The Magician reversed/Ace of Swords reversed. The Magician corresponds with Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts, and quick and animated energy which usually presents problems or challenges), Mercury (reason, intelligence, orderliness, communication), Beth (house; builder) and the Path between Binah (female, receptive energy and the origin of form and structure) and Kether (the source, limitless possibility); he takes action with confidence and is willing to work hard to manifest his goals. This card is about cunningness and occult wisdom, but it is also about individuality.  My Magician is reversed, so no matter what, individuality is not recommended today.  The Ace of Swords (Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, caution authority, cunning, Aquarius and Pisces, “I believe,” feeling, duality, soul growth, artistic) is about potential within the mental or intellectual realms.  The power associated with this card is not of the natural realm, but rather it is created and maintained by the Will.  Like my Magician, my Ace is reversed, so the Will should not be my main focus; this validates the reversed Magician.

My Thoth card is The Hanging Man. The Hanging Man corresponds with Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts, and emotional, sensitive and imaginative energy that tends to move deep, and attempts to take the same path as in the past), Neptune (inspiration, spirituality, magick, enchantment, dreams, altered states), and the Hebrew letter Mem (water, stability and balance, the reflective quality of thought); this card is about surrender, about seeing things in a new way, and about putting aside my Will.  And yep, that is exactly what my first two cards are telling me to do.  The Hanging Man tells me that sacrifice is important, as is seeing things in a totally different way.  And, this card is about pausing or consciously choosing to not act.

My Legacy card is Strength, flavored by Temperance reversed.  This pair makes sense. The Strength card (Fire, hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive and energetic energy; Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, egotistical; Teth, sieve or basket, digestion; and the Path between Geburah, the place where forms and structures are challenged or affirmed, and Chesed, the place where forms and structures are stabilized and nurtured) tells of emotional endurance and control, and of being able to even rise above the emotions in order to manifest both courage and patience. 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 like The Hanging Man, it is one of the Major Arcana cards that presents the concept of dynamic balance.  Because Temperance is reversed, it may not be balance that is important today.  I just might be able to learn some valuable information from watching the manifestation of extremes.  “Watching” being the important word.

My Pearls of Wisdom New Moon card is The Star.  Well, that is certainly a lovely New Moon card! The Star (Air, hot/separates and wet/adapts; Aquarius; Qof, back of head; the Path between Malkuth, the physical world of action and outer, physical reality, and Netzach, the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration) is the “good will to all” card.  This one is optimistic, and it tells me to look forward, to pay things forward, and to manifest love, and I will be surrounded by love.

My 6-digit date number is 10, the number that represents the end of a cycle, which reduces further to 1, the number of potential, possibilities, and position.

My horoscopes:  “You're organized and rigorous, Sagittarius. You plan everything. But with today's energy, you'll be inclined to let the day go by without keeping to a tight schedule. After all, not every day has to be a workday. You can worry easily, but don't let this get you down. Follow the people around you. They'll teach you to see the world differently. You'll even think about new ways to organize your life.”

And: “The possibility of your pursuing new career opportunities, perhaps involving an increase in income, might cause doubts and insecurities among family members. They could be afraid that you'll have less and less time for them. It's important that you reassure them, as their worries might escalate if you just let it ride. Make it clear that you're still there for them. This might not only alleviate their doubts, but your own as well.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Five of Swords.  This card is a sign of discord and conflicts of interest.  Being warned of the presence of these things helps us to rise above them.  There are winners and there are losers in every conflict, but the lesson here is that victories that are achieved through unethical means are empty indeed.

I have had an awesome two days.  Sunday night, I went to a Solstice Shamanistic Fire Ceremony, led by people that I know and respect, including a member of the Pagan Brain Trust.  This was an important Fire Ceremony for a couple of reasons.  First, it was the first ceremony in the new space of the Yoga Studio which hosts the ceremonies.  Second, the torch was passed from the long-time leader of the program to one of my much-loved Pagan Brain Trust-ers. Third, all five of the Pagan Brain Trust members (including one member who lives in California) were present for the ceremony. Needless to say, the ceremony was more powerful than I expected, and I expected a lot. 

Monday morning, I was up and out again, and the five of us drove into New York State for an awesome day.  We passed Hawks Nest, and then travelled up to the Finger Lakes District, to Watkins Glen.  There is a state park there called the Watkins Glen State Park, and oh my goodness, is that name an understatement.  Within this park is the path of the Glen Creek, which runs through the most gorgeous gorge I have ever seen.

The gorge is just under 500 feet deep, but the trail travels a mile and a half along and across the stream to the top.  The water churns below, sometimes flat and shallow and hardly moving, sometimes rocketing through a "slide" that looks to be less than 2 feet wide.  All over the place are sinkholes in the water (LOL, I was calling them hot tubs), where the water goes from a foot or two deep to five feet or more, made by past waterfalls and by huge ice age boulders being swept down the stream.  There are several places where the path takes you behind and under waterfalls.

All over the sides of the gorge are ferns and flowers and trees, and trickling streams of water camouflaging hidden grottos; it was as if we had stumbled into another realm, a Shangri La of NY State.  There was such a strong sense of the Fae, but I was so overwhelmed by the Fae energy, the elemental energy, and the sheer beauty around me that I couldn't focus.  I was just absorbing, playing the movie camera in my brain.  

I wish this was not a 4 hour plus drive from me because I would love to get back there and just sit. 

$>

Temperance/Nine of Wands reversed. Temperance connects 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 form of balance.  Temperance is about maintaining the balance of extremes, and that can only be accomplished if we are able to integrate those extremes.  This balance is not written in stone, and requires diligence to maintain the always-fluctuating synergy.  The Nine of Wands (Moon, feelings and emotions, illusion, imagination, in Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, adventurous, blundering) in an upright position represents defense, feeling the need to protect or to hold things together despite difficult odds.  Since my Nine of Wands is reversed, today I won’t feel as if I am on guard all by myself.  These two cards together have a nice, balanced feel, but again, this is not balance that happens through surrender, but rather through awareness and the application of skills. 

My Thoth card is The Fool 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). In an upright position, The Fool represents creation, birth, and new beginnings of all kinds, along with optimism, and the potential to manifest wisdom if circumstances continue to align themselves properly.  Since my Fool card is reversed today, I need to pay particular attention to my ideas.  Today is not a day for jumping forward with the assumption that things will work; instead, I need to assess, to look before I leap.

My Legacy card is Judgement, flavored by The Hermit. 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 it usually tells of an opportunity to validate the good stuff and get rid of the stuff I don’t need any more.  This process is not a comfortable one but the end result is a clear slate and a lighter load. The Hermit, which corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes, and material, practical and stable energy that is slow to change), Virgo (“I serve,” practical, analytical, work and service oriented, orderly), Yod (open hand, touch), and the Path between Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify) and Chesed (the place where forms and structure are stabilized and nurtured), is about looking within for answers, and it pairs nicely with the Judgement card today, although this one is not comfortable either.  The Hermit’s message to me is that the journey is the goal, not the destination, and he is telling me that today just might be a good day to see clearly within myself, and maybe get rid of a bit of clutter.

My 6-digit date number is 10, the number of completion of manifestation or effect, which reduces further to the number 1, beginnings, potential and position.  Perfect.

My horoscopes: “A lot of activity could take place in your neighborhood today, Sagittarius. If you live in a major city, perhaps a movie or news event is being filmed nearby and the crowds are gathering. Don't be too shy to go out and see what's going on. If you don't live in a city, this could be something more innocuous. Either way, expect some excitement.”

And: “Peace and harmony is the regularly scheduled program for the day, but there is a good chance that this signal might be intercepted by a warring force with strong opinions and vindictive tendencies. Hold on to your hat, and make sure you have your actions well aligned with your soul, or else you are apt to be thrown into the fire of a battle that has nothing to do with you.”

My Shadowscapes card is the Nine of Pentacles again. Third time.  The last time this one appeared, I said, “Balancing spiritual needs with the requirements of the physical realms takes focus and the imposition of Will.”  Today, I am not being asked to balance these two realms in a passive manner, for Temperance is part of my day as well.  As I impose my Will upon the realms, I must also commune with them, because each of the extremes, the weightiest of the physical manifestations and the purest of the spiritual ones, has a lesson for me.  I can’t truly balance them unless I diligently present myself to experience the heavy weight of the physical, and until I allow myself to see the delicate beauty of the spiritual. 

I attended my first shamanic fire ceremony last night.  Where to begin.  

The setup was perfect: everyone sitting in a circle, with the fire pit (a huge brass pot, filled with candles) in the center of the markings in the wood floor depicting the cardinal directions.  Before beginning, the process of the ceremony was explained, including the sigil process that Tara would be using during the ceremony.  Jason began evoking the four winds beginning with the South, and as soon as the first word came out of his mouth, my brow chakra opened so quickly that I got dizzy.  I was glad to be sitting.

Brian began smudging each of us individually, as Kelli slowly lit all of the many candles in the fire pit, timing the process so that the last candle was lit as Jason finished calling the final quarter, the East.  Before Tara struck her drumhead for the first time, I could feel the amazing energy gathering, hovering and waiting for the moment it could come alive.

At the first “tak” of the drum, the entire room began to vibrate!  The air was actually thick and heavy with vibrations, pulses and throbs that were more enticing than the most delicious glass of wine, the creamiest and richest chocolate cake, or my pillow on the rainiest of Saturday mornings.  The moment that we all began to use our instruments to shake, rattle and roll, the rhythms took control of the ceremony.

Soon, we were all standing, our bodies moving; then we were prancing and jumping and stamping around the circle, with the force and power of the rhythm, augmented by our instruments and our footsteps and our voices, beginning to build and build and BUILD! The candles in the fire pit danced and jumped along with us, and our energy fields, awake and throbbing and fully “on,” streamed behind us as we moved until a huge, powerful cone of power began to materialize, comprised of the energy fields of all of us in the room and the ever-present rhythm. 

One by one, the participants took their moments to enter the circle and kneel before the fire pit, in order to offer whatever it was that they wanted to leave behind as fuel for the fire.  The rest of us doubled our efforts, moving faster, shouting louder, rattling with more strength, in support of the participant seeking transformation before the flames.  Brian joined Tara at the drums, and then Jason briefly took his turn drumming, holding the level of power steady so that Tara could have her time at the fire pit.

I waited to take my turn before the fire until my energy field was at its peak.  My chakras were totally open, my muscles were singing, and my energy field pulsed with a power that actually made the room fade away.  For a while the room surrounding me and all of its occupants went away; all there was for me was the feeling of the floor under my feet, the heat and noise and light of my own energy field, the sound of the instrument I was playing, the movement and effort of my muscles, and the rhythm of the drums.  My physical senses had become passive, secondary to my inner senses, to the messages of my chakras and my subtle body.  What an amazing, empowering experience this is!! 

I took my turn before the flames, gathering my purpose and feeding it into the fire.  My words are my own, and I choose to Be Silent, in order to create the optimum environment for the transformation I desire.  This is difficult, especially for me, but I feel it is the right thing to do.

Once I left the fire pit and inserted myself back into the torrent of energy circling the room, I made several more circuits, and then I sat back down.  My body swayed and convulsed as the rhythms continued, and perspiration poured out of my pores, wetting my hair and my shirt.  I closed my eyes and continued to play my instrument, allowing the rhythms to bring me into a trance.  And then it happened.  There, within me, deep in my core, a spark flared.  It became a flame, small at first but flaring, dancing a bit and then growing brighter.  Soon I could hear the crackle of the flame, and feel its HEAT.  I was burning up, glowing with the yellowy-orange light of the fire; the flames grew until they consumed my core, my subtle body, and then the layers of my aura.  Finally, this fire ran out of fuel, and it quickly faded away, just as the drums built to a final mind-blowing peak, and then were silent.

Everything went still and silent; all I could hear was my own labored breathing.  Gradually, I became aware of the pants and gasps of others, and I opened my eyes.  Everyone had sat down around the circle at some point during my trance, and we all took several moments to ease our way back into the mundane world. 

One by one, the participants left for their homes.  It took a bit of time before I felt grounded in the physical world enough to walk to my car.

I look back on the ceremony, and much of it seems like a dream.  Except for that time when I became the rhythm, when I became the cone of power that we all built together, when I seemed to turn inside out, with my chakras and subtle body becoming my main “self” and my physical body becoming ethereal and unnecessary; that part I can remember with amazing clarity.

I am told that I can expect to be tested this week regarding whatever I offered to the fire.  I am bracing myself, because I am absolutely certain that a test will come.  I took one of the candle stubs from the fire pit and placed it on my altar this morning and asked my Gods for their support; hopefully my Gods will be with me as I move forward.

The PBT is performing our New Moon Reiki Share this evening; I think I really do need this one.

$>

Three of Pentacles/Four of Pentacles. The Three of Pentacles (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, drive, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, cunning, competence) is a busy little card that tells of competence, planning and teamwork.  Today may be a day with an intense focus on the physical world (ya think??!!) and thankfully some of that focus will involve active planning, combining my own efforts with others, and in the end, getting the job done. The Four of Pentacles (the Sun, the inner core of a person or situation or the deepest self, in Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, authority, caution cunning), in an upright position tells of possession and control and very solid foundations.  Both of these cards correspond to Capricorn, which is where they in part get their “get-up-and-go,” but the Four has more of a feeling of admiring what I’ve done, which might not be a good thing.  Stopping now might short-circuit the momentum, so while I can certainly use my admiration of my success thus far as a goad to move me onward, if I don’t prod myself with it every so often, it will be of no use.  Perhaps I can also tap into the energies of like-minded people in order to keep motivated.

My Thoth card is Death reversed. The Death card 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 happens through the alchemic process of putrefaction, when matter is purified through dissolution, decay and death.  The end result of this process is the readiness for being born again, and because my Death card is reversed, today just might be a day of new beginnings.  However, these new beginnings might not appear logical, at least at first. 

My Legacy card is the Page of Wands reversed, flavored by the King of Coins.  Well.  A bit of Earth energy today, eh? 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) in an upright position tends to be a free spirit who uses assertion and action to attract adventure and excitement.  My Page is reversed, and could be warning me that there is a danger of experiencing some impatience today.  No hissy fits if things don’t go as I want them to go! The King of Coins (cusp of Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive, and Taurus, “I have,” sensual, stubborn, cautious, physically oriented) is the expert on physical manifestation; he is about working independently and still being effective.  My King is flavoring my reversed Page, and I just might need his ability to be patient, and to diligently see to the details today.  Hey, the reversed Page of Wands is really my only difficult card, and a bit of childishness will keep me awake, and will counteract the natural heaviness and contraction of all those Earth cards.

My 6-digit date number is 8 the number of the conscious response to the beginning of the degeneration of the number 7 in order to preserve for a bit longer the harmony of the number 6.

My horoscopes: “Your intuition and imagination are operating at a very high level today, and you may be inspired to write. However, you aren't likely to have enough ideas or information to actually put pen to paper. There's no rush, though. Take some time to allow the ideas to crystallize and set them down later. Someone in a bad mood may draw you into a quarrel. Brush it off and say you're busy!”

And: “Grab a hold of the boisterous energy of the day and run with it. This is a good time to kick up your heels and have fun. You might find that people are a bit more high-strung than usual, so you will probably find that you need to utilize your ability to go with the flow quite a bit. The more relaxed you are, the more relaxed others will be while they are around you.”

My Shadowscapes Insight today is regarding The Sun.  “From fallow field and verdant vale, from sun-bleached shores with diamond grains, and moonlit trails that trek like veins through mountain, river, past the end where sky is but a ghostly veil that to Beyond transcends . . .” and then the sun rises over the Eastern horizon with a flare of golden light!  The Sun is the star of the day, and it illuminates the darkness and thus, seems to manifest and make attainable the hope that is The Star.  When The Sun appears over the horizon, all is renewed and filled with possibility.  And its warm and yellow light fills me with confidence and a clarity of vision or purpose.  Like any other source of energy, this one is not bottomless, but at the moment of its birth, The Sun’s energy seems potent and eternal. 

What a wonderful weekend this is turning out to be!!  I’ve got bookends PBT!  Thursday evening I spent with three of my much-loved Pagan Brain Trust-ers, and as usual, I am rejuvenated by our conversations.  Today, my god son, Justin, marries his fiancé, Victoria, and I am anticipating a great party with family this evening.  And tomorrow, I attend my very first shamanic fire ceremony, led by Tara, a PBT-er, and Jason, Tara’s mentor. 

I have never been to a fire ceremony, and I am really looking forward to this new experience.  From what I have been able to find on the Internet, a fire ceremony involves the raising of fire energy, the maintenance of that energy at a high level by the shamans leading the ceremony and by those participating in the ceremony, and through that intense fire energy, the presentation of an opportunity for each of us to burn away the old and initiate new growth.  I also read that there is a period following participation in a fire ceremony when opportunities will present themselves to me that will encourage me to translate the intentions presented in the ceremony into reality.  Tara has also warned me of this, and I am building the visualization of my intentions very carefully. 

I have been feeling for some time now that I am changing; my goals are changing, my career is changing, my personal life is changing.  Not all of these changes are pleasant or comfortable, but I have so much trust in my Gods, in Their presentation in my life of things that I need to experience, that I am opening myself to the effects of every change.  The beginnings of physical world manifestations are being born, and I am eager to clear my vision so that I can see them and take advantage of them, and I am eager to light the fire within me so that its light can shine past my physical body, through my aura, and out into the world around me, in order to act as a catalyst to encourage these changes.  And so, I am asking that the veils between who I am now and who I am destined to become be removed so that I can not only see the next step but also have the focus and strength of Will and courage to take it.  Yes, I do understand that what will come to me is what I need, and not necessarily what I want.  But I think that I finally have the courage and the confidence to open myself.  This fire ceremony just might be the catalyst to get things started.  **ducks, winces, and hits “enter”**

$>