Knight of Cups reversed/The Horned One.  The Knight of Cups (cusp of Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, cause-oriented, and Pisces, “I believe,” feelings, duality, suffering, soul growth) in an upright position is about feeling things strongly and without restraint or grounding.  He may appear calm, cool and collected to others, but my Knight of Cups responds deeply to life, and dreams big dreams.  He is similar to the Queen of Cups (who has shown up in my throw today, too) except his focus is more outer, and optimistic to the point of being unrealistic.  Because feelings are sourced from the heart, my reversed Knight of Cups is offering a warning today: be careful, don’t let emotions rule.  It is so easy to justify the causing of harm if we are hurting, and even allowing ourselves to be dreamy without restraint can trip us up.  Since the Knight is more about emotions that instincts, I will need to attempt to keep my emotions balanced today, and that may very well be a struggle. The Devil (Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes, and stable, material, practical energies that are slow to change), Capricorn (“I build,” ambitious, competent, cautious, cunning), Ayin (the eye, senses), and the Path between Hod (which provides analysis and communication) and Tipareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify) tells of being caught up in the physical world and the effects of the physical senses, to the point of being bound or addicted to those things. And oh boy, that is just what I don’t need with that reversed Knight.  The Llewellyn Welsh card is named “The Horned One” because it presents a more natural, physical world energy based Devil, without chains and bindings.  This version of the Devil is more about the alluring call of the wild, which in itself can be addictive.  In our modern world, we need to balance civilized behavior with basic instincts, and The Horned One speaks for those basic instincts!

My Thoth card is the Queen of Cups.  I love the image on this card!  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 is very in touch with her emotions and her Inner Voice, sometimes to the point of seeming detached; she’s not detached, though . . . she is tranquil.  This Queen is soothing to be around, despite her dreaminess, and she is a natural healer.  She is more about inner experiences than the Knight of Cups, and she encourages us to accept our dreams and visions as valid, and to see the world through acceptance and love.

My Legacy card is the Page of Wands reversed, flavored by Death reversed.  The Page of Wands (Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, nurturing, moody; Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic noble egotistical; and Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, work and service oriented) is a fun guy to be around, unless you have a migraine.  This Page offers an exciting message that tells of the coming of a spark that could create a mighty flame, if there is enough kindling and air to feed it, and he wants to be a part of every step in the manifestation process because he loves experiencing new things.  My Page is reversed today, and thus I may be dealing with issues such as inconsistency of effort, being too active or impulsive, or being too moody (sound familiar?).  My Page of Wands is being flavored by another reversed card, Death.  Death corresponds with Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts, and sensitive, imaginative energy that strives to stay the same or take the same course), Scorpio, Nun (fish head; liberation), and the Path between Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify) and Netzach (the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration), and tells of natural change that cannot be stopped.  This change usually involves the potential to step upward on the evolutionary ladder, but we never know for sure.  My Death card is reversed, and since it is flavoring my reversed Page of Wands, I am interpreting this card to be letting me know just what I may be blocking by my reversed Page of Wands behavior today: exciting new things.  Time to focus on being aware of the perils of my reversed Page of Wands (and my reversed Knight of Cups!), and be more like the Queen of Cups.

My 6-digit date number is 5, the number that tells of motion that may be uncomfortable for the moment but in the end will dispel stagnation.

My horoscopes: “The planetary energy leaves you in a contemplative mood, Sagittarius. A lot of different possibilities have opened up for you recently, and you're trying to figure out which is the most appropriate now. Sometimes it's better to let things churn around in your subconscious for a while, and this could be one of those times. Forget it for now and have fun.”

And: “Don't be surprised if you receive some intriguing news today, either in the mail or over the telephone. It may be that a dear friend from far away is planning on coming for an extended visit. Or perhaps you receive word of a compelling career opportunity. Keep your eyes and ears open, as much interesting news is likely to come your way. Travel is indicated, so make sure your passport is up to date.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Ace of Swords.  Perfect!  A bit of astringency to counter all the Earth and Water in the rest of my cards today.  The energy of this suit is powerful, yet neutral; it is our own input that chooses the use of the power being offered.  The Ace of Swords tells me that something has begun that may offer this choice to me.  Which side of the sword, and the workings of the mind and the intellect associated with it, will I choose to use? 

Slow start today, for sure.  But coffee works, and as the day passed I became gradually more productive. 

Exciting news!  I’ve been offered a Tarot column in a Pagan eMag, an unsolicited offer, and I am real excited about this!  I’m working out the details with my potential Editor, Jenn, and will keep you posted.  But food for thought: isn’t it interesting that the first name of my publisher is Jen.  She spells it with one “n” instead of two, but there’s some synchronicity, eh?

I am also having trouble staying away from my new deck, the Wild Unknown Tarot.  I’ve already thrown another card to contemplate, but I will wait until tomorrow to post my thoughts.  Today, I am still recovering from and absorbing everything we covered at the YTT Intensive 2 yesterday.  The human body is an incredible machine!!  Sorry for the repeat, but enthusiasm is a good thing.  I am particularly fascinated by the way our spinal column works.  Have you ever looked at the human vertebrae??  Have you ever examined how those strange-looking bones interact when we move?? 

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