The Tower reversed/Seven of Wands reversed. The Tower corresponds with Fire (hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive, energetic change), Mars (action, spontaneity, aggression, drive), Phe (mouth or speech), and the Path between Hod (which provides analysis and communication) and Netzach (which offers the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration), and if it was in an upright position it would be reminding me that there just might be some outdated facets of my life that need to be demolished and swept away. Since The Tower is reversed today, I am being told that I must be doing something right, because things are flowing rather than being stopped up. The Seven of Wands (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, natural leader, egotistical, selfish) has a personal significance for me, given to me by Archangel Uriel. I see this card in an upright position as representing the approach of a Threshold, and the need to pass the tests of the Guardian; since the card is reversed, the Threshold either may have been passed or may be approaching. Since this Seven is paired with The Tower reversed, I am sensing that I have passed some crossroad, and am moving forward in the manner I should be.

My Thoth card is the Three of Cups. “Abundance” is Uncle Al’s keyword for the Three of Cups (Mercury, reason, intelligence, orderliness, communication, in Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive tenacious, nurturing, moody) which tells of the possibility of experiencing emotional abundance, emotional connections to others, and emotional support as a part of the day. It tells of working and accomplishing things through love. Okay, I can do that!

My Legacy card is The Chariot reversed, flavored by The Moon. The Chariot corresponds with Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts, and sensitive, emotional and imaginative energy that likes to stay the same or follow the same course), Cancer (“I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, nurturing, moody), Cheth (the fence), and the Path between Geburah (the place where forms and structure are challenged or affirmed) and Binah (female receptive energy and the origin of form and structure), and is related to emotional control and the training of our emotions so that we can use them to bring greater good into our lives. Besides being reversed, my Chariot is flavored by The Moon. The Moon corresponds with Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts, emotional and sensitive energy that strives to stay the same), Pisces (“I believe,” feeling, suffering, soul growth, duality), Qof (the back of the head), and the Path between Malkuth (the physical world of action and physical, outer reality) and Netzach (the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration), and talks about the imagination, perception, and fear of the unknown. It is flavoring my Chariot, which to me is an encouragement to allow things to flow on their own today. Sometimes control only serves to prevent innovation.

My Pearls of Wisdom New Moon card is the Eight of Pentacles reversed. The Eight of Pentacles (Sun, the inner core of a person or situation, in Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, sensible, orderly) is about employment, commissions offered because of skills or abilities, and about finding one’s niche in life. The work associated with the Eight of Pentacles involves a conscious focus or application of knowledge, usually in a solitary manner. The Pearls of Wisdom Eight of Pentacles speaks of hard work done within the passion of creativity, infused with hope and beauty, which adds to the zest of the effort and the density of fulfillment. The card is reversed, though, which could mean one of two things: either I won’t be working very hard and thus not receiving any fulfillment, or I will receive fulfillment without working very hard. Crossing my fingers that the latter possibility will manifest.

My 6-digit date number is 9, the completeness of experience and manifestation.

My horoscopes: “The topic of the day is knowledge and learning. Did you study the field you really wanted to? Do you feel bad about not having attended such-and-such school or program? If these issues are uppermost on your mind today, remember that your creativity has little to do with the degrees you hold. It has everything to do with how you use your skills and knowledge to better the world.”

And: “You will be surrounded by masculine energy today, and you will find it inspiring. The competition hasn't started yet, but you are focused on putting yourself in a good position to be the victor. Watching aggressive activity and fierce athletic abilities will be like watching a beautiful ballet. Get ready to understand a bright new side of the men you care most about.”

And: “You may receive some upsetting news from a family member today. It may have you reeling for a moment, but when you take the time to think about it some more you realize that things are not as troubling as they first seemed. Be sure to get all the facts before taking any action. You want to be sure to do what's right for the situation.”

My Sun reading: “A Pisces New Moon conjuncts the Sun and Mars, providing seed energy for new starts over the next 30 days. Tonight the Moon and Saturn suggest someone is making an important attitude adjustment. Heads up! It could be you, overdue with your break from the past.”

I am the star that rises from the sea, the twilight sea

I bring men dreams that rule their destiny

I bring the moon-tides to the souls of men

The tides that flow and ebb and flow again

that flow and ebb and flow alternately

These are my secret, these belong to me.

Dion Fortune – Moon Magic

What a perfect poem to ponder on this New Moon day. Again this morning, I spent some time at Danu’s Well, and again I am filled with Her lovely energy. I think tomorrow morning, I will go to the Well before I begin my customary morning meditation/chakra recharge/shield recharge/Reiki application, just to see what happens.

As requested by Her, I performed my Dark Moon ritual in honor of Hecate ritual last night. This time, when I called the Watchers and my Elemental Guides, I noticed that the entire energy of the Circle was denser somehow, more “there” for the lack of a better adjective. I wonder if this increased awareness of these energies is happening because I am becoming more relaxed with this ritual, or it this is happening because Spring is approaching. LOL, I guess I will just have to wait and see.

I have been working diligently on my current Third Degree Training lesson. I am really enjoying the challenges of these lessons! The training available to students of Sacred Mists, from my vantage point of having completed both First Degree and Second Degree Training, is pretty incredible. Yes, the early lessons are simple, but let’s face it, those First Degree lessons can only be as advanced as the least experienced student, otherwise students without experience will be lost early on.

It always surprises me when people judge the training available through Communities like Sacred Mists by looking at what is presented to the newest members. Yes, I completely understand that no one wants to devote the years of study that it takes to attain entrance into Third Degree Training, only to find that the supposedly more advanced lessons have not increased in difficulty at an appropriate rate; that is fair enough. But I am proud of my Degree attainments because I know that I have talked the talk and walked the walk; I know that over the past almost eight years that I have been training at Sacred Mists, whenever I come across lessons that are reviews, I go the extra mile to discover some new bit of information about even the most basic of concepts that I did not know before working on that review.

I am not training at Sacred Mists in order to receive the piece of paper; I am in no hurry to finish. Thus, I am allowing myself to take little “side trips” as I work on each lesson. I just finished reading a really awesome essay on evocation; yes, I know what evocation is, but still, I was able to add new texture to my own experiences with evocation by reading about the experiences of another. Now, I am reading a book on shapeshifting. Once again, I already have enough personal experience with shapeshifting to answer the homework question, but I would prefer to learn some new bit of information through fulfilling the assignment.

It might take me a bit longer to finish each lesson, but I am getting the biggest bang for the buck by taking my time and by putting in the extra effort. This is why I value my Degrees, my symbols of attainment at Sacred Mists. I know I’ve done the work, and no one can receive all that is intended by these lessons unless they do the work, no matter how experienced they are.

I am ending this blog post with a message for Tara. My dear sister, I know you have read this before, but I am reminding you of this:

We avoid discomfort at all costs, and yet we are shown again and again by the workings of Nature that discomforts can always be turned into something positive. The example . . . is the pearl. “The beautiful pearl has long been treasured by humankind. It looks like a tiny Moon, and the Moon sometimes looks like a huge pearl on a black velvet sky. And how does that pearl come to be? It is the result of a rough, irritating grain of sand, which presents a possible injury to an oyster. Imagine a grain of sand under your eyelid, and the tears it would cause. In a sense, the oyster weeps; but its tears are not water, they are a material that coats the sand, layer after layer, until it creates from its pain a thing of beauty.”

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