Temperance/Ace of Wands. A Sagittarius card, Temperance in an upright position also corresponds with Fire (hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive, energetic change), Samekh (the tent post), and the Path between Yesod (the place where patterns and images emerge that may manifest into the physical world of action and outer reality) and Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify). This card is one of the cards that has always had a personal message to me; it tells me that balance is dynamic and the ability to maintain a dynamic balance takes constant practice and work. The Ace of Wands (Cancer, Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, egotistical, Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, sensible, orderly) tells of the first spark of a new and exciting creative process, and an encouraging and empowering awareness of my own valuable creative talents. This is the second time this month that I have had these two cards together; sounds like I am in a good position to take advantage of this Ace.

My Thoth card is The Star. 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, the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration) represents love kindled by hope for humankind. It tells me that the act of giving itself is the greatest gift of all. The Star also reminds us of the gifts of the subconscious, hidden though they are, and it reminds us of the value of life, created through love. It tells us that no matter what, the cycles of life continue, so there is always hope.

My Legacy card is the Three of Cups, flavored by the Three of Coins. The Three of Cups (Mercury, reason, intelligence, orderliness, communication, in Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive tenacious, nurturing, moody) in an upright position tells of the possibility of experiencing emotional abundance and support as a part of the day. It tells of working and accomplishing things through love. The Three of Coins (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, cunning, competence) tells me that my own creativity can lead me to both hard and rewarding work, and renown, or a good reputation. The Three of Coins is flavoring the Three of Cups so all that support and abundance just might have some good manifestations in my physical world.

My Pearls of Wisdom Full Moon card is the Four of Swords. The Four of Swords (Jupiter, expansiveness and growth, justice, fortune, in Libra, “We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation) tells of the need of some time of rest and recuperation, usually to be brought about by a time of truce or pause. This card is similar to some extent as The Hanging Man, but since it is of the suit of Swords, this pause is not necessarily about changing perception, but rather it indicates a pause that helps me to prepare to re-engage. It can also represent the balance of power that acts as a deterrent to attack. The Pearls of Wisdom meaning for this card is self-imposed limitation; I should check out my inner resources and make certain that this pause is what I want. Despite all the action indicated by the other cards, there might not be manifestation just yet. Patience!

Two cards of the number Three! The number Three is about a new creation, usually sourced from either the balance or polarity of the number Two. We are talking about Water and Earth here, two elements that are good at mixing together. No fiery aha! moment here, but lots of cozy security, with a little bit of astral potential.

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

My horoscopes: “Be open and honest about your feelings toward others today, Sagittarius. Your receptive nature should be ready. Take a break and let others come to you. Unexpected events may pop out of nowhere. Opportunities for new growth in love and romance are definitely at your fingertips as long as you're ready to receive them. Don't try to force the issue if the time and place aren't right. Let it flow.”

And: “Recent events you're not all that tickled about might make it seem quite tempting to hop in the car, on a bus or on a plane -- basically, to go anywhere unfamiliar, where the subject you don't want to discuss will absolutely not come up. But that's not your style, is it? You're used to facing things head on, and there's no reason for you to do anything differently now. Show up, as usual, with a grin and a wise comment.”

And: “Things should be going extremely well for you in general today, so don't miss this opportunity to pursue your dreams in every sense of the word. Do things with passion and don't hold back. Remember that your own mind and will are the only things stopping you from getting to where you want to be. There is a great deal of magnetic power at your disposal today, so enlist others to help you along the way.”

My Sun reading: “You can find out whether you will get support for your ideas and projects or if people have lost interest under today's Full Moon. Venus squares Saturn tonight and it's hard to express real emotions. The barriers encountered in new meetings say people are romantically gun-shy.”

I have been thinking of Cronehood of late. I think my Third Degree Lessons at Sacred Mists, which are preparing me to lead, are one reason that being a Crone is on my mind; the other reason is that I am 56 years old, and retirement is less than a decade away. This topic came up last night, at our Pagan Brain Trust get-together. And we ended up talking about the one thing that makes me uneasy about entering this stage of life: we in these modern times do not have positive images associated with this stage to aim for.

Wicca teaches us that this stage (and the Sage stage that corresponds for men) is the important manifestation of our experiences during the earlier stages; it is not about becoming helpless and irrelevant. However, those are the images that we are given by our culture.

The good thing about my work with the Pagan Brain Trust, and with Carolyn and with Sacred Mists, is that I am **not** irrelevant. The things I am learning and the wisdom I am accumulating through integrating knowledge with life experiences are all valuable in these places. This means that there is another benefit to my ever-increasing focus on and connection to Wicca, and I have found peace regarding this. No small gift.

The Tarot Major Arcana that corresponds with the 29^th Path is The Moon. When you remember that the vice of Netzach is projection, and the vice of Kether is inertia, you can see how The Moon can be connected to this Path. The traditional image associated with The Moon contains both a wolf and a dog, two animals of the same genus. One is tamed and one is wild, and both are a part of the 29^th Path.

One of the results of the manifestation of the growth of everything that becomes a physical representation of the energies of all the spheres is faith, and an ability to hear the voice of intuition and accept its messages. Faith equals belief, and if we can have faith and believe in our own potential, we can get through any blockages; if we don’t believe and we don’t have faith, we will end up failing. The Moon represents the purest of intuition, the kind of message that has no physical proof, but yet is very real. To me, the sacredness of Nature is one of those effects that can be seen as an illusion by some. My husband sees the workings of Nature as science and feels that the sacredness I see in those same workings is an illusion; I believe that the opposite is true. Seeing Nature as **not** being sacred is the illusion.

**smile** This is interesting.

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