The Hierophant/Three of Cups reversed.  The Hierophant corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes), Taurus (“I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn), Vau (the nail which holds tradition in place), and the Path between Chesed (the place where forms and structures are stabilized and nurtured), and Chokmah (dynamic male energy, the origin of vital force and polarity).  This card is an archetype of Spirit (with The Emperor as archetype of the Sacred Masculine, The Empress as archetype of the Sacred Feminine, and all three representing the supernal triad) that reminds us of the value of tradition, ritual and ceremony.   These things are important to me today, especially because this is my only upright card.  The Three of Cups (Mercury, reason, intelligence, orderliness, communication, in Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, nurturing, moody) in an upright position is about connections, emotional abundance, and about blessings.  This one is reversed, and it looks like today is going to be about sticking to the plan, not about feeling good.

My Thoth card is the Ace of Disks reversed.  Aces present potential only, and the Ace of Disks (Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive, Taurus, “I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn, and Gemini, “I think,” curious, talkative, dual, social) tells of the presence of potential that is connected in some way to the physical world.  The interesting thing here is that my Ace is reversed; this means that the good Earth-focused stuff will happen, but either I won’t be able to access it or it won’t do what I think it will do.  The card is here, though, so there is hope.  After all, I’ve got The Hierophant, and he works well with the Earth.

My Legacy card is The Fool reversed, flavored by the Ten of Wands reversed.   The Fool corresponds with Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts, and challenges that tend to require the use of the intellect to solve), Uranus (technology, science, radical change), Aleph (the head, youthful learning) and the Path between Chokmah (male in the electric sense, dynamic energy and the origin of vital force and polarity) and Kether (the source; limitless possibility).  The Fool is the spark that begins the idea, and his powers and energies are neither positive nor negative so my Fool being reversed is mainly telling me that looking for free flowing and unplanned energies may not be productive. The Ten of Wands (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitations and resistance, in Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering) tells of being taxed to some perceived limit, or of feeling as if we are out of gas at the bottom of a hill.  My Ten of Wands is reversed, and that is telling me that no matter how out of sorts I feel today, and no matter how many unexpected things happen, as long as I follow the rules and do what I know is right, I will be fine.

My 6-digit date number is 7, the number that tells of the slowing of growth and the approach of degeneration, and of a choice or crossroad to be dealt with.

My horoscopes: “A friend could be depressed and need your advice, Sagittarius. Some long-held, cherished goals that you've been working toward could be temporarily blocked, causing you to wonder if they will ever come to fruition. Don't waste any time lapsing into negative thoughts. Assess what needs doing and do it. This is only a temporary situation. You will get through it, but it's up to you how quickly.”

And: “This is one of those days in which you feel like a little kid out at recess. You have been having fun playing with everyone else and now it is time to go in for class. For some reason, others are feeling complacent about doing so, but you would much rather stay outside and have fun. Your first instinct is to want to hide behind the jungle gym in the hope that the teacher can't see you. Forget it. It is best to just go in and join the rest of the kids.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding my friend, the Page of Pentacles.  This one shows up often for me when I work with this deck.  And this one is also of the suit of Earth, just like my Hierophant.  Maybe this is the spark to balance everything out.

Well, Saturn went retrograde yesterday, and that means we will all be dealing with perceptions of inadequacies for the next few months.  This is also my year of second Saturn return, so the next few months are going to be tres interesting.  The Saturn return happens once Saturn has spent time in each of the Houses (and presents opportunities for us to learn about the challenges associated with each House), and returns to the place it was when we were born. It takes about 29.5 years for Saturn to return to where it was when I was born. The first Saturn return hits in the late twenties, and its impact is felt into the early thirties. There's a second (and possibly a third for the long-lived among us, at around 90) Saturn return that hits between ages 57 and 60.  It is the second return that is approaching for me. 

Saturn was in Scorpio when I was born (and even though I am a Sagittarius, Scorpio plays a large part in my birth chart as I am on the cusp of Sag and Scorpio, and my Moon sign is Scorpio), and thus, while I will be dealing with all kinds of restrictions (regarding life and death, trust and intimacy, manipulation, revenge, and attempting to come into my own personal power, to name a few), each of these restrictions will be heavily flavored by emotions and feelings.  What I need to remember is that the isolation or sense of being isolated that might be a by-product of my Saturn return can only be dealt with by inner change.  I can’t expect others to change in order for me to deal with my own issues; the changes need to come from me.  Sounds like the message of my recent Shadow Working, eh?

Okay then, let’s talk about the number 8.  If the number 7 is a virgin, the number 8 is the opposite, a very promiscuous number, because it can be divided by so many numbers (1, 2 and 4).  The number 8 is associated with justice because it can be halved to unity (half of 8 is 4, half of 4 is 2, half of 2 is 1), unlike, say, the number 6, which cannot be halved to unity.  The number 8 projects into the cube, with 8 corners, and the octahedron, with 8 sides. 

Animals associated with the number 8 are jellyfish, some sponges, and of course, the octopus.  Spiders have 8 legs, and mitosis (the process cells use to divide) has 8 steps.  There are 8 moon phases (new, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent) and 8 solar holidays in Wicca (2 solstices, 2 equinoxes and four cross-quarters), and the concept of elemental dignities involves the four elements (Fire, Air, Water and Earth) and the four qualities (hot, dry, cold and wet).  The number 8 is associated with the I Ching and with chess.

Each set of 8 white keys on a piano is considered an octave.  The notes repeat themselves, higher and higher or lower and lower, and yet the same.  Two notes played simultaneously that are the same but an octave apart will cause a vibration that can be felt; this is called resonance.  This concept of resonance transfers itself to the metaphysical world; after all, correspondence lists provide things that have a resonance with each other or with a need or concept.  The resonance of a group of people can have a lot of power to it.  Also, on average, men’s voices are an octave lower than women’s voices; they are the same yet different.  How appropriate!  This number 8 is a number of self-renewal and limitless possibilities; a number that resonates within me. 

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