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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