Ace of Pentacles/The Chariot. The Aces present potential only, unmanifested, and the Ace of Pentacles (Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive, Taurus, “I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn, and Gemini, “I think,” curious, talkative, dual, social) tells of the presence of potential that is connected in some way to the physical world, usually either through financial or career focuses, regarding the home, or connected to my physical body and its health and well-being. The presence of this Ace tells me that now is the time for me to get started with the process of manifesting my ideas into the physical realms. The Chariot corresponds with Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts, and sensitive, emotional and imaginative energy that likes to stay the same or follow the same course), Cancer (“I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, nurturing, moody), Cheth (the fence), and the Path between Geburah (the place where forms and structure are challenged or affirmed) and Binah (female receptive energy and the origin of form and structure), and while the traditional image on this card seems to tell of physical power, the energies of The Chariot are actually related to emotions, and more specifically, to controlling our emotions. Now, this is not the control of The Emperor (who tends to sweep all evidence of emotions under the rug), but rather The Chariot tells us that we must train our emotions so that we can use them to bring greater good into our lives. Looks like the focus of my emotions and my feelings needs to be on turning the potential of that Ace of Pentacles into manifestation!

My Thoth card is the Queen of Disks. My favorite version of my favorite Court Card! Crowley’s Queen of Disks (Sun, the inner core of a person or situation, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, cunning, competence, caution) is the only figure on the Thoth Court Cards who is shown in profile. According to The Thoth Companion by Michael Osiris Snuffin, the key concept of the Queen of Disks is looking into the past, and this Queen can certainly be seen as looking behind her by her body position. In a way, she can be seen as learning from the past in order to make the present more secure and pleasurable. She carries a wand with her right hand that is tipped by a cube containing a hexagram, symbolizing the fertility of the Earth (the cube) as activated by the Sun (the hexagram). In her left arm, she cradles a golden orb created by 13 interlocking rings; the orb also represents the Sun, and the number 13 refers to the 13th Path, The High Priestess, and the Moon (one of her correspondences), and thus connects to Water (the element associated with the rank of Queen). In the foreground, a goat stands on a second orb; this represents the Sun in Capricorn, the zodiacal association with the Queen of Disks. The goat corresponds with The Horned God/Devil, which is male creative energy, and which associates nicely with the fertility of this Queen. Behind her lies a desert with oases, and with a river snaking across the land, an excellent representation of the Water of Earth that is the Queen of Disks. Since Court Cards tell of personality traits, the traits of this Queen are important for me today. The Queen of Disks is a person whose qualities might be summed up in the idea of greatness of soul; she is ambitious, but only in useful directions. She is kind and is known for having a big heart, and she tends to make use of instinct and intuition more than intellect. Her connection to her senses and the pleasures they can bring can sometimes lead her to overindulge. I guess I connect so deeply with this Queen because in many ways, I am her.

My Legacy card is The Chariot reversed, flavored by the Seven of Wands reversed. The Chariot again, but reversed! Bookend alert!! Reversed, this card is warning me that while sometimes allowing our emotions free reign is very good for the creative process, if I want to move forward, I need to reign those emotions in and get them all facing in the same direction. My reversed Chariot is flavored by a reversed Seven of Wands (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, natural leader, egotistical, selfish). The Seven of Wands has a personal significance for me, given to me by Archangel Uriel. I see this card, particularly the Legacy Seven of Wands, as representing the approach of a Threshold, and the need to pass the tests of the Guardian. Generally speaking, this card in an upright position usually tells of the value of both courage and fear, for without fear, we will never know if we really have courage. Perhaps this card is reversed today in order to remind me that I cannot give in to fear, or nothing will be accomplished.

Since I have what I call “bookend Chariots” today (where I have both the upright and reversed card in my spread for the day), I will delve a bit deeper into The Chariot as well.

The Chariot can be seen as Will armed with Knowledge, fueled by the wish to achieve. Travel, change and movement typify this card, as well as triumph, victory, hope, memory, digestion, violence in maintaining traditional ideas, the concept of the “die-hard,” ruthlessness, lust of destruction, obedience and faithfulness. The Chariot card is about control; the driver is in charge of the horses pulling the chariot. When the Chariot goes wrong, there is an inability to take control of life -- it leads us rather than the other way round. We can not get to where we want to be.

The charioteer (who is sometimes seen as The Magician) represents conquest on all planes -- in the mind, over emotions and feelings, in science, in progress, in certain trials of initiation (which initiations are best understood physically or rationally). He usually achieves success, but sometimes that success is not completely stable or enduring.

I will need to focus on the energies of this card today, for apparently they are well balanced.

My 6-digit date number is 3, the number of new creation out of balance and polarity.

My horoscopes: “Today is a terrific day for you, Sagittarius, in which action spells reward. You can't go wrong by expressing your needs and how they fit with the collective agenda. Feel free to focus on you and be selfish about your passions. Be aware that unexpected events may crop up to remind you that number one is indeed important, but don't forget about numbers two, three, and so on.”

And: “It's over -- temporarily, at least. That work binge you were on has finally come to an end. That's not to say that you won't be putting in your time and continuing to do what's necessary to keep your head above water and your reputation on the job intact -- but you may also suddenly find that you need to make time for your siblings and neighbors. Reintroduce yourself to them, and rest assured that you'll receive an extremely warm reception.”

And: “Whatever you want, you need only ask for it today and there is a good chance you will get it. And it's about time, too. It seems you have been working exceptionally hard lately. You are certainly due for your fair share of happiness and glory! Gather your thoughts, collect your supporting evidence and ask for what you want. If your yen for more public recognition is nagging at you, then take steps today to ensure that you get more time in the spotlight.”

Over the past days, I have been feeling strongly that there is some message or aha! moment waiting for me, and it is my task to find it, whatever it is. The interesting thing about this is that this is the fist time that I am being required to actively search, to become the catalyst for the moment so that it can manifest.

Here is the thing: since before I began my Third Degree training at Sacred Mists, my focus has always been inward. The General, one of my Guides, told me to become The Empress (LOL, since I tend to think in “Tarot”), and he laughed when I said that I wanted to aim for The High Priestess, and told me that I was not even close to that goal yet. But after time, I did “graduate” to The High Priestess, and my focus (and thus my evolution and growth) was once again inward.

But now, it seems that every part of my life, both magickal and mundane, is dragging me, kicking and screaming, into the physical world. Every facet of my life is requiring one main theme from me: the bridging of the spiritual and the outer physical world. Everything seems to be waiting for me to take the step to manifest my studies in a physical, active, outer manner. Is Danu’s Well the bridge between those two worlds? Actually, it feels more like a vagina, a birth canal, to me. And as I type this, I remembered that the Goddess is at the end of Her pregnancy, sitting and waiting for the birth process to begin on Yule, just as I am sitting by Danu’s Well, waiting for “something.”

Am I to become The Magician? I don’t know. A part of me gains large amounts of fulfillment from nurturing and caring for my fellow Sacred Mists students. I am fulfilled by having anything to do with gaining knowledge; I love teaching others and I love being a student. I even have the “teacher’s square” on my palm! I absolutely adore working with my energy field. And so, in typical Raushanna fashion, I will present some thoughts about my personal energy field, in the hope that I will, in doing so, identify my bridge between the worlds.

To me, the Vedantic koshas nicely describe the layers of “self” that are the personal energy field. A kosha (“sheath”) is one of five coverings of the Atman, or Self. They are often visualized like the layers of an onion.

The five sheaths from gross to fine are:

Annamaya kosha: food-apparent-sheath (physical body): Living through the Annamaya kosha only causes man to identify himself only with his skin, flesh, fat, bones, and filth, while the man of discrimination knows his own self, the only reality that there is, as distinct from the body.

Pranamaya kosha, air-apparent-sheath (prana, vital force of life): Pranamaya kosha connects and holds together the body and the mind. As long as prana exists in the organism, life continues; the one physical manifestation of the Pranamaya kosha is the breath.

Manomaya kosha, mind-stuff-apparent-sheath (person-hood, personality, mind): Manomaya kosha represents the personality, the diversity of “I” and “mine.” It represents the mind and the sense of self; interestingly enough, our bondages are usually caused or created by the mind, but so, too, is real liberation.

Vijnanamaya kosha, wisdom-apparent-sheath (Vijnana) (Will, intellect, perception, the facility which discriminates; connected to five sense organs): Vijnanamaya kosha is connected to the Will, but also to the ability to analyze and discriminate. This is the kosha that holds the potential to bring transmigration of the soul (Buddhists actually don't see the life force as the soul, but rather as a stream of consciousness that links life with life and allows one to “become again.”

Anandamaya kosha, bliss-apparent-sheath (Ananda) (the causal body which stands between the finite world and the self, the innermost kosha): Anandamaya kosha is composed of ananda, or bliss. To me, this kosha is the spark of the Divine that is in us all, and our connection to the Divine. The Anandamaya kosha only partially manifests during a waking state, and normally has its fullest manifestation during deep sleep. Ananda was first cousin of Buddha, and after many years he became the personal attendant to Buddha, accompanying him on most of his travels. Ananda is seen as being kind, unselfish, well liked, and thoughtful of others.

The goal of all this is to be able to discriminate between the self and the koshas, which are non-self. This is my next step in understanding and connecting with my own energy body: to be able to differentiate the koshas within and upon me.

Okay, then. Good start.

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