Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Eight of Cups reversed/Ace of Cups. The Eight of Cups (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitation, law and order, in Pisces, “I believe,” feeling, duality, suffering, soul growth) in an upright position tells of an ending or a change of direction, but since it is reversed, this Eight is telling me that I should have the endurance necessary to persevere, and maybe I will even end up filled with some valuable energy today.. The Ace of Cups (Libra, “We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation, Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, deep, mysterious, obsessive, Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, adventurous, blundering) tells me that the day will be filled with opportunities to both express strong feelings and hear the messages of my Inner Voice. Perhaps it is the potential connected with all of these feelings that allows me to not abandon issues or situations that are bringing me discomfort.

My Thoth card is the Three of Wands. The Three of Wands (Sun, the inner core of a person or situation, the deepest self and personal power, in Aries, “I want,” action oriented, pioneering, assertive) tells of being successfully established after effort, of taking a position of responsibility and of being supported by others. This card, which Crowley calls “Virtue,” is connected to the potential of the Ace of Wands, and it encourages me to explore possibilities for the future.

My Legacy card is the Two of Wands, flavored by the Five of Wands reversed. The Two of Wands (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Aries, “I want,” action oriented, pioneering, assertive, enthusiastic) is an exciting card. It tells of being able to wield influence and have authority, and it tells of being able to think out of the box. The Five of Wands represents Saturn (discipline, responsibility, law and order) in Leo (“I am, passionate, dramatic, egotistical), and in an upright position it indicates a struggle that appears at cross purposes. Because this Five is flavoring my Two of Wands, and because I also threw the Three of Wands, today looks like it will be a productive day! Love these cards! Now, let’s see if I can take advantage of all this Water and Fire!

My 6-digit date number is 3, the number of a new creation from the potential of the Ace and the balance and polarity of the two.

My horoscopes: “Something big could be occurring close to home today, Sagittarius. It would be advisable to stay inside, if possible, or at least not stray too far. Traffic may be gridlocked and the sidewalks crowded with pedestrians anxious for a closer look. Use this self-imposed "house arrest" to do some neglected chores. Play music and have fun while you organize bookshelves and clear the clutter from your closets.”

And: “Don't be caught off guard when someone asks for your insight today. You've been developing a strong opinion about what's been going on in this friend's life, but respectfully, you've avoided giving any lectures. So how should you handle this unexpected request? Easy -- be honest and tactful. You don't have to come clean about everything you think -- just give them enough tough talk to enable them to understand what their situation could really mean.”

Technology: “You will start to understand the fine details early this morning. As the day drags on, though, they might become a bit overwhelming once again. Step backward and look at the big picture. Informational challenges should clear up right away.”

I am coming off of a great weekend. I met with a new Thai Massage client on Friday night, and then drove to Cape May amid the most incredibly powerful thunderstorms. The lightning was almost non-stop! We had company for the weekend, plus many drop-ins; lots of good conversations. Plus, I attended the Sacred Mists Esbat for the second new moon in July, the Dark Moon Esbat, and yesterday I attended the beautiful Lugnasadh Sabbat led by Joralyn, another Third Degree Dedicant. The Pagan Brain Trust also had its usual New Moon Reiki Share.

Last night, I was interviewed by one of the Pagan Brain Trust-ers, Phillie, regarding a class he is taking. I was asked to fill out a questionnaire before the interview which focused on the ways I deal with stress and serenity, including physical manifestations. Now, I have done quite a bit of work focusing on learning about myself. I don’t think anyone can practice Wicca without doing this. But participating in this project revealed some new insights for me to ponder!

I have always known that for me, the physical sensation I most associate with stress of all kinds is in my gut, in the region of the Hara Point (between and behind the sacral and solar plexus chakras). Within the process of being interviewed regarding the responses on my questionnaire, I discovered that those stresses are mostly sourced in my own perception of my validity, my authority. I also discovered that the physical sensations I associate with confidence and self-power, the other side of the coin, if you will, from stress, also originate in my gut, in the region of my Hara Point. In a way, this makes sense, because the sacral chakra is about the self-preservation instinct of fight-or-flight, and the solar plexus chakra is about personal power. It sounds like I may have some lingering Shadow issues to deal with.

I also discovered the compassion and love present a sensation of warmth and tingling directly over my heart chakra. To me, the heart chakra is about love with awareness, mental love rather than physically expressed love, and to me the heart chakra is also the bridge between the upper three chakras, which are related to our connections to the worlds other than our physical selves, and the lower three chakras, which are either directly or indirectly about the preservation of the physical vehicle and its connection to the life force.

The third thing Phillie and I talked about was the muscle spasm that I get every so often located at the base of my neck and into the left shoulder. He asked me to think about the location of this spasm, particularly the fact that the left side of the body is controlled by the right side of the brain, which is the intuitive, random part. We both wondered if there was some relationship between this occasional spasm and the issues involving my sacral and solar plexus chakras; also, one of the physical correspondences to the heart chakra is the shoulders.

The heart chakra corresponds with Taurus, which is my rising sign; it is about tolerance, acceptance and unconditional love. The sacral chakra corresponds with Sagittarius, my sun sign; it is about appetite, support, control and connections. The solar plexus chakra corresponds with Scorpio, my moon sign; it is about self-esteem, personal power, the ability to respect myself and others. This is interesting stuff, and the connections are very cool! It makes sense to me that the sensations associated with strong emotions can be used as a diagnostic tool for dealing with all kinds of issues!

I feel as if these things need to be dealt with, especially because it is the bottom three chakras, the heavier energy that is more tethered to the physical world, that are at issue here. It is that very energy that seems to weigh me down and prevent me from reaching the “information highways” shown to me.

And isn’t it interesting that the 13th Path tends to deal with Shadow Self issues? In my entry for July 29th, I said: “This card also often represents the Shadow Self, and eep! That probably will be the focus of this time I spend working with the 13th Path. Because the energies of The HP are subject to tides and fluctuations, they might be a bit uncomfortable for us, but instability can be a good thing if we are skilled enough to ride the wave. LOL, sorry for that mix of metaphors.” I did not expect that these Shadow Self issues would present themselves with such clarity, and so soon!! The triplet of the mind is already at work, showing me the places I need to focus upon.

On another note, I feel the need to share a link that I found on a blog I follow called The Secret Life of the American Witch [http://mypaganworld.blogspot.com/]. The author of that blog, Kallan, linked a post by a Christian blogger in response to a recent upheaval caused by some Christian bloggers being uncomfortable being grouped with non-Christian bloggers. Long story. Anyway, this is worth reading; here is a link: http://soullibertyfaith.com/?p=976#comment-1631. Enjoy!

Lughnasadh Blessings to all!

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4 comments:

  1. how beautifully put... our call was wonderful for me as well and am glad that you have such a great way with words! thank you again!

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  2. Wonderful stuff, N! In regards to your muscle spasm, just double check about right/left brain - I thought the LEFT brain is the logic side, so if you proceed with the opposite any revelations might be really confusing!

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  4. YW, Phillie! And yes, E, my bad. LEFT brain is logical and sequential, RIGHT brain is intuitive and random.

    *facepalm* *goes to fix post*

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