The Lovers/Queen of Swords. The Lovers (Air, hot/separates and wet/adapts, quick and animated, intellectual, problems or challenges; Gemini, “I think,” curious, talkative, sociable, dual; Zayin, double-edged sword; and the Path between Tiphareth, the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify, and Binah, female receptive energy and the origin of form and structure) tells of union and of personal choices.   The Lovers is about duality as well as about unions, and about feelings, but these feelings are more spiritual or intellectual. The Queen of Swords (cusp of Virgo, “I serve,” practical, sensible, work and service oriented, and Libra, “We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation, grace) is also connected to Airy emotions, as she is Water of Air.  She is open, up front, alert and hard to fool.  I like these cards together!!

My Thoth card is the Six of Wands.  “Victory” is Crowley’s keyword for the Six of Wands (Jupiter, expansiveness and growth, justice, fortune, in Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, noble, authoritative) which expresses the celebration we feel when we have passed some test or successfully met a challenge.  This certainly does not mean the challenges are over, but so far I should feel proud of my accomplishments.

My Legacy card is the Three of Swords, flavored by the Five of Cups.  Well, that grounded me pretty quickly! The Three of Swords (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitations and resistance, in Libra, “We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation) usually indicates the possibility that logic, rationalizing and the intellect could end up causing harm.  This card always makes me feel uncomfortable, but I guess I need to remember that pain is sometimes necessary in life, and at the very least it will happen because we can’t always have pleasure. The Five of Cups (Mars, action, aggression, drive, in Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, mysterious, obsessive) tells of an emotional setback or a lack of support, and my Five is flavoring the Three of Swords.  Perhaps emotional isolation is what I will feel today, or at least there is the potential for feeling this.  Hopefully my other three cards will have more of an effect.

My 6-digit date number is 7, the number that tells of the pause at the end of growth that tells of approaching degeneration.

My horoscopes: “You work hard to reach your goal of financial independence, Sagittarius. All signs indicate that you're well on your way. Today you could receive some news that makes you realize you aren't there yet. Perhaps a relative calls to say you're no longer his/her sole beneficiary. Maybe your investment statement shows a poor return. This isn't what you expected, but you're still on the right track. It just might take a bit longer to reach your destination.”

And: “If you have been kicking around the idea of writing a novel or taking up oil painting, then today is the day to begin. There is no time, and no reason, for excuses. You have just as much talent as anyone else, why not use it for a change? You might find it helpful to join a writing group or sign up for a one-day painting workshop, if only to help you get started and stay motivated. Join a support group for struggling artists. They'll all understand your angst.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the King of Pentacles.  The King of the material world!  Today, this may be where my aptitude may lie; I can be steady and reliable and still create a work of art!  Most important of all, I must remember to share my blessings.  From the sharing of the fruits of my own labors, new seeds will sprout and offer more bounty in the future in a renewable chain of life.

I am reaching a dangerous stage in my Spring Fitness Challenge.  After two and one-half weeks of being strict about what I am eating and how active I am being, I am feeling a bit of frustration because I am not seeing progress on the scale.  This is so typical for me.  I do need the gratification of feeling a difference in the way my clothes fit, or where the needle settles when I step on the scale; I don’t need this gratification every day, but usually just as I pass the two week mark, I begin to feel as if my efforts are not paying off.

Of course, I usually deal with this frustration by having an ice cream cone, or some cake, but this time, thanks to my research into Ayurveda, I am attempting to hang in there and not do anything too bad. 

I promised to start talking about the Gunas, so here goes.  Gunas are a set of feelings or sensations associated with diet, digestion, and overall well-being.  Gunas are set up as pairs of opposites; the most common to deal with are: Heavy and Light, Sharp and Dull, Hot and Cold, Oily and Dry.  There is also Rough, Dense, Hard, Soft, Mobile, Stable, Subtle, Gross, Sticky or Gooey and Easy or Clear.  Similar gunas aggravate each other, while opposites balance each other.  It is said that gunas manifest in groups, and indeed, certain gunas are attracted to certain other gunas.  A good example of this is that cold creates dry; cold causes our blood vessels to contract in order to preserve heat, and so our extremities have less blood in them.  They are drier.  Doshas are actually collections of gunas that cause each other. 

The foods and drinks we consume each correspond with a guna, and an ayurvedically focused diet attempts to balance the gunas while keeping in mind the tendencies of the strongest dosha corresponding to an individual.  This is a very personalized method!

I am also beginning to look to the next step in the alchemic Great Work.  Fermentation is an ongoing process, but I think I am also beginning to see evidence of the beginning of movement beyond the introspection of Fermentation.  That means Distillation is beginning.

Distillation is another wash or purification of the parts of the personality.  The parts that are turning out to be the detritus of the Fermentation process are being churned to the surface and need to be skimmed off.  Fermentation involves putrefaction (and the chemical process of putrefaction is what allows Fermentation to occur), but Distillation involves detachment, and this is the message of Kali Ma; She teaches me that my attachment to the things of the physical world can end up holding me back from achieving growth.  The material world ends up being a huge focus for us all, and what I should be learning from the Fermentation process is that nothing is permanently needed.  Yes, whatever I choose to implement needs to be of the highest quality, and needs to have the ability to interact with any other ingredients chosen, but even if the best ingredients are used, the process will uncover ideas and beliefs and effects that don’t work with what the Fermentation is creating.  My efforts to be healthier and more balanced and alert are making me re-think the processes and choices that are in place or have become habits for me.  I need to identify these processes and choices and release those that are counter to my efforts.  No sense in carrying with me anything that used to work but does not work any longer!

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