The Hierophant reversed/The Universe. The Hierophant corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes), Taurus (“I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn), Vau (the nail which holds tradition in place), and the Path between Chesed (the place where forms and structures are stabilized and nurtured), and Chokmah (dynamic male energy, the origin of vital force and polarity). The Hierophant is the nail which holds in place tradition and culture. In an upright position, this card tells us that the old ways and the ancient traditions speak to the moment; an understanding of these ways is worth attaining for they are all part and parcel of alchemical transformation. Because the card is reversed, accepted tradition may end up being a fence rather than a guide for me today. 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 Hierophant 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). Perhaps the reversed Hierophant is reminding me that seeing myself as the expert can end up shutting me away from all learning.

My Thoth card is the Seven of Disks. “Failure” reversed; in an upright position, the Seven of Disks (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, law and order, in Taurus, “I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn) tells of what happens when you combine the element of Earth and its focus on stability with the planet Saturn, which is about responsibility and discipline. Crowley sees this card as representing extreme passivity, and since the card is the number 7, that passivity could very well have been caused by the vertical and horizontal balance of the number 6. The card is reversed, thankfully, but it is there, so I need to be careful that it does not become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pausing to assess is a good thing, but I need to be certain that I act on what I discover, so that I can prevent that stagnation.

My Legacy card is The Hierophant, flavored by the Five of Cups. Bookend Hierophants!! The Legacy Hierophant is called “Faith,” and the image of this card presents representations of the four major organized religions in our world, each presented as being in harmony with the other three. Joining them together is a pillar of light that represents faith, the common denominator of each tradition. The Five of Cups (Mars, action, aggression, drive, in Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, mysterious, obsessive) tells of the cloudy sludge that is stirred up when still waters are disturbed. This card is reminding me to not give up hope, even if there are a few snags in my day. It makes a wonderful pair with The Hierophant, for the Five of Cups tells us that while we may be poor in the physical world, spiritual fulfillment is available to even those with no money.

Okay, more about my bookends card. The Hierophant is the archetype of beliefs, and tells of pure force being brought to us on both the physical plane and within spiritual reality; indeed this card is considered the Eternal Intelligence, because it represents the Pleasure of the Glory. The Hierophant is paired with The High Priestess, and the best way to understand this card is through the Great Rite. The Hierophant is the physical world representation of pure force and the Sacred Masculine; he corresponds with Taurus the bull, and with the ox, both of which are representations of the Horned God. The Hierophant is the initiator of the Mysteries, and thus he is the bridge between the Outer Circle of students and the Inner Circle of Adepts. While this card can represent a single person, it is better described as representing an institution, because it is the power of the group and of society that changes the world via their beliefs.

My 6-digit date number is 6, the number of vertical and horizontal balance.

My horoscopes: “Expanding your horizons is the key for today, Sagittarius. Communications received from distant states or foreign lands could have you entertaining the idea of traveling to those places. Learning is very much on your mind. You're probably curious about different cultures, ideas, and perspectives. Even though you might not make definite plans for travel now, you're apt to at least consider it.”

And: “There's one particular condition that's absolutely lethal to your sign when it comes to relating to the rest of us: Righteous anger. You're feeling that now, and for good reason. Warn any innocent spectators to step away before the explosion occurs -- especially since the heavens have endowed you with the ability to let whoever pushes your buttons have it with every bit of intellectual anger and perfect prose you've got -- in no small amount, either.”

And: “Your internal fire may be feeling a bit smothered by a fierce reality check today. Give people the benefit of the doubt. They are more perceptive than you may think. In fact, it may behoove you to get some honest feedback today from some people you trust. It may be difficult for you to sort out the truth in your present situation since you are the one caught in the middle of the maelstrom. Consider the perspective of another.”

Along with the wallowing in the muck that was my short but intense Dark Night, and along with all of the wonderful progress I have made along with this Dark Night, I had a truly Five of Wands kind of day on Wednesday. I call this situation a “turnsta day,” a day when everything I touch “turnsta” dog poop. By the end of the evening, I was feeling a bit bewildered by the horrors that had unfolded continuously throughout the day.

“Horrors” might not be the right word, but for someone like me, making a string of minor booboos that happen mainly because I am not paying attention (yep, minor conflicts of the Five of Wands) is torture. It’s as if my “dumb” switch gets thrown, and then stuck in the On position. Each time I took a deep breath and attempted to put it all behind me, I discovered another mistake that I had made.

Of course, I put everything to rights, and I took responsibility for my actions (LOL, or in most cases, my inadvertent non-actions). And then I admit that I whined a bit to Danu. After all, I had made it through my Dark Night with my “self” intact, and I had even had moments of connection to Deity and minor glimpses of the Machinery of the Universe both before and after my Dark Night. I had felt, before Wednesday morning, that I had a handle on things. My cold was even fading away. And then, everything turnsta dog poop.

Danu put me to rights. She told me that actually, she was quite pleased with the way that I had dealt with the day. Pleased? I was almost in tears by the time I discovered the last few mistakes that I had made; I was wondering what the heck was wrong with me. Danu was pleased, however, because of how many times She had to pull the rug back out from under my feet before I finally lost it.

She explained to me that I had better expect that the challenges that block my way will become larger and more difficult to solve. And She reminded me of my current favorite saying, a saying which everyone who I love has heard from me at some point: “ You don’t really ever know you have courage unless you experience real fear.” I had been given a gentler opportunity to learn with my mind and my heart and my spirit the lesson of that saying. I had been given discouragement, and proved to myself that I have fortitude.

“Did you not have your own strength validated?” She asked. I nodded; yes, I did have my own strength validated. In a big way. Thank you, Danu.

This evening, I finally had an opportunity to perform the ritual that Hecate had tasked me with. This ritual was to be performed without words at all, only images and visualizations. It was to be a formal ritual, with a cast circle and called quarters, with Deities invoked, and it was to focus on the crossroad of dawn in relation to my new business endeavor. It was amazing.

I timed the ritual so that it took place at sundown. I made use of visualizations, my chakras, and my personal energy field to gather and charge energies. To my delight, I felt the presence of Cernunos, a strong and vital and powerful presence, along with the fertility of the Sacred Feminine, and each of my Elemental Guides joined me in their respective quarters, offering their unique support. My Air Guide offered clarity of thinking so that I may best manifest new ideas, my Fire Guide offered me passion and excitement and the ability to transform myself, my Water Guide offered me compassion and the power to heal and the ability to hear my own Inner Voice, and my Earth Guide offered me a stronger connection to my own physical body and to the physical bodies of my clients as well as the potential to achieve physical world security. I drew these gifts into me as I watched the glory that was this evening’s sunset. Then, once it was full dark and the moon had risen, I spent a few more minutes enjoying the silver illumination in the dark Winter sky.

Then, I released the energy, believing that it will manifest.

It has been an up and down week. But surprisingly, I feel good tonight. Perhaps this is the vertical and horizontal balance presented by the number 6.

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