Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Chariot reversed/Knight of Wands. 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 is related to emotional control and the training of our emotions so that we can use them to bring greater good into our lives. This card is reversed, so today I need to be very cautious when dealing with emotions, either too much or too little, for any imbalance could derail my focuses. The Knight of Wands (cusp of Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, deep, obsessive, and Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering) is a carefree inventor who loves to try new ideas; his power lies in his ability to use words and his intellect, and his ability to see outside the box. He is unpredictable, which can make him difficult to deal with, and indeed he is both encouraging me to be open to new experiences and warning me to keep a bit grounded; I should also remember that words have quite a bit of power, and be careful how I use them today.

My Thoth card is the Six of Cups reversed. The Six of Cups, “Pleasure” (Sun, the inner core of a person or situation in Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, compulsive, deep, obsessive), in an upright position tells of beneficial connections with others; it reminds us that happiness comes to us through continuous effort over time and that if we share our happiness with others, it will come back to us. The card is reversed; I need to be cautious as I look at past events, and perhaps try not to believe that my happiness can be given to me by others.

My Legacy card is The Tower, flavored by Temperance. The Tower corresponds with Fire (hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive, energetic change), Mars (action, spontaneity, aggression, drive), Phe (mouth or speech), and the Path between Hod (which provides analysis and communication) and Netzach (which offers the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration), and it is a card of divine enlightenment **not** achieved through gentle methods, but the end result is always worth the stresses and challenges of the process itself. A Sagittarius (“I seek,” philosophic, adventurous, blundering) card, Temperance 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 corresponds to Archangel Uriel, and tells me that balance is dynamic and the ability to maintain a dynamic balance takes constant practice and work. It is flavoring my Tower card today, and perhaps the two cards are telling me that there are values to experiencing chaos; I can’t ever expect to control what I have not personally experienced.

My Pearls of Wisdom Litha card is The Emperor. Here is the order and control I am looking for. The Emperor (Fire, hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive, energetic change; Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive; Heh, window, illumination; and the Path between Tiphareth and Chokmah, dynamic male energy and the origin of vital force and polarity) represents the power of the mind and of intentions to shape the world. The Emperor is about taking responsibility, he is about power and control over himself and/or others, and he is about manifesting his good intentions through ethics and order and stability and structure and regulation. The Pearls of Wisdom Emperor is about ambition, worldly power and perseverance. He governs himself through the application of discipline, and he tames the ego but does not destroy it. Tolerance and diplomatic peace should be the watchwords for me, and I should focus on using my power without becoming a dictator.

My 6-digit date number is 3, the number which tells of the creation of something new from the potential of the number 1 and the polarity and balance of the number 2.

My horoscopes: “You can do no wrong today, Sagittarius. In fact, you can navigate through the cracks without anyone noticing. You may find that you would rather be up on center stage. This is fine, too, just as long as the choice is yours. Independence is a key theme for you today. You will find that the more you can break free, the better your mood will be.”

And: “Despite some recent negative events, you should not indulge in any 'stinking thinking' today -- there's no sense in it. Now more than ever, your positive thinking has the power to get things back on track for you and your people. Family situations are one specific area where your input and sunny attitude can brighten things up considerably. Send a family member a note or a little gift, to let her or him know that things are getting better all the time.”

And: “A female friend whom you haven't seen for a while could surprise you with a phone call or short visit. A lot of interesting news and useful information could be exchanged, benefiting both of you. You may make a number of short journeys throughout the day, as you have a lot that needs to be done. A small increase in income could also be in the works. In the evening: Rent a romantic video.”

My Sun reading: “There are visions of something new under the Sun/Neptune trine. Mars contributes help in focusing in the right direction in order to change things in a positive way. If you haven't had the energy before, you're motivated now. This evening's social life could be very interesting.”

Litha Blessings!! A bit of information about Midsummer, the Summer Solstice.

Midsummer is and has been celebrated by just about every Nature or agriculturally focused culture throughout time. The word “solstice” is from the Latin word “solstitium,” which means “sun stands still”; thus, it is the longest day of the year that is celebrated at Litha, the Wiccan Midsummer celebration.

Gerald Gardner believed that the solar festivals (solstices and equinoxes) were not original to the Celts (he believed they came from the Middle East) and the ancient Celts did not keep detailed written records, but the early Christian monks did, and through these writings, combined with the surviving folklore, we know that Litha was a time to honor the space between the earth and the heavens, and a time to celebrate the peak of the power of the sun and the daylight hours with hilltop bonfires. Besides finding balance between the land and the sky, Litha is a time to find balance between the elements of Fire and Water; the bonfires are said to chase away evil effects, and immersing oneself in any kind of water on Litha will have a healing effect.

The solstices are seen within Wiccan traditions as the time of a mythical battle between light and dark. The Oak King, the ruler of the waxing year, and the Holly King, the ruler of the waning year, are said to battle for power and dominance at each of the solstices. On the Summer Solstice, the Oak King, who has been in power since Yule, is mortally wounded in battle with the Holly King, who then rules until the Winter Solstice, when the Oak King defeats him.

It was the Romans who worshipped Juno Luna who were the source of the name of the month containing the Solstice, June, and the source of the popularity of this month for weddings (because among other things, Juno was the Patroness of marriage). Christians celebrate John the Baptist Day on the Summer Solstice, and because baptism is both a mark of repentance from sin and of the opening to and acceptance of the Holy Spirit, this celebration is also connected to both Fire and Water.

The Tarot card that is connected to the 18th Path is . . . drum roll . . . The Chariot! One of my cards today, but in a reversed position. The Chariot is about control, about getting where you want to go, and about the personal choices made under the auspices of The Lovers. The Chariot is about travel, change, movement or digestion, and in its intense form, about the “die-hard,” and about using violence to maintain traditional ideas. The success represented by The Chariot is not always stable or enduring.

In “More Simplified Magic: Pathworking and the Tree of Life,” Ted Andrews describes the 18th Path as “crossing the Abyss by the Gate of Death,” and reminds me that this particular bridge over Da’ath is guarded by the Dark Mother, who brings enlightenment to the darkness by the imposition of the correct discipline. Hence, “Pillar of Form”! The first few steps along this bridge are like walking on the edge of a knife, but with every step further that I have the courage to take, the bridge becomes wider and easier to travel upon. Once we experience true enlightenment when surrounded by darkness, we end up also finding the will to go on despite difficult challenges.

Form and direction, indeed!

And finally, I invite my readers to check out my latest entry on the Sacred Mists Blog, entitled “Tarot and the Two Sides of Balance,” found here: http://sacredmistsblog.com/tag/tarot.

Happy trails, Icarus!, and safe journey!!

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