As a reader of my blog, you are most likely aware that I am writing my second novel and that it is structured around numerology. It will contain 15 chapters numbered and titled 0 through 14. By this time, I have more or less completed chapter 6 and have started chapter 7. I also have a little bit written for chapter 8. So you can say that I am transitioning from the 7 to the 8. In Personal Numerology terms, I, myself, am transitioning between the 7 and the 8.
You have heard me say that 2011 is a 4 year because 2+0+1+1 = 4. This is to say that 2011 is a Universal 4 Year. This is because 2011 carries the vibration of 4 for all of us.
If you look at the numerology of this month, you will see that April 2011 is 4-2011 or 4-4. This April is thus a Universal 8 Month. The vibration of 8 is highlighted for all of us this month.
Well a Personal Year is calculated based on the birthday of the current year. My birthday this year adds up to 8. Last year it was 7.
Interestingly, in my own mind, 8 is my weakest number. I know less about 8 than any other number. In fact, if you look back, you’ll probably notice that I’ve written less about it than the others. I’m still trying to get a feel for the number, which I am thinking is difficult because 8 is not really a feeling type number. And yet the information is flowing in bit by bit. One could say that I am at seven minute to 8:00 right now.
Before I dive into the 7 and the 8, I first would like to talk about the 1 and the 4. This year, I know at least four people who celebrated a birthday on 4-2-2011. For these four people, they are having a Personal 1 Year (4+2+4 = 10/1). So, what might it look like to have a Personal Year of 1 while having a Universal Year of 4?
One way that it could work out is like this: he or she might move to a new city (a definite 1) and through this move begin building a new foundation (4) for the next phase of their life. In fact, 2 of the 4 people I mentioned who have a birthday on 4-2 did exactly that this year!
Now keep in mind that those born on April 2nd are also Aries. That means they might tend to do what one could call “putting the cart before the horse”. It is in an Aries’ nature to make a change first and then build upon it. That is their gift actually! They are adventurous. They are in some ways better at going with the flow, the cardinal flow of change. So when a door opens, they jump through it first, and then, when on the other side, ask themselves, “Now, what have I gotten myself into?” To them (or even us), it might looking like they are impetuous and making mistakes, but that’s only when looking at them with limited sight.
I could actually use some of that myself! There are a lot of planets in Aries right now, so it should be easier to jump into things to stir the pot some, but alas, that’s still not happening with me. But that’s another story. I am not an Aries, am lacking cardinality in my chart, and am having neither a 1 nor a 4 Personal year.
OK, now, on to the transition from 7 to 8.
Before I started writing, I did a Tarot reading. I asked the cards for inspiration – something to write about – and in the center of the reading was the 8 of Cups. Let’s look at this card. To me, the 8 of Cups represents the transition from 7 to 8.
Looking at this card, we see 8 cups stacked in the foreground. Notice how there are 5 cups stacked on the left and 3 cups stacked on the right. Also notice that the Roman number for VIII is always constructed as 5 and 3.
So the 8 of Cups is an 8 that is constructed from 5 and 3. Five is when life gives us a lemon when we were hoping for an orange. Oranges are sweet and delicious right out of the rind. Squeeze them into a juice and it is one of America’s favorite breakfast beverages.
Lemons are tart. Yes, the yellow color is bright and cheery, but you will not look bright and cheery if you drink straight pure lemon juice.
At the 8 of Cups, the person shown has invested a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (water in other words) and got lemon juice. After working hard for a long time, the juice is still too tart to enjoy and he finally gives up, or gives in, and begins walking away. He is now abandoning his dream for orange (juice).
But this card is an 8 and eights are about solutions not problems. And in chemistry, what is a solution? It is a mixture! So what happens if we add sugar and water to lemon juice? We create a solution and it is called Lemonade! The ‘ade’ (aid) is the sugar and water! And that’s the 3! Through creativity we can turn tart lemon juice into delicious, refreshing lemonade.
And that’s the 8 created from 5 and 3.
However, to me, the 8 of cups is the beginning of that process. That’s why I think of it as 7 minutes to 8. It is when we stop trying to make orange juice from lemons and open up to a whole new idea.
Seven, like five, can be an unpleasant and harsh experience. Five is a flat tire, but seven is when a large tree falls squarely on the hood of our truck. Five is when our flight is delayed a couple of hours delaying vacation time in the sun, but seven is when we lose our passport just before our flight to Europe and thus miss out on the whole vacation.
The point of the seven is not the interruption or misfortune. The point is to induce a state of reflection. When we’re sitting at home because we can’t drive or fly anywhere, the Universe is hoping that we’ll use that time to take a good hard look at ourselves. Not the annoying situation that created the separation, but the big picture. Seven is about looking at the core, reviewing what our true values and goals are. In life, we get caught up in the small stuff, but is that where we really want to be going?
So, unlike one, which is reported to be the loneliest number, seven feels far lonelier. At one, we are like Aries. We are individual, but raring to go. We feel independent and free! At seven, we were enjoying the harmony of six, but then got ripped apart from the others. We got called away from the party and are alone feeling like we’re missing out.
So, the solution of the 8 of Cups is to separate ourselves from the old idea that is not working. We can only pray over that lemon juice for so long before we realize that our desire for it to transform is not enough. Thought alone is not creative. It can inspire us, but more is needed. So we must abandon that notion that we can assert our will in a particular way and instead we must become part of the solution by following guidance.
I often say that the Journey of the Fool is from where you are to where you want to be. At the 8 of Cups, we have arrived at a dead end because we thought a given street was the avenue to abundance. But it didn’t work out because we were likely not paying close enough attention. We got distracted. We forgot that the universe sent us down this alley for a reason, and never intended that we stay there for long. We had something that needed to get done, that’s all. The side journey was exactly what was needed, but now that it is done, it is time to move on and in a new direction.
7 minutes to 8 is the exact time when one needs to transition between giving up and giving in. I have been giving up for a while now. Admitting defeat. Realizing that I didn’t really want what I’d been trying to do, which was the biggest reason I didn’t succeed. Instead of seeing this as a failure, it’s time to give in to a solution that is presenting itself. I don’t yet see the solution, but I sense that to find it, I need to move on.
It is 7 minutes to 8 for me for sure, but I don’t know how long this moment will last. Many of you are at a very different juncture in your lives. So why read this at all?
Well, there just might have been a time in your past when you were where I now am. And maybe you still see it as a failure instead of a solution. Maybe that time is still pulling on you just a little. In any case, it never hurts to sit for a moment and look back, to see something that failed, but to now see it with that ‘Thank God!” insight. “Thank God I didn’t get what I thought I wanted because looking back, it wouldn’t have been better than what I did get.”
When you’re in the shadow of loss, it is easy to think of nothing but loss. You see only what was taken away. Yet much later, when the new life situation has taken root and feels really good, that’s when you can look back and see that the old situation really didn’t have the ability to make you as happy as this new situation. And in seeing this, that’s when we can feel really good about the journey…
For the record, today is 4-9-2011, which means it is an 8 Universal Day. No wonder I decided to write about 8!
A Fool's Inclination 