Seven of Cups/Three of Pentacles reversed.  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.  This card can tell of the danger of indulging in wishful thinking and the dissipation that can happen from it. The traditional image of the Seven of Cups shows seven cups, each filled with what appears to be a wonderful gift: the Wreath (Saturn and The World); the Castle (Mars and The Tower), the Woman (Venus and The Empress); the Snake (Mercury and The Magician); the Veil (the Moon and The High Priestess), the Jewels (Jupiter and The Wheel of Fortune), and the Dragon (our Sun and The Sun).  The Three of Pentacles (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, cunning, competence) in an upright position tells of competence, planning and teamwork.  Oh boy, two cards that tell of the possibility of dissipation.  Choices are going to be real important for me today, and I need to really try to keep my nose on the grindstone, because I just might be easily distracted.  Now, where did I put that “To Do List”??

My Thoth card is the Six of Disks.  “Success”!  LOL, after those two, I need the Six of Disks (Moon, feelings and emotions, illusion, imagination, in Taurus, “I have,” Sensual, cautious, stubborn) which brings an awareness of resources to the situation, both those that I have and those that I don’t have. Resources are important, because they bring both knowledge and power.  Options are important too, but I need to remember the presence of the Seven of Cups in my spread. 

My Legacy card is the Two of Wands, flavored by The Empress.  Oooooh, baby! The Two of Wands (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Aries, “I want,” action oriented, pioneering, assertive, enthusiastic) tells of power, influence and authority.  Because my Two of Wands is flavored by The Empress (which corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes, and stable, material, practical energies that are slow to change), Venus (beauty, allure, pleasure, relationships), Daleth (door or womb) and the Path between Binah (female receptive energy and the origin of form and structure) and Chokmah (dynamic male energy and the origin of vital force and polarity)), my power, influence and authority will be connected to creativity within the physical world.  Life and living, and the effects and experiences of living that life, are my forte today.

My 6-digit date number is 11 (Archangel Uriel), which reduces further to 2, the number of balance, polarity, location, and distance between.

My horoscopes: “Finding the answers you seek is easier when you take a more adamant position about where you stand now and where you want to be later. If you continue to be uncertain and relaxed about which way to proceed, others may take advantage of you. You have the strength and power to fuel your desires. It's time to put these into effect.”

And: “There is more than meets the eye to your money situation today. Errors may have been made in your financial records, or someone is not telling you the truth about an important factor. You are by nature a caring and trusting person, but this is not the day to blindly accept anyone's statements as reality. Check into the facts and see for yourself. Then act according to the facts in order to maintain your own best interests.”

And the new one: “You have plenty of great ideas today and, fortunately, the energy to turn some of them into reality. Although you might not be quite as charmed as King Midas, you could create fantastic opportunities everywhere you go. Your high spirits can inspire your co-workers to support you, even if your vision seems overly ambitious. Don't let this bountiful day pass without moving ahead on your next journey.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Nine of Pentacles.  This card is about striving to perfect the balance of spiritual and physical, but it is also about taking the time to enjoy the fruits of my labors.  Since I’ve got several fertile cards today, I am seeing this card as telling me to enjoy the many blessings I have achieved.  I can do that!

I have been given the Transparent Oracle as a birthday gift by my dear friend, Carolyn.  Oh my, I am hypnotized by this lovely Oracle.  I love, love love the idea of stacking these cards.  And guess what, Tara??  You can use them to create sigils!!!

But oh boy, I’m gonna have to start from scratch with this deck, because it is not a Tarot.  But it is perfect for me! The 70 circular transparent cards (did I mention that they are transparent??) are divided into seven categories: East, South, West, North, Above, Below and Within. Absolutely awesome!!  Within those categories are several sub-categories.  For the four cardinal directions, we have element, weather, time of day, season, elemental, and several guides.  Above connects to the stars and planets, Below offers guides and grail hollows, and Within offers connection to our senses.  Talk about a meditation tool!!!

I don’t know yet how I am going to learn this deck, but I’m going to.  I will probably post info about the cards on my in-between days, but I have to decide if I’m going to throw them randomly or work through the directions.  LOL, it’s going to take a bit of practice to be comfortable shuffling a round deck.

But I do want to jump right into the deep end of the pool, so I will shuffle (or LOL, attempt to shuffle) and throw three cards, no positions assigned, after asking the question “What potential can this new Oracle bring to me?”

Okay then, cool.  Three cards: #69, DNA/Labyrinth (Within), #56, Grail Hollows: The Cauldron (Below), and #45, Mars (Above).  And isn’t that a cool start!  These cards are not going to work like a traditional Tarot deck for me.  None of the cardinal directions have shown up in this initial card throw, and the answer to my question is that this Oracle will offer me potential regarding learning about my own senses and inner world, they will offer me guides and tools to assist in exploring both spiritual realms, the Underworld below us ~and~ the realms above and beyond the four elements.

DNA/Labyrinth is a Within card, and DNA is very symbolic for me.  LOL, go back to my Aha! Moment regarding DNA and life being created in the image of Deity, and you will see that I perceive DNA as the “image of Goddess.”  The image on this card is based on the Cretan Labyrinth, the one that kept the Minotaur captive.  This Labyrinth kind of looks like a many-lobed brain, which makes sense when you look at some of the keywords for this card: identity, self-exploration, secrets, potential, mystery, code.  Ancient wisdom and modern science, all rolled into one lovely card. 

The Cauldron is a Below card, and the keywords for this card are: abundance, initiation, healing, transformation, rebirth, inspiration.  This card expresses the element of Water at its most sacred level, as divine healer and provider of the needs of the soul.  We all need healing, each of us; and our souls have needs, just as our bodies have needs. 

Mars is my third card, from the realm of Above, and it is the only male card here.  This one corresponds to the element of Fire, and the keywords associated with the Mars card are: aggression, power, conquest, courage, passion, energy.

When I pile the three cards on top of each other, I see that Mars is being contained by The Cauldron, and the arrow of the Mars sigil is pointing to the “brain” that is the Labyrinth.  To me, I am being reminded by these three cards that Initiation is the “container” but in order to truly “see” the Divine, I must have the courage to “look.”  Here is the possibility being offered to me by the Transparent Oracle!!

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