Thank you to everyone I got to read for at the Red Hook Regatta, and thanks for having me, @pioneerworks! The cards that came up over and over were 7 of Cups and Temperance. So they're our collective message for today.
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7 of Cups comes up when our attention is divided, we're trying on what-ifs but not acting on anything. Underneath that, the reason we're indulging in distraction, is that we already know which cup is going to keep us full and we're afraid of committing to it. There's something frightening to our ego/lizard brain about how powerful our attention can be when it's totally focused. So when this card comes up, look at where you've already chosen in your heart. Trust that, and act on your choice.
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Temperance is our lady of casual miracles. She speaks of balancing your human action with miracles and magic that are beyond your power. You do your stuff and then make space for the divine to do its stuff. This is like leaving a chair for Elijah at Passover, or cookies for Santa, or Roman temples to the unknown god. There are lots of ways in our web of cultures where we have tokens of respect for the mystery.
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The thing with Temperance (and where it picks up where the 7 of Cups leaves off) is that when you trust your intuition and act on it, you are working in flow with the divine. That opens up the way for everyday magic in the form of synchronicity, good timing, and connections. Temperance says, when you choose your true cup, I keep it full. When you're paying attention fully to where you are right now, you are tapping into the part of you that is divine, and letting it work through you. That's why so much magic/spiritual practice is about developing focus. It is incredibly powerful.
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I want to share an experience with this card from a reading today. As the boat race announcer was counting down 5 4 3 2 , right at 1, this card blew off the table and the querent (bless him) ran after it and caught it. Then we had a laugh about the universe butting in with messages. Temperance is like, idgaf what you call me, as long as you recognize that I'm here. I'm the mystery right in your face every day, let’s dance.
August: Integration
I pulled Temperance reversed for this month.
I pulled this card and spent a good portion of the afternoon thinking about how to share this message of integration. In the PCS image, an angel stands with one foot on land, one on water, pours the contents of two cups together at a sharp angle, and does all of these impossible things at the same time, effortlessly. She is entirely herself, the gentle master of all the elements of herself.
Then I talker with my partner, Ian, about how I was figuring out how all of my interests and skills align with my purpose here, to understand a bit about life and bring that to other people.
In our talk, I realized that balance supports the whole. You can never really separate one thing in your life from the rest. I can never really separate who I am from what I've experienced, the work I do, or my relationships with other people. The key is being able to hold space for these parts of myself, bless them, and blend them. If I can integrate the parts of myself, I can help another person integrate.
As the card right after Death, Temperance is also a wild rebirth. I had a life-changing reading with Lindsay Mack of Wild Soul Healing in January, and Temperance was the final card. I'm in tears now, realizing that it's come full circle. I've let die the old patterns and fears that held me back, and held me separate from myself. I'm ready now to live wholly from my heart, and serve with joy.
After talking with the beautiful Ian this evening, I felt like I had a new understanding of integration. I got home tonight and shuffled and asked if that changed the message for August, now that I've claimed integration as my work for the month. And Strength came up. A reminder to deal directly with my issues, hands-on, no matter what fear tells me. I am strong enough to live one true life in balance, and strong enough to help others do the same. And you, reading this, you are strong enough, too. May you be wise and wild and entirely yourself.