Nine of Swords/Four of Pentacles. The Nine of Swords (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, in Gemini, “I think,” curious, talkative, social, dual) in an upright position represents brooding and worrying, the kind that takes place in the wee hours of the morning. Often this kind of worrying is about things that have already happened or things that cannot be changed. I am being reminded that this kind of worrying is a waste of energy, and I don’t have to carry my burdens alone. The Four of Pentacles (the Sun, the inner core of a person or situation or the deepest self, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, authority, caution cunning), is so very grounded. This Four is a card of earthy power, but since both the suit and the number are so very stable, so very resistant to change or improvisation, I need to be careful that I don’t become so obsessed over details or protective of myself that I begin to stagnate. Paired with that Nine of Swords, the stagnation could turn ugly.

My Thoth card is the Six of Disks. “Success” The Thoth Six of Disks (Moon, feelings and emotions, illusion, imagination, in Taurus, “I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn) has a heavy feel to it, and I guess in a way that makes sense. The thing that we need to remember about success is that it takes maintenance; we can’t just reach the appropriate level and then sit back; rather, we must keep alert and do what we have to in order to keep momentum alive. This card also tells me that today my words and actions will have influence in the physical world, probably good influence. I am glad that this card is here, in the middle of these Swords.

My Legacy card is the Ten of Swords, flavored by the Two of Cups reversed. The Ten of Swords (the Sun, the inner core of a person or situation, in Gemini, “I think,” curious, sociable, dual, talkative) tells me that failure is not fun, but we can’t release the failure unless we play it through to the end, without feeling sorry for ourselves. There might be a tendency today for me to feel a bit of self-pity. That is okay, but only in small doses. The Two of Cups (Venus, beauty, allure, relationships, in Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, family and home oriented, tenacious, moody) in an upright position is usually about relationships. Because it is reversed, the relationship represented by this card could be not running as smoothly as expected. I need to remember that it is possible that this card is not referring to a relationship with someone else, but rather could be referring to my relationship with myself.

My 6-digit date number is 6, the number of vertical and horizontal balance. Well, sheesh; the only card that connects with this number is my Thoth card, the middle of my daily spread. Can I make use of that?

My horoscopes: “You could be planning a major journey of some kind, Sagittarius. It may be a long vacation or travel to foreign countries, or it could be an intellectual or spiritual journey into new schools of thought. Your mind is sharp now, so you will learn quickly and retain more. This is a good time to play detective, or perhaps you will simply want to lose yourself in a good mystery novel.”

And: “If you see something that's out of place or veering off track today, simply nudge it back where it needs to go -- or you can alert someone who's in the know about the situation as soon as possible. Your charm is warmer and more contagious than ever right now, so there's no way you'll come off as bossy or domineering (so don't worry about that). Your smile is your calling card today -- it will open up many doors and turn some grouchy grizzlies into cuddly teddy bears.”

And: “You may find yourself staring at a stranger on the street for just an extra long second as you pass today. Your tendency toward the new and bizarre is stronger than usual and you are being pulled into different mental directions. Go ahead and introduce yourself to that stranger. Perhaps that person will become a business partner or new best friend. You'll never know unless you ask.”

My Sun reading: “There are professional opportunities you will respond to with courage and confidence as Venus sextiles Jupiter. It's a good day, but it isn't the night for romance. You won't like the surprises someone has in store. You and your significant other can't fix problems by ignoring them.”

It has been very interesting to see how the lessons of each of my days are totally connected to which Path I am working on. Here I am, learning about the 27^th Path, and people all around me are experiencing Dark Nights of varying degrees. I find it strange that life seems to be about creating a strong foundation, beginning to build upon that foundation, and then being struck by a tidal wave. When the water finally recedes, I can usually find pieces of the original foundation, and I start all over again. Each time I begin the cycle anew, I am using the parts of my old foundation that made it through the wave, I am building using the methods that survived, and I am abandoning those that failed to measure up.

Each time the wave comes, it is different. Sometimes the waters pile up so high that the wave is the only thing I can see. It rises up like a monster, filling my entire field of vision, and then tips over and smacks me down. Sometimes it is not one huge wave that manifests, but rather a succession of smaller waves, each of which breaks a little more of my foundation away until the end result is achieved.

Sometimes the water sneaks up on me, and that is what I am experiencing now. Like the incoming tide, the steams trickle in silently, filling the corners and the deep places until suddenly they all overflow. All I can see is the surface of the water; no longer can I determine where the deep pockets are or where the shallow walkways are; I don’t know where to step because I can’t tell if I will only get my feet wet or I will end up dropping suddenly into the deep end of the pool.

The end result, whether it comes suddenly or gradually, is the same: floating alone with nothing in sight but the surface of the water, with no option available to me other than doggy paddling in place until I run out of gas.

This is The Tower, this is the 27^th Path. This Major Arcana card is about the sudden and violent collapse of a world view, usually because we missed the signs of the impending doom, or refused to see them or act upon them. The issue here is that our personal world view and our beliefs are a huge part of our persona, so when the collapse comes we see the attack as being personal. So, we fall apart. What we need to remember is that change is seldom quite as bad as we think it will be, and if we accommodate that change, even just a tiny bit, we own it and thus are able to ride the wave rather than be swamped by it.

The Tower can also be seen as the destruction of the House of Doctrine. This can bee interpreted as the literal world being made void and invalid, or it can be interpreted as clinging to a false interpretation of the literal world. Crowley says this about The Tower: “Break down the fortress of thine Individual Self, that thy Truth may spring free from the ruins.” Interestingly enough, Uncle Al also sees this card as representing the escape from a prison. How is that for a silver lining?!

In some ways, we can see The Tower as representing The Emperor gone mad; after all, The Emperor imposes order and structure as a father, through love. But take away that love and you end up with a tyrant who clings to his own version of order and structure until he is toppled and destroyed.

I don’t think I am finished with the 27^th Path quite yet. It is uncomfortable to contemplate, and it is frustrating to keep striving to punch through to the answer on the other side, only to run up against the wall of tyvek that stands between me and the aha! moment. And all I keep seeing is Archangel Uriel, standing in the middle of that brown and gray field under an overcast sky.

And perhaps I am looking too hard for a hidden message. Archangel Uriel has brought me death, several times. And the image on Crowley’s Tower card shows the Eye of Horus, destroying the Old Aeon, symbolized by the Tower on this card. The death of the Old. The Eye of Horus is seen as connected to the third eye chakra, and the opening of the third eye results in the destruction of illusion through enlightenment. The traditional image of The Tower shows the building being destroyed by a lightning bolt; if the Tower represents the ego, then enlightenment destroys the ego.

Is that what is happening here? Is Archangel Uriel bringing me another death to experience? We shall see. In the mean time, I must turn on the pump in the basement; we are having huge amounts of rain, and I’ve got a bit of a flood on my hands.

How fitting is that?

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