Friday, July 1, 2011

Ten of Pentacles/The Star. The Ten of Pentacles (Mercury, reason, intelligence, education, communication, in Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, work and service oriented) is actually a very heavy card, full of inertia. Because the number 10 tells of the completion of a cycle and the suit is Pentacles, which connects to all things of the physical world, this card tells of the successful accumulation of Earthly riches and blessings. The challenge of the Ten of Pentacles is to **do** something with these riches before they become a ball and chain, and that is the hard part because possessions end up creating inertia. 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, and since it is paired with that Ten of Pentacles, it is actually giving me some good advice that might overcome the natural inertia that having cool “stuff” brings. The Star is also reminding me that those lovely possessions may be in my hands right now, but they did not come to me solely through my own efforts, so a good first step would be to remember to feel gratitude.

My Thoth card is Adjustment. “Balance against each thought its exact opposite. For the Marriage of these is the Annihilation of Illusion.” Justice is a card of adjustment, and it corresponds with the element of Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts, and quick, animated energy that usually brings problems or challenges that bring growth), Libra (“we are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation), Lamed (ox goad; training or teaching), and the Path between Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify) and Geburah (the place where forms and structures are challenged or affirmed). This card is about cause and effect, balance, trust, order, and about making adjustments in order to achieve balance. Crowley also sees this card as representing the suspension of action while awaiting a decision, which actually makes this card similar to both The Hanging Man and Temperance (which is also in my card throw for today).

My Legacy card is Temperance, flavored by the Ten of Wands reversed. Another balance-focused card. Temperance corresponds with Sagittarius (“I seek,” philosophic, adventurous, blundering), 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). It is interesting that a card focused on balance is connected to the element of Fire, but Temperance tells of a dynamic balance that takes effort to maintain (rather than the suspension of effort associated with The Hanging Man, and even Justice). This card is also one of the cards that reminds me that Archangel Uriel is watching. The Ten of Wands (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitations and resistance, in Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering) in an upright position tells of the blocking of the creative power of the suit of Wands, most likely because the Fire of creativity has run out of fuel. The upright Ten of Wands is also about being held accountable, about pushing against the current flows of energy, or attempting to do so, beyond the time allotted to accomplish anything. Because the card is reversed, and flavoring Temperance in an upright position, I am being told that my efforts to overcome the opposing flows of energy is successful and I just might be feeling a bit more flexible and powerful.

My 6-digit date number is 9, the number of completeness of manifestation. A good addition to my five cards of the day!

My horoscopes: “Your mind is extra clear today, Sagittarius. Make sure you're helping yourself as well as others. Take care of any tasks that require a great deal of brainpower. You have a tremendous ability to figure out any mental problem. Communicate with confidence. Contact people you haven't heard from in a while. They will be pleasantly surprised to hear from you.”

And: “You have a lot of power over other people today. It might be your charm, it might be your financial influence or it might just be dumb luck. Whatever the reason, you reign supreme right now. Use your position to feed your ego and make yourself more comfortable, but do not let too much of this power go to your head. It is very dangerous for you to push your agenda too hard -- especially right now. Instead, use your power to encourage collaboration.”

Technology: “Your strongest emotions may pop out for a visit, especially if you're frustrated by coworkers or supervisors. Don't let your mood affect your working relationships, but don't just bottle everything up either. Open up when it's appropriate.”

My Sun reading: “The Cancer Solar Eclipse brings light into domestic worlds (and we need all the illumination we can get). Mercury in Leo stimulates lots of conversation about changes. Purposes remain in mind and promises just might be fulfilled. People have little hesitation about speaking their minds in tonight's social scene.”

Last night, after teaching a Tarot Class at Off the Beaten Path, I came home to attend the Pagan Brain Trust’s New Moon Reiki Share, which was particularly awesome this time, and I know why.

Before leaving OBP, Elena showed me some new phantom quartz crystals that she had just gotten in. Phantom quartz crystals are clear crystals containing white or other colored growths within them that look like internal ghost or phantom crystals. I picked up one particularly lovely, very yang (clear) crystal as big as my thumb, and instantly got so dizzy that I almost fell over. It was as if a force shot out of the crystal and into the center of my chest, actually pushing me backwards! Positively woo-woo, I know, and that is not like me, but this really did happen.

Needless to say, that crystal came home with me. I took a few minutes to look at the crystal once I got home, and verified what I had suspected: besides being an incredibly powerful phantom, it was also a dow or transmitter-channeler crystal. Dow crystals combine the abilities of channelers (which bring a connection to higher self, accessing truth and wisdom) and transmitters (which connect to higher wisdom and higher self in order to answer questions), which makes a dow crystal superior for bringing balance and healing on the physical, mental and emotional planes. And what have I been focusing on these past days? Balance! No wonder it punched me in the chest!! This is only the second dow phantom I’ve ever held; the first one (a bit smaller than this one) I purchased and wrapped with copper wire as a protective amulet for Brian.

After learning about my new crystal, I entered the chat room to prepare for our PBT Reiki Share, and instantly knew this crystal needed to be a part of the Share. So I cupped it in my hands, and let me say that the crystal positively buzzed once I initiated the flow of Reiki, so much that the sharp edges of the crystal felt as if they were giving me static shocks! And boy, did my hands get hot!

As I continued to research the 17th Path, I came across some information about a Greek philosopher of the late 6th century BCE named Heraclitus. Heraclitus is the guy who announced to his fellow philosophers the “everlasting word,” “Logos,” which indicates that all things can be seen as one in at least some way. He felt that opposites are necessary for life, but he also believed those opposites are unified in a system of balanced exchanges. He saw the physical world itself as actually consisting of an eternal interchange of its elements (which he symbolized by the element of Fire and the process of burning). According to Heraclitus, the world is not to be identified with any particular substance or element, but rather with an ongoing process that is governed by a law of change. This is similar to Crowley’s concept of change needing stability and stability needing change in order to exist.

The underlying law of nature also manifests itself as a moral law for human beings. The cool thing about Heraclitus is that he is supposedly the first Western philosopher to go beyond physical theory in search of metaphysical foundations and moral applications.

Heraclitus held extreme views, according to his peers; he felt that (1) everything is constantly changing (the Doctrine of Flux), that (2) opposite things are identical (Unity of Opposites), and thus (3) everything is and is not at the same time. LOL, that sounds positively quantum!! In other words, even stationary things change. Thus, you can step into a river two mornings in a row, and not step into the same river. In fact, your foot would not be the same foot. Although it would be the same foot and the same river. Cool!! If you think about it, it is only because a river flows that a river can exist at all, and it is only because the cells of my body are continuously replacing themselves that I am alive, and thus able to step into that river. Not all change is this obvious, but the point being made here is that varying levels of change make possible the continued existence of other things.

My new friend Heraclitus has another opinion that I agree with. He felt that the world itself (and thus, the Universe) does not have a beginning or end. Parts of it are being consumed by the processes of Fire at any given time, but the whole remains. I also feel that there is no “beginning” of the Universe, before which there was nothing; the “Big Bang” may have happened as a part of the cycle of renewal, but before this current one, there was another, and another.

I will be leaving for Cape May this afternoon; we have a house full of company, and will be attending the fireworks on Sunday night; here’s to no rain on Sunday!!

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2 comments:

  1. Sounds to me like you are going through an absolutely amazing time spiritually. Such amazing amounts of growth are happening within you.

    Enjoy that beautiful crystal! <3 May your new moon be blessed with much joy and laughter for the coming weekend!

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  2. This Heraclitus sounds like my kinda philosopher! Must investigate!

    So much change going on, that we didn't really get too deeply into before or after last night's share because it was so late.

    Have a peek over at the old Notes From The Womb blog when you have a minute ...

    Much love ... TL

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