something normally "off limits." You may wind up embarrassing and upsetting many of the people around you. However, there is some good to be gained, provided you see this as an opportunity to understand exactly what system you're tempted to topple.”

Back from one awesome vacation, and preparing for another.

We spent a long weekend in the Outer Banks with friends, and how lovely it was! We left at a little after 4 am, and our drive was smooth and eventless, a little over 7 hours. Our house was on the sound, so we had a dock and gazebo where we watched sunsets. We drove to the 4-wheel drive beach twice, saw the wild horses both times. We ate awesome meals, did a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle over the four days we were there, I belly danced for everyone, and the guys played golf. We even walked down to the beach on Sunday night to see moon rise, which was incredibly beautiful. Sunday was devoted to our drive home, which took a bit longer than the drive down due to traffic.

Tomorrow night, I am hopefully flying to Denver to visit Mystery. I am flying standby, so I won’t know until the last minute if I will make the flight, but I am optimistic. I will be there until very early Sunday morning. My cards today are warning that things may not go exactly as planned for this trip, but I need to not allow myself to become bogged down by any disappointment; rather I need to see the lesson in each sudden change, and find the silver lining.

In the mean time, I am playing “catch up” with my responsibilities. It is strange to come off of several deeply spiritual weekends, and then have four days with a very grounded, mundane world focus (not that our days in the Outer Banks were mundane, by any means!). But I have found that some awesome revelations come to me when I give something a rest for a few days or when I am distracted from my normal level of awareness, so we shall see.

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Monday, September 20, 2010

Strength/Two of Wands reversed. Strength (Fire, hot/separates and dry/shapes; Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, noble, egotistical; Teth, sieve or basket, digestion; and the Path between Tiphareth, the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify, and Chesed, which crosses Da’ath, where forms and structures are challenged or affirmed) is about not physical strength but emotional strength and the ability to control and make use of feelings and emotions. Often this card warns that I will need to rise above my emotions, in order to tame “the beast within,” and this can only be accomplished with courage and patience. The Two of Wands (Mars, action, spontaneity, drive, aggression, in Aries, “I want,” action oriented, pioneering, assertive, and Mars rules Aries, so this may be intense) in an upright position tells of the power of the Will to shape the world. Because the card is reversed, I am being told that forcing my Will upon a situation will not allow me to rise above any emotions that could cloud my judgment; I may be better off trying to rise above the issue in order to get the big picture.

My Thoth card is the Three of Cups reversed. In an upright position, Crowley sees this card as the Lord of Abundance. This Three of Cups corresponds with Mercury (intelligence, reason, skill, education, communication) in Cancer (“I feel,” sensitive, family and home oriented, nurturing), and represents abundance and pleasure, but more of a passive enjoyment. Because the card is reversed, serenity and an awareness of my connections to others may not be a large part of my day.

My Legacy card is the Two of Wands reversed (again!), flavored by the Three of Coins reversed. The Three of Coins (Mars in Capricorn “I build,” ambitious, cautious, competitive, authoritative) has a similar astrological correspondence to the Two of Wands, except one is about action and one is about creating. The Three of Coins reversed, which tells of a lack of attention to detail (and that may not be a bad thing), could be letting me know just what I am not doing well today. If I can work to turn that Three to an upright position, I may be able to more easily access my own Will.

Twos and Threes today! Let’s look at those numbers, both individually and together. In order to best do this, we need to start with the One of Crowley’s Naples Arrangement. In order to understand the number One, we must first talk about the concept of Zero. Crowley sees Zero as (among other things) nothingness without limit, or as the absence of any means of definition; of course, to us this is an abstract condition that is hard to visualize, but bear with me. If Zero is nothingness, then the number One brings us the concept of the Point, which has to quote Crowley “neither parts nor magnitude, but only Position.”

Now, in order to understand Position, we need to compare it to something else (think of the Law of Opposites, which tells us that we use the opposite of a particular thing to describe that thing; dark as the absence of light, for example). The only way to do this is to have another Point, and that means that we now have the number Two, and the creation of the Line.

Still, the Line does not mean very much because we don’t yet have a way to measure it. The limit of our knowledge so far is that there are Two Points; however, we can’t say that they are near each other or far apart, but just that there is distance between them. In order to determine the distance between the Two Points, we must have a third Point. We now have the number Three, and we have created the Surface, or the Triangle. We can now say that “A is nearer to B than A is to C,” because we have a comparison point, and we can now understand the concept of a flat plane or a surface. The number Three is the first number that offers a sense of completeness.

Perhaps I am being told that today I may not be able to make effective comparisons. The element of Earth and the suit of Pentacles is not to be found in my cards today, and perhaps if I add an awareness of the messages of my physical senses, I may be better able to interpret my emotions, my feelings, and the needs of my own Will.

My 6-digit date number is 3, the number of new creations. Okay then, another Three!

My horoscopes: “Romance and creativity are the driving forces in your life today, Sagittarius. You might find that feelings for a special person provide lots of inspiration for creative projects. Your creative energy makes you that much more attractive to the one you love most. This could prove to be an emotionally and aesthetically satisfying day. Make the most of it!”

And: “You're likely to be looking and feeling beautiful and sexy today, and you're also likely to be "feeling your oats," as you are particularly aware of your own inner power. If you've been thinking about asking for something that you want, do it now. If you've been hoping for a romantic getaway, this is the day to plan it. Whatever you start right now is likely to be successful -- more because of your own determination than anything else.”

Well, I am very glad that I went back to Point Park yesterday, because the difference was amazing. The monarchs were back to numbering in the hundreds rather than the thousands, and there were other butterflies, lots of moths and dragonflies. Sunday was vulture day; I saw many turkey vultures, and circling high above the bolder turkey vultures were several black vultures. I also saw a golden eagle again, circling high up. Once you’ve seen the huge majesty of one of these incredible birds, you can’t mistake them for anything else. This one circled and circled, and rarely flapped his wings; he was so good at gliding that he looked as if he was mechanical.

Observers say that over a million monarchs left Point Park at dawn on Sunday, heading south across the Delaware Bay. What an incredible journey these delicate creatures undertake!

What I like the most about the two very different days is that they highlighted for me the energies of the Fall season that are associated with Antares. This energy is soooooo vibrant, but it is different from the energies of the Spring (which are about birth and sex and reproduction). These energies let you know you are alive, and they awaken you to your full potential in order to maintain the cycles of life. These Fall energies are about the fullness of the harvest of all that has been worked towards, but they are also about the important task of laying down the seeds of the next generation. The fullness of the manifestation of Summer and the pause that allows us to feel that manifestation are important, but that is not the focus of the Fall. The harvest of today will bear fruit after the long dark Winter, and preparations need to be put into place now to support the new life to come.

Often we think of the beginning of the new cycle as happening in Winter, but in actuality the process is begun now, with amazing foresight and hard work, and with optimism for the future. Many of the creatures who are doing all the work now will not survive to see that new life to come, but this does not stop any of them from doing what has to be done. The monarchs are a wonderful symbol of this optimism: creatures with wings the texture of tissues, flying hundreds of miles, some thousands of miles, sometimes over open ocean.

Fall seems on the surface to be a pause before the degeneration to come, and I have always seen it that way. But this weekend, my thoughts have changed. The power, the active power, of this Watcher is amazing!!

A bit more on the Royal Stars (a bit of a repetition, but I am trying to compartmentalize what I am learning):

Regulus (the star of kings), known as being the heart of the lion in the constellation of Leo, it is the most important of these four, and corresponds to the healing Archangel Raphael, the Watcher of the North.

Fomalhaut, known as the fish’s mouth in the constellation of Pisces, and corresponds with the Archangel Gabriel, the Watcher of the South.

Alderbaran, known as the left eye of the bull in the constellation of Taurus, and corresponds with the Archangel Michael, the Watcher of the East.

Antares, known as the heart of the scorpion in the constellation of Scorpio, and corresponds with the Archangel Oriel or Uriel, the Watcher of the West.

Coincidence that I begin my Journey of understanding Watchers by working with the Watcher that corresponds with Scorpio, which is in my own chart twice (I am on the cusp of Scorpio and Sagittarius, and my Moon sign is Scorpio), which is my husband’s solar sign (and thus connected to my own heart) and with Archangel Uriel? Prolly not.

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Saturday, September 18, 2010

Three of Pentacles reversed/The Hanging Man. Whhhoooaaahh!! There’s a clear message, and the dreamy image as well as one word in the name of the Llewellyn Welsh Hanging Man, “enchantment,” are both a clear message to me today when paired with that Three of Pentacles reversed. In an upright position the Three of Pentacles (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, caution, cunning) tells of hard work, attention to details, and the use of skills and talents to create. Because it is reversed today, and combined with The Hanging Man (Water, cold/binds and wet/adapts; Neptune, inspiration, spirituality, enchantment, altered states; Mem, water, stability, balance, the reflective quality of thought; and the Path between Hod, provides analysis and communication, and Geburah, where forms and structures are challenged or affirmed), which tells me to stop and surrender, and to change my perspective so that I can change my consciousness and my perception of the world around me, today there is a clear message: stop! Take the time to pause just for the sake of pausing, and strive to see things from a different place, and I will receive an important message.

My Thoth card is the Six of Cups reversed. The “Pleasure” card reversed, the Six of Cups (Sun, the inner core of a person or situation, the deepest self, in Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, secretive, obsessive) in an upright position is about harmony, about enjoying simple pleasures and inner riches, and about sensing the connections to those all around. Crowley sees this card as the best in the entire deck, and he sees it as not the fullness of contentment, but only the beginning of contentment. The card is reversed, which is strange to me because today has been (at least so far) serene and harmonious. I will certainly be thinking about the position of this card through the day.

My Legacy card is the Knight of Wands reversed, flavored by the King of Wands reversed. Now, there’s a clear message! No Wands today, at least not in an outer, active fashion. The Knight of Wands (the cusp of Scorpio, and Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering) in an upright position focuses intensely and exclusively, with blinders to shut out distractions, on spiritual quests, on manifesting ideas, and on taking actions. The King of Wands (the cusp of Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, nurturing, and Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, egotistical) focuses on the same things, but with much more control than the Knight. The King is able to see past his passions because he has learned how to effectively wield them with balance. Both cards are reversed, and thus I am being told that today I will be most effective if I turn these fiery passions inward, and explore the great unknown that is my inner self, rather than trying to know and understand the world around me through these passions.

My 6-digit date number is 10, the completion of a process, which in turn reduces to the number 1, the beginning of potential, and position.

My horoscopes: “Give people the benefit of the doubt, Sagittarius. Don't be so hasty in your actions, and take the time to think things through. You have a special connection with your feelings today that can aid in clearing some of the fog in your thinking. Your sensitivity to others is remarkably strong. People will be particularly drawn to this side of you, especially tonight.”

And: “A group of your neighbors may be displeased with events or policies in your community and decide to start an action group, and they could try to recruit you. A number of short trips in your community, perhaps connected with these matters in some way, may be necessary at this time. Your innate idealism could be put to work in some kind of humanitarian cause, Nancy, and you could find it more fulfilling than you'd thought.”

OMG, OMG, OMG! I knew this was going to be an awesome trip to the Point because as I threw my cards this morning, I watched butterflies streaming through my yard, but this was sooooooo beyond my expectations!

The bike ride to the Point was lovely; the sky was blue, the air was clear, and monarchs were traveling with me. Even though the blooms on the Virgin’s Bower were fading, their sweet fragrance still filled the air. It had changed a bit, and had just a slight earthy essence to it, but still lovely and exotic.

The Point was mobbed, people with binoculars everywhere. Everyone was enjoying the sun and the sand and the surf, and the myriads of flying creatures to be seen. The sheer numbers were mind boggling, and I know that this account may sound like I’m padding the numbers, but I’m not.

Within the first five minutes of my walk, I saw an osprey with a fish in its talons, and a bald eagle. LOL, I knew then that this was going to be a memorable walk, and that says a lot, for each of my trips to the Point this Fall have been mind-blowing. I continued on my walk, and paused often. I watched a pair of osprey circling above; then I watched several of my Totems, turkey vultures, as they soared. I was treated to my favorite interaction with turkey vultures: one swooped down and circled right overhead, and turned its head to watch me as I watched it through my binoculars. Talk about up close and personal!! Another time I stopped to watch them, and higher up I saw a pair of black vultures, also circling.

Three blue herons slowly flew in formation overhead as I stood in awe at their grace. Then, at the edge of one meadow, I was treated to an incredible sight, one I would never have seen if I didn’t bring my binoculars. There, over the meadow and high up and invisible with the naked eye, were literally tens of thousands of sanderlings!! A huge cloud of them, like something you would see on tv, banked and turned in unison overhead for a few moments, and then headed west in a wide river of birds. Awesome!!

Not five minutes later, I stood and watched as a golden eagle circled high up, its wings and tail spread to catch the thermals. What glorious creatures they are!!!

I continued walking, overwhelmed by the scenes around me. Hawks, several of them, soared and flapped their wings. There were about 25 swans spread out in the streams and ponds, eating water vegetation. No snowy egrets this week, but plenty of gulls, and even a few gannets, arriving early. And dragonflies and moths and monarchs. Clouds and clouds of monarchs. Last weekend they numbered in the hundreds, but this weekend they numbered in the thousands!! On the flowers, just above the flowers, and up into the air I looked, and everywhere there were monarchs.

I spent two hours on that trail, stopping again and again to watch the glory of the Fall. Even my trip back home was lovely; I saw turkey vultures, I watched a male kestrel hunting, flying low over a mowed field, darting down and then swooping back up again. And more monarchs.

And towards the end of my bike ride, I had my aha! moment!!! For the past few days I have been reading about and thinking about Watchers. I have posted some of my research on this blog, and I have felt that there was some important realization or connection to be made, but that realization or connection was just not happening. I probed my mind, trying to find the right key. And as I drove back from my walk in Point Park this afternoon, saturated with the energies of the Fall, I finally made the connection!!

My mistake was attempting to connect with the Watchers through the elements and my Elemental Guides. Yes, each Watcher has an association with the elements and their effects, but the Watchers are about directions, and the Watchers are about seasons. They are not directly about the elements. It was right in front of my nose the whole time, but I just could not think out of the box to see the answer until today. And if I want to connect with the Watchers and get to know their energies, I can’t approach them as a group. I need to seek each one individually, and it will take me an entire turn of the Wheel to make their acquaintances. Duh!!! **facepalm** I feel a bit silly because it took me so long to realize what I needed to open myself to, but I also am sooooo loving the feeling of this connection!!!

And so today I will wallow in the energies of Antares, the “Heart of the Scorpion,” and I will be doing more research later today. **rubs hands together** I really love the high of “aha!” moments!!

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Friday, September 17, 2010

Three of Wands reversed/The Emperor. In an upright position, the Three of Wands (Sun, the inner core of a person or situation, the deepest self and personal power, in Aries, “I want,” action oriented, pioneering, assertive) tells of being successfully established after effort, of being supported by others, of the next step of exploring possibilities, and the knowledge that it is personal strength that has allowed the success and support and new possibilities to happen. Because the card is reversed, I may be not quite sure of the value of my own efforts. But The Emperor (Fire, hot/separates and dry/shapes; Aries; Heh, the window, illumination; and the Path between Tiphareth, the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify, and Chokmah, male, dynamic energy in the electric sense, the origin of vital force and polarity) tells me that the power of my own mind is the most important tool I have, and that I should believe in this power. The Emperor also reminds me of the value of structure, for every rule has a valid purpose, and law and order prevent anarchy. I am being gently reminded, though, that authority comes with responsibility, and I need to make certain that when I “own” something, I take care of it.

My Thoth card is a Major Arcana card, The Hierophant, reversed. “Offer thyself Virgin to the Knowledge and Conversation of thine Holy Guardian Angel. All else is a snare.” And, “Be thou athlete with the eight limbs of Yoga: for without these thou are not disciplined for any fight.” Unusual for the Thoth Tarot to give me a Major, and this one is interesting because of these two quotes. The first quote refers to the Holy Guardian Angel, and LOL I certainly am seeking information about Angels/Watchers/Elemental Guides. The second quote mentions being athletic with the eight limbs of Yoga, and Yoga and maintaining strength (and Vedic Thai-Yoga Massage!) are a big part of my life right now. Upright, this card tells of teaching and learning, of manifestation and of patience, and of help from superiors. The energies of The Hierophant (Earth, cold/binds and dry/shapes; Taurus, “I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn; Vau, the nail; and the Path between Chesed (crosses Da’ath, the place where forms and structures are stabilized and nurtured, and Chokmah) are the reflective or mystical aspect of the masculine, and he is the male High Priestess. He is the thinker as the Emperor is the doer; his colors, unlike those of the Emperor, vary considerably. This card frequently indicates the hidden guardianship of the Masters. Because the card is reversed, these energies are not an effective part of my focus today, and The Emperor and his energies are being supported and validated.

My Legacy card is the Ace of Swords reversed, flavored by the Seven of Wands. The Ace of Swords (Air, hot/separates and wet/adapts; Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces) in an upright position tells of mental sharpness and creative thoughts, and the ability to overcome challenges through personal growth. The Legacy Ace shows the sword pointing downward, bringing the inspiration of the Divine down to Earth. The power of this Ace is an invoked power rather than a natural power, and it can easily be used for either good or evil purposes. Because the card is reversed, I may have some difficulty accessing those Divine “downloads” today. Since this Ace is flavored by the Seven of Wands, it is handy to know this. The Seven of Wands (Mars in Leo) has a special significance for me (one of my Guides told me I needed to **be** this card, but I was not told if I was to be the Guardian or the person trying to access the Gateway), for it shows a Gateway and a Guardian. The Seven tells me of the value of courage, and it reminds me that I cannot know if I have courage unless I face real fear. Perhaps the two cards are telling me that I won’t need to face any intense challenges in order to pass through the Gateway?? *crosses fingers*

My 6-digit date number is 9, the number of completeness of experience. Yessss!!

My horoscopes: “Bask in the sunshine of today, Sagittarius. Focus on the positive aspects of your life and work to expand these energies. There's a great deal of opportunity open at this time. The key to taking advantage of this is to stay close to the things that truly bring you the most happiness. The details will work themselves out with almost no effort. Have faith that you'll succeed and you will.”

And: “Don't make any commitments to groups or organizations of any kind today. It may be that you are asked to do more than is realistic. If you accept you will be obliged to see the project through until the end, and that could be a long time indeed. You would be better of pursuing your own goals rather than helping others trying to attain theirs. At least this way you are in control of the outcome.”

Okay, as promised, just a bit of information about the four Royal Stars of Persia. This information is from Wikipedia.

The four royal stars with their modern and ancient Persian names were

Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) vernal equinox is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus.
Regulus (Alpha Leonis) summer solstice is the brightest star in the constellation Leo.
Antares (Alpha Scorpii) autumnal equinox the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius.
Fomalhaut (Alpha Piscis) winter solstice is the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus.
To medieval astrologers, Aldebaran was one of fifteen Behenian stars, associated with rubies, milk thistles.


Aldebaran

The name Aldebaran is the traditional Arabic (الدبران al-dabarān (ad-dabarān)) name which literally translates as “the follower.” The name probably refers to the way this bright star follows the Pleiades star cluster in its nightly journey across the sky. In Persia it was known as Sadvis and Kugard. The Romans called it Palilicium. In Chinese it is known as Bìxiùwŭ, the Fifth Star of the Net. In Hindu astronomy it is identified as the lunar mansion Rohini and as one of the twenty-seven daughters of Daksha and the wife of the god Chandra.

Astrologically, Aldebaran is a fortunate star, portending riches and honor. This star, named “Tascheter” by the Persians, is one of the four “royal stars” of the Persians from around 3000 BC. These stars were chosen in such way that they were approximately 6 hours apart in right ascension. Each of these stars was assigned to a season, Aldebaran was prominent in the sky of March and as such, it was associated with the vernal equinox.

In Inuit astronomy, Aldebaran is called “Spirit of a Polar Bear.” For the Seris of northwestern Mexico, this star is providing light for the seven women giving birth (Pleiades). It has three different names: Hant Caalajc Ipápjö, Queeto, and Azoj Yeen oo Caap (“star that goes ahead”). The lunar month corresponding to October is called Queeto yaao, “Aldebaran's path.” For the Dakotas (a branch of the Native American Sioux tribe), Aldebaran took on a heroic aspect. The young star was the child of the sun and the lady Blue Star.

Aldebaran is one of the easiest stars to find in the night sky, partly due to its brightness and partly due to its spatial relation to one of the more noticeable asterisms in the sky. If one follows the three stars of Orion’s belt from left to right (in the Northern Hemisphere) or right to left (in the Southern), the first bright star found by continuing that line is Aldebaran.


Regulus

Regulus (α Leo, α Leonis, Alpha Leonis) is the brightest star in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky, lying approximately 77.5 light years from Earth. Regulus is a multiple star system composed of four stars which are organized into two pairs, with Regulus A a blue-white main sequence star, and its companion which has not yet been directly observed, probably a white dwarf star. Located further away is the pair Regulus B and Regulus C, which are dim main-sequence stars.

Rēgulus is Latin for “prince” or “little king.” The Greek variant Basiliscus is also used. It is known as Qalb Al Asad, from the Arabic قلب لأسد or Qalb[u] Al-´asad, meaning “the heart of the lion.” This phrase is sometimes approximated as Kabelaced and translates into Latin as Cor Leōnis. It is known in Chinese as the Fourteenth Star of Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor. In Hindu astronomy, Regulus corresponds to the Nakshatra Magha.

Persian astrologers around 3000 BC knew Regulus as Venant, one of the four “royal stars.” It was one of the fifteen Behenian stars known to medieval astrologers, associated with granite and mugwort.

Regulus is closest to the ecliptic, and is regularly occulted by the Moon. Occultations by the planets Mercury and Venus are also possible but rare. The last occultation of Regulus by a planet was on July 7, 1959, by Venus. The next will occur on October 1, 2044, also by Venus. Other planets will not occult Regulus over the next few millennia because of their node positions. Although best seen in the evening in northern hemisphere in late winter and spring, Regulus can be found at some time of night throughout the year except for about a month on either side of August 22, when the sun is too near.


Antares

Antares (α Scorpii, Alpha Scorpii) is a red supergiant star in the Milky Way galaxy and the sixteenth brightest star in the nighttime sky (sometimes listed as fifteenth brightest, if the two brighter components of the Capella quadruple star system are counted as one star). Along with Aldebaran, Spica, and Regulus it is one of the four brightest stars near the ecliptic. Antares is a slow variable star with an average magnitude of +1.09. Antares has a hot blue companion star, Antares B.

Antares, the proper name of this star, derives from the Ancient Greek Άντάρης, meaning “(holds) against Ares (Mars),” due to the similarity of its reddish hue to the appearance of the planet Mars. It is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius. However, it is also thought that Antares may have been named after the ancient Arab warrior-poet Antar. Its distinctive coloration has made the star an object of interest to many societies throughout history.

Many of the old Egyptian temples are oriented so that the light of Antares plays a role in the ceremonies performed there. Charles François Dupuis, a French astronomical writer, mentioned that Antares was known as Satevis, one of the four “royal stars” of the Persians around 3000 BC. In ancient India, Antares is of the nakshatra (Hindu lunar mansion), known as Jyeshthā “Oldest,” and Rohinī, “Ruddy.” In the religion of Stregheria, Antares is a fallen angel and quarter guardian of the western gate.

In astrology, Antares is one of the Behenian fixed stars. The Wotjobaluk Koori people of Victoria knew Antares as Djuit, son of Marpean-kurrk (Arcturus); the stars on each side represented his wives. The Kulin Kooris saw Antares (Balayang) as the brother of Bunjil (Altair). Alternative name of this star, meaning “the Heart of Scorpion.”

The best time to view Antares is on or around May 31 of each year, when the star is at opposition to the Sun. At this time, Antares rises at dusk and sets at dawn, and is thus in view all night. For approximately two to three weeks on either side of November 30, Antares is not visible at all, being lost in the Sun's glare; this period of invisibility is longer in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere, since the star's declination is significantly south of the celestial equator. Antares is one of the 4 first magnitude stars that lies within 5° of the ecliptic and therefore can be occulted by the Moon and rarely by the planets.


Fomalhaut

Fomalhaut (α PsA, α Piscis Austrini, Alpha Piscis Austrini) is the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus and one of the brightest stars in the sky. Fomalhaut can be seen low in the southern sky in the northern hemisphere in fall and early winter evenings. Near latitude 50˚N, it sets around the time Sirius rises, and does not reappear until Antares sets. Its name means “mouth of the whale,” from the Arabic فم الحوت fum al-ḥawt. The Latin names are ōs piscis merīdiāni, ōs piscis merīdionālis, ōs piscis notii “the mouth of the southern fish.” It is a class A star on the main sequence approximately 25 light-years (7.7 pc) from Earth. It is classified as a Vega-like star that emits excess infrared radiation, indicating it is surrounded by a circumstellar disk.

Fomalhaut holds a special significance in extrasolar planet research, as it is the center of the first stellar system with an extrasolar planet (Fomalhaut b) imaged at visible wavelengths. The image was published in Science in November 2008.

Fomalhaut has had various names ascribed to it through time. One such name in common use is the Lonely Star of Autumn, because it is the only first-magnitude star in the autumn sky of mid-northern latitudes. It has been recognized by many cultures of the northern hemisphere, including the Arabs, Persians and Chinese. Archaeological evidence links it to rituals dating back to about 2500 BC. It is one of the Persians’ four “royal stars.”

The name Difda al Auwel comes from the colloquial Arabic الضفدع الأول aḍ-ḍifdiˤ al-’awwal “the first frog” (the second frog is Beta Ceti). To the Moporr Aboriginal people of South Australia, it is a masculine being called “Buunjill.” In Walter Tevis' novel “Steps of the Sun,” Fomalhaut is visited by the protagonist and two potentially inhabitable planets are found (and described).

Fomalhaut is located south of the celestial equator, and is best viewed from the Southern Hemisphere. It passes virtually overhead from places just south of the Tropic of Capricorn, for example Brisbane, Johannesburg and Easter Island. However, its southerly declination is not as great as that of stars such as Acrux, Alpha Centauri and Canopus, meaning that, unlike them, Fomalhaut is visible from a large part of the Northern Hemisphere as well. South of latitude 40˚ north it can be viewed on autumn evenings; further north it is low on the southern horizon. It reaches a maximum altitude of only 9˚ from London, 4˚ from Edinburgh or Copenhagen, and it just barely rises from around latitude 60˚ north; Oslo, Helsinki or southern Alaska. Fomalhaut can be located in these northern latitudes by the fact that the western (right-hand) side of the Square of Pegasus points to it. Continue the line from Beta to Alpha Pegasi towards the southern horizon; Fomalhaut is about 45˚ south of Alpha Pegasi, with no bright stars in between.

LOL, that is a lot of information to absorb. I will be thinking about what I have posted over the past three days as I drive to Cape May tonight and through the weekend, hoping for an “aha!” moment. We shall see if I am worthy of that Seven of Wands in my spread today and the Gateway it hints at!!

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Knight of Wands reversed/King of Swords reversed. In an upright position, the Knight of Wands (the cusp of Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, obsessive, and Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, adventurous, blundering) has unlimited courage and stamina, and he focuses on spiritual quests, ideas and entrepreneurial projects with amazing energy. The King of Swords (the cusp of Capricorn, “I build,” ambitious, cautious, authoritative, cunning) and Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, society, aloof) in an upright position would make a good judge; he is ethical and incorruptible, he imposes his high standard of law upon everyone, including himself, without empathy or compassion, and he focuses on intellectual and intuitive processes and communication. Both of these cards are reversed, and LOL that is a good thing because just reading about their personalities makes me tired! Today is not a day for a narrow focus on achieving particular goals or dealing with particular issues. The broader picture may well be more important, and I need to look up from my task occasionally and glance around if I am to see and understand that broader picture.

My Thoth card is the Four of Cups reversed. Crowley sees this as the “Luxury” card, however, he sees the energies of this card as being weak and unstable. The element of Water, it appears, loses its purity in the name of satisfaction. Because the Four of Cups card (representing the Moon in Cancer) is reversed, I won’t necessarily be hypnotized into stagnation by any pleasures of the day.

My Legacy card is the Five of Cups reversed, flavored by the Four of Cups reversed. Oy!! Five reversed cards? What is up with that! The Five of Cups in an upright position tells of the disturbance of a sense of pleasure, and that never seems good. The energy of this Five is about focusing on that disturbance to the extent that other good opportunities for satisfaction are missed. Because the card is reversed, and paired with another Four of Cups reversed, I may be able to handle any disappointments today and still keep them in perspective.

My 6-digit date number is 8, the attempt to recreate the balance of the number 6 by ending the pause of the number 7.

My horoscopes: “Have you been thinking about relocating, Sagittarius? The siren song of distant states or exotic lands may play constantly in your ears. Foreign cultures could inspire you artistically, spiritually, and personally. This is actually a time when few things are out of your reach. If you're serious about this, look into it. You can decide once you have all the facts.”

And: “Someone may give you a psychic reading today, possibly blowing you away with their accuracy and insights. Don't be surprised if this person zeros in on your own psychic abilities, for they're operating at a high level right now. If you've been in doubt as to what spiritual path is best for you, this is the day to make a decision. Hint: no need to narrow it down to one. Some people find enlightenment by pursuing two or three.”

Okay then, strange energies today; my cards are giving me a clear message about what not to do today. The good thing about today’s spread is that the reversed Cups (Water, cold/binds and wet/adapts; emotional, staying the same, passive, contracting) cards thrown are better in the reversed position. Of course, if the King and Knight were upright, I might get more done, but the two of them are a bit frenzied for my taste. The only energies not in my cards today are the energies of Pentacles/Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes, stable, physical practical, slow to change contracting). Grounding, anyone??

More information on Angels/Watchers, as promised.

According to the book, “Return of the Angels,” by Migene Golzalez-Wippler, the term “Angel” came about when rabbis from around 200 BCE began translating the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek. To make a long story short, the translators had a choice of Greek words to use for malakh, which is the Hebrew word representing the entities we now call Angels, or divine messengers. They could use the word angelos, which means common messenger, not necessarily celestial, or they could use the word daimon, which represents a spirit that may have either good or evil intentions. The translators didn’t like the idea of the possibility of evil, so they chose angelos, which became Angel.

But reference to the beings we call Angels did not begin within Judaism, nor are they restricted to Judaism and Christianity. Zoroastrianism and other Persian spiritual traditions, Islam and Gnosticism all recognize these astral beings. References to them goes back to the Babylonian culture of Mesopotamia. Most cultures see Angels as immortal but not eternal; when the universe ends, the Angels will also end. And they are highly evolved; in fact, they have completed their evolution, unlike humans, who are still smack dab in the middle of their evolutionary process.

In “Wiccan Mysteries: Ancient Origins & Teachings,” Raven Grimassi states that Watchers (or Angels) are an ancient race who have evolved beyond the need for physical bodies. Sounds familiar. Grimassi also states that the Mesopotamian spiritual traditions recognized four stars as “royal,” and called them the Watchers. Each of these stars ruled over a cardinal point from astrology: Aldebaran marking the Spring Equinox represented East, Regulus at the Summer Solstice represented South, Antares at the Autumn Equinox represented the West, and Fomalhaut at the Winter Solstice represented North. The four Watchers associated with the stars were associated with the cardinal directions and to the elements associated with them; they are also associated with the four Archangels, and are said to be Guardians of the Dimensional Planes and witnesses to the rites to which they are called. To me, it is the elemental associations which brings life and power to the Watchers. Each of them connects to its element (and all the energies and effects associated with that element), with its direction (and all the energies and effects associated with that direction), and its star and solar season. Interestingly enough, while the solstices and equinoxes are solar events, stars are of the night sky, and thus lunar in nature.

Okay, that’s a lot of power.

I also found a reference to the Royal Stars of Persia on the Astrologycom website, as follows:

“Fixed Stars of particular significance, first declared as Watchers, or Guardians of the World by ancient Persian astrologers at around 3000 BC, when they stood at the four angles of the Heavens. These stars were also assigned angelic status by the Hebrews. There are four Royal Stars: Aldebaran, the Archangel Michael, Watcher of the East, ruler of the Vernal Equinox; Regulus, the Archangel Raphael, Watcher of the North, ruler of the Summer Solstice; Antares, the Archangel Oriel (or Uriel), Watcher of the West, ruler of the Autumnal Equinox; and Fomalhaut, the Archangel Gabriel, Watcher of the South, ruler of the Winter Solstice.”

Some minor difference from what Grimassi has in his book. I went back to Wikipedia, and after searching “Royal Stars of Persia,” I found:

“The four Royal Stars or Guardians of the Sky were a group of stars noticed by the Persian astrologers, and mentioned by Zarathustra, around 3000 BC and used as a rudimentary season calendar.

All four stars are among the brightest 25 stars, having an apparent magnitude of less than 1.5. However, this particular set of stars was chosen because they are divided on the sky by approximately 6 hours apart in right ascension. The reason why they are called “royal” is that they appear to stand aside from the other stars in the sky. Throughout a year, each star is for several months “dominant” on the night sky and one can guess the season just by noticing which star is dominant.

The four stars with their modern and ancient Persian names were:

Aldebaran (Tascheter) - vernal equinox (Watcher of the East)
Regulus (Venant) - summer solstice (Watcher of the South)
Antares (Satevis) - autumnal equinox (Watcher of the West)
Fomalhaut (Haftorang) - winter solstice (Watcher of the North)”

So far, the big difference I am finding in the information is that some sources cite Regulus as corresponding with the Watcher of the South and Fomalhaut as corresponding with the Watcher of the North, and the reverse. But I am getting the feeling that this information about Watchers/Angels/Quarters/Elemental Guides is important to know and understand, since I am regularly evoking them, asking for their assistance, and applying their energies to my rituals and workings.

Tomorrow, I will post some information about the four individual stars of the Royal Stars of Persia.

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Knight of Cups reversed/Four of Pentacles. In an upright position, this Knight represents the cusp of Aquarius (“I know,” friendships, the group, aloofness) and Pisces (“I believe,” feeling, spirituality, duality, suffering), and dreaming and idealism. Granted, these things can be good, but when taken to the extreme, which the Knights often are guilty of, they can distract us from reality. The good thing is that this Knight is not as fast moving as the others (just like running through deep water takes more time and effort than running on flat, dry land), and also for today, he is reversed in my spread, so while the danger of being distracted by fantasy is there, I may be able to short-circuit it. Especially because my second card, the Four of Pentacles (the Sun, the inner core of a person or situation or the deepest self, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, authority, caution cunning), is so very grounded. This Four is a card of earthy power, but since both the suit and the number are so very stable, so very resistant to change or improvisation, I need to be careful that I don’t become so obsessed over details or protective of myself that I begin to stagnate. A mixture of dreams and a healthy dose of reality just might be the ticket.

My Thoth card is the Knight of Cups reversed. In the Thoth Tarot, the Knights are actually the Kings, with the Princes representing the Knights. This Knight/King in an upright position corresponds with the cusp of Libra (“We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation) and Scorpio (“I desire,” intense, controlling, sexual), and he is amiable in a passive way, unlike the Prince/Knight of Cups, who is more intensely secretive and crafty toward his own purposes even though he appears calm and serene. This Knight/King may be somewhat slow to move, or slow to offer the truth, but underneath it all there is an essence of innocence or purity about him. There are some interesting correspondences that work directly with this card. The crab over the Cup corresponds with Cancer (“I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, nurturing), and the nine rays behind the cup correspond with the Moon (feelings and emotions, illusion, imagination), which is the ruler of Cancer, and creator of tides. The Knight/King is riding on a white horse, which symbolizes the Albedo (!!!) of The Great Work of alchemy. Because he is reversed, the influence of this Knight/King may not be readily apparent to me, but he is there! Probably he will affect me most, not necessarily in a positive way, in my interactions with others, but since he is reversed there is hope, as I will be able to understand any negative feelings towards others because I will be able to effectively examine my own feelings (most likely, the source of the discomfort).

My Legacy card is The Fool reversed, flavored by The Wheel reversed. The Fool (Air, hot/separates and wet/adapts; Uranus, technology, the future, innovation, unexpected and radical change; Aleph, the head, youthful learning; and the Path between Chokmah, male on the electric sense, the origin of vital force and polarity, and Kether, the source, limitless possibility) in an upright position tells us to expect new beginnings, and to not be upset if we can’t yet see where these exciting new beginnings are leading us. The Fool tells us to trust that the Universe is a good place and will provide for us, and he reminds us that if we can visualize our end result, even if we can’t see it yet, and if we believe in ourselves, we can make that end result happen. The Wheel (Fire, hot/separates and dry/shapes; Jupiter, expansiveness and growth, justice, fortune; Kaph, grasping hand; and the Path between Netzach, the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration, and Chesed, which crosses Da’ath, the place where forms and structure are stabilized and nurtured) in an upright position corresponds with the cycles and ebbs and flows of energy around us all. These cycles are usually not originating from us, however it is our job to “go with the flow” and make use of the prevailing direction in which the energies are moving. Both cards are reversed (and all of my cards today are reversed except for the Four of Pentacles), so I may not find it easy to see my next step today, or to sense the ebbs and flows of energies and events around me. I need to be cautious before taking action, otherwise I will be fighting the tides.

My 6-digit date number is 7, the beginning of the degeneration of the balance of the number 6, and the pause that happens as the tides begin to change.

My horoscopes: “Today you might have a strange feeling that something is wrong, perhaps in the neighborhood or with a friend or relative. This is probably going to bother you all day, Sagittarius, so it might be a good idea to call this person or otherwise look into the matter. There's probably nothing really wrong, but someone close to you may have just experienced a shock of some kind.”

And: “Your progressive attitude is apt to inspire others to take a more educated approach to things. Don't get discouraged if you feel a bit weighed down this morning, because things are apt to pick up tremendously as the day wears on. By the time evening rolls around, there will be a number of people looking to you for advice and support. Feel free to spread your knowledge far and wide.”

Looks like today is a day for research and learning, and not for decisions and action. Okay, then; Mercury has gone direct, so I can do that with effectiveness. LOL!! Here is some information about Watchers that I found on Wikipedia. Interesting that Watchers are considered by some to be Angels. Much of what is presented in Wikipedia has a Christian focus, but the information is valuable anyway. Tomorrow I will post some information about both Watchers and Angels from other sources.


Watcher (angel)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Watchers (from Greek egrḗgoroi (ἐγρήγοροι)) or Grigori are a group of fallen angels told of in Biblical apocrypha who mated with human females, giving rise to a race of hybrids known as the Nephilim (the Nephilim are also mentioned in Genesis 6:4, but that verse notably lacks mention of them being human-angel hybrids). The Watchers appear in Biblical apocrypha, in the first and second books of Enoch and Jubilees. The word “Grigori” derives from the Slavonic Second Book of Enoch.

According to the Book of Enoch, the Watchers numbered a total of 200 but only their leaders are named.


Book of Enoch

In the Book of Enoch, the watchers are angels dispatched to Earth to watch over the humans.

They soon begin to lust for human women, and at the prodding of their leader, Samyaza, they defect en masse to illicitly instruct and procreate among humanity. The offspring of these unions are the Nephilim, savage giants who pillage the earth and endanger humanity. Samyaza and associates further taught their human charges arts and technologies such as weaponry, cosmetics, mirrors, sorcery, and other techniques that would otherwise be discovered gradually over time by humans, not foisted upon them all at once. The Greek myth of Prometheus revealing fire-making to humans without Zeus’s permission is likely a variant of the same ancient legend, and it is possible also that ancient legends among many cultures about cannibalistic giants and pervasive implementation of magical powers (such as in the tale Jack and the Beanstalk) arise from the same ancient mythology that came to inspire the Books of Enoch. Eventually God allows a Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim, but first sends Uriel to warn Noah so as not to eradicate the human race. While Genesis tells us that the Nephilim remained “on the earth” even after the Great Flood, Jude tells us that the Watchers themselves are bound “in the valleys of the Earth” until Judgment Day. (See Genesis 6:4 and Jude 1:6, respectively)

The watchers story in Enoch derives from the sixth chapter Genesis, where the “Origin of the Nephilim” is described and the “Sons of God” who beget them are mentioned:

“When men began to multiply on earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw how beautiful the daughters of man were, and so they took for their wives as many of them as they chose. Then the Lord said: ‘My spirit shall not remain in man forever, since he is but flesh. His days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years.’ At that time the Nephilim appeared on earth (as well as later), after the sons of God had intercourse with the daughters of man, who bore them sons. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown.” (Genesis 6:1-4)

Here, the “sons of God” are given no specific name or function; they could represent fallen angels, heavenly beings that mate with human women. The Book of Enoch regards these as the same angels who are referred to as the Benei Ha-Elohim (Eng. Sons of God) in the Book of Genesis. According to this belief, their sins filled the Earth with violence and the world was destroyed as a result of their intervention.

Later theologians believed the “sons of God” referred the descendants of Seth and the “daughters of man,” which in turn referred to the descendants of Cain.


Other references to the Watchers

The Book of Jubilees adds further details about the “watchers.”

In the Book of Daniel an Aramaic term used to denote angels is “watchers” (`îrîn). The term “watcher” probably derives from the verb “to be awake” or “to be vigilant,” so that the implication of calling the angels “watchers” is that they are constantly on watch as sentinels for Yahweh.

Angels were fairly popular in Jewish folklore, which often describes them as looking like large human beings that never sleep and remain forever silent. While there are good and bad “watchers,” most stories revolve around the evil ones that fell from grace when they took “the daughters of man” as their mates.

In the Old Testament (Daniel 4:13-17) there is reference made to the Irin, or “watchers,” which appear to be an order of angels. In early Hebrew lore the Irin were a high order of angels that sat on the supreme Judgment Council of the Heavenly Court.

Richard Cavendish, in his book The Powers of Evil, suggests that the Giants mentioned in Genesis 6:4 were the Giants or Titans of Greek Mythology. He also lists the “watchers” as the fallen angels which magicians call forth in ceremonial magic. Cavendish mentions that the “watchers” were so named because they were stars, the “eyes of night.”

16th Century French theologian Sinistrari, while never using the name “Watchers,” referred to similar beings, which he called “incubi” and “succubi” as producing offspring which were the Biblical Nephilim. He associated the Incubi and Succubi with the Elemental natures of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Clement of Alexandria, influenced by Hellenistic cosmology, attributed the movement of the Stars and the control of the four elements to angelic beings. Sinistrari attributed bodies of fire, air, earth, and water to these Beings, and concluded that the “watchers” were made of fire and air. Cardinal Newman, writing in the mid 1800s, proposed that certain angels existed who were neither totally good nor evil, and had only “partially fallen” from the Heavens.


Partial List of Watchers

There are 20 leaders in the Book of Enoch also called 1 Enoch; the section that mentions them reads:

“7. And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. 8. These are their chiefs of tens. - R. H. Charles translation, The Book of the Watchers, Chapter VI. ”

These are the leaders of 200 angels in 1 Enoch that are turned into fallen Angels due to their taking wives, mating with human women, and teaching forbidden knowledge.

Araqiel (also Arakiel, Araqael, Araciel, Arqael, Sarquael, Arkiel, Arkas) taught humans the signs of the earth. However, in the Sibylline Oracles, Araqiel is referred to not as a fallen angel, or Watcher, but as one of the 5 angels who lead the souls of men to judgement, the other 4 being Ramiel, Uriel, Samiel, and Azazel.
Armaros (also Amaros) in Enoch I taught men the resolving of enchantments.
Azazel taught men to make knives, swords, shields, and how to devise ornaments and cosmetics.
Gadriel taught the art of cosmetics.
Baraqel (Baraqiel) taught men astrology.
Bezaliel mentioned in Enoch I, left out of most translations due to damaged manuscripts and problematic transmission of the text.
Chazaqiel (sometimes Ezeqeel) taught men the signs of the clouds (meteorology).
Kokabiel (also Kakabel, Kochbiel, Kokbiel, Kabaiel, and Kochab), is a high-ranking, holy angel but, in general apocryphal lore and also in Enoch I, he is a fallen Watcher, resident of nether realms, and commands 365,000 surrogate spirits to do his bidding. Among other duties, he instructs his fellows in astrology.
Penemue “taught mankind the art of writing with ink and paper,” and taught “the children of men the bitter and the sweet and the secrets of wisdom.”
Sariel (also Suriel) taught mankind about the courses of the moon (at one time regarded as forbidden knowledge).
Samyaza (also Shemyazaz, Shamazya, Semiaza, Shemhazi, Semyaza and Amezyarak) is one of the leaders of the fall from heaven.
Shamsiel, once a guardian of Eden, served as one of the 2 chief aides to the archangel Uriel (the other aide being Hasdiel) when Uriel bore his standard into battle, and is the head of 365 legions of angels and also crowns prayers, accompanying them to the 5th heaven. He is referred to as one of the Watchers. He is a fallen angel who teaches the signs of the sun.

~end~

Even though the focus of this information is not very Pagan, my interest is aroused. I see so many Wiccans and Pagans who treat the Elemental Guides/Watchtowers/Quarters as not very monumental when viewing an entire ritual or working, but perhaps we need to rethink all this. Or at least, I do. **rubs hands together in anticipation of learning some interesting things* This is going to be interesting.

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Sunday, September 12, 2010

Five of Swords/Three of Cups reversed. Well, that does not sound good. The Five of Swords (Venus, allure, pleasure, relationships, in Aquarius, the group, progressive, eccentric, aloof) tells of an attempt to actively manifest a plan, even if others are trod upon in the process, and an inability to release the past. It tells of malice and slander and malicious actions for the originator’s own gain. The Three of Cups (Mercury, reason, intelligence, communication, skill, in Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, family and home oriented, moody, tenacious) in an upright position tells of the joy of connection to others and the good feelings that happen because of those connections. The card is reversed, and it certainly seems as if its reversal may be happening because of the influence of that Five of Swords.

My Thoth card is The Lovers reversed. In an upright position, The Lovers corresponds with Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts), Gemini (“I think,” curious, talkative, sociable duality), Zayin (two-edged sword), and the Path between Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify) and Binah (female receptive energy, the origin of form and structure), and Crowley sees this card as representing not only love, but inspiration and intuition, and the need to make an important choice. Because the card is reversed, it may not be a good day for choices of the important kind. But the card is there, and so its energies are present. I just need to figure out how best to tap into them, or if today is a day to even try.

My Legacy card is the Three of Coins reversed, flavored by the Six of Wands. Another reversed Three card. This one (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambitious, cautious, competent) in an upright position tells of being dedicated, detail oriented, and of loving ones work. Reversed, I am being told that satisfaction is not to be mine just yet, but since the card is flavored by the Six of Wands (Jupiter, expansiveness and growth, justice, fortune, in Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, noble, authoritative), if I keep my nose to the grindstone and act with honor, I just may be able to turn that Three of Coins around.

My 6-digit date number is 4, the number of depth and stability.

My horoscopes: “Don't be surprised if lots of visitors show up today. Perhaps you're hosting an impromptu social event or neighbors bring news of changes nearby. You should be brimming with energy, so you can handle it, but you might find it a bit unnerving if it gets too exciting. It's best just to go with the flow and enjoy situations like this. You can think about it later.

And: “A family member who tried to spring a surprise on you yesterday will be treated to at least the same shock today -- coming right back at them. In other words, you won't bite -- not one little nip -- but you'll definitely shock them. After all, if you still feel the need to return the favor, at least you'll make yours a pleasant surprise. And why not? It's not like you have anything to lose. You, after all, were warned by their haste -- a big plus.

And: “A subject that might not have interested you much previously now all of a sudden becomes one of your passions. You might find yourself delving into all possible sources to learn as much as you can about it, and you might even get in the car and drive some distance to seek out more information. A woman friend might accompany you. In the evening: Expect to feel a powerful desire for romance! Plan your day accordingly!

We had our first Sacred Mists Reiki Share of the Fall this morning. I think there were only a few of us, but what a lovely Share it was. We had decided to offer Reiki to the Earth for our final five minutes of our share. Once I reached that part, I visualized Gaia, the Earth Mother, and sent Her Reiki. For most of the 5 minutes the Reiki energy swelled within me and passed through me and into the Earth, but for the last minute or so, I felt energy return to me, a lovely, warm, tingling pressure that filled my body and brought tears to my eyes. The Goddess always answers when we reach out to Her, even if we are the ones offering the gift of contact; we have only to “listen” for Her, to allow ourselves to “feel” Her loving touch.

I am overjoyed: the rain let up, and I was able to ride my bike to Cape May Point again and walk the trail again.

The sky is still overcast, so there was a feeling of Fall in the air. As soon as I got away from town, the cool breeze was filled with the sweet and exotic fragrance of Virgin’s Bower. The blossoms were so thick in places, with vines festooned over trees and undergrowth alike, that it looked as if we had an early wet snow!

I thought the Point would be empty, but there were lots of people on the hawk platform, in the museum, walking toward the beach, and getting ready to climb to the top of the lighthouse. I parked my bike, locked it up, and headed into the trail. There were people on the trail, too; mostly birders with binoculars and tripods.

What a difference a week makes!! Every tree or bush that gives fruit of any kind was heavy with the products of the Summer’s sun and rain, ranging in colors from yellow-green to deep wine purple to brilliant scarlet. The heads of the grasses were bent towards the ground, heavy with grain of all shades of green and brown and yellow. Last week, it was about dragonflies of all sizes, and beautiful moths, some black and white and others with beautiful eye patterns on their wings. This weekend, it was about monarchs. Literally hundreds and hundreds of monarch butterflies, clouds of them, were fluttering and dancing from flower to flower. Some of them were intensely and brilliantly colored, as if they had just slid from their cocoons this morning; others were faded and tattered almost beyond recognition. I saw one monarch whose wings were so tattered that their black edgings were almost gone. I wondered where this fellow had come from, and how long and difficult his journey was so far, with miles to go before reaching the Winter roosts in Florida and Mexico. How amazing that a creature with wings with the tensile strength of tissues could make such a journey!

An osprey circled over me as I walked through a meadow filled with cattails, following the stream that circled through the meadow, looking for lunch. I watched what looked like an eagle, circling high above. Then, I stopped and followed a snowy egret with my eyes as it waded along the edge of a pond, hunting. And still there were more monarchs!

I stopped on one of the bridges that spanned one of the streams that meandered through the meadows, breathed deep the fragrance of grasses and water, tinged with Fall and dried leaves, and connected with Deity. I offered my deepest gratitude for the gifts I had been given . . . for the family, friends and loved ones who fill my life, for the valuable lessons that have been offered to me, for the exciting new opportunities that may be finally manifesting in my physical world, and for my ever-deepening connection to Goddess and God, and the world around me.

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Saturday, September 11, 2010

The Star reversed/Judgement reversed. Well, interesting. The Star in an upright position corresponds with Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts), Aquarius (“I know,” friendships, the group, society), Tsadi, the fish hook (experience or thought), and the Path between Yesod (patterns and images emerge that may manifest into the physical world) and Hod (provides analysis and communication). Looks like I won’t be moving on and leaving behind a crisis, and I won’t be wiping the slate clean either today. No definite steps forward, no releasing of the past.

My Thoth card is The Hermit reversed. Hmmmm . . . another reversed Major. In an upright position, The Hermit corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes), Virgo (“I serve,” practical, analytical, work and service oriented, sensible), Yod, the open hand (touch), and the Path between Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify) and Chesed (crosses Da’ath, forms and structures are stabilized and nurtured). He refers to hidden things and to finding answers from within. Looks like I might have trouble seeing the hidden things, or the answers to the questions. Oy.

My Legacy card is the Five of Wands reversed, flavored by The Empress reversed. Hey!! What’s up with the reversed Majors? The Five of Wands in an upright position represents Saturn (discipline, responsibility, law and order) in Leo (“I am, passionate, dramatic, egotistical), and it represents a struggle that appears at cross purposes. It is reversed, so the struggle is not an issue today. Whew!! That one is better reversed. The Empress in an upright position corresponds with Earth, Venus (beauty, allure, pleasure, relationships), Daleth (door or womb) and the Path between Binah (female receptive energy, the origin of form and structure) and Chokmah (male in the electric sense, dynamic energy and the origin of vital force and polarity). She represents feminine ruling power, fertility, and the enjoyment of the senses. Those things may not be my focus today, and the lack of strife may not be rewarding for me. Er . . . what?

My 6-digit date number for today is 3, the number of new creation from balance and polarity.

My horoscopes: “Matters regarding love and romance are in your favor today, Sagittarius. You'll find that love comes to you when you least expect it. There's a powerful creative force within you that will be most rewarding if you put it to use for some sort of artistic endeavor. A strong yet erratic urge may call you into action, so be ready to respond with your entire being.”

And: “The vibes other people are giving off may affect you to an unusual degree now, so if someone's emanating crummy energy, give them a wide berth. Your internal state and the bigger picture are closely connected at the moment, so it's important that you're in a positive, supportive environment. As for those with the negativity going, well, you can always check back in with them a little bit later -- maybe next year.”

And: “Some of the information you receive today may not be sitting too well with you. This is probably because you have failed to prepare for what you knew was inevitable. If, however, you have prepared yourself well, this information should not even faze you. Perhaps there is a piece of gossip that is floating around that is making you uneasy. Don't combat this energy by starting more gossip of your own. You will only make the situation worse by making it an even bigger topic of discussion.”

Well, I am totally confuzzled about the messages of my Tarot cards and my horoscopes today. No morning after, no opportunity to clean the slate, no effectiveness at looking within for answers, no connection to my senses, and no minor “turns ta” either. I don’t get it. I’m documenting this here because the message might become more clear over the next few days. To pull four Major Arcana cards out of five cards for the day is big enough, but to have all four of those Majors reversed is sort of a red flag to me.

The Mind/Body/Spirit Fair at Off the Beaten Path was today. We had such fun belly dancing! My class did a wonderful job, and E from the PBT, and Danielle, came, and they joined us! I was thrilled that E was able to fit us in!! She has a busy weekend, as she is starting her new job on Monday! Yay!! And it was so good to see Danielle again.

My drive to Cape May was peaceful and uneventful. The late Summer/early Fall energies are so beautiful that they are almost overwhelming. I hope that the beautiful weather will last at least until early afternoon tomorrow, because I am longing to go back to the trail at Cape May Point. We shall see.

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Friday, September 10, 2010

Two of Pentacles reversed/Five of Cups. The Two of Pentacles (Jupiter, expansiveness and growth, justice, fortune, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, caution, cunning, competence, stability) in an upright position represents change, and it represents having the necessary balance to effectively cope with that change. Because the card is reversed, I may find that I am not dealing effectively with life’s challenges. Flexibility and a skill for changing directions when needed are necessary to achieve and maintain balance, and one or both of those may be lacking. The Five of Cups represents what happens if we allow ourselves to stay in the state of stagnation that is represented by the Four of Cups. The Five of Cups, which corresponds with Mars (action, spontaneity, aggression, drive) in Pisces (“I believe,” feeling, spirituality, soul growth, overly emotional), tells me that the balls I drop because of my inability to effectively juggle my responsibilities may fill my focus, but I need to force myself to turn away from the broken balls. This card reminds us that we need to stop crying about the spilled cups, so that we will see that right behind us, there is a solution.

My Thoth card is the Ten of Cups. “Satiety” is the word Crowley chose to represent this card. Interestingly enough, pleasure and happiness can sometimes take lots of effort to maintain. Yes, sometimes the “machine” is working well and the happiness flows, but at other times the lack of challenges that is happiness causes stagnation to begin. This card is seen by Crowley as Mars (action, spontaneity, aggression, drive) in Scorpio (“I desire,” intense, controlling, compulsive, deep, secretive). Uncle Al sees this card as presenting a warning: sometimes when we successfully strive to attain pleasure, we find that it is not what we want after all. Leave it to Uncle Al to see the bad side of this card, but in order to understand its energies, we need to think about the good parts and the bad parts of the completeness of experiencing the suit of Cups that is the Ten.

My Legacy card is the King of Cups reversed, flavored by the Eight of Wands reversed. The King of Cups corresponds with the cusp of Libra (“We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation, grace, full of ideas) and Scorpio. In an upright position, his job is to create emotional fulfillment, well-being, and an environment that fosters creativity. Marchetti sees this King as remaining somewhat aloof from the flow of emotions around him so that he can better influence them for the betterment of all. He is good at helping others to understand their feelings and to release those that are not needed or harmful. Since he is reversed, I may not be able to easily separate myself from the flow of emotions around me, and recognizing those that need to be left behind might take an extra effort. Since this King is flavored by the Eight of Wands (Mercury, reason, intelligence, education, skill, communication, in Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, adventurous, blundering) reversed, there is a heaviness and lack of action about his energies today. I may not have it in me to focus on anything, let alone comprehending what I see and feel.

My 6-digit date number is 11 (Archangel Uriel, **ducks incoming chaos*), which reduces to the number 2, the number of balance and polarity.

My horoscopes: “Your mind may be going a thousand miles an hour today. You might be inundated with new ideas and information that could cause mental overload. Write it all down if you can. You'll want to refer to it later. It might be advisable to then go out for a walk or other exercise. This intellectual overload could produce excess nervous energy that you'll need to work off.”

And: “After days of enjoying a delightfully keen companion, you're still not quite ready to quit. You may even be in the mood to have one of those verbal sparring matches for an audience, since your ego (yep, you've got one, too) is urging you to get out there and prove yourself. If your partner (i.e. opponent) doesn't quite see it that way initially, don't worry. If you can't convince them to see it your way after just a bit of persuasion, give it a rest. You wouldn't want to lose this, would you?”

And: “If you have been thinking about making a major change in your life, all signs indicate that this is the time to take the plunge! Radical change is scary, to be sure, but you are ready for the challenge. In truth, whether you realize it or not you have been preparing for this moment for a long time now. Trust us, you are ready. The time is ripe to begin.”

I have changed so much since just a week ago. Besides the one trauma that I hinted at in my blog posts that has to do with the efforts of another to perpetuate a grievance and impose it unjustly, I also dealt with something in my physical world, something that I discovered upon examination was in essence my own fault due to procrastination, and which could have had a negative impact on others, on people who I care about. I fixed the problem immediately, but I had a day or two where I was judging myself harshly.

Like the perpetuation of grievances from the past, harsh self-judgment is something that can totally consume our awareness. In some ways it is harder to deal with, because usually everything involved with the issue that brings harsh self-judgment is from within us, and the self-judgment does not end until we resolve those inner issues, which are usually not physical in nature. Our harsh judgment is not in reaction to the actions of others, but rather to our own words or actions, and this situation has the potential to turn into a downward spiral, just as easily as a downward spiral is created by the perpetuation of past grievances.

I have been wondering why these issues have been presented to me at this time, and I think I am beginning to tease an understanding out of my own consciousness.

Each of us has the ability to ground and center our awareness. This grounding and centering is a necessary part of a healthy and serene existence, and the strength of your ability to ground and center needs to be equal to the strength of your ability to rise up out of yourself and evolve. We are, after all, traveling through life in a physical vehicle, and thus, we are subject to the effects of the physical realms. We are each challenged by our Deities, the providers of our life essence, whether we realize it or not, to be as aware of Them and of the higher pursuits of living and growing, and to be equally aware of the weight (meaning response to gravity, not pounds on the frame), health and physiology of our own vehicle, the effects of the thoughts, words and actions of others upon us and of our own upon others, and of the effects of the elements around us. Talk about a balance of polar opposites!!

If we focus strictly upon the physical world and its myriad of pleasures and pains, bounties and lacks, efforts and relaxations, and if we focus strictly upon “feathering our nests” with physical objects and with those things that bring us pleasure of the physical senses, we miss out on a huge portion of what life is all about. After all, when this life is over, all of those physical things need to be left behind, and most likely, the memories of the times when we enjoyed our possessions will have faded away to dust. Think about it; can you remember having your favorite ice cream cone when you were 5? How about when you were 7? Or 10? Or 15? Having too many pleasures tends to bring a numbing of the senses and a numbing of the ability to remember. Focusing too much on buying more “stuff” can be an obsession, particularly when we are comparing the caliber of our own “stuff” to the “stuff” of others. We become the negative aspects of the Four of Pentacles, grasping and protecting our own possessions and not even enjoying them because we are too busy examining the possessions of others and calculating the worth of their possessions so we can compare them to our own.

If we focus on the other realms, the vastness of the universes that are not physically anchored or supported, we can easily become lost. Yes, striving for growth and for understanding is such a good thing, and we all should continue to learn and evolve, for it is our Purpose. The Path of Evolution is an experiential one, and unless we can do as Kali Ma instructs, and separate ourselves to a large extent from our attachments to the “stuff” of the physical world, we will be too heavy to rise, our energies will be anchored to the physical things we value and are responsible (due to our ownership of them) for maintaining. But those non-physical experiences and interactions are mind blowing, and enticing (and necessary for our evolution), and they can take up a lot of our waking time, and distract us from our awareness of those responsibilities I mentioned for the things we own.

The problem arises when we are not able to balance these two states. I need to remind myself of the energies of The Tower, and the source of the chaos illustrated on that card: a lack of balance, and an attempt to proceed without allowing balance to happen. Those kinds of efforts are usually doomed to failure.

Sometimes we need to experience this kind of collapse of the system in order to train ourselves to strive for more balance of these two states of being, and for a stronger connection to that part of ourselves that is part physical and part Will; connection to that part of ourselves is what allows us to ground and center our awareness. The Law of Opposites tells us that we can only understand one concept if we also understand it’s opposite. We cannot hope to prevent a state of mind which we have never experienced. We cannot hope to understand how to access the strength of Will to turn away from the perpetuating of such state of mind until we have built up the strength of our Will by testing it against an intense version of that state of mind. I see now, that these two incidences have one purpose, at least as far as how they relate to me. After all, “[Y]our joy can fill you only as deeply as your sorrow has carved you” and “[i]f you’ve never tasted bitterness, sweet is just another pleasant flavor on your tongue.” (From Blood Fever, by Karen Marie Moning.)

I have found that in many respects, the interactions and experiences I am having are largely composed of feelings, and thus, are increasingly difficult to describe. The sense of rightness regarding this entry, the sound of the puzzle piece popping into place as I realized the validity of my thoughts (and the purpose of my experiences) is not something that I can truly describe, and all that is written here seems to be lacking something. But the “monster in the night” that is fear of chaos, fear of being subjected to influences beyond my control, fear of harming another through my own choices, has become less frightening to me because this time, I have bested that monster. I found the courage to face it, eye to eye, despite my fear, and guess what? The monster blinked first.

PBT tonight; my task now is to choose an appropriate dessert for our dinner tonight. Hmmmm . . . chocolate cake? Or ice cream? Decisions, decisions.

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Thursday, September 9, 2010

The Star/The Hanging Man reversed. Two Majors! The Star corresponds with Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts) and the intellect, Aquarius (“I know,” friendships, the group, progressive), Tsadi, the fish hook (experience or thought), and the Path between Yesod (where patterns and images emerge that may manifest into the physical world) and Netzach (the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration), and tells of the potential for recovery. The message of this card is to start picking up the pieces and look for a new dawn. The Hanging Man

My Thoth card is the Princess of Cups. Crowley really seems to like this card; he sees her as being all sweetness and voluptuousness and kindness and tenderness. To others she may appear selfish or too laid back, but she does not let the opinions of others affect her serenity as she accomplishes what she needs to accomplish. Good role model for me today.

My Legacy card is the Four of Coins reversed, flavored by The Hanging Man. The upright Four of Coins tells of the realization of possessing something valuable. We often react to this situation by becoming possessive, and to some extent that is not a bad thing. However, when protecting our valued possessions becomes an obsession, we may miss out on the non-physical realm blessings around us, and they are just as valuable as any coin or gem. The Hanging Man is about surrender, and in fact represents the archetype of sacrifice and initiation; he corresponds to the element of Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts), as well as Neptune (inspiration, spirituality, enchantment and altered states), Mem (water; stability and balance), and the Path between Hod (analysis of communication; understanding how to do something) and he Path between Geburah (the challenging and affirming of form and structure). The Hanging Man tells of suspension or pause or surrender, most of the time voluntary; however the pause is achieved through sacrifice. The two cards together may be telling me that I am having difficulty in functioning today because I feel that something I value is being threatened.

My 6-digit date number is 10, which tells of the complete manifestation of energies on the physical plane, and which reduces to the number 1, which tells of beginnings and of awareness of self, or location.

My horoscopes: “Interesting communications from friends could center on possible world developments or maybe some juicy gossip about people you know, Sagittarius. Enjoy yourself, but don't take everything you hear at face value. Much of it is less actual fact than the product of someone's fertile imagination. Short journeys in your area could bring news of upcoming changes in your community. Expect the unexpected!”

And: “Renewed energy arrives, and just in the nick of time. A flagging relationship or work project is revivified thanks to this influx of celestial high spirits. In fact, you can expect progress or movement in any areas of your life that have felt stalled recently. Obstacles will seem to disappear as you move steadily toward a long desired goal. Keep up the good work and let your record speak for itself.”

And: “A brother, sister, or neighbor is keeping a secret from you, and if confronted about it, probably won't tell the truth. There may be gossip circulating that wouldn't exactly please you if you heard it. Your phone line could be jumping today, and you'll probably hear a lot of interesting news -- but nothing about what's being kept from you. Let it go. It's probably trivial, and not worthy of effort or consideration.”

I have talked in detail about The Hanging Man recently (towards the end of June), so I will not go into too much detail here, but since the card has shown up in both the upright and reversed positions in my spread today, I think I will remind myself of some of the important points of that focus. The Hanging Man is directly connected to The Emperor, The Fool, Death and The Moon of the Major Arcana.

Marchetti’s Hanging Man shows us that balance is created by equality of opposites, and this bridge created between opposites and the surrender needed to access it may be especially notable today because I threw this card both upright and reversed

The Pearls of Wisdom interpretation of The Hanging Man is interesting. The card is described as representing cheerful sacrifice and surrender to the inevitable. We are being told that despite feeling bound by other things (or maybe because of binds that restrict us), we are able to surrender to the entire event. We are emancipated from restrictions by surrendering to them, and we are freed from the fear of loss! This also feels important to me today.

Well, I was promised some trauma, and I certainly did get it, in multiple ways. But today, I feel as though the storm has passed, and recovery can begin. I am crossing my fingers, and hoping that this is so. My efforts on Tuesday to bring my awareness back to the Sacred are paying off, and I am feeling the urge to get things done. Always a sign that recovery is well into its manifestation.

I keep remembering my morning bike ride to Cape May Point, and that lovely walk through the wildlife preserve. I smile every time I think about some part of that morning, and I am hoping that the weather will allow me to go back again this weekend. There is something healing and satisfying about being in the salt marshes, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face, and soaking in the Natural beauty all around me, and I crave more of it.

The Pagan Brain Trust had our New Moon Reiki Share on Tuesday night, and this had to be one of the most powerful Shares I have experienced with the PBT! The first 6 minutes or so of our 10 minute share were incredible; the energy flowed with such strength that I felt as if someone was gripping my wrists, and the hot flashes and tingling sensations were quite intense.

The PBT is meeting tomorrow night, and I am really looking forward to seeing everyone. Our interactions are empowering, energizing and transformative, and my own Path and the efforts I expend as I Travel upon it are always validated by our talks. Since this has been an interesting week for me, I could use some energy and empowerment.

I will be thinking about The Hanging Man today and his impact on my experiences of the day. I have already chosen to surrender my ownership of the events that have stressed me; now I need to work on changing my perception of my own self back towards a healthy level. I have the power of choice here, and I choose to resume my Travels; I will stop fighting the flow of energies and instead, use the direction of the current tide to slingshot me into the direction I want to travel, without bringing along any unnecessary baggage.

A late addition: I just love synchronicity. Here I am, eating lunch and beginning book 2 of the MacKayla Lane series, and I didn't even get past the prologue without a tap on the back of my head. And I quote:

All of us have our little problems and insecurities. I’m no different. Back in high school when I used to feel insecure about something, I would console myself with two thoughts: I’m pretty and my parents love me. Between those two, I could survive anything.

Since then I’ve come to understand how little the former matters, and how bitterly the latter can be tested. What’s left then? Nothing about our appearance or who loves or hates us. Nothing about our brainpower – which, like beauty, is an unearned gift of genetics – nor even anything about what we say.

It’s our actions that define us. What we choose. What we resist. What we’re willing to die for.

Blood Fever by Karen Marie Moning, Prologue


Exactly.

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