Page of Pentacles reversed/Three of Pentacles. In an upright position the Page of Pentacles corresponds with the season of Spring (Aries, “I want,” action oriented, enthusiastic, competitive; Taurus, “I have,” sensual, physical, cautious; and Gemini, “I think,” curious, talkative, sociable, dual, intelligent), tells of the presence of a “young body and an old mind,” and it tells of the potential for exciting opportunities which will require me to hone my physical world skills in order to take advantage of them. The Pages bring the message of their Aces, and this Page reversed is warning me that I am not taking the right steps that will bring tangible results. I need to be aware of the fact that I may miss any important possibilities if I don’t hone my skills on a regular basis in order to be ready. The Three of Pentacles (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, cunning, competence) reminds us that often, the reward for hard work is not necessarily to be found in a paycheck, but rather can be found in a more intense way by being aware of my talents, and the skills I have worked so hard to master. If I know in my mind, my heart and my soul that I have done the preparation work, I will have the confidence to act well.

My Thoth card is the Four of Wands. “Completion,” but not an end result. The Four of Wands (Venus, beauty, allure, relationships, in Aries) is about building enough to become established, as a beachhead, not as a finished product. It represents a good, solid manifestation of Fire, but the work is not done yet and I should not stop looking for new ideas and reviewing alternate plans. This is a pause before continuing, and the dangers Crowley mentions as being associated with this card are a lack of steadiness, unreliability, and unpreparedness.

My Legacy card is the Four of Wands reversed flavored by The Lovers. This second Four of Wands is reversed; in and of itself, it is telling me that while I may feel that I have accomplished a lot, the foundations I am leaning on may not be as strong and solid as I thought they were. I may need to look to myself today, to my foundations, just to be certain that all is as it should be before I move on. The Lovers corresponds with Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts; Air is quick, animated, intellectual and usually is about solving problems), Gemini (“I think,” curious, talkative, dual, sociable, intelligent), 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 and the origin of form and structure); this card has a personal significance to me because it usually appears when Archangel Uriel is getting ready to visit me again. The Lovers represents important personal relationships, as well as personal choices and their consequences. This card tells me that this examination of my foundations may be more important than I realize, and the failure of those foundations could have far-reaching consequences.

Having the Four of Wands appear in both the upright and reversed positions tells me that there could be an important crossroad appearing in my immediate future; the presence of The Lovers validates that. The two Pentacles cards are warnings of a sort, advising me where I should best focus in order to prepare for the decision necessitated by the presence of a crossroad.

My 6-digit date number is 11, again to me an indication of the presence of Archangel Uriel; 11 reduces to 2, the number of balance and polarity.

My horoscopes: “Your financial situation could be greatly boosted by a development you hadn't expected, Sagittarius. Perhaps some investments suddenly skyrocket in value, or maybe the homes in your neighborhood are suddenly worth more than you thought. Whichever it is, don't try to cash in on it right now. Chances are the value of your investment will continue to increase. Hang in there and watch it grow.”

And: “Your freedom-loving nature may be feeling a bit tied down today. It could be that instead of venturing out into the unknown, you would rather just stay at home and snuggle up into a warm bed. Stay close with your loved ones. Feelings of nurture and protection are essential to maintaining your emotional well-being on a day like today. This is a great time for you to turn inward.”

I am finally feeling the background hum that is the energy of Nature around me, and I am finally feeling that I am cutting through the sludge that has filled my aura and my energy field for the past few days. I still cannot decide what exactly caused this lethargy. It really was unexpected, and I wonder exactly what its purpose will turn out to be.

In any event, I have energy, I have enthusiasm, and I have the incentive to get things done. My physical world needs my attention for the next day or two, and my physical self needs my attention as well. The chocolate has done its work, and today I will attempt to do without it. LOL, a difficult task.

I finished reading Raven Digitalis’s “Shadow Magick Compendium” this weekend; at least I didn’t totally waste my time of “slug-ness”! One thing that Digitalis talks about is fasting as a tool for changing consciousness and raising energy. He talks about what most of us anticipate when we think about fasting: not eating and/or drinking for a certain period of time, and indeed this would be one way to change my consciousness and perception of the world. However, this method is quite stressful to the digestive system and the entire body. His suggestion is to go on a water, juice and rice fast; eating small amounts of rice several times a day will keep the digestive system active yet still provide that lack of nutrients that a fast is all about, drinking water will maintain hydration, and drinking juice will offer the barest minimum of vitamins and minerals needed to keep healthy despite the deprivation. This would still be difficult enough to change consciousness and raise energy.

What interested me was Digitalis’s descriptions of alternate methods of fasting. For instance, he suggested choosing to be a strict vegetarian for a period of days, or choosing to eat only non-processed foods for a period of days. To me, this would be the best of both worlds, for I would still need to hold back from eating, but I would not be starving myself and shutting down my digestive system.

No matter what, Digitalis states that cold turkey fasting is not a good thing. A fast should be eased into, and eased out of, in order to protect the digestive system.

Another alternative offered involves not abstaining from food, but abstaining from other parts of our lives. For instance, I have known since my very first lesson of my First Degree Training at Sacred Mists that silence has power, and choosing to be completely silent and not speak for a period of time can be even more difficult than a food fast. Choosing to be still for a period of time offers similar power.

There are other ways to choose to disconnect from the world. We can turn off our cell phones for a period of time, or we can shut down our computer and choose to not communicate in that way. For that matter, we could choose to not make use of all technology for a period of time. Imagine the changes in the perception of our world that would come from one 24-hour period of not accessing any technology at all. No lights, only candles. No televisions or internet, only books and conversations. No meals popped into the microwave, only grilled meats (no lighter fluid or propane; fires started the traditional way) and raw fruits and vegetables. Big changes in lifestyle!

I think this kind of fasting is the reason that I find my trips to the Dominican Republic so revitalizing. Yes, we have electricity and water and gas stoves, but the power goes off just about every day for an hour or two at random times, the only potable water is bottled water, and the gas for the stoves is from a tank which needs to be replaced when empty. In order to maintain a household in the Dominican Republic, everyone needs to have an awareness of whether or not the power is on, in order to take advantage of having power to take care of necessary chores like doing laundry. Everyone needs to always be aware of how much water is in the container, and how much gas is in the tank, or when either of them is really needed, they might not be there. These may seem like small differences in lifestyles, but that is only because we have all these things on a regular basis and don’t have to plan for them. Remember for a moment the last blackout; for a while chaos ruled, because we are not prepared to have our services interrupted!

It feels sooooo good to be thinking again!!

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