Three of Wands reversed/The Magician reversed. Two powerful reversed cards today.  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) in an upright position tells of being successfully established after some effort expended. The Magician corresponds with Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts, and quick and animated energy which usually presents problems or challenges), Mercury (reason, intelligence, orderliness, communication), Beth (house; builder) and the Path between Binah (female, receptive energy and the origin of form and structure) and Kether (the source, limitless possibility), and in an upright position it reminds me that through discipline and practice, I can create and affect my world.  The fact that these cards have appeared together, even though they are both reversed, is a powerful message.  In fact, it is better that they both be facing the same way because otherwise, they just might cancel each other out.  I may not be feeling that I have achieved a good manifestation of my desires, but that manifestation is out there; I have only to find it and connect with it.

My Thoth card is the Three of Cups.  “Abundance”; yesss! The Three of Cups (Mercury, reason, intelligence, orderliness, communication, in Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, nurturing, moody) has been showing up a lot lately.  It is reminding me that love and connections to others are all I need.  If I have them, then sad or uncomfortable times are less sad or uncomfortable.  Happy times become even more happy, and last longer.  I am rich with blessings!

My Legacy card is the Eight of Coins, flavored by The Hanging Man. Now, here is an interesting pair. The Eight of Coins (Sun, the inner core of a person or situation, in Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, sensible, orderly) is about taking care of details, working hard, and studying or learning new things.  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) is about surrender, about seeing things in a new way, and about putting aside my Will.  Since The Hanging Man is flavoring my Eight of Coins today, I am being told that I can make the detail work more interesting if I approach it in a new way.  Perhaps today, I will practice “in the ‘now’” awareness as I perform those necessary yet mundane tasks of dotting each “i” and crossing each “t”; who knows?  There might be an Aha! Moment hidden in that wood chopping, water carrying and clothes washing!

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

My horoscopes: “A class you've wanted to take may open up, and you'll want to register right away. You might have a few difficulties. If you try to sign up by phone, the line may be busy. If you enroll online, the website might crash. Don't get discouraged and give up. These are only temporary delays. You won't want to miss the class. Keep trying!”

And: “Successes with your work continue to bring good fortune your way, and today you might find reassurance that this is not a flash in the pan - you're likely to be financially secure for a long time. Health-wise, you're probably feeling strong and robust, full of energy and stamina, and ready to take on just about any challenge you can find. Move on ahead, but move with caution. You're never too prosperous to be careful.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding The Chariot.  This card is about assuming the reigns of authority, and the image on the card gives a huge hint at how this is to be done.  The Goddess driving the chariot in the image is doing so without physical reigns; instead, She is using her own feelings and thoughts and emotions, and the force of Her Will, to get where she wants to go.

Tonight, I will be attending the second annual Solstice Salon, presented by the Pagan Brain Trust Wayne Contingency.  I will get to see some new friends, from Starseed and the Idirlion Project, as well as the fifth member of the PBT, who is here from California!  Should be a fun evening for all, and I am looking forward to it.

More thoughts on Hermes Trismegistus and his triple nature.  Depending on whose comments you read, there are several reasons for the “Trismegistus” tag attached here.  Some say that through The Emerald Tablet, Hermes Trismegistus has learned the three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe, alchemy, astrology and theurgy.  Some say that Hermes was called “Trismegistus” because he was the greatest philosopher, the greatest priest, and the greatest king of all times.  Some say that it was because he gained superior knowledge on all three levels of reality, the physical plane, the mental plane and the spiritual plane, or heaven, air and earth.  Some say that he has dominion over the mineral kingdom, the vegetable kingdom and the animal kingdom. 

Somehow, I think that all are true.  I am walking away from The Emerald Tablet (for now; I’m sure I will be back to visit it again) with quite a bit of depth and texture added to my understanding of the nature of Deity.  I will be honest and say that after my initial reading of The Emerald Tablet, I did not expect to receive this benefit.  Briefly, here are some of the things I will be pondering further. 

The fact that there is such a compact yet useful set of instructions for attaining the goal of understanding Deity.  If this one exists, there must be others.

A reminder that living our personal “truth” can be briefly unsettling, but in the end, we are stronger and healthier because we made this effort.

The initial question or seeking is important because it becomes a catalyst which spirals our awareness ever higher, towards Deity.

Experiencing extremes is important; it is the only way that we can become the bridge that unites those extremes in order to bring balance into our lives.  We have commonalities with Deity that can serve as that bridge; we can successfully strive to unite the two extremes of Above and Below in order to bring spiritual balance into our lives.  Those commonalities can be found by striving to understand Deity, but because we are a reflection of Deity we can also find those commonalities by striving to understand ourselves.

While Deity may in part be transcendent, Deity is also imminent.  In order for Deity to speak our language and understand the physical world “patterns” in order to communicate, She/He/It/They must be immersed in the physical world.  At the same time, Deity must be within the higher, purer realms because it is Deity’s nature to be there.

This interaction is absolutely necessary for life of any kind to exist.  Besides the physical world ingredients and the astral world effects necessary for life to happen, Deity must manifest Her/His/Its/Their essences into the recipe, or life will not happen.

We can raise our own energy vibration (and make communication with Deity easier) by understanding these interactions, from the most complicated to the most basic, and we can experience them through the workings of Nature and the workings of our minds.  Psychological discipline combined with meditative and visualization exercises are effective tools for cultivating this.  So is an effort to separate ourselves from our physical senses for a while, in order to perceive the more subtle messages of the non-physical world.  And this does not mean that we are to ignore our physical senses or our physical bodies, for healthy bodies and honed senses are our foundation.

We need to be open to receiving messages, but sometimes we need to have the courage to take the first step and put ourselves in “sending” mode.  If we ask for a connection, we will receive one, because it is of Deity’s nature to respond to such a request.  We may not perceive the response, but it will come.

We are responsible, alongside Deity, for the maintenance of the cycles of “as above, so below; as below, so above.”  We are never the Source, only the conduit. As we have been taught by others who have looked back at us, we must also look back to those who are traveling behind us and urge them onward.

If we successfully understand these concepts, their power will infuse our entire life and all of its effects and experiences.  Their power will not only create the next necessary question, but they will provide the answer to that question.  Always remember that even a distorted reflection will carry a link to the Source.

As I look back on these above descriptions, I know that just reading my words will not suffice for others; they must go within themselves too, and peer into the dark corners of their minds in order to find out exactly what they believe.  They must discover their own truths.  Your truth may turn out to be parallel to mine.  Or, you may discover that the sole gift you bring away from reading these entries on The Emerald Tablet is that you have discovered what you don’t believe.  Either way, I offer my gratitude for the time you spend here at Dancing Sparkles, reading my words.

“Now, I leave thee, my children. 
Down, yet up, to the Halls shall I go. Win ye the way to me, my children. 
Truly my brothers shall ye become. 
Thus finish I my writings.  Keys let them be to those who come after. 
But only to those who seek my wisdom, for only for these am I the Key and the Way.” From The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlanean, a part of the Corpus Hermeticum.

Last but not least, a big thank you to Kallan of the blog, “The Secret Life of the American Working Witch” [mypaganworld.blogspot.com] for listing Dancing Sparkles on her “My Favorite Bloggers” sidebar!

Blessed Be!

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