Eight of Cups reversed/Six of Swords.  The Eight of Cups (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitation, law and order, in Pisces, “I believe,” feeling, duality, suffering, soul growth) tells of an ending or a change of direction, often one associated with emotions.  Since my card is reversed today, I may not be ready to release whatever it is that is ending, not quite yet.  There isn’t anything wrong with this choice, as long as it is being made for the right reasons.  The Six of Swords (Mercury, reason, intelligence, education, communication, in Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, cause oriented) is about balance, healing, moving towards a better place, and even about learning the science behind things that work (because understanding why they work makes them more effective).  Because this Six is showing up with the reversed Eight of Cups, perhaps it really is not the right time to release something.  After all, the Six of Swords tells me things are moving in the right direction today.

My Thoth card is the Three of Swords reversed.  “Sorrow” is Crowley’s keyword for 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 if they are not used with balance and compassion.  My Three of Swords is reversed (*whew*), so the Sorrow should not be as bad as it appears, but I need to still remember that words and actions can cause pain even if they are presented without the intent to harm.

My Legacy card is the Page of Swords reversed, flavored by the King of Wands.  The Page of Swords (Capricorn, “I build,” ambitious, competent, cautious, cunning, Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, society, cause-oriented, and Pisces, “I believe,” feelings, duality, soul growth, spirituality) in an upright position reminds me to use my mind and my intellect to analyze situations as well as the messages of my senses.  Because my Page is reversed, I may find evidence of some imbalance today in the way I use my mind and my intellect.  However, my reversed Page is being flavored by the King of Wands today.  The King of Wands (cusp of Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, nurturing, moody, and Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic egotistical) is a natural leader who creates new strategies through hard-earned knowledge, experience and wisdom, and then puts them into effect as well.  He is looked to as a leader or a figure of authority, but that reversed Page he is flavoring warns me to watch my step, because I could end up in a mess, mainly because of inattention.  Perhaps just a tiny bit of grounding is in order?

My 6-digit date number is 4, the number of depth and stability.  Just what I need today, with all those Swords cards.

My horoscopes: “Is there some material need weighing on your spirit right now, Sagittarius? If you can't see how to solve the problem alone, why not discuss it with your friends? They may have some ideas. Today, the word "impossible" has been banished from the English language. Take advantage of the opportunity to look for solutions in unlikely places.”

And: “Feel free to ignite your passion with the help of the people around you. Join together with those who share similar dreams, and make a plan for accomplishing whatever you choose. The more creative you can be with your planning, your data collecting, and your execution, the better off you will be. The white-hot fire within you is ready to spread.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Eight of Pentacles.  Love this card!  Visualizing a garden spider, hard at work on her web and tuning out the distractions of the rest of the world is perfect for me today.  After all, she is the only one who can do this task, and by creating her web she is using her skills and her instincts day after day, with the same focus and enthusiasm today as she had a year ago.

I am still feeling a strong personal spiritual disconnect.  I have been probing myself and asking myself questions.  Do I feel that everything I believe is not true?  Do I believer there is no Deity?  Do I believe my rituals are wrong or ineffective?  Do I believe my daily spiritual routine is wrong or ineffective?  The answer to each question has been “no.”  Deity is real, and everything I have learned about the workings of Deity thus far still feel true and valid to me; my rituals and my daily steps to bring spirituality into my life feel right.  I am performing my tasks within my Coven and continuing with my Third Degree Training, without any problems.  And still, I feel as if there are cotton balls in my ears.  I am “hearing” and “sensing” the presence of Deity, but as if there is a wall of clear Jello between me and Their Essences. 

It is strange that this Dark Night is happening now, with the Summer Solstice and the Sabbat of Litha approaching.  This should be a time of deep connection to the Sun and the Sacred Masculine, and I am just not feeling it.  I can feel my own subtle body easily, and can run energy and open my chakras without any problems; there do not seem to be any blockages that I can perceive. 

I’ve talked about the gunas of Heavy and Light, Liquid and Dry, and Hot and Cold.  Today, in keeping with my efforts to continue growing and learning and functioning despite my Fog, I will talk about Easy and Difficult. 

Easy is connected to the digestive system, which is actually pretty miraculous.  Our digestive system begins working with the first cup of coffee, and continues long after dinner.  It processes all foods and liquids, and turns them into fuel for the workings of the body, or into a medium that can be stored for future use.  Easy foods need less blood brought into the digestive system, and so they make the mind feel light.  Cooked, soft or soupy foods are considered to be Easy; the idea is to get as much nutrition as possible into the digestive system with the least amount of work. 

Difficult is also connected to the digestive system.  Difficult foods are not easily digested.  Beans, nuts, cheese, red meat and wheat are all foods that are digested slowly and with effort.  The problem with Difficult foods is that they don’t move quickly through the digestive system.  If these Difficult foods hang around too long, they begin to ferment, and create gas and bloating.  Needless to say, the liver, kidneys and other organs are burdened by this accumulation of toxins, as are the bowels.

Interesting that I chose these two gunas to talk about today, when my spirit is also feeling clogged and heavy. 

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