Justice/King of Swords. 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). Because Justice is about cause and effect, it tells me to be certain to use ethics and morality as benchmarks in any decisions I make today, because I will be held accountable, for good and bad. The King of Swords (cusp of Capricorn, “I build,” ambitious, cautious, cunning, authoritative, and Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, cause-oriented, aloof) tells me how to respond to challenges presented in the physical world. He may be a bit severe, but he is a pillar of morality, and is pretty much a personification of the Justice card. Boy, do I need to take the high road today, or what?

My Thoth card is The Hermit. The Hermit, which corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes, and material, practical and stable energy that is slow to change), Virgo (“I serve,” practical, analytical, work and service oriented, orderly), Yod (open hand, touch), and the Path between Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify) and Chesed (the place where forms and structure are stabilized and nurtured), is about looking within for answers. The Hermit’s message to me is that the journey is the goal, not the destination, and he is telling me that every step of the way offers an opportunity to reveal what is hidden.

My Legacy card is the Page of Cups, flavored by The Chariot reversed. The Page of Cups corresponds to Libra (“we are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation), Scorpio (“I desire,” intensity compulsion, mystery) and Sagittarius (“I seek,” philosophic, adventurous, blundering), and corresponds to my connections to others and to my own inner self. This Page is encouraging me to optimistically open myself to all feelings and to enjoy them, and to enjoy my connections to others and to my own inner self as well. 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. The card is reversed, however, and in this position it could be supporting the Page of Cups. For today, I need to put others first, and I need to not get dismayed if I feel a bit disconnected. Sometimes surrendering for a bit is a good thing. I also need to be aware that I could end up overreacting; both the Page of Cups (who is the immature version of the Queen of Cups) and the reversed Chariot (which is about controlling emotions) hint at that possibility.

My 6-digit date number is 4, the number of depth and security.

My horoscopes: “Things coming at you from all sides are forcing you to make a move, Sagittarius. Don't be pressured into something you don't want to do. A nervous restlessness may urge you to act. Don't let other people boss you around. Secure your position and be strong. Try not to be tempted into situations that you know are going to be bad for you.”

And: “It's time for you to follow your urge to get more social! Find out what opportunities there are for you to get out and get a bit wild. Make some phone calls and find out if anyone in your group is feeling the same itch. It might be a perfect time to plan that big weekend event you've been tossing around in your head for a while. Whatever you're in the mood for -- dancing, dining or hiking -- should dictate your itinerary. Check for flight bargains and consider a group trip.”

Technology: “Dig in and fight the good fight. You are having too much fun to get paid -- though that won't stop you from signing the back of your paycheck. Something is happening at the moment to make work (or at least a part of it) a joy.”

Since my interview with Phillie on Monday night, I have been paying particular attention to my sacral and solar plexus chakras. I am making certain that they are completely cleaned out each morning, and I am giving each of them a bit of extra Reiki. But I am also wondering if maybe I should revisit the third triad of the Tree of Life, Netzach, Hod and Yesod, which corresponds to behavior.

Netzach and Hod are a horizontal pair, the closest horizontal pair to Malkuth and the physical world. It makes sense that I look at these two as they really should be taken together. They are polar opposites, each on the bottom of a Pillar (Netzach is on the bottom of the Pillar of Force, and Hod is on the bottom of the Pillar of Form), and thus they are the emanations and consciousnesses closest to the physical realms. Yesod is at the bottom of the Pillar of Balance, the first non-physical sephiroth. They are all also below Tiphareth, the sephiroth of balance and harmony that is the reflection of Kether.

Netzach is the energy we gather, charge and release during rituals and magickal workings. It is not quite Divine energy; it is the energy of our Younger Self and it is the energy that we assign to Deity, the energy we use to visualize Deity, the energy we gather in order to create the thoughtform that is the vehicle inhabited by Deity. Netzach is considered a sephiroth of emotions and feelings, it is associated with the power to overcome challenges in order to manifest ones Purpose, and thus, with confidence. Netzach can also be seen to mean “to conduct” or “to orchestrate.”

Hod represents science, learning and teaching. These are the patterns and formats that we impose on the primal essence of creativity in order to understand that essence and in order to work with that essence to attain a specific outcome. My favorite analogy is that Hod is the printed circuit board and Netzach is the energy that runs through that board and activates it so that it can serve its purpose. Hod is also considered a sephiroth of emotions and feelings, and it is associated with the power to advance toward ones Purpose with the determination and perseverance born of a deep commitment. It is the acknowledgement of a supreme Purpose and the submission to that Purpose that brings about the “Splendor” of Hod. Experiencing this very concept also brings forth gratitude.

Netzach and Hod need each other in order to exist. They can be seen as two scales, one merits, and the other confesses; they can be seen as the right and left hips which together bring equilibrium.

Yesod is a real cool sephiroth, because it represents illusion, but illusion used to create. I know that reality manifests first in my brain, as visualizations or if you will, illusions (because they are not “real” yet, but only in my mind). Yesod is the sphere that first lifts us out of the heavy and grounded existence that is the physical world, so that we can explore the other realms. It is the last place that we exist before we are born into our physical bodies, and the first place we go when our physical bodies die. Yesod is also a sephiroth of emotions and feelings, and is associated with a two-way power, first that of grounding to the earth, and second that of communicating with outer reality. Thus, it exists and is able to manifest both on the physical and spiritual planes, and it is able to connect both the beginning and the end. This is also the sephiroth that allows us to verify our convictions through action. Hmmm . . . .

These three sephiroth control our behaviors, and from what I can tell just from a brief probe of my chakras, keeping in mind what I learned while talking to Phillie on Monday night, my issue is with Netzach and Hod, with the balance between these two, and with the validity of both the knowledge I have accumulated and my connection to Deity. These two are really the crux of the matter.

$>