Two of Pentacles reversed/Knight of Wands. In an upright position, the Two of Pentacles (Jupiter, expansiveness and growth, justice, fortune, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, caution, cunning, competent) tells of both balance and change, and the dynamic and active balancing act that is needed to remain balanced despite the change. The card is reversed, and judging by the feeling of the day, I would have guessed that change would not be a part of my experiences, but pairing the Two with the Knight of Wands (cusp of Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, deep, obsessive, and Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering) tells me something different. This Knight is about action and change, and the change could be powerful or it could be unexpected, or it could be both. But, this Knight is also known for his courage, so I think I should be okay, despite the fact that I may not feel that my handling of potential situations will be graceful.

My Thoth card is the Ten of Disks reversed. “Wealth” reversed; another “good” Pentacles card in a reversed position. Crowley sees the Ten of Disks (Mercury, reason, intelligence, education, communication, in Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, work and service oriented, critical) as a powerful card (for a Coins card); it tells of the sum total of the work of the Disks, and it even tells of the Tree of Life and the totality of experience that comes from studying it. He sees this card in an upright position as being similar to The World of the Major Arcane. However, Uncle Al also presents a warning (as usual **grin**): once you have achieved your wealth or acquired your blessings, you need to do something with your bounty. Otherwise, the riches just become more “stuff” to take care of and to be burdened with. The card is reversed, so I may not have completed my work in the physical realm, but I need to be certain that I don’t allow the weight of the suit to hold me back from beginning that new creation.

My Legacy card is the Five of Coins flavored by the Eight of Swords. Errr . . . okay then. The Five of Coins (Mercury in Taurus) in the Legacy Tarot is about charity; sometimes we are in need of it, badly, and sometimes we are gifted with the opportunity to offer it to another. Charity is paired with dire need, and since this is a Coins card, that need will most likely appear in my physical world, either regarding money, security or health. The thing to remember about this Five is that while the energy of the number seems to be upsetting my world, the upset is the first step to better things. The Eight of Swords (Jupiter in Gemini) also presents a situation where things seem much worse than they actually are, and since this card is flavoring the Five of Coins, I feel doubly certain that any perceived difficulties will have a major silver lining available. I just need to look for it!

My 6-digit date number is 11 (Archangel Uriel), which reduces to 2, balance and polarity. Okay, everything is telling me this is not going to be a serene day. But at least my cards are all Minors.

My horoscopes: “You're apt to be somewhat fickle when it comes to love and romance right now, Sagittarius. The key for you now is freedom. The problem with this mindset is that it might be misinterpreted. Your partner may think you simply aren't interested in him or her anymore. Remind your partner that it's OK to love someone while also needing time and space to do things on your own.”

And: “Expect some great news today via phone, e-mail, fax, or the Internet. This could involve a lucky break of some kind, auguring beneficial changes in both profession and lifestyle. A number of short journeys in your near neighborhood may be necessary, and you could stop by the homes of friends or neighbors to tell them all about what's been happening with you. Enjoy your day. You won't have too many quite like this one!”

In many ways, the “endings” nature of my Tarot cards for today make sense, because in many ways I am feeling the season of Fall. I got a late start today (haven’t been down to Cape May in three weeks, so I spent a good portion of the day chatting with neighbors), so I decided to go right to Sunset Beach on my bike. Right off the bat, I could feel a change in the air; Fall has arrived. Maybe it was the fact that all the fields I passed had been mowed or harvested, maybe it is because all the greens of the leaves and vines and grasses are fading to yellows and oranges and browns, or maybe the light itself is different, filled with that glorious late afternoon glow created by the sun being lower in the sky; and I love every bit of it. I even passed an area where leaves had fallen, and I could smell their fragrance as I rode my bike through them.

Sunset Beach was pretty crowded. I parked by bike and headed up toward the stream that bisected the beach. The tide was low, the sky was an incredible blue and the air was warm; a perfect day for a walk at the Delaware Bay!

There were huge dragonflies everywhere, probably left over from the monarch migration. I saw a few monarchs, stragglers, and I wished them a good journey although they were late enough that I worried a bit about their safe arrival at the winter roosts. Moths where around also, larger and smaller, in the grasses at the foot of the dunes.

Turkey vultures and black vultures were around as well, of course, and at one spot they were joined in their circling pattern by a larger hawk.

I saw two ospreys, one low down as he came out of the dunes and the other up overhead, wings spread out as he soared effortlessly. I watched a kestrel wing by, seeming to be busy on a mission, and saw a few of what looked like larger falcons; merlins maybe? And I watched as a harrier rose sharply up out of the grasses, flapped his wings a few times, and then soared over the tops of the grasses, swooping here and there as he hunted.

But today was coopers hawk day. I saw them everywhere, mostly in groups of four to six. I did not realize how many coopers hawks there were in this area. Incredible!

Then, as I finally turned and began my walk back to my bike, I got the biggest reward. Out of the dunes came a bald eagle. He flew right over my head, winging steadily out into the center of the Bay; he turned then, and headed up into the Bay, probably hunting as he traveled towards his winter home in Maryland or Delaware. Glorious!!

As I arrived back at my house, I heard geese. I stopped and stood next to my bike as about 40 of them flew by, in a perfect V, honking to each other in encouragement.

What a beautiful Fall day!!

I have noticed that I am feeling less and less of the energies of the Sacred Masculine. Like the trees and plants around me which are gradually slowing down the flow of sap and energy in preparation for the cold and dark days to come, the energies of the God are changing. No longer is He robust and strong and in the prime of the cycle; now, He is an older gentleman sitting in the late afternoon sun, warming His bones with a smile on His face as He remembers fondly the days that have passed.

More and more, I feel the energies of the Sacred Feminine, washing over me and filling me with the essence of the Goddess. Her time is coming, and soon my focuses will turn inward as I begin to explore and understand the changes that have happened to me this year, under the summer sun. I am truly excited about this task; I have changed so much, and I need to get to know myself anew.

As I headed out to prepare for my walk to the Cove for sunset, I was treated with another fun sight: my next door neighbor’s yard was bathed with the setting sun. There were hundreds of tiny insects, clouds of them, dancing in the sunlight. And there were huge dragonflies, about 50 of them, swooping and zipping and diving, dining on those tiny insects. The dragonflies were so big that at first, I thought they were swallows. I stood for about ten minutes, watching the dragonflies hunt, now I'm headed for the Cove.

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