Queen of Cups reversed/The Hanging Man.  The Queen of Cups (cusp of Gemini, “I think,” curious, sociable, dual, and Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, nurturing, moody) is Water of Water, and thus is quite deeply connected to her feelings and her Inner Voice.  Because the Queen is reversed, I may find that today I am easily distracted, or not quite in touch with the intensity (or lack thereof) of my own emotions, and I may not want to trust my Inner Voice today.  However, that may not be a bad thing; look at the other card!  The Hanging Man corresponds with Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts, and emotional, sensitive and imaginative energy that tends to move deep, and attempts to take the same path as in the past), Neptune (inspiration, spirituality, magick, enchantment, dreams, altered states), and the Hebrew letter Mem (water, stability and balance, the reflective quality of thought).  The Hanging Man not only tells me to stop what I’m doing but it also asks me to surrender to the forces around me.  This card is about seeing things in a new way, and it is about putting my own conscious needs aside.  The redemption offered by the sacrifice requested by The Hanging Man is usually on a spiritual or emotional level, and **gulp** often presented in the guise of failure or loss.  Because of the fire ceremony I attended over the weekend, I am expecting some discomfort this week, but if I’m not careful, I just might miss the deep-down message of any discomfort.

My Thoth card is the Seven of Cups.  “Debauch” is Crowley’s keyword for the Seven of Cups (Venus, beauty, allure, relationships, in Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, obsessive, mysterious), which represents the distraction and dissipation that can happen when we are presented with enticing choices.  The Thoth Seven of Cups shows us what happens to our emotions if we consciously prevent sacredness from infusing our inner selves.  The traditional image of the Seven of Cups shows seven cups, each filled with what appears to be a wonderful gift.  The Wreath corresponds with Saturn and The World; the Castle corresponds with Mars and The Tower, the Woman corresponds with Venus and The Empress; the Snake corresponds with Mercury and The Magician; the Veil corresponds with the Moon and The High Priestess, the Jewels correspond with Jupiter and The Wheel of Fortune, and the Dragon corresponds with our Sun and The Sun.  I need to be careful about what I dedicate my focus to today, because dissipation of focus due to the effects of Water is a danger.

My Legacy card is the Ten of Wands reversed, flavored by the Queen of Wands reversed.  The Ten of Wands (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitations and resistance, in Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering) tells of being taxed to the limit, and of working hard but not feeling an end in sight and not feeling like help or support is there.  Thankfully, with all the Water in my cards today, this Wands card is reversed, so I may be able to avoid feeling oppressed, but I should keep an eye on the carefree attitude, lest I end up tripping and falling.  The Queen of Wands (cusp of Pisces, “I believe,” feelings, duality, soul growth, spirituality, and Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive) in an upright position would be able to deal with the burdens of the upright Ten of Wands, and have a giggle about the situation.  She is reversed, however, and her strident opposition to someone confining her or telling her how to do things could be another danger to be dealt with today.  Oy.  No big disasters looming, but sounds like I might have some emotional issues today.

My Pearls of Wisdom New Moon card is the Ace of Wands reversed.  Another reversed Wands card.  The Ace of Wands (Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, egotistical, Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, sensible, orderly) tells of the first spark of a new and exciting process for self-expression and adventure.  Because the Ace is reversed, there may be some difficulty tapping into all this creativity.  However, the card is there, and since it is arriving for me at the time of the New Moon, I am going to optimistically choose to see this energy approaching from afar.  So there!

My 6-digit date number is 3, the number of new creation out of the balance and polarity of the number 2, and the position and potential of the number 1. 

My horoscopes: “It's true that having to earn a living isn't always the most agreeable thing in life, Sagittarius. However, we all know that it's necessary. Have you thought about adding more balance to your life? All work and no play makes Jack or Jill a dull person. This would be a good day to examine your daily life and add some new elements. Yes, Sagittarius, it's time for you to choose a hobby.”

And: “You may still be on somewhat of a high from the last couple weeks, and you will definitely be tempted to let the good times continue to roll. Think about ways in which you can keep them rolling while still being able to maintain good judgment. Don't let things got too out of control today. It is important that you maintain a bit of stability at all times.”

My Shadowscapes Insight today is regarding the Five of Swords.  Power is alluring, but when combined with self-interest, power is just downright harmful.  We all need to do what is necessary to keep ourselves healthy, to survive, but sometimes the greater good of all is more important than the achievement of our own ends.  Forsaking integrity may allow us to win the day, but that victory will be empty and meaningless.  The ends do not always justify the means!

The next line of The Emerald Tablet is: “Its father is the sun and its mother is the moon. Thus the wind bore it within it and the earth nourished it.”  Okay, the first sentence is obvious.  In Wicca, the sun is seen as a representation of the Sacred Masculine, the catalyst which activates the fertility of the Sacred Feminine, represented by the moon.  But there is another way of looking at this. 

If the sacred Source of all is reflected within the workings of the Universe, and if the resonance of the Universe is a reflection of the Source, then those very workings are what care for and nurture our Universe and make it what it is.  That Source is the custodian of all life, not by conscious choice but by “being.”  This “connection through reflection” is also represented by the first sentence in the quote above. 

So, the sun can be seen to represent the Source, the most pure and immortal essence that is life, and the moon, which only shines because of the presence of the sun, represents our Universe and everything in it, which is a reflection of the Source of all that is.  After all, the lighted orb we call the moon is only glowing with its creamy silver light in the black velvet of the night sky because the moon is reflecting sunlight into my eyes when I look at it.  We call these two, sun and moon, Source and reflection, father and mother because that yin/yang relationship of opposites is also found throughout the workings of our Universe, and thus, they must be found within the workings of the Source.

Hmmmm . . . does this mean that Binah and Chokmah are not lesser vibrating, less pure versions of Kether and the Source?  “As above, so below” is true, but so too is “as below, so above”; if the reflection has certain basic primal traits common throughout, then those same traits must be a part of the Source that is being reflected.  Duality is the common theme, and the interplay of balance, polarity, union, separation, control and surrender, and all of those must be a part of who/what the Source is.

Oh my.  I must think about this.

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