Queen of Swords/Knight of Wands.  The Queen of Swords (cusp of Virgo, “I serve,” practical, sensible, work and service oriented, and Libra, “We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation, grace) tells of being up front and open with everyone, of being quick on the uptake, and it reminds me to make use of the experience I have gained.  This Queen may be a bit detached but she is able to laugh off challenges, and then take care of them quickly and efficiently.  The Knight of Wands (cusp of Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, deep, obsessive, and Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering) is confident and daring and passionate, everything a Knight should be.  He may be the first person into the pool, but sometimes he forgets to check the depth before he dives in.  I may need to keep my eyes open for hidden dangers today, I should attempt to finish what I start, and I should also remember that a bit of quiet grounding and some focus on depth rather than excitement will help both my Queen and my Knight.

My Thoth card is the Prince of Cups.  Oooh, Court Cards today!  The Prince/Knight of Cups (cusp of Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, cause-oriented, and Pisces, “I believe,” feelings, duality, suffering, soul growth) tells of a person who feels things deeply, and that is a two-edged sword.  This Prince is a lover and a helper, but because he is not well grounded, he can be a bit impractical.  He is somewhat temperamental and may leave the unpleasant tasks to others, but he does like to feel good.

My Legacy card is Temperance reversed, flavored by the Six of Swords reversed.  Temperance connects 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 reversed today, so again we are talking about extremes.  Between my two Knights/Princes and the Temperance card being reversed, I need to be very careful. Balance!  Compromise! The Six of Swords (Mercury, reason, intelligence, education, communication, in Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, cause oriented) is about hitting the reset button in order to move away from a problem or blockage.  The card is reversed, so it may be telling of some enthusiasm and fun, but the energies of this card are a bit more grounded.  Perhaps this more grounded energy will help settle the rest of my cards.

My 6-digit date number is 4, the number of depth and stability.  Boy, I need me some of that!

My horoscopes: “It may be difficult to get moving today, Sagittarius. You may want to just stay in bed. Don't feel guilty about it. Take an afternoon nap and enjoy the tender company of a partner. Stick close to home and enjoy good music and a fine meal with someone you love. Don't rock the boat. Simply relax and enjoy the pleasures life has to offer.”

And: “Is your desire to save money keeping you from having a fulfilling social life? Money is meant to be spent as well as saved, so shake loose some of your spare change and treat yourself to a small splurge today. You can be wise about how you use your money without cutting yourself off from every single spending situation. Being too focused on money is not a good thing. As in all things, your financial life must be balanced.”

Technology: “Turn closed-minded confusion to open-ended readiness. Find a botanical garden or a lovely vista because quiet contemplation will give you the stamina and readiness to seize the moment and go for the gusto.”

In “The Witches Tarot,” Ellen Cannon Reed talks about the 12^th Path and its correspondences.  The metal mercury corresponds to the 12^th Path, and this makes sense.   “The metal mercury, which does have form, is attributed here because it has the least form of any metal.  When we think of metals, we think of copper and iron, brass and bronze.  Yet mercury is still a metal, but without a form of its own – a precursor of form.”  This makes even more sense when I remember that the planet connected to Hod, the bottom of the Pillar of Form and closest to the energies of Malkuth and the physical world, is . . . drum roll please . . . Mercury!

Ms. Reed also mentions The Magician, and she explains the appropriateness of this card in this position.  The Magician uses his ability to control and direct the energies of the elements to seemingly (or literally) perform magick.  Control is actually a form of restriction, and restriction imposes Form. 

This Path is also about visions and about seership, not mundane divination (which has its own value), but the ability to realize that we can attain our hopes and become anything we desire.  This is the Path of the true magician, the true alchemist. The transformations presented through working with this Path begin to allow us to discern the true differences between the spiritual and the physical, and we may end up finding that some of the effects and manifestations that we believed were spiritual are actually of the physical world.

In order to come out of my work with this Path in a whole and balanced way, I will need to tap into both my ability to analyze and compare, and my ability to hear my Inner Voice.

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