Cardinal T-Square Climax

Last night, shortly after sunset, as I was getting ready to head home, I looked up to admire Venus shining brightly in the Western sky.  Venus has been so bright out there, it looks like you can reach out and touch it!

It was then that I noticed two less bright but still prominent orbs shining above Venus and right next to each other.  The sky was dark enough to see stars, but these just looked too bright to not be planets.  Sure enough, they were.  Mars and Saturn are less than 2 degrees apart and less than 7 degrees away from Venus.  Tonight shouldn’t be much different, so after sunset, look to the west to observe this beautiful configuration.

And what you are looking at is one leg of the Cardinal T-Square as it nears it’s most intense formation.

If you happen to wake in the middle of the night, you will be able to see another leg of the T-Square.  Shining brightly overhead will be Jupiter.  Uranus is right there with him, but you won’t be able to see it.  Jupiter rises at about 11 pm, so you have to be up late to see it.

On a typical Monday morning, I check out some blogs that I follow to see if there is any new info out there, or further validation of things I’ve gotten myself.  This morning, Anne Ortelee posted her weekly Astrology update and it’s all about what a rough week this is supposed to be.

Yet this week, I am unmoved by it.  I feel confident that the worse is over for me – at least with regards to this Astrological configuration.  Why such positivity?  Because on Friday I witnessed a reading that has and continues to blow my mind!

Stephanie Golden-Falcon is a partner in spirit and has, among her many gifts, the ability to lay cards out in a spontaneous fashion, which channels divine wisdom to me.  On Friday, she laid out 6 cards that I cannot stop getting information from.  It is like reading a map of the universe, how it works, how energy flows through it, and how to reach mastery within it.  It contains nearly all of the pieces I’ve blogged about over the years.  A part of me would love to blog about it right now, but it’s just too big for this venue.

And, of course, I’m still absorbing it all.  So, Cardinal Climax or not, this week I’m feeling optimistic.

Now, in lieu of writing about that reading, I decided to do another reading right now to see what it would inspire me to write about.

The first card of the reading, the current situation, is Temperance.  Temperance is a 14, which reduces to 5.  Fives, as you’ve read from me before, represent change and are often a bit difficult to move through.  Anne says, “The nature of our reality will permanently CHANGE in the week ahead.” But the wisdom of Temperance is to place yourself in the center of the Wheel.  It is a 5, but tells us to arrange it this way.

1 --------- 1
|           |
|     1     |
|           |
1 --------- 1

If we are the 1 inside of the 4 (a Square – get it), then we can be centered within the changes that are occurring.

So, for this week, it might be good to temper yourself against what is happening around you.  If things feel confrontational, then maybe pull back some.  But if the situation is nothing but stagnant tension, then maybe push some, say something, spark the situation just enough to get the ball rolling towards solution.  But center yourself first.  It will take only the slightest spark to start the fire, but that could be better than sitting in a pool of TNT waiting for some other fire to cause an explosion.

Another card that catches my attention in this reading is the 2 of Pentacles. In this deck, a young woman is walking a tightrope high in the sky.  She is also balancing or juggling two large coins. When you look at this card from a distance, she looks stressed and tense.  At any moment, she might drop a coin or worse yet, fall off of the tightrope.

But if you look more closely, she has an impish look on her face.  She is fooling you into thinking that this juggle is a challenge for her. What is actually the case is pure enjoyment.  She is performing for you.  She wants you to think this juggling act is much harder for her than it is so that you’ll be more impressed.

Matching that card to Temperance, I see that this week might be a week to stop pretending and to say it like it is.  The 2 of Pentacles is in the strength position, but often that position represents what we should move away from in order to grow. In other words, by pretending, we are preventing.  If we make something look too easy, then we might miss out on some needed help.  If we are working too hard to impress, we may attract the wrong fans.

If we want to be loved for who we really are, then we need to let who we really are shine forth.  And that is what The Star is about.  The Star is in the weakness/challenge position, meaning that it needs more of our attention.  The Star is about being unique, being ourselves, following our own tune, beating our own drum, and listening to our own guides/guidance.  In the sky, every star is just a little different, just like us.

Numerologically, The Star is a 17 which reduces to 8.  As 17, it is about the individual (1) going within to seek wisdom (7).  The 8 (insight, inspiration, solution, or epiphany) is what we bring back.

Going within looks different for each of us, especially with this card. For one person, it might be 30 minutes on the treadmill, a moving meditation.  It might be a run in the woods.  It might be a good couple of hours in the workshop.

More traditionally, it could be prayer and/or meditation.  It could be a crossword, or solitaire.  What is most important is how we feel when we do whatever we choose to do.  If we feel relaxed within the movement or stillness, then good.  We should feel refreshed afterward, calm if not energized.

Although the star on The Star is drawn with 8 spires, I really think it should be 7.  The 7-pointed star is a symbol of the Akashic Records, and to me consulting the Akashic Records is one example of doing The Star.

Another card that speaks to me from this spread is the 3 of Wands in the past position.  In this card, a man is looking out over the harbor towards the horizon.  Wands, as torches, are sources of light. The image on this card had me thinking of that moment last light when I was looking out towards the horizon and saw those three planets shining brightly.

The meaning of the 3 of Wands is evidence. It is when you start to see results in whatever area you have been focusing your energy.  Maybe you are looking for a job and have gotten some responses. Maybe you are looking for a mate and have met some potential candidates.  Maybe you have been working on a project for a long time and can finally see it coming together.  Nothing is a done deal just yet, but the evidence of success and growth is what further motivated us along.

Three other cards that showed up in the spread in various places are the Queen of Pentacles, the King of Swords and the Knight of Pentacles. For me personally, the Knight of Pentacles shows up to indicate an aspect of me.  I am usually represented by the Knight of Cups (the romantic dreamer), but as the Knight of Pentacles, I am a real man in real relationships and real situations.  Life is not just about being in the head, but about being in the world.

What I get from these three cards is this.  By bringing together our feminine and masculine sides, we are then able to walk the world.  These three cards are very much me.  I have Moon in Taurus (Queen of Pentacles) and Gemini Sun (King of Swords).  The Knight of Pentacles brings my Earth and Air together in a way that is now able to commence the journey.

I am sure for everyone else, there are three other cards that could paint a similar type of picture.

And the journey ahead is shown as a 7 (7 of Cups) and an 8 (8 of Pentacles) – again reflecting The Star 17/8.  These cards are not endings, but beginnings.  Cardinal signs (where the planets are to form the T-Square) are about beginnings. This Climax is a long fuse meant to light a fire under our asses, collectively and individually.  The fire is meant to burn off things that are holding us back.  Yes, the handcuffs are tough enough that the fire might burn a little before we are free, but our freedom is the goal.  And once we are free, only then can we start walking the journey.

The 7 of Cups is about looking at all of those things we’ve fantasized about.  None of them are the real deal, but they were shown to us for a reason.  We then get to take all of those ideas and ideals and start building our real home/job/relationship/dream.

I feel like I’ve been doing this for my whole life, at least in one specific area.  That’s the problem with being the Knight of Cups, the real relationship kills the romance.  Or does it have to?  Isn’t that the cynical way to look at it?  Isn’t it possible to have a real relationship based in love and joy?

Even if the ideal relationship is beyond where I’m at right now, there is always the next greatest version I’ve ever experienced.  That’s what the journey is about anyway, right?  Finding the next greatest example and then building up from there.

In summary, for the next week or two, be Temperance.  Find the middle way through whatever conflict or challenge presents itself.  Add whatever element is lacking or missing. Too much fire (conflict)? Add Water (compassion).  Too much Earth (stagnation), add Air (communication).  And throughout the process, stay centered as much as possible and seek it often when you discover you’ve lost it.

And more so than ever, seek inner guidance.  The Cardinal Climax is mean to reflect stuff we’ve been resistant to look at, so we are going to be bombarded with conflicting advice from all sources.  What your intuition is telling you is MOST valuable, MOST pertinent to YOU.  Take time to listen in whatever way works best for you.

After all of this is over, in anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks, that’s when the next journey begins in earnest.  This summer was another one of gathering information to take with us, which will be understood better later.

And remember, it is all about creating that dream of YOURS.  We all have our own dreams, and we are all responsible for creating our own.

Big Hugs to everyone and Happy August!