Page of Cups/Strength reversed. The Page of Cups corresponds to Libra (“we are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation), Scorpio (“I desire,” intensity compulsion, mystery) and Sagittarius (“I seek,” philosophic, adventurous, blundering), and is very emotional, dreamy, social, and connected to the inner voice.  My Page is reversed, so today I need to be on guard against perhaps indulging some not so pleasant emotions such as selfishness, the perpetuation of falsehoods, or immaturity.  Sometimes child-like or unsophisticated emotions and feelings are just the ticket, but probably not today, particularly because my Strength card is also reversed.  The Strength card (Fire, hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive and energetic energy; Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, egotistical; Teth, sieve or basket, digestion; and the Path between Geburah, the place where forms and structures are challenged or affirmed, and Chesed, the place where forms and structures are stabilized and nurtured) in an upright position is about having the strength to endure and focus.  Because my card is reversed today, I might find that my feelings are strong, and they want to express themselves without restraint.  Coupled with the emotional immaturity of my reversed Page, and I could have a recipe for hurt, either my own or someone else’s

My Thoth card is the Prince of Cups reversed. The Prince/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 without restraint or grounding.  He may appear calm, cool and collected to others, but my Prince of Cups is actually filled with intense passion.  He is reversed, so the calmness may be within me today.  In any event, this is another Cups card that is telling of a bit of an imbalance.  Perhaps my dreamy connection to my inner self may cause me to trip and skin my knee.

My Legacy card is the Ten of Swords, flavored by the Five of Cups.  Uh oh. The Ten of Swords (the Sun, the inner core of a person or situation, in Gemini, “I think,” curious, sociable, dual, talkative) tells of the complete manifestation of interference, powerlessness and restriction.  This card usually shows a breakdown of the thinking process, but I am not certain what it is telling me today.  Is it a warning of a coming sorrow?  Or possibly a sense of desolation? Or is it telling me of a coming challenge that will seem to devastate me? I am not certain because at this moment I feel pretty good.  My Ten is being flavored by The Five of Cups (Mars, action, aggression, drive, in Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, mysterious, obsessive), which tells of an emotional setback, or perhaps a perception that support is lacking.  Both of these cards are about perceptions, and maybe I’ve already prevented this possible difficulty, just by throwing and interpreting the cards today.  Let’s hope so.  But I will still remain careful.

My 6-digit date number is 5, the number that shakes up stability in order to chase away stagnation. 

My horoscopes:  “Feed your mind with new knowledge, Sagittarius. Visit a bookstore or read some interesting information online. If you have more time, visit the library or explore courses that you might like. There is knowledge to be had everywhere you look, provided you're open to receiving it. People are often the best resource. Ask someone to explain something, if that's what you need.”

And: “Today's energy might be especially draining for you. Your tasks may require even more physical effort than they usually do, and you could therefore be exhausted by the middle of the day. This is not the day to try to prove anything. Pace yourself, work according to your own strength, at your own speed. You'll probably accomplish far more this way than by pushing yourself too hard. Take care, and you'll still have enough energy for a great evening.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Nine of Cups.  Well there you go, another perception card, only this one is a good one.  The Nine of Cups tells of wish fulfillment and satisfaction of the senses.  At least right now, all is well, and that spot on the horizon?  That could be that health, prosperity, bounty and reward I ordered!

Okay, vacation is over, back to reality, and back to Astrology.  Today, I will talk about my good friend Mercury.  Mercury is the ruler of the Zodiac signs of Gemini and Virgo, and in modern Astrology, the rulership of the Third and Sixth Houses (more about the Houses soon).  This planet and the God associated with it (Mercury, of course) is most commonly associated with money and commerce, but Mercury is also considered the messenger God (remember those cool boots with the wings on them?), and thus he is associated with connections and correspondences of all kinds, as well as intelligence.  After all, intelligence happens when we connect with information and knowledge.  That means Mercury is also connected to our mental processes, rationality and reasoning, and education, plus our immediate environment (because what we believe is what we create).  Mercury is neither masculine nor feminine in nature, but tends to reflect or become what is in the immediate environment.

Any messenger of the Gods would need to be fast, so the effects of Mercury happen pretty much immediately.  This is made very obvious to us if we look up in the sky.  Mercury is the closest planet to our Sun, and it orbits the Sun in only 88 days, spending less than 7½ days in each sign of the Zodiac.  The planet follows closely to the Sun and thus is only visible right before or after the Sun rises or sets.

Messengers are also responsible for the written word, and so is Mercury.  And this includes telephone calls, emails and texts, as well as letters, newspapers, and writing of all kinds.  Information gathering skills would also be included here, as well as physical dexterity.

As we know, Mercury goes retrograde three or four times a year, for about three weeks, and this is a time of communications gone awry, as well as everything else that is connected to Mercury (and many of these things are connected to modern technology).  If Mercury is retro in our sign, we need to pay attention to all communications, and digest carefully before responding because misinterpretation is very likely.  Those born during Mercury retro tend to remember these types of misinterpretations for a long time, particularly if some perceived attack or deliberate hurt is a part of that misinterpretation.

In medicine, Mercury is associated with the nervous system, the brain, the respiratory system, the thyroid and the senses, as well as the hands and arms.  Its energies are traditionally held to be essentially cold and dry (both according to its placement in the Zodiac and in aspects to other planets).  It is linked to the animal spirits.  And in many ways, Mercury is the opposite of Venus.  Venus joins things together, but the job of Mercury is to take them apart (usually out of curiosity), and then attempt to put them back together. 

I did not think I would add to my understanding of Venus by working with Mercury, but there you go. 

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