Four of Swords reversed/Five of Swords.  Hmmm . . . I sense a flow of energy here.  The Four of Swords (Jupiter, expansiveness and growth, justice, fortune, in Libra, “We are,” partnerships, balance, cooperation) in an upright position can represent a pause or truce or mutual deterrent, a time of silence and isolation, and a time of being cut off from the world, yet still remaining alert.  If the Four of Swords is the eye of the hurricane, then my momentary truce is over. The Five of Swords (Venus, beauty, allure, relationships, pleasure, in Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, cause-oriented, the group, aloof) shows what happens when we insist that our way is right, or when we impose our needs or wants onto a situation.  This is the next card after that truce, and it is validating that the rest is over.  This card has a warning, and an encouragement: failure is a part of life, and it will happen to us all.  We can choose to force the issue and fight for what you think you want, even if the cause is hopeless, or we can choose to learn from our mistakes.  That transforms mistakes into lessons.

My Thoth card is the Five of Wands.  “Strife” is added to the energies of the Five of Swords. 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.  Crowley feels that this motion is a sort of growing pain that reinvigorates us by clearing the ice from the windshield, so we can see more clearly.

My Legacy card is the Ace of Wands reversed, flavored by The Sun reversed. The Ace of Wands (Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, egotistical, Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, sensible, orderly) in an upright position tells of the presence of inspiration that could very well bring creativity and passion into my life. But my Ace is reversed, so that potential may not be easy to access.  It is there, though, deep inside of me, just waiting for an opportunity to flare. The Sun corresponds with Fire (hot/separates and dry/shapes, spontaneous, impulsive and energetic change), our Sun (the inner core of a person or situation), Resh (the face; reason), and the Path between Yesod (the place where patterns and images emerge that may manifest in the physical world) and Hod (provides analysis and communication), and in an upright position tells of a time of enlightenment and peace, usually after the completion of some ordeal, “completion” being the key word.  Similar to the Four of Swords, yet different, for the Four is the eye of the hurricane, while The Sun tells of the time after the storm has passed.  My Sun card is reversed and flavoring my Ace of Wands.  Looks like I had better keep a low profile today.

My 6-digit date number is 8, the number that tells of an active and conscious decision to attempt to slow the degeneration of the number 7, in order to maintain for a bit longer the harmony and balance of the number 6.

My horoscopes: “Although you may want to bring things down a bit so you can better plan, organize, and rearrange, Sagittarius, this may not be the best course of action today. You're better off keeping things light and uplifting. Things will fall into place as you need them. Trust in others. Realize that some of the best experiences you will have in life are spontaneous. Put your to-do list away.”

And: “You may be feeling like you are not able to get much done today, but don't sweat it. Whatever you do, don't pressure yourself into thinking you have a certain agenda that must get accomplished before sundown. Your heart and mind are in the same place, but you may not be sure which way to direct them. Don't feel like you need to find a direction at this time.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Knight of Swords.  This Knight is the Hero who is able to charge into a dangerous situation without a thought for his own safety, and sometimes without a thought of any consequences besides his mission.  He does not make use of the calmer emotions; he prefers passion and enthusiasm.  He is a bright flame, a seeker; turbulence is in his wake.

Another synchronicity: the God Hanuman has been mentioned twice in one 24-hour period.  I had never heard of this Deity, but of course, I’ve done a bit of research. 

Hanuman is a Hindu Deity who was very devoted to Rama (the seventh avatar of Vishnu), and a central character in the Hindu epic Ramayana (a story which addresses the duties of relationships and presents archetypes for the perfect father, the perfect mother, etc.), and “dharma” (duty, vocation, everything considered correct, and what needs to be done in order to maintain and live in harmony with natural law, or the running of the Machinery of the Universe).  Hanuman could not be killed by any weapon in a battle, so he was able to be brave.  He can destroy fear in his friends and incite fear in his enemies.  He had a long life, was able to cross the oceans, could adjust his physical form from very small to very big, and everything in between, and always remained happy and serene. 

Hanuman had many adventures, and he is worshipped by many.  He is approached for help with dealing with demons, for warding off evil of all kinds, for removing blemishes of all kinds, for attaining prosperity.

Interesting.  In some ways, similar to the White Tara, Bodhisattva of compassion and wisdom.

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The Fool/Knight of Pentacles 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).  The Fool is the spark that begins the idea, and his powers and energies are neither positive nor negative.  My Fool is telling me of potential, and of the need for optimism in order to get that potential manifesting. The Knight of Pentacles (cusp of Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, egotistical, and Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, work and service oriented) tells of persistence to the point of being stubborn, and caution to the point of being boring.  He is reversed, though, and he is thus validating the action of The Fool, and the ability to “boldly go where no one has gone before.”  LOL, the upright Knight of Pentacles would veto that idea.

My Thoth card is the Five of Disks reversed.  “Worry” is Crowley’s keyword for this one.  The Five of Disks (Mercury, reason, intelligence, education, skill, communication, in Taurus, “I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn) traditional image shows a woman and a child, one of them injured in some way, travelling in the cold wind, with a church window behind them.  Crowley’s concept of Worry is more like “pick at,” and we all know what happens when we pick at a scab.  Thankfully my card is reversed today, so the discomforts of the physical world may not end up distracting me from the day’s possibilities.

My Legacy card is the King of Wands reversed, flavored by the Nine of Swords reversed. The King of Wands (cusp of Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, nurturing, moody, and Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic egotistical) in an upright position is honest and open hearted, and rules his realm through the advantageous use of his creative impulses.  Because my King of Wands is reversed, today is not a good day for me to put myself out there as an example to others.  I need to be careful that I don’t get too much of a high from any adrenaline that flows, and I need to watch carefully that I am not distracted from my ethics.  The Nine of Swords (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, in Gemini, “I think,” curious, talkative, social, dual) which in an upright position represents brooding and worrying, usually self-caused, and usually unproductive, is reversed, and is flavoring my reversed King of Wands.  Good; that means I won’t be worrying too much.  

My 6-digit date number is 7, the number that tells of the pause that comes as growth slows and degeneration approaches, usually involving a choice of some kind.

My Pearls of Wisdom Full Moon card is the Queen of Wands.  Ooooh, nice!  My only other upright card. The Queen of Wands (cusp of Pisces, “I believe,” feelings, duality, soul growth, spirituality, and Aries, “I want,” action oriented, assertive, competitive) is energetic and enthusiastic, gives 100% of herself, and always has a smile on her face and humor in her heart.  My Queen is at home in a garden or a board room, and so am I!

My horoscopes: “This is a terrific day for you, Sagittarius. You will feel a greater sense of appreciation and respect for the people around you. The planning and hard work you've contributed recently is finally paying off. People are likely to arrive at your level of thinking. You'll find you can connect on a very productive level. Your emotions are under control and your thoughts crystal clear.”

And: “You might find that other people's strong opinions are dictating the activity of today. The overall atmosphere is intense, so you might just want to lay low and let others have their way. Don't try to put up a fight. Unexpected opposition may come out of nowhere and take control. There is a powerful force at working asking you to attend to your own business with passion.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Eight of Wands.  Many see this card as representing light or electricity, but anyone who has picked a dandelion ready to go to seed, and then puffed at it and watched the seeds float away, understands the energies of this card.  This is about a sudden eruption of energy that scatters seeds.  Some may fall on rocks, but others may fall in fertile soil!

Looks like the book I mentioned on the 26^th, “A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe: The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science (A Voyage From 1 To 10),” by Michael S. Schneider, is going to be a marvelous distraction for me.  I finally got into the meat of the book, and it is fragrant and juicy and positively yummy!

Because everything I’ve read so far connects deeply to both my own spiritual practice ~and~ to the Tarot (LOL, how could numbers **not** connect to the Tarot in some way; you all know by now how my mind works), I’m going to summarize what I’m reading.  LOL one of these days, I’m going to have the time to compile all this stuff into the best Tarot Workbook ever.  In the mean time, here we go.

As I mentioned in my blog post on the 26^th, Schneider breaks Math down into three categories: Secular Math (the adding and subtraction and multiplication and division, the quantitative measurement, and the search for perfections, that I was taught in school), Symbolic Math (which talks of the reoccurring patterns and the synchronistic effects to be found across the board when dealing with numbers and shapes), and Sacred Math (which involves these patterns and effects and the way our consciousness perceives their patterns and effects as a profound mystery; this awareness is the true sacred wonder).  My main focus will be on both Symbolic Math and Sacred Math; I’ve already spent time (and learned to avoid) Secular Math, but who knows?  Maybe this will encourage me to go back there some day.

Let’s begin with a bit about the tools used for this foray into Math.  There are three of them (a nice, sacred and symbolic number, eh?): the compass, the straight edge, and the pencil.  According to Schneider, these tools need to be honored; they should always be used with conscious awareness, never while focused on something else.  When working with these tools, we need to remember that mistakes are just as important as perfection.  Any mistakes we make should not be erased; rather, we should assume they were meant to happen and we should strive to live with them.

The compass is found in many cultures; maybe not as the implement we have all used to draw circles, but it is there.  It might consist of a stick and a string, even in our modern world; this is after all the easiest way to draw a circle.  Because the circle is seen to have sacred symbolism (more about that in a bit), the compass can be seen as having divine attributes.  It can be seen as the eye of God, the catalyst that creates sacred space.  The Kether/Source of shape and form, symbolic of the Ace/number 1, and potential .

The straight edge is used to connect the points where circles intersect, it is used to draw lines.  It does not need measure marks, and in fact it is preferred that it not have them; it does, however, need to be an edge without chips or dents and without the ability to bend.  When using the straight edge, we should begin the line at the farthest point away from us and then draw the line toward us, visualizing the line as a path of energy.  The Binah/Sacred Feminine of shape and form, symbolic of the number 2, and balance, polarity and “distance between.”

The pencil translates divine ideas into the symbols our brain is able to absorb and understand. We need to remember that the pencil is both literal (a pencil is a great Math tool) and symbolic (we could be using a stick to draw in the dirt and achieve an equally powerful result).  The Chokmah/Sacred Masculine of shape and form, symbolic of the number 3, and the creation of something new out of the Ace (the compass) and the number 2 (the straight edge).

If we hold for a moment longer the symbolism of the Tree of Life, we will remember that the first three Sephiroth of the Tree, the Supernal Triangle (representing the highest, purest and most abstract qualities of Deity), are considered the “triplet of the mind” (with the second three being the “triplet of the heart,” representing an inner emotive focus, the third three being the “triplet of action,” representing the actions we take; the final sephira, Malkuth, represents the final outcome or manifestation).  This tells me, right from the start, that there’s gonna be a whole lot of growing going on.

My brain is tingling already!

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The Hierophant/Five of Swords reversed. Faith/The Hierophant corresponds with Earth (cold/binds and dry/shapes), Taurus (“I have,” sensual, cautious, stubborn), Vau (the nail which holds tradition in place), and the Path between Chesed (the place where forms and structures are stabilized and nurtured), and Chokmah (dynamic male energy, the origin of vital force and polarity).  This card is an archetype of Spirit (with The Emperor as archetype of the Sacred Masculine, The Empress as archetype of the Sacred Feminine, and all three representing the supernal triad) that reminds us of the value of tradition, ritual and ceremony.  Another cool interpretation of this card can be the words of Spock just before he died in The Wrath of Kahn: “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.”  This card is also about maintaining and sharing tradition, ritual and ceremony.  The Five of Swords (Venus, beauty, allure, relationships, pleasure, in Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, cause-oriented, the group, aloof) in an upright position shows what happens when we insist that our way is right, or when we impose our needs or wants onto a situation. Because my Five of Swords is reversed, it kind of reiterates Spock’s words!

My Thoth card is the Five of Wands.  “Strife” is Uncle Al’s keyword for this one. The Five of Wands, which corresponds with Saturn (discipline, responsibility, law and order) in Leo (“I am, passionate, dramatic, egotistical) in an upright position indicates a struggle caused by annoying cross purposes.  Crowley feels that this motion is necessary, a sort of growing pain if you will, that reinvigorates us by clearing the ice from the windshield, so we can see more clearly.

My Legacy card is Temperance, flavored by the Page of Wands. 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 is a powerful Major Arcana cards that presents one version of the concept of balance.  Temperance teaches us balance through the knowledge of extremes, and it reminds us that we can’t find this balance unless we have already experienced and come to understand those extremes, even if they are uncomfortable. 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 the spark that might end up creating a conflagration, and this Fire will most likely be internally focused.  These two cards together could be possibly hinting of an approaching Aha! Moment; we shall see.

My 6-digit date number is 5, the number that introduces motion into stability in order to prevent stagnation.

My horoscopes: “Remember all those resolutions you made in the past? It's time to recommit to them. All signs indicate that you need to take better care of yourself. You've been so busy working that exercising has begun to feel like a luxury you can't afford. Actually, exercise and proper nutrition are luxuries you can't afford to ignore. You're burning the candle at both ends. Stop before you burn out completely!”

And: “A social event involving a large number of your closest friends could take place in your neighborhood, and it should prove to be wonderful for you. You will be able to touch base with old friends and also make some new ones. One of these people might have been out of the country for a while. Some interesting and useful information could be offered to you. Make use of it!”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Ten of Wands.  This card reminds me that perhaps in fulfilling the many responsibilities that are mine, I may lose sight of which of these responsibilities absolutely need to be fulfilled, and which are sapping my energy needlessly.  I need to remember that my personal energy is not endless, and I should be careful as well that I am not inadvertently doing things the hard way.

My brother-in-law loaned me what appears to be a very interesting book.  It is called “A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe: The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science (A Voyage From 1 To 10),” by Michael S. Schneider.  LOL, I haven’t even gotten out of the author’s introduction and I am already quoting.  This quote is about the concept of the One and the Many.  “The problem [with this concept] is that, whereas the Many are visible and tangible and can be examined at leisure, the One is never seen or sensed, and its very existence is only inferred through the evident effect it has upon its products, the Many.  Yet, paradoxically, the One is more truly real than the Many.  In the visible world of Nature all is flux.  Everything is either being born or dying or moving between the two processes.  Nothing ever achieves the goal of perfection or the state of equilibrium that would allow it to be described in essence.  The phenomena of Nature, said Plato, are always ‘becoming,’ never actually ‘are.’  Our five senses tell us that they are real, but the intellect judges differently, reasoning that the One, which is constant, creative, and ever the same, is more entitled to be called real than its ever-fluctuating products.”  Those words, written by a mathematician, sound suspiciously close to my own description of the Source and the interactions of As Above, So Below; As Below, So Above.

Numbers and shapes, or at lest the archetypal meanings associated with numbers and shapes, can be found within art, science, technology, religion, and everyday life.  The numbers from 1 to 10, and the simple shapes of circle, square, triangle, line and spiral are already a huge part of my metaphysical studies, across the board, but I think it is amazing that these concepts which fascinate me so much could be considered a part of my most dreaded subject in school: Math.  Schneider breaks Math down into three categories: Secular Math (the adding and subtraction and multiplication and division, the quantitative measurement, and the search for perfections, that I was taught in school), Symbolic Math (which talks of the reoccurring patterns and the synchronistic effects to be found across the board when dealing with numbers and shapes), and Sacred Math (which involves these patterns and effects and the way our consciousness perceives their patterns and effects as a profound mystery; this awareness is the true sacred wonder). If I had had Schneider as a Math teacher in school, I may not have had such issues with Math!

The patterns and effects found in numbers and shapes are like a language describing principles found throughout Nature and the Universe, such as wholeness, polarity, structure, balance, cycles, rhythm and harmony.  No wonder I keep getting this tickle in my brain!  This is the stuff of initiation!  To quote Schneider, this is “paying attention to paying attention.”  How cool is that?!  And Wicca is about living in accordance to these Universal patterns or principles.  Simple words, but lots of work to live in accordance with them.

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