Tuesday, October 30, 2012


King of Wands reversed/ Eight of Cups reversed. King of Wands (cusp of Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, nurturing, moody, and Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic egotistical) is honest and open hearted, and rules his realm through the advantageous use of his creative impulses.  Because my King of Wands is reversed, today might not be a good day for me to put my own creativity out there as a leader.  Better to be a follower for a bit, and listen to the needs of others. The Eight of Cups (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitation, law and order, in Pisces, “I believe,” feeling, duality, suffering, soul growth) in an upright position is a card of action, telling of an ending or a decline or a change of direction, often one associated with emotions.  Like my King, my Eight of Cups is reversed.  I need to hang on rather than giving up, and I need to focus on a group effort, the needs of others, and my connection to others, rather than taking any risks.

My Thoth card is The Aeon (Judgement).  Wow. The Aeon/Judgement corresponds with Fire (hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive and energetic change), Pluto (power, metamorphosis, cycles of dying and becoming), Shin (fang), and the Path between Malkuth (the physical world of action and physical, outer reality) and Hod (provides analysis and communication) and represents an opportunity to tally up and pay the bill so we can have a fresh start.  Crowley sees this one as representing a final decision that allows us to move forward from the past.  This is a card of accomplishment too, and it tells us that there is one more step to be done before we reach The Universe and the end of a cycle.

My Legacy card is Temperance reversed, flavored by the Queen of Cups. Temperance corresponds with Sagittarius (“I seek,” philosophic, adventurous, blundering) Fire (hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive, energetic change), Samekh (the tent post), and the Path between Yesod (the place where patterns and images emerge that may manifest into the physical world of action and outer reality) and Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify), and it is one of the Major Arcana cards that presents one version of the concept of balance.  Temperance brings us balance through learning how to deal with extremes.  I’m surprised this one is reversed, but there is one interpretation that does make sense.  My balance is not here yet, but it is approaching. The Queen of Cups (cusp of Gemini, “I think,” curious, sociable, dual, and Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, nurturing, moody) represents the energies of Water and The High Priestess manifested into the Minor Arcana.  She tells me that today it is important for me to be in touch with my own feelings, the feelings of those around me, and to listen to my Inner Voice.

My 6-digit date number is 7, the number that tells of the slowing of growth that comes as degeneration begins, usually involving some kind of assessment and choice.

My horoscopes: “Extra time and attention that you have been devoting to your career should pay off about now. You've worked hard to be where you are, and you aren't through climbing the ladder of success just yet. You aren't likely to rest on your laurels. Today you might spend a lot of time planning your next goal. A little ingenuity will definitely pay off here, Sagittarius. Use whatever advantages you have.

And: “An improvement in your relations with a love partner or close friend has you feeling especially optimistic about the future, and even more so about the present. Your sense of self-worth is up and you are formulating vague and undecided, but very positive, ideas as to how to shape your life in the months ahead. Don't make any definite plans right now. Write down your ideas and go back to them later when the rosy glow has faded a little!

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Four of Cups.  We can sometimes be mesmerized by events or effects, often to the extent that we lose touch with the physical world around us.  If we are in a safe place, this is not dangerous.  However, having this happen while we are standing in the middle of a busy intersection would not be a good thing. 

Hurricane Sandy Journal, Part 2:

10/29/12:

2:00 pm.  Check in number three.  Sandy is about 120 miles off Cape May.  At 12:30 pm, the center of the storm first appeared on the radar image I am monitoring.  At 1:30 pm, winds were gusting to 40 mph, sustained at about 20 mph, and the temperature was 51 degrees.  At noon, Governor Christie advised that the Parkway was now closed from Exit 63 south, because of road flooding, which probably happened at or around high tide this morning.  From what I can see from the radar images on tv, it looks like we will be experiencing a lull in the rain until right before the center of the storm hits land.  Hopefully, things will have an opportunity to drain a bit (we’ve had over 3 inches of rain so far), because the flood warnings don’t expire until 6 pm on Tuesday (as of right now, anyway).  At 1:45, just before the 2 pm update, my internet went out; that means no tv or internet connections, and no official updates.  At 2:30, when the internet did not come back on, I called my neighbor.  She said that the storm is making landfall earlier than expected, which does not surprise me.  Wind gusts have ramped up quite a bit.  I checked the basement, and I have water.  I turned on the pump, and I am hoping that we don’t lose power too soon.  Now, the fun is beginning.  Unless the internet comes back on and the power stays, my updates will be personal experience only from now on.

4:30 pm.  Check in again.  Internet is back on, but I don’t know how long that will last.  Wind is wild, rain is hard (but that could be in part because of the wind).  Here is the update: as of right now, (4:30 pm) landfall will be between 5 and 6 pm tonight, and probably south of Atlantic City, close to passing right over Cape May.  The storm is moving west/northwest at 28 miles per hour!  Flood warnings and high wind warnings are in effect until 9 am tomorrow.  It is 52 degrees, winds are gusting in the 50s, with sustained winds in the 30s mph.  Some of the gusts are starting to come out of the northwest, which tells me that things are happening and we may be getting a break soon.  I just saw a picture of a wave that looked like it was taken at the beach by Congress Hall; the wave was 15 feet high!!  I received a reality check a little while ago: I got a phone call from my husband, who is supposedly safe, in our Bergen County house.  He was looking out the windows of his office as he worked (they are mainly experiencing wind and a bit of rain), and he watched as an 80 year old maple fell onto our house.  Thankfully, only our porch was impacted, and my husband’s car was not damaged.  But oy.  I did my own Full Moon ritual a little while ago, and asked for protection for myself, and all my loved ones; thankfully the ritual worked and my husband is okay.  My sump pump is on continuously now, and not keeping up with the water accumulating in my crawl space; I really hope the power stays on.

5:00 pm.  Check in at landfall, or almost.  The storm is still moving west/northwest at 28 mph; it is about 30 miles off the coast, and will be passing any moment.  Wind gusts are 60 mph and more, sustained winds in the high 30s and low 40s, and waves in the ocean at 20 feet.  Flood and wind warnings now expire 2:30 am tomorrow morning; things are happening!!  It is still 52 degrees, but I keep hearing that it is going to get colder. 

5:30 pm.  Landfall!  It is amazing how the rain seems to be instantly calmer, and the wind has mostly changed direction.  Wind and flood advisories expire now at midnight.  But this is still a strong C1, almost a C2 hurricane, so I won’t be lulled into a false sense of security.  The wind and rain will ramp up again, just from another direction.  The sump pump is not keeping up with the seepage, but still it is pumping away.  As long as the power stays on **knocks on wood** I should be fine.  The Parkway is closed from the Driscoll Bridge south, so I don’t think I will be going anywhere soon.  Not that I planned on moving from my safe little nest. 

8:30 pm.  Check in.  Well, I don’t know exactly when landfall happened, but it did.  The rain is still falling, and the winds are pumping again.  The Parkway is still closed from the Driscoll Bridge south, because of water on the roads.  Once again we’ve got gusts to 60 mph, with sustained winds in the high 20s and low 30s, coming out of the west/southwest.  High wind and surf advisories are back to 9 am tomorrow, and high tide is in about a half hour.  Temperature is down to 48 degrees, although it feels warmer.  I really hope my power stays on; my sump pump is not keeping up with the water seeping into my basement.

10:30 pm.  Final check in for today.  Still have gusts of 30 mph to 50 mph out of the southwest, but supposedly this should begin to taper off.  Flood and wind warnings expire now at midnight.  It is 47 degrees, and we have the rain at the back end of the storm to get through.  Crawl space is still under water, and the sump pump is working hard.  If power stays on, we should be good because it appears that the pump is catching up with the water seepage.  However, if it rains hard again, all bets are off. 

10/30/12:

10:30 am.  First check in for the day.  I am aghast at what has happened here in New Jersey.  I am listening to Governor Christie speaking, and I am realizing that this hurricane is a life-altering event for all of us here in New Jersey.  The entire Jersey Shore has been devastated.  Houses are off their foundations and in the middle of roads.  Amusement piers, and their rides and restaurants, are in the ocean.  Entire barrier islands, filled with expensive homes, carefully decorated and landscaped, are surrounded by dunes, with curtains flapping in the breeze, and whole walls gone.  And that is assuming that the houses are still there.  Many beach front homes are now rubble, being tossed by the waves.  Rivers have burst their banks, huge, ancient trees have come down on houses and cars and power lines.  Roads are washed out.  People have died!

I performed my personal Full Moon Esbat last night, and at the height of the ritual I asked for protection for my home, my loved ones, and those who were enduring the storm along side me here at the Blue Moon House.  We have relatively little damage, and it is eerie to stand in the middle of my residential street, cup of coffee in my hand, and have things appear so normal, knowing what I know.  But I have not been off my street.  I have heard emergency vehicles all night long, plowing sand off the streets and removing whatever debris accumulated in the road (I don’t know what is left along Beach Drive).  My husband did not fare so well.  He is safe (thank the Gods), but two huge 80+ year old trees came down, bouncing off the house.  He has no power.  He does have a car, and our landlord (we rent space there) has a generator, so he has minimal electricity.  My step son has emailed me this morning, so he is good, and my son is in the D.R.  So we are good.  I am hugely grateful to my Deities, and to everyone who has been sending energy.  I have been offering protection in return.

I will post again, after I finally walk around town.  But for now, I am feeling quite a bit of gratitude that we have made it through this.

4:30 pm.  Final Hurricane Sandy check in.  I am back from walking around town.  There are a few areas with streets covered by standing water, but all in all, we are quite lucky.  At the height of the storm, there was water on Beach Drive, and now, there are piles of sand along the side of the street, like snow plowed out of the way after a blizzard.  I have not been to the Jefferson Street beach yet because the town people were still clearing sand away from the boardwalk, but from what I saw of the beaches (south of Convention Hall), except for one place, it appears that we have more sand than we did before the storm.  The Cove restaurant is still standing . . . damaged, but still standing.  The area known as the Cove actually as more sand than it did last week, however one of the berms in place to protect the fresh water marshes and streams has been breached.  I did not get back into the Point Park; that will be for another day. 

I thought I would be celebrating like crazy today, but all I am feeling is gratitude.  Because of Cape May’s angle, we just did nor get the damage and the storm surge that the barrier islands of the Jersey Shore experienced.  I am grateful beyond belief that Cape May was spared.  I send healing energy and support out to all who have had their lives disrupted this weekend.  And I offer thanks to Deity and to my own friends and family, for the support I received.

Blessed be!

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