As Above, So Below for Thursday, 30 November 2023

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The reading notes for today’s reading are below. You’re welcome to watch the video here.

Significator runes: Mannaz (20th rune, Earth, humanity, integration, mind/body/Spirit connection, individual within society, thought rune, memory); Rubeus (passion, misuse of force, vice, temper, power, destruction, evil outcomes, violence, overreaction, either/or)

Cards: 8 of Swords, Knight of Cups, The Lovers

Patterns: One from each group (Minor Arcana, Court (also Minor), and Major Arcana

Overall numerology: 20+8+6=34; 3+4=7 (observation, letting things settle out, spirituality, magick, balance, justice

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Beginning with today’s significator runes, Mannaz describes integration with others while Rubeus is challenging that integration by expressing selfishness or a personal agenda. Rubeus energy doesn’t respect higher purpose or higher awareness or the collective aspect of self found in Mannaz. And today’s numerology of seven for the reading reinforces that collective aspect by recognizing the balance we strike within the self and with each other.

Moving on to the cards, the 8 of Swords shows a woman wearing a red dress, bound and blindfolded while standing in wet sand with eight swords surrounding her. A castle appears on the cliff in the distance. The eight swords can represent the influence of her own perceptions or the influence of others, and she’s bound and blindfolded so that she turns off the noise surrounding her, again either from her own thoughts and perceptions, or from the influence of others. The red dress that the woman wears represents the will to go within and not allow the influence of ego to impact her decisions.

Next, the Knight of Cups sits on his horse who looks like it’s about to cross the stream that winds through the land below them. The knight is in full battle attire, yet his visor is up on his helmet indicating that the battle is over and he’s there to offer assistance of some kind. Cups represents the Water element and compassion, understanding, love, reciprocity, change, and momentum. So, as the woman in the 8 of Swords shifts her perception to something else, The Knight of Cups suggests that she may reach out to someone with support, or she realizes that she needs to take a new path, one that is healing her mind, emotions, and spirit. Perhaps the issue in the 8 of Swords had to do with negativity of some kind and now the woman has turned her back to that and is ready to pursue a more harmonious and compassionate experience.

Lastly, The Lovers, as the sixth card from the Major Arcana, reflects a soul-archetype of balanced polarity within and/or integration with someone else. We see a man and a woman in the scene, with the man standing nude before a spindly oak tree while the woman is standing in front of the Tree of Knowledge. A serpent winds upward on the trunk of the apple-laden tree. An angel sits atop a cloud, its red winds extended, while the Sun shines its radiance above. Although the woman is looking upward to spirit (the angel), the man is looking at her. We can draw a higher meaning to this card that involves the feminine or receptive side of self focusing on knowledge while the masculine or projective side of self is focused on more earthly things. Or we can look at this card as balancing the receptive and projective sides of self within. That said, the card can also suggest that a new partnership is forming. But given the shift in perception that the 8 of Swords suggests and the new journey that the woman is now taking in the Knight of Cups, in my opinion, The Lovers is the end result of that journey that either involves a more compassionate way of seeing and expressing her life or a new partnership that develops as a result.

SUMMATION

You could be feeling controlled by others, or by perceptions that you’re holding, that no longer serve a higher purpose. You recognize the fallacy of that influence and you feel the need to shift your focus to something that reflects higher awareness or a higher purpose. As you shift your focus, you may either reach out to someone for support, or you’re ready to take a more compassionate path. Once you take that path and you move in the direction of compassion and understanding, you’re no longer willing to be influenced by ego or negativity, and you’re better able to balance the receptive (feminine) and projective (masculine) polarity within which can ultimately lead to better relationships with others.