Ace of Swords/Seven of Swords.  The Ace of Swords (Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, caution authority, cunning, Aquarius and Pisces, “I believe,” feeling, duality, soul growth, artistic) is about potential within the mental or intellectual realms.  I am being told that today I might be effective if I analyze carefully and perceive the results of that analysis in an ethical, just and fair manner.  The Seven of Swords (Moon, feelings and emotions, illusion, imagination, in Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, cause-oriented, the group, aloofness) tells of the effort to maintain things as we want them, often through the use of deception and without considering the wants or needs of others.  This card has a sort of isolated feel to it, and that makes sense.  After all, if we are taking things too far or considering doing something a bit unethical, we don’t want anyone watching.  I need to be very careful today, as these two cards together are potent, and I might loose track of the effects of my thoughts, words and deeds upon others.

My Thoth card is the Nine of Wands.  “Strength” is Uncle Al’s keyword for this card, and from all the Swords cards that are showing up, I may need it.  The Nine of Wands (Moon, feelings and emotions, illusion, imagination, in Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, adventurous, blundering) represents being defensive or closing off.  The energies of this card kind of make us assume that something bad is going to happen and we need to prepare for it.  With all these Swords and Wands cards today, I should have plenty of tools at my disposal that will allow me to effectively take a stand, but since there are no emotions or grounding available to me, I had better choose my causes carefully.  This is the card that states: change is stability, and stability is guaranteed by change.

My Legacy card is the Ace of Swords reversed, flavored by the Knight of Wands.  Bookends!  The reversed Ace of Swords may be reminding me that I am forgetting to use my intellectual abilities, or I am not using them in the best way.  The Will originates in the mind and if we don’t connect to the Will regularly, it can atrophy.  The Knight of Wands (cusp of Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, deep, obsessive, and Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering) is a person of passion, courage, enthusiasm and boundless energy.  The energies of this card are strong and powerful, but quick to fade away.  Perhaps the reversed Ace of Swords my Knight is flavoring will ground him a bit, but I still need to be very careful to think before I speak or act today.

More about the Ace of Swords.  All Aces tell of potential, not manifestation, and this Ace is no exception.  However, the subject matters dealt with by this Ace, the mind, the intellect and the Will, are causes rather than physically manifested effects.  However, even so, the causes are not yet having an effect.  The Ace of Swords in an upright position reminds us that a seed has been planted that could deal with intelligence, reason, justice, truth, clarity or fortitude.  Just because the seed has been planted, I should not assume that it will sprout without assistance.  The suit of Swords also often represents a challenge or a situation with the opportunity to grow or evolve laced into it, and that possibility is also indicated by this Ace.  A sword traditionally has two blades, and the potentials and possibilities presented by this Ace, while neutral, are open to being affected by either helpful or harmful influences.  The potentials and possibilities connected to the Ace of Swords are not naturally occurring in our world, but rather are initiated and maintained by our own minds.  That is a heck of a lot of power!  We do need to remember, however, that the energies associated with the Ace of Swords are totally analytical; no compassion or grounding are found within these energies unless we consciously choose to include them.

My 6-digit date number is 11 (Archangel Uriel), which reduces further to the number 2, indicating balance, polarity and an awareness of the concept of “distance between.”  Sheesh, I may need that balance!

My horoscopes: “A lot of warm and loving communications could come your way today, Sagittarius. It could be in the form of letters, phone calls, emails, or texts Friends from far away whom you haven't heard from in a long time could keep you busy catching up on the phone. Relations with family members or a partner are likely to be supportive and intimate today. With this, your appreciation of those in your life may be highlighted.”

And: “You are by nature quick-witted, and today you are likely to be especially so. Your intellectual powers are operating on a very high leveli, and a wealth of new ideas may be coming to you from all sides, both from without and within. You're more talkative than usual and will want to share your ideas with those around you. Optimism and enthusiasm are definite keywords. Make the most of them!”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Four of Swords.  This is a Swords card of composure, serenity and quiet, unlike most of the other cards of this suit.  The pause indicated by this card is not happening due to a defeat, but rather because of some momentary stability that allows us to release the problems and focuses, and just float for a bit.  This is not a permanent rest, and we need to be ready to step out into the world and face our challenges once again, but we will be better able to deal with them after indulging in a bit of stillness and silence.

First of all, I was glad to see that the comment I posted on the blog referenced in yesterday’s post has appeared on that blog.  I did not mention any names in my reference, but since I specifically referred to the disappearance of my post, I felt it only fair to mention that the post did appear.

Separation, Conjunction and Fermentation have been on my mind these past weeks, and I finally feel as if I have muddled through whatever needs to be addressed during this round of working with the alchemic Great Work.  I have strived to see my “ego self” and I am still attempting to recognize each time that my ego self attempts to provide input to an event.  I have released and continue to release those things and ideas that no longer serve me, thus continuing the process of raising my personal energy field and experiencing my own spirituality with more clarity.  And I am bravely peering into the darkest corners of my “shadow self” in order to perceive and understand the things about my personality that make me the most uncomfortable, so they can be aired out and allowed to putrefy and return to the earth as compost.  It is only once I complete this last process that regeneration can actually begin, and that coming regeneration will use as fertilizer the compost being created by me each day.  Awareness is the key here, awareness of what I am thinking, saying, doing and believing, and why I am thinking, saying, doing and believing them.

Perhaps I am moving a bit into the Citrinitas phase, or at least receiving a glimpse of what that phase will be like.  Carl Jung is credited with interpreting the processes I am working with here; Jung interprets Nigredo is the Shadow; Albedo as referring to the anima and animus (contrasexual soul images); Citrinitas is the wise old man (or woman) archetype; and Rubedo as the “self” archetype which has achieved wholeness through the processes of the alchemic Great Work.  Perhaps a bit of research into archetypes may be in order.

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