King of Cups/Six of Swords reversed. The King of Cups (cusp of Libra, “We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation, and Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling mysterious, obsessive) is the expert on emotions and the subconscious, mainly because of his life experiences. He is good at tending others, but is sometimes not so good at being in touch with his own feelings. The Six of Swords (Mercury, reason, intelligence, education, communication, in Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, cause oriented, the group, aloof) in an upright position tells of the use of the intellect in order to move away from discord. I am being told that today, my conflicts may end up being within me rather than originating elsewhere. No matter what happens, I should remember that I have the experiences necessary to find my own peace; no running away from problems allowed!

My Thoth card is the Five of Disks. The “Worry” card is how Crowley sees the Five of Disks (Mercury in Taurus, “I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn), but by worry, he means strangling. Kind of like what we do when we have a toothache; we probe the tender area non-stop with our tongue, and all we get out of this effort is a sore tongue to add to the sore tooth. This card tells of the possibility of material troubles, but it offers as a silver lining the opportunity to test my fortitude.

My Thoth card is the King of Coins, flavored by the Two of Cups reversed. The King of Coins (cusp of Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive, and Taurus) is an expert on all concepts of the physical realms. He is diligent and responsible, and pays attention to details; thus, much of what he touches turns to gold. The Two of Cups (Venus, beauty, allure, relationships, pleasure, in Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, family and home oriented, nurturing, moody) in an upright position is a card of connections, and of polarity. Because it is reversed, I need to be a bit careful with those that I care about today, for even if I mean well, I could end up taking part in some minor scuffle. A relationship is only as stable as the persons in that relationship, and today the boat may be rocking. This King flavored by the Two of Cups reversed is reminding me that I need to keep my emotions at an even keel so that I can fulfill my responsibilities in a time-honored way. Slow and steady wins the race, and I can’t allow myself to be stressed by the words or actions of others

My 6- digit date number is 11 (Archangel Uriel), which reduces to the number 2, which is the number of balance and polarity. Hmmm . . . “polarity”; there’s that word again.

A pair of Kings; not quite bookends but still, some polarity there. The King of Cups corresponds to Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts, and emotional, sensitive and imaginative energy that tries to stay the same or take the same path), and is about creative inspiration and emotions; his fields include emotional fulfillment, well-being and creativity. The King of Coins corresponds to Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes, and physical, material, practical and stable energy that is slow to change), and is about resource allocation and achieving tangible results; his fields include finances, prestige, craftsmanship and construction of all kinds. Neither of these Kings is about transformation the unexpected, and both like to use tried-and-true methods to bring stability and fulfillment to their individual worlds, for the King of Cups, the emotional world of those around him, and for the King of Coins, the physical realm and all who are a part of it.

My horoscopes: “Errands or other short journeys in your neighborhood could result in a chance meeting with someone who could be of great benefit to you in the future, Sagittarius. Opportunities to advance your educational, artistic, or spiritual interests could open up as a result of this meeting. When you go out, make sure you look your best even if you're only going to the grocery store.

Stop me if this sounds familiar. Someone you know and love could soon be offended by something you're about to say, quite off the cuff, in an entirely playful way -- something that comes out sounding like you think it's a lot less serious than you really do. Easy, there. Don't hurt a friend inadvertently. They'll undoubtedly forgive you, but why risk it? Think, just for a second, about how you'd feel if the tables were turned.

Aspects of your life that you have been neglecting lately might come to haunt you on a day like today. Make sure you are keeping up with all your duties and responsibilities. Things may be coming to a dramatic climax at this time and you may find yourself at an important crossroads. Nervous energy might cause you to be running around frantically in search of the right path. Don't let indecision stop you from helping you get to where you need to go.

As promised, I am beginning my re-exploration of the Tree of Life, of course seen through the Tarot. The Tree of Life is made up of ten dimensions or “sephiroth” connected by 22 Paths. There are said to be three levels of existence above the Tree, the farthest above the sephiroth of Kether being Ain or Nothing, the next one in being Ain Soph or Infinity, and the third in, and closest to Kether, being Ain Soph Aur or Infinite Light. These three levels are considered “veils of negative existence,” and they precede being as we can comprehend it. The Source of All would be a concentrated mixture of these three veils or sheaths.

Each sephiroth has a host of correspondences. I am only going to talk about the ones that seem to work for me with my Tarot studies.

Kether (Crown) is the first sephiroth at the top of the Tree, just below Infinite Light. It is the top sephiroth of the Pillar of Balance, and is considered to be the cause of manifestation; not manifestation itself, mind you, but the catalyst which begins the process of manifestation. I tend to get a feel for things by creating correspondence lists; left over from my Sacred Mists Tarot Class, I guess, but keywords work for me. The correspondences of Kether are as follows:

Magickal Image: Bearded Ruler In Profile
Planetary: Prime Mobile
Vice: None
Virtue: Completion of the Great Work
Deity: Creator/Creatrix
Spiritual Experience: Reunion with Source
Briatic Correspondence: Unity
Illusion: Attainment
Obligation: None
Path: Path 1; the number 1 represents potential, and the concept of position.

Kether is both male and female, and even though the Magickal Image is male, it makes sense to remember the non-sexual definition of male, outer and active. We could very easily see the unseen side of the Ruler’s face as being feminine, inner and receptive, and hidden from us until we reunite with Her. Kether receives the energies of the levels above as it is directly below Infinite Light, so it can be said that Kether is receptive to the energies of the Infinite Light (and to the two layers above Infinite Light, Infinity and Nothing). In turn, Kether becomes active because the energies of the sephiroth serve to concentrate the energies of “not being” into the idea of being.

Because Kether represents the culmination of a life’s work toward attaining spiritual growth and evolution, there are no vices associated with this sephiroth. Because it represents the completion of evolution, we most likely won’t experience Kether first hand while living in our physical bodies.

Now, for the Tarot part; Kether corresponds with the four Aces of the Minor Arcana. This actually makes sense, as each Ace represents the powers of its suit that are not yet manifested or offering effects of any kind, but rather these energies are in a state of raw potential. In other words, the Ace of Wands is the root or source of the powers or correspondences of the element of Fire within a reading; the Ace of Cups would be the root or source of the powers or correspondences of the element of Water, the Ace of Swords would be the root or source of the powers or correspondences of the element of Air, and the Ace of Disks or Pentacles would be the root or source of the power or correspondences of the element of Earth.

I guess you could say that Kether represents possibility or potential that is **not** completely beyond comprehension.

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