2/7/15

Five of Pentacles/Five of Wands.  Oy, better not plan on accomplishing a lot today, or at least accomplishing a lot on my plan for the day. The Five of Pentacles (Mercury, reason, intelligence, education, skill, communication, in Taurus, “I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn) tells of some loss or need within the physical world.  This card tells of wandering aimlessly looking for help and not finding it. The traditional image on this card is a destitute mother and child walking through snow, with a lit stained glass window behind them.  The message of this card is simple: don’t depend on physical world resources alone, because life is more than that. Success is not just measured by material possessions, and material possessions are empty if they are not accompanied by love and passion and spirit.  Even if things seem dire, there is something positive to be had from the situation; I just need to look at it in a different way. The Five of Wands, which corresponds with Saturn (discipline, responsibility, law and order) in Leo (“I am, passionate, dramatic, egotistical) indicates a struggle caused by annoying cross-purposes, or this discomfort could be caused by growing pains. The traditional image on this card makes me laugh, and makes me remember setting up a tent in order to camp.  LOL, talk about cross-purposes!  Upsetting a stabilized system is never comfortable, but if I see this as a “sweet discomfort,” I might be able to get something good from it.  Again, I am being told to look at things in a different way in order to find the silver lining. 

My Thoth cards are The Universe and The Chariot. The Universe/World, which corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes, and material, stable and practical energy that is slow to change), Saturn (discipline, responsibility, limitations and resistance), Thav (mark or sign), and the Path between Malkuth (the physical world of action and physical, outer reality) and Yesod (the place where patterns and images emerge that may manifest into the physical world) is a card of integration and involvement and understanding, a crystallization of the entire issue at hand.  I love the image on the Thoth Universe; the figure looks as if she is dancing gracefully.  But “completion” is too simple a word to apply to such a complex card.  Like the Seven of Pentacles, this card tells of a slowing down of movement and effect; this time the slow-down is happening because the manifestation is complete.  Crowley sees this one as also telling of opposition or obstinacy.  The completeness of manifestation in this instance is set in stone; while it may also be the catalyst that begins the new cycle, the current cycle cannot be changed. The Chariot, which corresponds with Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts, and sensitive, emotional and imaginative energy that likes to stay the same or follow the same course), Cancer (“I feel,” sensitive, tenacious, nurturing, moody), Cheth (the fence), and the Path between Geburah (the place where forms and structure are challenged or affirmed) and Binah (female receptive energy and the origin of form and structure), tells of having the control necessary to focus on goals, and to avoid distractions.  My Chariot brings a sense of motion to the day (and maybe counteracts that slowing down and pausing of The Universe).  It also reminds me that in order to move forward, I need to control those contrary horses that are offering me mobility by getting them to move. I am also being warned; while I have conrol over the vehicle and the motor, I am to some extent insulated.  If I look away for a moment, everything might tumble, and focusing on the goal, way off in the distance, could end up creating problems.  These two cards tell me that I have a lot of options, and I have the skill to make good choices; I just need to pay attention. 

My Legacy card is the Five of Coins reversed (Bookmarks!), flavored by the King of Coins reversed.  The Legacy Five of Coins asks us to look at the possessiveness of the card preceding it, the Four of Coins, and warns us that a focus on material possessions alone could leave us abandoned and destitute.  Reversed, my Legacy Five of Coins tells me that while things will be tight, because I am carefully budgeting my resources, things won’t be that bad.  My Legacy reversed Five of Coins is being flavored by the King of Coins, also reversed. The King of Pentacles (cusp of Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive, and Taurus, “I have,” sensual, stubborn, cautious, physically oriented) is the clever expert on managing resources, maintaining energy, and on the physical world manifestation of all kinds.  The King is the steward of Nature and the generous and supporting boss, but he is reversed today, which means his traits will manifest in a detrimental manner rather than a helpful one.  Yes, I may have resources and I may have the ability to allocate those resources in a good and effective way, but if I get caught up in that process, I will bog myself down with the details and everything will come to a grinding halt.  Thankfully my Five of Coins is reversed here, and it just might be enough to balance out my King and remind him that Spirit is as important an element as Earth. 

More about my Bookends card, the Five of Coins.  The number 5 brigs motion into the picture, and within the naturally stable suit of Coins/Pentacles/Disks, that motion can be particularly uncomfortable and confusing.  Thus, the images of people lost and wandering in snow or a storm makes sense, for the sudden loss of physical world rsources could certainly make us feel abandoned.  The Thoth Five of Disks offers a symbolic explanation for this discomfort: the image on the upright card is five Disks, in the shape of an upside-down pentagram, with the elements of Fire and Earth superior to the element of Spirit.  Crowley’s keyword for this card is “Worry,” most likely worry about where our next meal will come from.  The Shadowscapes Five of Pentacles tells of spiritual poverty, another interesting interpretation of this card.  The Five of Coins reversed could present an opposing situation, where spirit is placed above physical world belongings, or perhaps it could present a more balanced situation, where physical resources are budgeted but not placed above such concepts as love and compassion.

My 6-digit date number is 6, the number of vertical and horizontal balance. 

My horoscopes: “Enough with "I'm sorry," Archer! Today's hookup of accommodating Venus and independent Pluto urges you to declare today a "no apologies day." Making excuses every time you turn down an unreasonable offer, drop a fork or do something nice for yourself is not exactly empowering. Unless you've genuinely made a huge error, just suck it up and move on. Practice this act of self-sovereignty with folks in your inner circle by owning your choices instead of expressing regret for them.”

And: “You have a tendency to want to explain everything that goes on around you. You rationalize everything in an instant, and group all your experiences into great theories. But you have been very quiet for quite some time now. It's as if something was keeping you from opening your mouth and speaking. Today, you'll get a few words in, don't worry.”

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