Six of Cups/The Star. The Six of Cups (Sun, the inner core of a person or situation in Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, compulsive, deep, obsessive) is a card of emotional balance, simple joys fun and blessings.  I am being told to look back today at the good stuff that has happened, so that I can feel optimistic about the future. The Star (Air, hot/separates and wet/adapts; Aquarius; Qof, back of head; the Path between Malkuth, the physical world of action and outer, physical reality, and Netzach, the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration) is the “good will to all” card.  This one is another optimistic card, only instead of looking back, The Star is telling me to look forward.  This is a card of optimism, about paying things forward and feeling good about it, and about manifesting love.  What a nice combination!

My Thoth card is the Six of Disks reversed.  “Success” The Six of Disks (Moon, feelings and emotions, illusion, imagination, in Taurus, “I have,” Sensual, cautious, stubborn) brings an awareness of resources to the situation, both those that I have and those that I don’t have.

My Legacy card is the Ace of Wands reversed, flavored by the Four of Coins reversed. 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 creative process.  All Aces offer potential only, and this one offers the potential to create, to experience courage, to have confidence, to be filled with enthusiasm.  My Ace is reversed, so those things may not be readily apparent today, but the card is there, and so is the potential.  The Four of Coins (the Sun, the inner core of a person or situation or the deepest self, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, authority, caution cunning) in an upright position tells of very solid foundations and an awareness of the value of our possessions.  This Four is reversed, and that may be a good thing.  Perhaps thinking out of the box that is stability could re-ignite the potential of that Ace.

My 6-digit date number is 4, the number of depth and stability.  This number brings security, but it can also create the perfect breeding ground for stagnation.

My horoscopes: “Be careful of gossiping too much with your friends and colleagues, Sagittarius. It's fun to laugh and exchange stories, but remind yourself of the fact that the truth in a story is diminished and changed each time it's repeated. If you gossip too much, your friends may begin wondering what you say about them when they aren't there. Ultimately, this isn't healthy behavior for your friendships. Think about it.”

And: “There is a special power to your words today, and an internal confidence that rarely comes around this strongly. You should be noticing a strength to your emotions and your basic personality. Take this opportunity to get one step ahead in the game. You have a special influence that cannot be matched by anyone today, so don't let others convince you of anything that you aren't one hundred per cent sure of yourself.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Knight of Swords.  This Knight boldly enters any fray to powerfully defend his beliefs.  He will not allow emotions to interfere with his purpose, and he will not stand down until his goal is achieved.  He is a Seeker, surging forward; unfortunately he does not see the storm of eddies that he leaves behind, but even those dust devils bring clarity.

Back to my study of psychological alchemy.  Separation and then Conjunction, and then back to Separation, are what I have been seeing of late.  In an effort to move forward, I will think a bit about the next step in the alchemic process, Fermentation.  Interestingly enough, this process is about putrefaction, about death and the return of ingredients to a natural state, and it is about examining the Shadow Self, newly denuded from all that distracts, in order to accept and love this part of me.  The only way that regeneration can begin again is by taking this step. 

Dealing with the Shadow Self is not an easy task.  Our Shadow can distract us from our real selves, and can cause us to project our own shortcomings onto others rather than owning them.  And this is the most important task I can undertake right now: owning my Shadow Self.  After all, I create my own environment and my own reality by the strength of my Will and the expectations of my mind, so this means I not only create the good times, but the bad times too.  If I don’t own my Shadow Self, I will be giving up the power to be found within this part of me, and I will be doomed to being stuck in an illusion without substance, but that has uncomfortable power over me.

These three steps together, Separation, Conjunction and Fermentation, allow me to see and recognize all parts of my Shadow Self, allow me to decide which parts are worth saving and which should be released, and allow me to release the undesirable parts so that they can putrefy and decompose.

Sounds easy-peasy, eh?  Not!

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