Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Death/Five of Cups reversed. The Death card corresponds with Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts, and sensitive, imaginative energy that strives to stay the same or take the same course), Scorpio, Nun (fish head; liberation), and the Path between Tiphareth and Netzach (the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration), and tells of transformation or change, both voluntary and involuntary. 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 in an upright position reminds us not to give up hope, even if there are a few snags in the day; because it is reversed, I just might be missing the spiritual blessings in my life, which don’t cost any money at all.

My Thoth card is The Star reversed. The Star (Air, hot/separates and wet/adapts; Aquarius; Qof, back of head; the Path between Malkuth, the physical world of action and outer, physical reality, and Netzach) in an upright position represents love kindled by hope for humankind. It tells me that the act of giving itself is the greatest gift of all; the image of this card depicts this concept, as the figure pours the elixir of her love back into her creations, distributing the love to all whether they deserve it or not. The card is reversed, so the power of love has not yet reached its full strength, but it is a part of the equation.

My Legacy card is the Five of Cups reversed, flavored by the Two of Coins reversed. Hmmm . . . all reversed cards, except for Death. And another Five of Cups reversed. Looks like things may end up exactly as expected today; no surprises. The Two of Coins (Jupiter, expansiveness and growth, justice, fortune, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, caution, cunning) tells me that everything always ebbs and flows, and since we can’t stop change we must learn to live with it and go with those flows. I can’t let myself forget that “harmony” is created by the blending of different, sometimes conflicting, ingredients.

My 6-digit date number is 4, the number of stability and depth.

My horoscopes: “Ambitious plans for your future could necessitate your giving a lot of attention to practical matters, such as finances. This could be a drag, Sagittarius, but if you're serious about your ideas, it needs to be done. A friend, probably a man, could pitch in and help you make sense of everything. Don't try to get it all done today. Your mind could get overloaded, which might discourage you. Take it slowly.”

And: “Maybe you feel like sleeping late, getting up slowly, cooking a big batch of pancakes and doing a whole lot of nothing at all, all morning long. Go for it! You've been working really hard lately, and you've accomplished a whole heck of a lot. You've more than earned a morning off. Call in late and enjoy a leisurely breakfast.”

And: “Today you might hear a rather distressing rumor about one or more people whom you know, or perhaps about your working situation. Don't be surprised if more than one person phones or e-mails to fill you in on this. However, this information might not be dependable. It could be totally based on misinformation, or even outright lies. Try to track down the facts before you make yourself crazy over it.”

My Sun reading: “People know exactly what buttons to push when Venus conjuncts Pluto. As they say, ‘then it's time to grow new buttons.’ Tonight's lunar transit stimulates enormous emotions from the very depths. The square with Mercury doesn't help communication. Make popcorn and watch a movie alone.”

I am thrilled to say that I have two of my Pagan Brain Trusters in my new belly dance class! What a treat to be able to see them both two nights in a row, and share with them something that is so much a part of who I am and where I have come from. E has taken classes with me before, but for J, this is a big step. And for all her fears, she took to belly dance like a natural.

My dance classes focus on movement, on how the movement feels and looks, and on the benefits to be gained from the movements. We move along with music because it is hard for us to **not** move when there is good music playing. And we move together, as a class, not to be able to dance professionally as a cabaret dancer, but rather we move together because we are keeping alive a sacred dance which has been used since prehistory to honor and connect with the Sacred Feminine.

I have been doing some thinking about the requirement of some for a coven initiation in order to be considered a “true” Wiccan. I think I have found my own peace about this. When Wicca was more of an underground spiritual path and needed to remain hidden, things such as tradition and lineage and a fixed method of growth within the Craft were only taught in a face-to-face manner. Wiccan covens are stand-alone in nature, and this has always meant that there is no universally accepted sacred text (although we do have such works as the Rede and the Charge, they are not absolutely required), no universally accepted “seminary” or training school and curriculum, and there is no single person who speaks for all Wiccans. People could only learn about Wicca and become Wiccan through the teachings of a coven. Because the catalyst which offers our Craft its power and effectiveness is its personal, experiential nature, many in the past found that the easiest way, and in many cases the only way, to learn how to access the Wiccan Mysteries was to find someone or some group which had in his/her/their possession a successful, proven formula or recipe for tapping into those Mysteries. To me, this complicated task of passing on of the Mysteries of Wicca is the source of the requirement that dedicants can only become Wiccan by being initiated by the leaders of an existing coven. This concept was necessary at that time in order for the Craft to continue to exist.

Unlike Dedicants of the past, who could most likely only receive instruction and information from an established coven, the Internet and the amount of information out there in books and public classes makes experiencing the Mysteries more possible for solitaries these days. In Wicca, heredity and lineage have their place, but so does evolution; as a spiritual Path, Wicca has changed since its inception. The important thing is that none of the concepts and beliefs that are core to Wicca should bind us or be a burden that holds us back; they should be foundational supports for new growth. In Progressive Witchcraft, Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone remind us that it is “. . . spiritual training [that] must take precedence, as apostolic succession is actually alien to Pagan practice.” Our most important task as Wiccans and Seekers is not that we keep the processes of our spiritual ancestors intact at all costs, but rather it is that we learn the feelings and emotions and meanings behind the words and the actions and the instructions and the Traditions. There are many coveners who never achieve this task.

There still remains only one way to become a part of an established Wiccan Tradition, and that is indeed initiation by the coven’s High Priestess and/or High Priest. However, this is not the only way to become Wiccan or to initiate into and experience the Mysteries.

This is work of the 31st Path. How cool is that?!

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