Monday, October 25, 2010

The Emperor reversed/The Universe. The Emperor (Fire, hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive and energetic change; Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive; Heh, window and illumination; the Path between Tiphareth, the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify, and Chokmah, male active energy and the origin of vital force and polarity) in an upright position tells of order and structure offered because we care. Because he is reversed, I am being told that today should not be a day of structure and regulation, and perhaps there are ore important messages to be had through connecting with my senses and the natural world around me. The Universe/World (Earth, cold/binds and dry/shapes, stable, physical, material, slow to change; Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitations and resistance; Thav, mark or sign; and the Path between Malkuth, the physical world of action and physical reality, and Yesod, the place where patterns and images emerge that may manifest into Malkuth) is an interesting card to show up next to The Emperor in a reversed position. The Universe tells me that I have achieved union with both my conscious and my subconscious mind, and the next step is union with the Divine. The Threshold has presented itself to me, the Gateway is right in front of me; I need to remember that once I step through, I will not only be dealing with the unknown (because any structure or order that I have attained thus far will be no long applicable), but I will also once again become a neophyte (because along with that order and structure, everything that I have come to know as my own personal “truth” will be changed). The Empress is the polar opposite of The Emperor, and she would not fear the step represented by The Universe, so I will not fear it either. How appropriate to consciously accept and embrace this transformation during these final days before Samhain!

My Thoth card is the Ten of Cups. “Satiety” and emotional completion, but of course, Uncle Al does not see the Ten of Cups (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Pisces, “I believe,” feeling, spirituality, soul growth) as the happy card that most interpret it as. Crowley sees this card as the manifestation of the warning, “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it!” Pleasure is all around me, but when my senses become drunk on pleasure, there is a huge danger that they will also become bound to that pleasure. Within the Thoth Tarot, the Nine of Cups is seen as a better card because with the Ten, all movement has ceased and the end has been reached. The Cups on this card are set up to correspond with the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life, and to me that is one good thing about Crowley’s card; after all, evolution is good, even when we have reached the end of one cycle. We just need to be certain that we don’t allow our success to hold us back!

My Legacy card is The Lovers, flavored by The Chariot reversed. The Lovers (Air, hot/separates and wet/adapts, quick and animated, intellectual, problems or challenges; Gemini, “I think,” curious, talkative, sociable, dual; Zayin, double-edged sword; and the Path between Tiphareth and Binah, female receptive energy and the origin of form and structure) is a very powerful card for me personally, filled with symbolism, the least of which is the presence of Archangel Uriel and His effects on my day. This card also tells of the importance of one-to-one relationships today, as well as any personal choices or decisions that need to be made; both of these will have powers in positive ways. In an upright position, The Chariot (Water, cold/binds and wet/adapts, strives to stay the same or follow similar patterns; Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, family and home oriented, moody; Cheth, the fence; and the Path between Geburah, the place where forms and structures are challenged or affirmed, and Binah) tells of the presence of the ability to control emotions, not sweep them under the rug the way The Emperor sometimes does, but trained toward achieving balance. Because the card is reversed, perhaps I am being told that for today, I will achieve more if I don’t attempt to get my conscious and subconscious “selfs” to line up and move forward in an orderly manner. Yes, it is more difficult to move forward that way, but just perhaps, today is not a day to move forward, but rather to choose to enjoy where I am right now.

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

My horoscopes: “You don't normally tend toward frugality, Sagittarius, but today you could go overboard with your spending. Frustration from all sides makes you want to release it all at once by acquiring new possessions. This is fine up to a point. Treat yourself, but take care that you curb the impulse buying. You don't want to waste any time tomorrow taking unwanted items back to the store.”

And: “Keeping quiet has never been your specialty, especially after weeks of trying and getting no help from the other parties concerned. Fortunately, there's someone else who's actually as irritated about all this as you are -- and just as eager to see it all come to an end. Just this once, then, you can keep quiet. The situation will be resolved without your having to be involved.”

And: “You are apt to take a step forward today, and find that someone is standing exactly in your way. The key is to not plow right over that person like a bulldozer. Make friends with him or her and consider why they are standing there in the first place. You are apt to learn a great deal about yourself and why you think the way you do in the first place. Question your own beliefs just as much as you question other people’s.”

Four Major Arcana cards, each representing one of the elements, with Fire and Water reversed, Earth and Air upright. Actually, there is quite a nice balance here, and I get the feeling that today just might be an important day for me. Maybe not a day of forward motion, but you can’t move forward with confidence unless you know exactly where you are right now.

Typical for Monday mornings, I had trouble talking myself out of bed today. Once again, I connected with Kali Ma, and offered her my discomfort at having to leave my warm, cozy bed. Once again, I have been gifted with an increased sensitivity of the energies around me. That is always a pleasant thing, but now, at this time, during the final days before Samhain, I am truly enjoying this increased sensitivity.

My drive home from Cape May was splendid! I think we are at the peak of foliage in New Jersey, and the trees, vines and bushes along the Parkway are blazing with colors. I passed patches of greens and olives and yellows and oranges and reds, framed with browns and taupes and the intense blue of the Fall sky. It is interesting to me that while the energies of Nature are near the end of their gradual shift to those of the cold and dark of Winter, there is at the 11th hour this glorious presentation of color to be found. In many ways, the peak of Fall foliage is similar to the reds and oranges and yellows and indigos of sunset, as the flaming orb of the Sun passes beyond the horizon, “passing the torch” to the dark and cool of night. This weekend for me was indeed the “sunset of Fall,” for this coming weekend I will be in Florida for Witches Gone Wild 2010 (yay; can’t wait to get together with everyone at Disney), where we will be celebrating the Sabbat of Samhain and the endings and transformations that are associated with it.

I performed a short meditation, reaching out to my Patroness, Danu, and it was lovely. I began at the edge of the field where Her altar always appears; I walked through the grasses, now a soft yellow with heavy heads of grain; the trees surrounding the field were yellows and oranges and reds, with the greens and olives and blue-greens of the evergreens balancing out the flames of the Fall deciduous trees. Everything was softened by a thin fog, the kind of fog that appears at dawn or dusk on those days when it is seasonably warm during the day, but once the sun approaches the horizon, the air becomes chilly and damp. I could smell that lovely fragrance of fallen leaves and damp soil that is Fall.

As I walked, I gathered stalks of grass until I had an armful; once I came to Danu’s altar, I lay the sheaf of grain onto the altar stone, and then went down on one knee. Soon enough, I could see Her walking toward me out of the fog. I stood and smiled and walked around the altar and towards Her; she greeted me with a warm and loving hug, and then took my hand and led me into the fog, back toward the direction She had come from.

Soon the fog became thicker, and I could not see where I was going at all. I could hear the grasses as they danced in the light breeze and I could still smell the fallen leaves and damp soil around me; I could feel Danu’s hand as She held mine, warm and comforting. I trusted in Her, and I trusted that She would lead me to where I needed to go.

Sure enough, after walking for a bit, Danu stopped, let go of my hand, and then showed me a Mudra that I should use in order to call Her or connect with Her. The Mudra is simple yet powerful. Danu explained that I should begin with my right hand, which is the hand of power and of the physical, active realm; I should curl my fingers and then straighten my thumb and lean it against my forefinger, between the first and second knuckle. Then, I should move my awareness to my left hand, the hand of the subconscious, the inner focus and the inner realms, and do the same. Finally, I should bring the cupped fingers of my left hand over those of my right hand, symbolizing the choice to change my focus to the inner realms, until the heels of my thumbs touch. I did as Danu described, and then I laughed out loud. There it was! A Gateway!! Danu has given me a simple yet incredibly powerful symbol, especially since Gateways and Thresholds have been on my mind quite a bit lately.

Then She smiled and motioned for me to continue forward on my own. I moved carefully, and within a few steps the mists parted as I came to a rocky cliff with a sharp dropoff. I sensed an abyss, but I could not verify the depth of the dropoff, as the fog was thick and blocked my view downward after about ten feet of the cliff face. I stood there for a while, not moving and deciding what my next step should be. I knew I was going to have to jump sooner or later, but I felt no urgency to do so immediately. In fact, I felt that it was important for me to focus on anticipating the jump today, not actually jumping. At least for right now, I am content to stand at the edge and watch the billowing fog.

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