Five of Cups/Seven of Swords reversed.  The Five of Cups (Mars, action, aggression, drive, in Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, mysterious, obsessive) tells of an emotional setback, or perhaps the belief that a wrong choice has been made.  There is a sense of isolation that comes with this kind of setback, and the discomfort of that isolation tends to distract us from the potential of a silver lining in all those dark clouds surrounding us.  This is the second day in a row the Five of Cups has shown up in my spread for the day, so I need to look at it with a bit more depth; however, over-analyzing may not be a good thing, so speaks the reversed Seven of Swords.  Perhaps I am being reminded that often, happiness is not found in an obvious place, and if we don’t look carefully, we might miss it altogether. The Seven of Swords (Moon, feelings and emotions, illusion, imagination, in Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, cause-oriented, the group, aloofness) in an upright position tells of the effort to maintain things as we want them, often through the use of deception and without considering the wants or needs of others.  My Seven of Swords is reversed, so perhaps my plans will work, as long as I don’t force them or tailor them specifically to my own needs, or expect them to behave in the way I want them to.  Hmmm . . . I think I’m starting to understand.

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) 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 real good at hiding his emotions or feelings, whether they are good or bad.  Perhaps this intensely emotional Prince in a reversed position is reminding me that allowing emotions to rule the day isn’t always the best choice.

My Legacy card is the Page of Swords reversed, flavored by the Seven of Cups reversed.  Hmmm . . . all Cups and Swords today.  The Page of Swords (Capricorn, “I build,” ambitious, competent, cautious, cunning, Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, society, cause-oriented, and Pisces, “I believe,” feelings, duality, soul growth, spirituality) tells us to use our mind and intellect to analyze our situations as well as our emotions and feelings.  This Page always asks “why?” and often keeps secrets.  Reversed, my Page could be warning of the approach of some unexpected blockage, or perhaps some indiscretion or leaking of a secret.  The Seven of Cups (Venus, beauty, allure, relationships, in Scorpio, “I desire,” intense, controlling, obsessive, mysterious), which in an upright position represents the distraction, sensory overload and dissipation that can happen when we are presented with too many enticing choices, is flavoring my reversed Page of Swords. The traditional image of the Seven of Cups shows seven cups, each filled with what appears to be a wonderful gift: the Wreath (Saturn and The World); the Castle (Mars and The Tower), the Woman (Venus and The Empress); the Snake (Mercury and The Magician); the Veil (the Moon and The High Priestess), the Jewels (Jupiter and The Wheel of Fortune), and the Dragon (our Sun and The Sun). Yep, all Major Arcana cards, so these choices are important.  My card is reversed, and perhaps this is a good thing.  Today, I can’t be distracted by enticing choices.  Pleasure is okay, but only in small doses, so that I don’t get distracted and mesmerized. 

My Beltane Pearls of Wisdom card is the Eight of Pentacles.  The Eight of Pentacles (Sun, the inner core of a person or situation, in Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, sensible, orderly) tells me that diligence and an awareness of details is important today.  I should be certain that I know all facts before making any decisions.  The energies of this card are about sustained power manifested through focus, skill, and attention to detail; sounds like good advice!

My 6-digit date number is 10, the number that tells of the completion of a cycle, which reduces further to 1, the number of position, potential, and new beginnings.

My horoscopes: “If you've been doing some creative or job-related writing, today you might be tired, blocked, and unable to muster the energy to turn on the computer. Sagittarius, you need to ask yourself how important it is to get it done today. It's far better to wait another day and do it well than grind out something that isn't up to your standards. That could be counterproductive.”

And: “You've worked long and hard, and now you should be finally seeing results. A long-awaited rise in income could finally appear, as well as public acknowledgment of some kind. Go ahead and let it go to your head! You've had this coming for a long time. Accept all the congratulations, then go out with some friends and celebrate. You deserve it!”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Queen of Pentacles.  [rewrite this]  This Queen represents creative and nurturing energy, the kind of energy that can make each of us feel wonderful, and can make the people around us feel wonderful.  And the icing on the cake is that by being generous and by sharing her own bounty with others she brings serenity and peace to herself.

My column, Tarot Talk, on www.paganpages.org, is live!  Here is a link that will take you directly to my column: http://paganpages.org/content/2013/05/tarot-talk-29/.  The rest of the eMagazine is worth checking out, too!

I am checked in for my flight tomorrow, and I am already beginning the packing process.  Because I am leaving early, I will hopefully be ready to close my suitcase before going to bed tonight.  I’ve still got lots to do, and I will also have some time at the airport tomorrow to work on a blog post, so barring unforeseen situations, you should be hearing from me. 

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