The Hermit/Ace of Cups.  The Hermit corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes, and material, practical and stable energy that is slow to change), as well as Virgo (“I serve,” practical, analytical, work and service oriented, orderly), Yod (open hand, touch), and the Path between Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify) and Chesed (the place where forms and structure are stabilized and nurtured), and is about searching within for a deeper meaning.  Many times, the best way to find answers to our questions is to find someplace quiet where we can be alone, so that we can search our hearts and minds.  Often we end up finding out that the answers were right there, in front of us, the whole time.  This process can be uncomfortable, but valuable.  The Ace of Cups (Libra, “We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation, Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, deep, mysterious, obsessive, Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, adventurous, blundering) tells of the potentials available to me for experiencing deep emotions, a connection to my Inner Voice, compassion for myself or others, attunements and connections.  Since the potential to experience all these inner sensations is there, and since, thanks to The Hermit, my focus is inward, perhaps some powerful connections and attunements will occur.

My Thoth card is The Eight of Cups reversed.  “Indolence,” Uncle Al’s keyword for this card, can mean laziness, sluggishness, lethargy or idleness.  The Eight of Cups (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitation, law and order, in Pisces, “I believe,” feeling, duality, suffering, soul growth) is a card of action, telling of an ending or a decline or a change of direction, often one associated with emotions.  Upright, this card could be telling of the ebbing of the effectiveness of a situation to the point that abandonment might be the only choice, but since my Eight of Cups is reversed, I need to stay with the situation rather than leaving it.

My Legacy card is the Page of Swords reversed, flavored by the Seven 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) reminds us to use our mind and intellect to analyze situations, as well as the messages of our senses.  My Page is reversed, though, and perhaps today I will have difficulty facing challenges squarely. Perhaps I need to face my mental challenges with maturity today, rather than with the openness of youth.  The Seven of Wands (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, natural leader, egotistical, selfish) is flavoring my reversed Page of Swords, and it is clarifying the message of this reversed card, telling me to stand standing for my own principles even if I end up standing against everyone else.   The Seven of Wands has a personal significance for me, warning me of a coming test.  Yep, feels right when taken with my other cards.

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

My horoscopes: “Tact isn't necessarily your strong suit, Sagittarius. No one would accuse you of being overly sensitive to other people's emotions, but today you turn over a new leaf. This "new and improved" you tunes in to the thoughts and feelings of others and responds in thoughtful, caring ways. You may be surprised at how effective this gentler touch can be.”

And: “Today you might intuitively pick up some rather strange and unsettling thoughts and feelings from a brother, sister, or neighbor. However, this person isn't likely to want to talk about what's bothering them, even if you express concern. Sometimes people have to work these things out for themselves, so just make it clear that you're available if they want to talk about it. Then let it go. Right now that's all you can do.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Nine of Pentacles.  The Nine of Pentacles is similar to The Hermit in that it tells of solitary energies with a strong spiritual focus, but unlike the Hermit, the Nine of Pentacles is about enjoying the well-deserved fruits of our labors, achieved through the long-term application of discipline, learning and practice.  Nice combination of the spiritual ~and~ the physical, eh?

After all these years of collecting crystals without finding one Super Seven crystal that seemed to call to me at all, I have finally been grabbed by one, and acquired it.  A Super Seven crystal, also known as a Sacred Seven crystal and Melody’s Stone, is most likely either from Brazil or the U.S., and they are very interesting stones.  Although not always visible to the naked eye, a piece of Super Seven contains and thus corresponds to the properties of the spiritual and protective qualities of Amethyst, the grounding ability of Smoky Quartz, the energy-amplifying properties of Quartz, along with Rutile, which fine-tunes intuition, brings strength, love, ease in making transitions, and stabilizes relationships of all kinds, Goethite, which facilitates clairaudience, communication and metaphysical abilities, Lepidocrosite, which deepens intuition, promotes grounding, dissolves confusion and overcomes negative thoughts, replacing them with unconditional love, and Cacoxenite, which helps to overcome fear, clear stress, and brings spiritual awareness.  This huge combination of correspondences is part of what makes this stone so desirable, because the crystal retains all the energy and clarity of each mineral, and it never needs cleansing or energizing. 

Super Seven crystals assists us in seeing auras; it stimulates and develops spiritual gifts and psychic abilities, including telepathy, clairvoyance, clairaudience, channeling, telekinesis, among others.  Super Seven is a powerful and effective stone for healing the earth, and the mind, body and spirit diseases.  It stimulates the body’s natural healing systems, supports the immune system (as well as our skin and our bones), harmonizes the entire body and heals cellular memory The very nature of this stone means that it isn’t connected to just one chakra; instead it balances and heals and energizes all seven chakras and the auric bodies, aligning them to their highest spiritual vibrations!

My very special Super Seven is a square polished cabochon that actually looks like a small circuit board, or a clear piece of crystal with some kind of archaic writing inside of it.  For now, I’ve placed it on my altar.  I was going to wrap it (and I still may), but I’m not certain if that is the right thing to do.  I will meditate with my Super Seven crystal, maybe during the next Dark Moon!

$>