The Chariot/Knight of Swords. The Chariot, which 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), tells of having the control necessary to focus on goals, and to avoid distractions. This is not a card of denial of our emotions, it is a card of controlling them, so that we can make them work for us.  But we need to be careful that we don’t waste our effort on inappropriate emotions.  The Knight of Swords (the cusp of Taurus, “I have,” sensual, stubborn, cautious, and Gemini, “I think,” curious, talkative, dual, intelligent) is brave, insightful, courageous, and logical, rude, domineering, critical and sarcastic.  Two things are interesting about these two cards: they both show a man and a white horse or horses, and they are opposites of each other.  The charioteer guides his horses, while the Knight rides his horse.  The Chariot controls his emotions, while the Knight of Swords uses logic and the intellect instead of compassion.  Hmmm . . . there is a difference. 

My Thoth card is the Three of Swords.  Eeep!  “Sorrow” is Crowley’s keyword for this one. 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.  Crowley sees this card as indicating melancholy; perhaps I need to remember today that discomfort is necessary.  It is one side of the same coin that contains happiness.

My Legacy card is the Knight of Cups reversed, flavored by Justice reversed. Knight of Cups (cusp of Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, cause-oriented, and Pisces, “I believe,” feelings, duality, suffering, soul growth) is about feeling things strongly and about dreaming, and about the imagination.  But my Knight is reversed today, so I may need to be careful that I don’t get lost in dreams or feelings. Justice is a card of adjustment, and it corresponds with the element of Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts, and quick, animated energy that usually brings problems or challenges that bring growth), Libra (“we are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation), Lamed (ox goad; training or teaching), and the Path between Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify) and Geburah (the place where forms and structures are challenged or affirmed).  Justice tells of enlightenment and an awareness of cause and effect; my card is reversed, so I do need to be careful today.  It is also flavoring my reduced Knight; could out-of-control feelings be bringing the potential of some damaging karma?  Tread carefully today!

My 6-digit date number is 10, representing the end of a cycle, which reduces further to 1, the number of potential and position. 

My horoscopes: “If you're talking about another person today, Sagittarius, make sure you aren't saying anything that would be upsetting if they were standing right there. Gossip may be running rampant, but that's no excuse for you to contribute to it. Be aware that what you say has a strong impact on the people around you and is likely to reach many more ears than you may think.”

And: “Things coming at you from all sides are forcing you to make a move. Try not to be pressured into something you don't want to do. A nervous restlessness is apt to take over your being and urge you to act. Try not to be pressured by other people's energies. Secure your position and be strong. Try not to be lured by temptation into situations that you know are bad for you.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding The Empress!  Love this card, named “Lady-Mother” by the Shadowscapes Companion.  She is creativity and patience and generosity and abundance; she teaches us to enjoy all the experiences of the senses, both good and bad, for they are proof of life, and they are the reason the Goddess gifts us with life, again and again.

Well, without me looking, and as I was distracted with other things, it seems that the process of Distillation has completed.  I think the most important thing that I have learned to do over the past weeks is to let go of my attachment to future outcomes.  Instead, I seem to be focusing more upon the processes and the benefits I am receiving, without judging.  Treating myself this way has the awesome byproduct of decreasing my times of judging others. 

In the past, these times of releasing and of giving up the process of judgment have happened “after the fact,” rather than during times of stress.  But more and more, I am able to catch myself as I begin to activate these uncomfortable processes, and I am able to short-circuit them, or better yet, prevent them from being a factor at all. 

There are some things that we absolutely must own, such as our own intentions, words and actions.  But I love the fact that I am, with increasing regularity, choosing to not impose upon myself the need for a perfect result or ending.  These kinds of impositions tend to put up barriers or walls, and those I don’t want. 

Can I actually be ready for Coagulation??

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