Three of Swords/Queen of Wands reversed.  **gulp** The Three of Swords (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitations and resistance, in Libra, “We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation) usually indicates the possibility that logic, rationalizing and the intellect could end up causing harm if they are not used with balance and compassion.  I need to remember not to panic despite the fact that this is the one card of the entire Tarot that makes me nervous.  My own perception of a seemingly negative situation could be marred or inferior; it is important that I remember that reality may not be as bad as I think. The Queen of Wands (cusp of Pisces, “I believe,” feelings, duality, soul growth, spirituality, and Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive) in an upright position is energetic and enthusiastic, gives 100% of herself, and always has a smile on her face and humor in her heart.  My Queen is reversed today, so I might have some trouble accessing energy and enthusiasm, or possibly self-doubt could rear its ugly head. 

My Thoth card is The Empress reversed. The Empress (which corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes, and stable, material, practical energies that are slow to change), Venus (beauty, allure, pleasure, relationships), the Hebrew letter Daleth (door or womb) and the Path between Binah (female receptive energy and the origin of form and structure) and Chokmah on the Tree of Life (dynamic male energy and the origin of vital force and polarity)) is one half of the Major Arcana representation of the Sacred Feminine.  The Empress is about creativity, fertility of all kinds, a deep connection to Nature and the nurturing of others, and an enjoyment of the senses.  My Empress is reversed, and that means all these bounties could have a negative effect on me today.  No sense in getting drunk on Nature; perhaps a bit of discipline is in order.

My Legacy card is the King of Swords reversed, flavored by The Chariot. The King of Swords (cusp of Capricorn, “I build,” ambitious, cautious, cunning, authoritative, and Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, cause-oriented, aloof) in an upright position represents a good judge of people and situations who is inspiring and courageous.  My King is reversed, and boy it sure seems like my ability to see clearly, inspire enthusiasm and believe in myself is impaired. 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.  This card is about avoiding temptations, and perhaps today the temptation I need to avoid is the temptation to bag everything and give up.  My Chariot is flavoring my reversed King of Swords today, and in a way, it is flavoring my entire reading.  I think what I need to remember here is that even if the end result is not good, I need to keep connected to my own Will; trying and failing is better than surrendering.

My 6-digit date number is 4, the number of depth and stability. 

My horoscopes: “Try to see the positive in people, Sagittarius. Relax and don't get so worked up over your internal drama. You're the one responsible for creating this turmoil. Find comfort in a creative project. Do something that you love to do that makes you truly happy. There's an expansive feeling in the air that's likely to amplify whatever mood you project.”

And: “Today is a good day for you to complete tasks. You will find that there is a great urge to bring things to completion. Do not keep things hanging any longer, and don't keep waiting around for other people to pick up the slack. It is important for you to initiate the final push on projects that have been sitting around collecting dust for quite some time now”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Two of Pentacles.  The message of this one is similar to the Major Arcana Temperance card.  The Two of Pentacles reminds me that sometimes in order to be in control of the big picture, we can’t be in complete control of every segment.  In order to juggle you’ve got to let go of the pieces you are juggling, and in doing so have confidence that we’ve tossed the pieces with skill, and that they will fall exactly where we expect them to fall.

I slept very deeply last night, and hardly woke up to cough at all, and that is good because I did not feel well all day yesterday.  I was afraid I was slipping into a relapse, but thankfully all is well. 

Boy, this must have been some case of bronchitis.  Even up to yesterday, any exertion caused me to be dizzy and light-headed, caused me to shake and tremble, and caused me to break out into a sweat.  I’ve been keeping busy, not laying around, but I’m moving slowly, resting often.  Up till yesterday, I was feeling as if progress was being made each day, but yesterday I just felt lousy.  Not tired enough to go back to bed, but definitely weak and foggy.  I listened to my body and went to bed very early last night; hopefully that will help.

I have been attending Yoga class each day, once again listening to my body and being gentle with myself.  The only time my brain feels clear is after one of those classes, so I am loathe to miss one.  Yesterday I also attempted to do a bit of stretching on my own; I did not feel up to much but it was a start.  Perhaps I will be able to add a bit more today. 

I do think it was quite interesting that during the height of the discomfort associated with this session of bronchitis I was able to perform one of the exercises from my Third Degree Lesson, the invocation of a specific Deity during a ritual, with ease.  In fact, during the time that I had a high fever, I was very much aware of my Patroness as She spoke to me.  I could feel Her presence, Her essence, very easily, and was drawn to perform that exercise/ritual despite being sick. 

Could intense discomfort be a stepping stone that assists us in raising our subtle awareness out of our physical senses by making the messages of those senses so uncomfortable that we tune them out or leave them behind? 

Hmmm . . .

In thinking about this, I was brought back to the Sephira called Yesod; here is a bit about this Sephira. Yesod (which means Foundation ) is the ninth Sephira on the Tree (right above Malkuth, Sephira number ten, which corresponds with the physical world), the third on the Pillar of Balance, and like the Moon, which is the heavenly body most easily reached from our Earth, it is the most easily reached non-physical Sephira of the Tree.  Yesod provides the life force that animates our physical selves, so in a sense, we are always experiencing Yesod.  Yesod contains the astral or etheric plane, and it is within Yesod that we build thoughtforms and intentions.  It is the sphere of illusion, and like the Moon, which appears to grow and shrink but actually stays the same size, Yesod is the whole of our visualizations of that which is not yet manifested in physical form.  Yesod is not only the last step before physical manifestation, but it is the first step after physical manifestation as well.  Our physical bodies are born and die within Malkuth, but our personalities are born and die within Yesod.  This sphere is the home of the Self, and of the Dark Night of the Soul.  Only after we dispel the illusion of failure and do the work to achieve forward motion once again will we truly understand the energies of Yesod.

The Moon of the Tarot Major Arcana corresponds with Water (cold/binds and wet/adapts, emotional and sensitive energy that strives to stay the same), Pisces (“I believe,” feeling, suffering, soul growth, duality), Qof (the back of the head), and the Path between Malkuth (the physical world of action and physical, outer reality) and Netzach (the stimulating factors of emotion and inspiration), is about feelings and emotions and instincts and the subconscious.

All of this is experiential in nature and very inner in manifestation.  And yes, we can deliberately access these effects through consciously choosing to turn off the messages of our physical senses and perceive instead the messages of our more subtle senses.  This often takes practice and training to achieve on a regular basis (although some are more easily able to attain this non-physical perception than others).  But it seems that, at least for me, experiencing certain physical discomforts combined with a high fever is enough to partially separate my subtle body perception from my physical senses.  After all, heat causes energy to intensify and raises the vibrational tone; perhaps the Sacred Essence is not only higher and purer in tone, but also warmer in temperature, and thus a fever can act as a natural invitation for that Essence to connect.

Not that I want to be sick, but that just might be cool!

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King of Pentacles/Ace of Swords.  The King of Pentacles (cusp of Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive, and Taurus, “I have,” sensual, stubborn, cautious, physically oriented) is the expert on the physical world, on physical world resources, and on physical manifestation.  He is a pillar of the community, makes a good example, and turns to gold everything he touches.  The King is the same as the Knight in that he will do what he says he will do, come hell or high water; the difference between the two is that the Knight acts for responsibility’s sake, whereas the King acts with profit in mind.  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 Sword is a double-edged blade, I need to remember today that the intellect has the power to either help or hurt.  The best thing to do would be to allow that King of Pentacles to use his well-honed caution to examine thoughts, words or deeds, before they are released.  But I should not get too caught up in analysis and caution, either.  All work and no play makes Raushanna a dull girl.

My Thoth card is the Eight of Swords.  “Interference” may be an issue today.  The Eight of Swords (Jupiter, expansiveness and growth, justice, fortune, in Gemini, “I think,” curious, sociable talkative, dual) tells of confusion and restriction, or of being stymied by obstacles.  Or at least, having the perception of being confused, restricted or stymied.  Logic and analysis are valuable tools for perceiving and dispelling blockages, but if we give them free reign, they will turn on us.  Crowley sees this card as representing the kinds of interference that are caused by plain old bad luck, by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Ugh!

My Legacy card is the Ten of Wands, flavored by the Ace of Coins reversed.  Symptom and remedy?  The Ten of Wands (Saturn, discipline, responsibility, limitations and resistance, in Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering) is a card which tells of being taxed to some perceived limit.  My Ten of Wands tells me I have a lot to get done today, and in order to check everything off my list, I will need to guard against running out of gas (as this is something that may happen today).  The Ace of Coins (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.  Since my Ace is reversed, and it is flavoring my Ten of Wands, I will need to be extra aware of the fuel I am expending within the physical world.  If I can turn that Ace of Coins around, I just might end up reversing the Ten of Wands.  Good goal, and good focus, for the day.

My 6-digit date number is 3, the number that tells of a new creation from the possibility and position of the number 1, and the balance, polarity, and understanding of distance between of the 2.

My horoscopes: “Pressure to get unfinished tasks completed and new ones begun causes emotions to run high, Sagittarius. Everyone, including you, is likely to feel tired and stressed, and quarrels may erupt. It might be best if you focus on the tasks at hand and ignore the petty squabbles that crop up around you. This will keep your blood pressure down and reassure those you want to impress.”

And: “It could be that you feel reprimanded, because of the way you reacted to a situation that came out differently than you had hoped. Trust that you acted in the best, most calm and understanding way possible. If the person you were dealing with does not understand your actions, then remember that this is probably more of a result of their own baggage, and not yours.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Ace of Pentacles.  This card tells me that a seed has been dropped into fertile earth and any efforts I expend in order to nurture that seed should offer good results, at least the way the energies stand right now.  Great opportunities are afoot; I have only to perceive them in order to take the first steps towards taking advantage of them. 

Last night, I offered a distance Reiki treatment to someone, for the first time in a long time.  The energy raised during that treatment was incredible, and I actually had trouble sleeping afterwards.  I am looking forward to hearing about the experiences of my recipient. 

Tomorrow is the beginning of our annual family vacation; I will do my best to at least get my card interpretations posted, if not more.  These vacations are incredibly wonderful because I have such awesome in-laws.  We connect on an individual basis regularly, but getting them all together like this is something to be anticipated with excitement, anticipation, joy, and love.

Today, we talk about The Moon.  The Moon rules the sign of Cancer and the Fourth House (more about the Houses later); it is associated with everything corresponding with the element of Water, and travel and emotions and feelings, with feeling melancholy, as well as the impatience of human nature.

The Moon corresponds to Diana, the hunter Goddess.  While we mostly remember that our Earth holds the Moon in place, The Moon is large enough for its gravity to affect the Earth as well, stabilizing the Earth’s orbit like a counterweight, and producing the regular ebb and flow of the tides. The lunar day syncs up with its orbit around Earth to that the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth, and the other side, known as the “far side of the Moon” faces towards space.  Kind of like the conscious mind and the subconscious mind, eh?

Astrologically the Moon is associated with a person’s emotional make-up, unconscious habits, rhythms, memories, moods, and a person’s ability to react and adapt to those around them.  In medicine, the Moon is associated with the digestive system, the stomach, the breasts, the ovaries and menstruation (which occurs on a monthly cycle), and the pancreas.  The Moon is commonly associated with the phlegmatic humor, and it generally rules animal spirits.

Within Wicca, the Moon is seen as a representation of the receptive and fertile essence that is the Great Mother, the Goddess, and with the feminine mysteries.  The Moon is literally activated by the Sun; the Moon shines with a reflection of the light of the Sun.  Without our Sun, we would not see our Moon, and symbolically, the Moon’s fertility needs the light of the Sun in order to be activated and in order to manifest. 

The Moon is also associated with the mother, maternal instincts or the urge to nurture, with the home and the need for security, and with the past, especially early experiences and childhood.

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