The Lesson of the 7 of Swords

The Tarot has been around for a long time.  The images are often medieval and the archetypes classic.  It only makes sense that, as humanity shifts, the meanings of the cards would also shift.

I feel like part of my work as a reader (of the Tarot), writer and teacher is to bring through these new meanings.  With 78 cards, this could take a while!  I am sure there is a book forthcoming.  In the mean time, y’all get to read of these insights right as they come through!  (And, given the law of attraction, that means y’all are calling these forth and are in co-creation with me!)

The next card that’s up is the 7 of Swords.  This one has been coming up a bunch of times this past week and as a result, I’ve gotten a more complete re-interpretation.

Looking at the classic image, we see a man who is tiptoeing away with 5 of the 7 swords shown.  The traditional meaning of this card is theft.

The suit of swords represents air, which signifies thought and communication. For me, the meaning of this card some time back morphed into the theft of ideas.

In this day and age, it is easy to see how the theft of ideas or information is an issue.  We see (very hyped up) commercials about protecting ourselves from identity theft; we have an entire industry dedicated to copyright law; and the film and music industry are continually pleading with us to not steal their media.

But just this week, I got a whole new perspective on this card.  Rather than it mean the theft of ideas, I now see it as the idea of theft.  In other words, it is here to highlight the belief we have that someone or something outside of ourselves can interfere with our manifestations.

You want a quick trick to find what they are?

First, think about what you most desire, that elusive dream.  Bring it into your primary consciousness.  Go ahead and allow the wanting to flow, and I mean wanting.  I know so many teachers these days tell you not to want, but I’m saying to go for it.  Want it as badly as you can for a moment.

Got a hold of it?  Feel it burning within you?  Take as much time as you need.

Okay, once you have it in mind, now let me ask you some questions.

- Who (or what) do you want to go away so you can have what you desire?
- Who are you competing with for this dream?
- What organization would you do away with (or make yourself exempt from) to get you there faster or more easily?
- What behavior out in the world needs to change or be abolished for your happiness?

Now, if you are not coming up with answers yet, let me ask you these questions.

- Do you believe you would have more money if you didn’t have to pay taxes?
- Which laws would you like to get rid of, right this minute, just because they are just a pain in the neck?
- What rules, imposed by others, make your blood boil?
- If you can change anything out there in the world, what tops your list?

Really look at these things because these are what’s blocking your success.  Not the things themselves, but the idea of them.

I would be happy if this rule was changed.
I would be happy if this person moved away.
I would be happy if s/he stopped doing that.

Every time we entertain these thoughts, we are entertaining the “idea of theft”.

The last time some thing was stolen from me, it was an iPod and it was stolen from my truck, which I accidentally left unlocked that night.

Was this perfection of the universe?  Absolutely!  Why? How?  Well, here is the accumulation of thoughts (that I am aware of) that culminated in this event.

1) I had my first new car broken into 3 times in San Francisco in the early 90s.  The Seats were stolen the second time and the car was stolen the last time. Fear around the safety of my automobile therefore became greater.

2) When I first bought my iPod, I protected it with a screen cover.  I later took the cover off and when I went to clean off the sticky goo, I significantly damaged the screen because I used the wrong type of cleaner.  My fear of damaging my iPod led to the protecting of it, which then directly led to my damaging it myself!  My iPod screen was now cloudy and every time I looked at it, I was unhappy about it.  I didn’t like having a damaged iPod.

3) I wanted a new iPod Touch, but was afraid of spending the money for it.  I thought it was too expensive, but I wanted it anyway.  I kept denying myself of my own desire.  It wasn’t that I couldn’t afford it, I just didn’t want to spend what they were asking for it.

The combination of all of these beliefs, all 7 of Swords type beliefs, resulted in my iPod getting stolen out of my truck.

And would you believe that I still denied myself a new iPod for about 6 additional months?

But, after all of that, the events described above still served me, in many ways.

Many times in my life, once I’ve gotten past some limitation based on fear, I would say to myself, “Why did I wait so long?” 

Yet, we’ve all heard about it when one of our friends tries something that they feared for a long time only to have the worst experience.  “See!  That’s what I was afraid of,” they post on Facebook.

There is no rule for pushing past our limits.  The best that I would say in a general way is to:

1) Identify what you are afraid of.  That’s what the 7 of Swords is here for.

2) Accept that your fear is your fear.  It may have been inspired by someone else, or by some past event, but it is held by you.

3) Theft exists.  We are not trying to convince ourselves that it does not. The point is not to pretend there is nothing to fear, but to find the path ahead despite that fear.  The Strength card reminds us that the courageous are those who have fears and find a way past them.  The fearless are not the courageous, they are just not afraid.

4) You have all the time in the world but no reason to wait.  You can push yourself and possible jump a bit too soon, or you can never challenge the fear and never move past it.  And then, of course, there is everything in between.  It is your choice and all choices are valid.  There is no “right” or “wrong” way.  And faster is not necessarily better.

Through this exercise above, the goal is to see that we hold the key, always.  Our fears may attract a robber, an external obstacle, a person, law or institution that is making it hard for us.  But also realize that not everyone has the same experience as we do with that outside thing.  Why?  Because of their attitude about it.

The Law of Attraction need not be magic to be effective.  Money doesn’t have to fall out of the sky; people or institutions do not need to disappear; the whole world does not need to shift to make us happy.  We simply need to find our own specific guidance to all that we desire.  If you wait for everyone around you to accept a new belief before you give yourself permission to be happy, you might be waiting a long, long time.

Seven is the number of transformation; going deep within to repair or replace an underlying condition.  Air is about thought, so the 7 of Swords applies this to our underlying beliefs.

Now that you have identified these underlying beliefs, let’s offer them up for transmutation!

I ask to be relieved of all beliefs that no longer serve me
And I know I AM freed

Ĕl:ïk

A Question about Numbers

A friend and client recently wrote to me asking a question about a set of numbers he sees regularly.  I have received similar questions before and therefore asked if he would be okay with me blogging the answer.  He said, "yes," so here we are.

This is the question as he wrote it:

[My partner] suggested I send you an email about something that happens to me very regularly.  For as long as I can remember, the numbers 3-1-3 have been constants in my life.  My mom was born at 3:13 AM, my dad's birthday is March 13 (3-13), I constantly look at clocks, or things with numbers and it says 313.  Three times this past weekend, I looked at a clock or watch and it was 3:13 PM, 3:13 AM or 3:13 PM.  My mileage read out will say 313 miles, the calorie counter on the tread mill will say 3.13 miles, 313 minutes.  I always point it out to [my partner] and he said to see if you might have some insight into what this may mean!  Any ideas?

Before I get into the specifics of his question, let me describe my own experience, a question I posed to spirit, and their answer.

About fifteen years ago, I started seeing specific combinations of numbers regularly.  When I saw them, I also felt something that let me know there was a message there.

The first set of numbers that I would see (typically on a clock) were 5:26.  This made sense to me because that is my birthday – 5/26.  Soon, the phenomena morphed and I would notice myriad times on a clock that ended with :26. In fact, it really got weird one night when I went to a movie with a college roommate.  As we waited for the movie to start, we talked and conversation led to this oddity that I was experiencing.  Little to my knowledge, my friend was carrying a small digital clock in his pocket and as I spoke of the :26 quirkiness, he slowly pulled it out and looked at it.  His face paled slightly as he turned the clock so I could see it.  It read 9:26! We both shivered!

Years later, the :26 trend gave way to double digits, triple digits and double-double digits.  Examples are, of course, 11:11, 11:22, 12:22, 1:11, 4:44, etc.  Some days, I would catch a number of these as the day went on, and other days, nothing.  I’ve even had phone conversations that spanned the hour between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm where I caught only the double-doubles and never a minute otherwise (11:11, 11:22, 11:33, 11:44, 11:55).  I was completely involved in the conversation not trying to do anything; it just happened that way.

If you read the blog often, you’ve heard me talk of numbers I see when I am writing.  I first write blog entries in MS Word, and that program keeps track of the number of words written.  It only updates every now and again.  Just a moment ago, it counted 444, which displayed in the middle of a natural pause.

So, what do these numbers mean?  That’s what everyone wants to know, of course.

So one day, I asked spirit this question, “Why do you show me the numbers some days and not others?”  I couldn’t quite find a pattern between the days I caught the numbers and the days I didn’t.

Some short time after that, in a moment of absolute clarity, I heard this reply as if spoken to me,

“We don’t show you numbers some days and not others. You sometimes see them and sometimes not.  They are a reminder to yourself of the times when you are listening.  It is just the same with our guidance.  We are always guiding you, you are just sometimes listening and sometimes not.  When you see the numbers, you are simply reminding yourself that you are listening a little bit better than when you do not.”

That made complete sense to me.  It also answered another question I had.  There have been a number of times in the past when I have received very clear information while, let’s say, under the influence.  However, most of the time, it was as if I entered a room where a conversation was already going on.  No one stopped talking to welcome me.  No one said, “Hi David!  Now that you are here, we have something to tell you.”  Instead, I walked into the middle of a dissertation of sorts.  The tapes had been rolling and I just picked it up in the middle and followed along.

So guidance is always forth coming.  That’s why it is always available.  No, we do not hear it all of the time, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

So, now let’s dive into my friend’s specific question.

It is 12:12 right now, and they wish to speak directly.  (My words interjected are placed in [square brackets] ).

Dear M____, What David wrote above, to some degree, applies to you and all reading this. You are within constant guidance and you each set up specific ways to remind yourself of this.

However, in your case, you are doing more than just trying to catch your attention.  You work with machines [computers] and are, at times, surrounded with numbers [in your field of vision on the screen or on paper].  The numbers chosen had to have special and specific meaning for you.

In your case, the numbers date back to before your birth.  They relate and connect your lineage, your mother and your father.  They indicate a longevity of plan.

In the most basic case, they are evidence of something more.  We had David pull three Tarot cards for you.  The first card in the position of “past” is Death (#13).  The center card, your “present”, is the 3 of Wands. And the final card, “future” is the Queen of Wands.  Reading from the center out? 3-13-Q

The 3 of Wands simply means “evidence”.  It is when you can see what is happening on a deeper level.  This 3-13 phenomena is just that, evidence.  Yet it is also a message indicating something about who you are.

In the center of 3-1-3 is 1.  As a 1, you are unique.  Yes, all of you are unique, but you, M___, have an acceptance of this more than most.  You are not rebelling against the whole, just simply being the 1 that you are.

As 3-13, there is another message.  3-13 is also 3-4 (the 13 reducing 1+3=4).  The message here is the creation (3) of stability (4).  Part of your gift to the world is through your creating of stability wherever you set your intention to do so.  You do this in your job every day.  You do this in your family. You do this in your clan [friends].

Returning to 3-1-3, there is yet another message.  [As I pause, the word count is 1113.]  3-1-3 in this regard means three 1’s and a 3 or 1113.  [Another pause as I arrive at 1131.]  This message is in part a clue for your future.  Three 1s come together and then 3.  Three individuals come together to create.  Allow this coded message to flow into your being.  Allow it to inspire within you some course of action as it presents itself.  This is, of course, a potential that lies before you.

Lastly, 3-1-3 means the creating (3) of self (1) in order to create (3) again.  As you create, you develop a new version of who you are and that new greater version of who you are then goes out and creates at a new and greater level.  That is your purpose; that is your course; that is how you live; and that is how you will continue.  Always look to see how your past creations helped you become who you now are, and then look to where the new you wants to go in terms of future creations.

And this last message is where you are an example for the rest of us.  You (as the 1 between two 3’s) were chosen to help convey this message to everyone.  You all are 3-1-3.  Your purpose is to create (3), your purpose is to create who you are becoming (3-1), and your purpose it to then embrace who you have become to create anew (3-1-3).  This is the cycle of creation as written in A Fool’s Journey.

When you all see evidence of your creating (3 of Wands), be it good/successful/pleasing or bad/unsuccessful/displeasing, know that it is merely information.  In creating your self expression, you are continually deciding on what to keep (3 of Pentacles) and what to cut away (3 of Swords).

Celebrate (3 of Cups) this process!  If you could not see the “bad” results, you could not know how to improve your creating!

It was only a day ago when we showed David, via a dream, masters performing their work.  And a single day later, and in response to that very blog, one of them stands up into the light, for all to see. He, of course, did not know that that was what he was doing!  Ha! Surprise for him!

Who’s next?  Who else would like to drop their mask of modesty and allow the world to see their mastery?  Is it you?

I would like to add a few notes to the bottom of this blog.  The Death card is about Transformation or Transmutation.  In a way, it is a path to stability through significant change.  The Queen of Wands is a woman who is fully within her power.  She remains soft and at the same time radiant.  True power need not look male (even within men).

Also, it is interesting that today is 4-14...

What does Mastery look like?

Some of you may recall that in January, I mentioned how 2010 is a 3 year (2+0+1+0=3), and I also mentioned how each quarter of the year would hold the vibration of one of the threes in the Tarot.

Well, we are in the 2nd quarter and I have yet to reveal which three is up.  I actually wrote a blog entry about it a couple of weeks ago, but never posted it.  It just didn’t feel right, so I waited.

And then today, I figured out why.

2010 is a 3 year, but April is a 4 month and spirit wants me to talk about four first.  Notice how last week’s blog was about the 4 of Pentacles.  Well this week, we’re going to talk about an aspect of four.

Within the vibration of 4 is mastery and perfection.

Even as I write that sentence, I am reticent.  If you look at the first edition of A Fool’s Journey, you will notice that I did not include those words within the description of the number four, even though I kept hearing them from spirit.

I resisted them because it didn’t make sense to me.  Why would mastery be four?  Four is not even halfway through the cycle! Four, as I understand it, is the end of linear growth, but there is still more growth beyond it.

And...?

That was spirit again.  I guess their point is that mastery is not the end of the cycle.

Mastery and perfection are two highly misunderstood words in spirituality. As similar as the words are, I am just now realizing how, despite understanding one of them, I was still way off on the other.

To explain, spirit has been showing me the Perfection of the Universe for a while now, and I get it. I really get it.  I see perfection everywhere, when I’m paying attention.  In fact, I see perfection more easily when things go wrong.  Why?  Because I’m able to see how my thoughts created the "failure” in the perfect way.  Where I fail to see perfection is when things don’t happen at all, but that is a whole other story. LOL

So, in understanding the Perfection of the Universe, I stopped looking for things to be perfect (the old definition of the word).  Perfection is not when the whole world reaches peace and harmony.  Perfection is right now, when the whole world can think differently and create exactly as they think. 

Perfection is when one can have everything that they desire even in the presence of others who do not.  Look around, do you not see rich people traveling throughout a world where poor people exist, healthy people moving among the infirm, fit people running past the rest of us.  All conditions exist on this little blue planet.  We do not need every person to think like us to find our happiness.

So, why did that new definition of perfection not get me to a better definition of mastery?  Up until this morning, I thought of mastery as the old style perfection in action.  I thought to be a master, you had to have already created everything you desired successfully.  I thought your life had to be evidence of success, proof of spirituality, a demonstration of abundance.  I would ask myself, “How can I be a master when I’m not accomplishing half of what I desire?”

For a long time, I hesitated to teach metaphysical classes.  I figured, who’s going to listen to me talk about creating higher vibration relationships when I’m single and have been for most of my life?  Who’s going to follow the guidance I’ve received about creating abundance when my income has been insignificant for 5 years now?  How can I help people find happiness when my sad days keep coming back?

And today I got it.

In a reading I received on Sunday, a man says to me that I am doing the same work that Moses did.  I am leading others out of the desert.  And that planted a seed within me.

Moses was in the desert too!

He didn’t have a magical map telling him the way out, but he could hear his guidance, and it came one day at a time for 40 years.

What clenched this concept for me was a dream that I woke from Monday morning.  All night long, spirit showed me one master and then another.  In every case, that master was working on a key to unlock their own chains.  That’s all they were doing.  They weren’t free; they weren’t done; they didn’t even see the evidence of their success; they were just working away following guidance and learning as they went.

Who better to lead you out of addiction than one who has been addicted?  Who better to lead you into marriage but one who is trying to get there himself?  Who better to teach you how to love yourself but the one who has never really loved himself?

The masters, as we used to think of them, have been here on this planet, or so we believe.  Most religions say they will return and save us from this quite imperfect and harsh reality.  But what if that’s not the way it is meant to work?  What if there are masters everywhere and each is discovering their own mastery in their own time?  What if all of us can benefit from what the others around us are working on?

Did Jesus look like a master?  Was he adorned in jewels and rich fabrics?  Was the Buddha?  And why not? Did they not know about abundance back then?

It is easy to look back at the memory of a man or woman and say, “There went a master,” but it is much harder when you can see their humanity at the same time.

Tiger Woods was called a master in his art once, and then the world got to see his “imperfection” and “hanged” him for it.  They put him on a pedestal and then tore him off of it too.

I am sure that all of you have heard it said, “The eyes are the windows of the soul”.  Notice that they don’t say, “The eyes are the cameras of the soul”!  The eyes are biased.  They see as they were taught to see.  We can only read languages we have been taught to read; the others are merely Greek.

Mastery is not what is seen with the eyes.  It is not what is understood by the mind.  It is what is felt by heart, but only when the heart is open.

Mastery, like genius, is only felt by those who are close to their own.

The Fool is a master, yet he looks like a fool.  He is misunderstood by the masses, but he pays them no mind.  He sees them, but gives them no power over his journey.

Now I understand why they wanted me to talk about the Mask, the Shield and the Sword before this post.  As long as we hide ourselves from others for fear of not “looking like masters”, we prevent our true mastery from showing through.  We are not supposed to be Jesus and Buddha.  We are not meant to be perfect and flawless.

Mastery is not the end of the cycle, but rather the middle. Mastery is about awareness and acceptance.  It is when we catch a glimpse of a greater version of ourselves and then continue on the journey towards it.

Accept your mastery and let’s all find a way to our own version of paradise, one sandy step at a time.

The Mask, the Shield, and the Sword

Do you remember that game Rock Paper Scissors? Remember how paper beats rock by covering it up?  Well hold on to that thought because it is an analogy for something we all possess.

Today, I am going to mix my modalities a bit.  I am going to mix a little Astrology and Tarot.

First, we are going to revisit the birth chart.  When looking at a birth chart, the most basic aspects to look at are the sun, moon and ascendant.  The sun indicates your personality.  The moon indicates how you express your heart, how you express your emotions.  And then there is your rising sign or ascendant.

A few weeks ago, spirit described the ascendant as one’s “mask, shield and sword”.  I had previously learned it as your outer personality, the personality you tend to exhibit to those you do not know.

If your sun sign were a rock, your rising sign would be paper. In fact, that is the gift of our rising sign. It is a tool, of our own choosing, and one that we can wield at a moment’s notice. We do this unconsciously. Many a time, when I have tried to guess someone’s sign within an hour of meeting them, I ended up guessing their rising sign (or at least the element of their rising sign).

So why did spirit describe the rising sign as the mask, shield and sword?  Well, it is a mask when we use it to hide our sun or our moon.  It is a shield when we use it for protection, and it is a sword when we defend ourselves through it.  Notice that the mask, shield and sword are just parts of a suit of armor and that there are only subtle differences between their uses.

Let’s look at some examples of how a rising sign can be put to use. Let’s say our rising sign is Leo.  Leo is a fixed fire sign ruled by the sun.  Like the sun, Leo’s like to light up the room.  They like to be the center of attention and their fixed fire energy, like the July sun, can last all day.

So, how does that work as a rising sign?  Well, Leo rising is the aspect of the performer. A person may be shy and introverted, but put them on stage and watch the Leo shine!  In this example, the rising sign is used as a mask, like during Mardi Gras or a Halloween party.  Have you ever found your inhibitions melting away when the anonymity of a mask removes all self-consciousness?

Okay, how about Leo as a shield; what would that look like?  Well, Leo is the king of the jungle and as such, has his fair share of ego. Only the best will do for the lion. In nature, the male lion often lives alone in his lofty nook.  As such, Leos can be aloof.  With Leo rising, one can shield himself from danger by separating himself from the crowd.  “I’m above that behavior,” he might say, and rather than confront a problem, he merely walks away from it.

Now Leo used as a sword is easy to spot, “I am lion, hear me roar”.  Leo, as fixed fire, has a long fuse, but once gone, his fire can burn and burn. If push comes to shove and a Leo rising is backed into a corner, watch out; his fire will burn singeing your eyebrows!

Of course, I know Leo rising so well because I am one!  And, for whatever reason, we seem to run in packs because I know more people with Leo rising than any other.

So, the rising sign, like any other characteristic of our chart is an aspect of ego and ego is nothing more that that part of us that makes us unique.  The rising sign, when used as a mask, shield or sword, separates us from our surroundings.  In this regard, it is again simply an aspect of ego.  In reality, we are not separate, but thanks to ego, we experience ourselves separated from All That Is, and for a reason. Sometimes we love it, sometimes we hate it, but this separation always serves us.

The degree of separation is a choice however, and this brings us to the 2nd part of this blog.

Recently, I have been pulling the 4 of Pentacles in many readings I have done for myself.  The 4 of Pentacles is a little tricky because it can be very positive or fairly negative.

Pentacles represent earth and therefore physical matter.  It can represent our body, our home, or money.  It can also represent our work meaning our livelihood, how we make a living and support ourselves.

To me, physical matter is just slow moving energy and thus the 4 of Pentacles can also represent non-physical energy held within the body and mind.

Four is the number of stability.  It is a platform that once reached, gives us a reprieve from otherwise constant growth.  Often, when reaching the four, things feel pretty good.  Initial goals have been reached and the choice to continue or not is often ours.

So one can interpret the 4 of Pentacles as financial security, a stable job and a stable income.  It can mean money in the bank, savings, having enough with some left over.  When the 4 of Pentacles comes up, we have already successfully created something that we desired.

But at times, the possessions we own own us.  At the 4 of Pentacles, we now have something to lose!  Fear of loss causes us to protect our cache (or our cash).  Fours are conservative and the 4 of Pentacles maximally.

If you look at the card, you will see a man who is holding on to his coins.  They are often times depicted as very large in comparison to his size.  When you look at him, rather than basking in luxury like the woman on the 9 of Pentacles, he looks like a miser, pinching each penny he spends.

So while the 4 of Pentacles can indicate financial success and stability, it can also indicate over protection and stinginess.  It can indicate our cutting off of abundance with fear.

In one deck that I have, the miser clutches his giant coins in front of a wall that is taller than he is (or nearly so).  Spirit said to me once when I was doing a reading for another, “he cannot surpass the wall unless he lets go of the load”.  The coins are large because at this point, what we are holding on to is greater than our own weight.

Once, when in a particularly clear conversation with spirit, they spoke to me about protection.  They said, you can walk around with your skin off, naked and unprotected, or you can walk around in a suit of armor.  When you are unprotected, you can more easily get hurt, but your growth will be fast.  When you are coated in armor, you will feel safe, but with safety comes very slow growth.

And, of course, there are all of the states in between.

And that’s where the rising sign comes in.  Our rising sign is the suit of armor we chose before we were born.  We all have one.  It is with us at all times and can be put on instantaneously.  If we feel unsafe, it is there for our protection.

But it doesn’t have to be used. The knight sheds his armor when he makes love to his lady.

Spirit always says to me, “All choices are valid”. It is your choice.  Protect yourself when you desire protection and expose yourself when you want to. But remember the way of The Fool. He knows that when he asks for growth, spirit may guide him to shed his clothes and run through the forest.  Will he look foolish? Sure. But appearing foolish is not foolish.  Spirit knows what his heart desires and spirit also knows how he is keeping it from himself.  The Fool’s Journey is always from where we are to where we want to be and there are infinite ways to get there.  You can take the fast track or meander the scenic one. You can rest in the sun or frolic through the grass.

Look at your rising sign and compare it to your sun and moon.  Learn how you protect yourself and how you hide your more vulnerable parts from others.  Then ask yourself if you are over-protecting yourself.  Maybe, to reach your most desired goal, it is time to lay down the mask, shield and sword, most especially the sword.

If you need any assistance in looking at these aspects and getting divine guidance on any of it, I am happy to help.  For a cost of $40 and via email, I will be happy to look up your rising, sun and moon signs and gather some guidance for you from spirit on the combination.  We can even focus on a particular subject for the reading.

And I now offer one-question tarot readings via email for only $30, a most affordable way to receive some tools to help you on your way. Visit my website and/or email me for more details.

Many blessings to you as we travel this most beautiful season of the year!

The Birth Chart - Self versus Others

Recently, I have begun trying my hand doing readings using Natal Chart Astrology.  Over the years, I’ve learned a bit here and there to get myself started, and now primarily employ my “intuitive research” to take it further.  By not studying too much, I allow my guides to bring to me what they want me to know about a person’s chart.

Looking at birth charts is like looking into the Akashic Records.  There is information there concerning a person’s gifts, purpose and potentials in this life. Allow me to paint a picture for you to help you better see what I am discussing.

A birth chart, on paper, looks like a circle divided into 12 segments. Your chart is therefore a 2-dimensional snap shot image of the sky the moment you were born.  However, rather than it being the view of the sky from the ground looking up, it is a view from the North looking towards the Southern horizon.  To the far left is the Eastern horizon and to the far right the West.

If you were born at sunrise, the sun would be on the far left just on the horizon.  If you were born at noon, the sun would be directly above at the top of your field of vision.  Since the birth chart looks at the whole sky and not just what we see from the earth, if you were born at midnight, the sun would be directly below at the bottom of your field of vision.  If you now draw a circle from the left, up to noon, down to the West and around the bottom, you have the birth chart.

With each passing minute, the whole circle rotates clockwise rising in the East and setting in the West.  Along that circle are the 12 zodiac signs. Within the circle are marked each of the planets, the sun and the moon based on where they were the moment you were born and what sign they were in.

This circle is also divided up into 12 houses.  The difference between the signs and the houses is that while the signs rotate based on what time of day you were born, the houses do not. The 1st house, for example, is always just below the Eastern horizon. The next 6 houses are those below the horizon counting from East to West.  Just above the Western horizon is the 7th house, and then the 8th through the 12th counting from West to East.  So the sky rotates clockwise, but the houses are numbered counter-clockwise.

Most recently, my attention has been place on two houses in particular, the 1st house and the 7th house.  The 1st house is ruled by Mars, modeled after the sign of Aries and is primarily concerned with Self include self-expression and potential. The 7th house, which is directly across from the 1st, is ruled by Venus, modeled after the sign of Libra and is primarily concerned with Others, especially partners and spouses.

As I mentioned earlier, if we are on the earth looking South at the moment of a birth, we can only see the top half of the sky.  Also notice that this means we can clearly see everything in the Others house, but we cannot see anything in the Self house. A part of my mind questioned why this is and then on Sunday, while participating in some readings, I receive the following insight.

This “setup” is by design!

It is human nature to not easily see aspects of self. Yes, we think we know ourselves, but how well do we really know ourselves?  Have you ever had someone tell you something about yourself that you never noticed prior to them telling you?  “Oh my God, you are right!” you might say, “I never realized that before!” And yet it is also human nature to see Others easily.  How often have we thought, “her problem is so obvious, if only she could see it!”?

Why would it be setup this way?

I believe it is setup this way for a reason.  It is the same reason we are all here together, rather than being in a realm of our own.  Surely we could learn what we need to learn about ourselves by being in a separate reality of our own making, but we aren’t.  We are all in the SAME reality, yet making up our part of it.  Surely it takes a lot more work for the universe to maintain this combined reality than the separate ones.

Let’s look at how things work here.

Let’s assume we (you and I) are more aware than most people.  We have studied the Law of Attraction and we know, or at least are coming to know, that we create our own reality.  We also know that we are not doing as well as we would like, and so we began a study of self in order to improve our results.  We figure if our thoughts (and nothing else) create our reality then to better understand our thoughts is to better understand our creating.

Through observation, we notice something is missing from our life (or notice that something is not the way we would like it to be).  So we ask (in prayer or meditation) to better understand this.  What are we then shown?

Well, we are shown Others.  It is just like the birth chart.  Self is hidden under the horizon, but Others is not hidden.

Allow me an example.  Spirit started doing something for me a few years ago.  They started giving me “double vision”.  Most times that I had “drama” with another person, I would have the same (or very similar) drama playing out with two DIFFERENT people.  What is the only thing in common to those situations?  ME!  By having the same drama twice at the same time with two different people, I couldn’t help but accept responsibility.  I couldn’t even try and blame the others.

So, in looking at my relationship with these others, I could figure out what was happening within myself that was causing (attracting) the situation.  We could summarize it this way:

By objectively observing our relationship with others, we can better come to know ourselves.

Right now, someone is saying this to me:

“Know thyself!”

I think Socrates is here with us guiding this understanding!

If you Google “Know Thyself”, you will find some very inspirational writings.  The Greeks caught on to this concept a long, long time ago.  They considered it the key to happiness.

So how does this subject fit in with other things I’ve discussed in this blog.  Well first, you may recall when I’ve spoken about The Lovers card.  To review, The Lovers card signifies the choice between two paths.  It also means romantic love.  How does it mean both?  By signifying the ultimate choice, the choice to experience God within Self or to experience God through Others.  It is the same God either way.  Really, the only option is to experience God because we cannot not experience God with God being All That Is.  So the choice is an illusion, yet so is this entire realm.

Looking at the birth chart again, consider this.  The birth chart shows the heavens that surround us (at the moment of birth).  This plane of existence that we live on is the surface of the earth. It is the line running through the center of the chart, the horizon. We are here, walking the surface of the earth and are facing West. We come from Self and head towards Others.  This is again the Fool’s Journey.  As time passes, more of Self emerges behind us rising from the Easter horizon while more of Others descends to the West.  Why would these coincide?  Because as we come to know an aspect of ourselves, we no longer need that aspect to be reflected in others.

Think of it this way, when I have a "button”, I don’t know it until someone else pushes it.  However, once it is pushed, it gains all of my attention! That’s what pain is.  So when others “hurt” me, they are merely pushing a button to get my attention.  Once I “figure it out” (intellectually and/or emotionally), which could take an entire lifetime, I only then allow that experience to set, to stop happening within my plane of existence because I “learned” what I needed to learn.  The button goes away and even if others do the same thing, it will no longer bother me.

Here is another correlation to recent blogs.  The 1st house (Self) is ruled by Mars.  Thus Self is related to the Male Force.  Why?  Because Self is what we do!  We express Self.  We cannot express anything else.  We may express a false self, a believed self, but that is still an aspect of Self until it isn’t.

And, of course, the 7th house (Others) is ruled by Venus and represents the Female Force.  It is through Relationship with Others that we receive, at least in the most noticeable ways.  As long as we are in tune with the illusion of separation, we are Self and everything else is Others and thus we fulfill our Self by connecting with Others. 

However, we can always shift that perspective.  When we move beyond the flat surface of this reality, we can see the entire chart; we can see all of Self and thus fulfill ourselves from the inside.  And one way to do this is to commune with God through mediation.

And, since space is an illusion as much as time is, there is no difference between inside and outside. When we move to this greater perspective, All That Is is as much here and now as anywhere and ever.  Thus everything we desire is here and now and accessible to us.

Your nighttime dreams feel real until you wake up. This reality here on earth feels real until you wake up (also known as dying).  Some day, you’ll know just how much of an illusion this place really is.

In the mean time, play!  Imagine!  Pretend!  And that is all it takes!  It is an unseen shift on the inside (below the horizon) that creates shifts in what we see, and what we touch, out there!

We are meant to interact with Others on our journey to discover Self.  Others is not just other people, but things, everything.  We are meant to be in this physical realm and playing this physical game.  There are all kinds of evidence to answer any question we can come up with.

Ask and you shall receive.

And I hope you have been enjoying these weekly blogs. It was my intension for 2010 to publish an entry every week and so far, I have done just that.  I will soon be heading out of the country for a while, so will not publish another entry until sometime in March.

Until then, happy manifesting...

Fate, Free Will and Sacred Contracts

Before I begin this week's blog, I would like to thank all of you for your thoughts, comments, support and love.  The response to last week’s entry was heartwarming!  My Dad is out of the hospital now and improving.  His journey, of course, continues, and we are grateful!

This week, we have another reader-submitted question.  It is:

Everyone talks about the Law of Attraction...and I'm wondering how exactly that fits in with Sacred Contracts, fate/destiny and maybe even free will.

What I struggle with a lot is this:  If something doesn't happen, does it mean that I didn't want it bad enough or that it wasn't meant to be?  To clarify, when I say "want it bad enough", I'm referring to doing the "making it happen" kind of thing, not just sitting and pining for it.  I can be left feeling like a failure and not sure whether all my efforts would have yielded it at all.  Perhaps it wasn't "meant to be" and I'll be shown why later?

It may sound like a childish question, but just writing it lets me know how emotionally charged a question it is for me.

I’ve sat with this question for a little over a week (when this was first written) and the information has been coming in bit-by-bit.  When it wants to be written, it wants to be written, even if it is 3:30 in the morning!

Just yesterday (nearly 2 weeks ago now), spirit said this to me (and through me to a friend I was having a discussion with) the following...

When you are in the middle of a situation that you are not happy about, and you find yourself unsuccessfully “trying to make it work”, consider this:  Most people, (let’s say 10 years ago), manifested an entire experience before taking the first step.  Their cumulated thoughts and emotions about the particular subject created a complete script.  Then one day, they walked into that script and began living it.  Most people (10 years ago) simply react to what shows up with the same vibration that was presented to them, so the script pretty much goes as planned.

Let’s think about it this way.  We have some experience (a relationship, a job, money, etc.) that we desire.  Every time we think about it, it is like putting a marble in a jar.  The color of the marble matches the thought/feeling.

Over the years, we think and think about what we want.  Some of our thoughts are blue and some are pink.  Let’s say it’s relationship that we’ve wanted for years now.  Our jar is likely to be quite full of marbles at this point.  So the Universe takes those marbles and arranges them into a script.  If 60% of the marbles are pink, then 60% of the time, the scripted relationship is fated to feel like pink.  The other 40% are blue and so 40% of the time it’ll feel blue.  All of this gets created before we even meet the person.

Now the particular script need not use up all of the marbles we’ve placed in our relationship jar, yet it does draw from them.  So the script not only states how the relationship will transpire (how it will feel), but what is learned and how long it will take.  When the relationship showed up, this person (from 10 years ago) pretty much took each moment and reacted to it.  When they got a blue marble, they created a new blue marble and put it back in the jar.  When they got a pink marble, again they created a new one and put it back in the jar.  Nothing gained, nothing lost.

And that is how it worked, more times than not, 10 years ago.  And that is what we think of as fate.

Why is it helpful to think about this now? (Or how can we look at this in a way that is helpful?)

Well, for one, there is still a lot of this happening now.  Fate still feels like fate.  So, when you are already in the middle of some scenario in your life, and it is not going well, thinking that it is already done (fully manifested) can help you stop “trying” so hard.  One of the biggest blocks to manifestation is “trying to make it happen”.  So, consider it done (at least for now) and stop trying.  It is going to be what it wants to be because it was created a while back (and based on a lot of marbles).

The point is to allow it to be whatever it is and to not react to it at all or at least lessen the reaction to it.

You will pass the lesson when you lessen your reaction to what shows up.

Don’t make what is happening “mean” so much about who you are now, what you are doing, or what’s in store for you.  You are walking through a script of your own making, but which was made by who you USED to be. It is going to run its course, so relax and make the best of it.  If it is going to “succeed” then it already has, and if it is going to “fail”, then it already has.

By not reacting to it, we stop putting back a marble of the same color we pulled out.  It is up to us.  We can get a blue marble out, and put a white one in, or a yellow one.  We don’t have to just reproduce a blue one.

Now, let’s relate this to the question as it was specifically stated.  Our querent speaks of “wanting it badly” and the “effort” spent in trying to “make it happen”.  These words express frustration. 

So, look at this current situation and say, “This is done.  I have (non-physically) scripted this (particular experience) a long time back, and now I am just walking through it.  I need not try.  I need not expend effort to change its course because it is already fated to be what it will be.  So I now choose to walk through this and get what I need to get from it, to see what I need to see from it.”

So, that is how “fate” works.  Fate is not really fate, it is just that something has been created, non-physically, in the past, and when it arrives, physically, it is so well formed as to be what it will be.  That is why Pre-Paving is so important.  So much of what we experience is manifested before we live it.  The anticipation of a thing (event, experience) is paramount!  If you dread or worry, you anticipate something unpleasant, but that is still anticipation.

And remember, this is how it was (10 years ago), but not necessarily how it is now and going forward.

At this point I want to take an aside.  Spirit also gave me some information for myself.  They told me that for a while, I overreacted to situations.  When I got a soft blue, I reacted with a strong blue and when I got pink, I created bright pink in response.  As a result, the lows got lower (or at least felt lower) and the highs got higher!

In a sense, I created a split in my experience.  For me, the 60/40 ratio might have been fairly consistent for a long time, but when things were good, everything was good, and when things felt off, it all felt off.

It was like living two different lives and alternating between them.

I was very intrigued to learn of this.  It completely explained why my life has been the way it has been!  All of this came pouring out of my mouth as I talked with my friend and was all new information about my life!

And then, they also reminded me that now I am reacting less to both the highs and the lows, so this split is coming back together.  Hmm, interesting.  Well, enough about me!

So, today, the “free will” part is so much more powerful than it used to be (10 years ago).  The time to manifest is so much shorter that we can literally make it up as we go!  But how do we do this?

First, remember in the above scenario, the reaction was the same as what showed up.  Good things made us happy and bad things made us sad, so we pretty much just followed the script (energetically) and kept creating the same marbles we got.

Yet, now, as we let go of reacting and instead choose to be who we want to be, in light of (or in lieu of) whatever shows up, we no longer simply follow the script any longer.

Let’s say that today, instead of always reacting to blue marbles, we sometimes don’t react at all.  That means that even if we are not creating any more pink marbles than we were before, we are creating less blue ones, and thus the next relationship (or whatever experience we are creating) will have a greater percentage of pink!

Sometimes, we are so attached to getting pink, that even when we get a white marble, we create a blue one just because the white marble was not a pink one.  This too changes as we let go.

And you want to know a secret? Just because we create a blue marble, doesn’t mean we can’t take it out of the jar before it manifests.  Our thoughts and feelings are constantly interacting with our jar.  We can affect the marbles before we experience them!  For example, we can create gold marbles!  These are magic and have the ability to lighten up the color of the marbles around them no matter what color they were to begin with.

You don’t have to get rid of the lows.  You can still have bad days, bad thoughts, bad feelings, and get what you want.  You just need to let all that go!  I can want something “so bad” one day, entertain the same old negative thoughts about it that day, forget about it (within an hour or two) and then GET what I wanted the very next day!  It really does happen that quickly!

It is not yet happening that way for everything.  And what I get might not stay around a long time, but the universe is showing me what is possible.

So “free will” shifts the physical manifestation of the “fated” relationship AND, at the same time, pre-paves the future with better energy!  That’s why Abraham always says it doesn’t matter where you are, only that you turn “down stream” and go with the flow.  A little shift in this regard gets the movement towards better and better experience and it adds up quickly.

So, with a small shift, our percentage “good” will increase with each manifestation.  Yet, this also means that more things have to “fail”! Why?  Because what we created in the past is no longer as “good” as we are!  For example, the current experience dynamic we’re in is 60% good, but we’re now responding positively 70% of the time.  That means the next one will be 70% positive.  That also means this current 60% experience just might not be able to keep up with us and will drift away.

This is not just about people, but anything.  A job.  A friendship.  A home.  It can happen with anything.  You shift yourself higher, then watch how the old (whatever) starts to fall back.  If you run back to keep it going, you’ll lower your energy to match it.

And that’s the Free Will part.  We get to choose how to respond to whatever shows up and that response is significant to our present and future well being.

So what about Sacred Contracts?

Well, Sacred Contracts are no different than fate, they just were typically created, non-physically, before we got here (before we were born).  But Sacred Contracts are not really contracts at all! Not the way we think of them here.  They are NOT binding!  You are free to opt out at any time.  In fact, you are encouraged to do so! 

There are billions of us here.  If you opt out of your side of a contract, and the other side still needs to learn the lesson, someone else will be put into your place. THAT’S the perfection of the universe.  Every move is anticipated and accounted for.  No one specific contract is needed for anyone.

So often, when we think of Karmic relationships, we think of the bad stuff.  “I was fated to be with a man who would fail me in this way.”  Well, maybe you did have a contract to date one, or even marry one because on the soul level, you needed to learn something from them and they needed to learn something from you.  But you can learn as fast as you want and are not tied to their learning.  So when you’ve learned what you needed to learn, you can shift your life.  And in so doing, you just might be inspiring their learning in a way you couldn’t before.  But remember, they get to choose their part, so they just might not come along with you.  That’s where the letting go comes in again.  As you grow, you just might have to let go of those things that are no longer supporting you.

So now, to close, I want to write about what was actually the first message that showed up.

Spirit wants us to know that we have more information about our futures than we realize. Take any subject, something you want to manifest in your life, and think about it. What is the first thought/feeling that jumps in? 

Do you feel optimistic?               “It’s gonna happen someday.”
Do you feel frustrated?               “I just can’t seem to make it happen.”
Are you angry?                            “I’m tired of it being this way.”
Or are you excited?                    “It is going to be awesome, I just know it.”
(The list goes on…)

The first impression, the first thought/feeling that comes up is where you are right now.  The better it feels, the closer it is to happening and happening the way you want it to.

Think about it for a little while and see where it goes.  Does the frustration increase as you think about it or does it decrease?  If it increases, that means that old tapes are playing.  You started off optimistic, but then your vibration waned as the old tapes played.  (Are these thoughts about deservability, by chance?)  And if you started off on the low side, but found that you felt better as you thought about it, then you have learned some good techniques for guiding yourself along.  You are training yourself to think positively about things you are not positive about just yet.

And just for the fun of it, let’s say the old tape is about worthiness or deservability.  Nothing achieved in this realm is deserved.  NOTHING.  Don’t believe me?  Look around.  Does anyone in your life have what they deserve, really?  Don’t you see signs everywhere of people not getting what they deserve (either good or bad)?  Some people are mean and never seem to get what they deserve, and then some of the good guys never get what they deserve (what they earned) either.

We don’t get what we deserve. We CREATE what we get, through ATTRACTION, through expectation and anticipation. Good deeds don’t even help if we did them out of obligation or some other fear based thought.

The less we make it about what happens, the more we “make it” happen.

I got exactly what I wanted?  That’s nice.
I missed the mark by 40%?  No big deal, that was the old me that created it.  The new me has already moved on to a better place.
It still hasn’t happened yet? That’s okay, I have plenty to entertain myself in the mean time.  I think I’ll throw a few more good vibes into the script before it gets here so it’s that much better!

Okay, and one last piece.  If it feels like work, it’s probably not the right thing to do.  It shouldn’t feel like work or effort.  In fact, some things in my life manifested with hardly more than a fleeting thought.  One day, I thought, “It would be nice to have xyz,” and then I forgot about it.  That thought would come back now and again, but not with any attachment.  Then one day, it just showed up.  I did NOTHING to make it happen on the physical plane.  It just showed up all by itself.  [Yes, someone else made it happen physically, but I wasn’t involved.]

If there is a lot of emotion around what is not happening, spend time feeling good about your life as it is.  Don’t waste energy trying to make it happen, just find the best in what is.  One day, I finally found relief around a few subjects when I realized that if I never became other than what I was, that was okay.  I could live with the successes I already had and the status quo.  It was amazing how much was lifted off of my shoulders.  I stopped feeling like a failure because what I was trying to do was not happening.

Some of those things have still not happened, but that’s just fine because I’ve learned to enjoy what comes as it comes better.  I still worry and pine here and there, but less so.

And remember, you are not alone.  Lean on those around you.  Ask for what you want and you just might be surprised the responses you get.

Big Hugs to All!

Passing the 3 of Swords

On January 2, 2010, I wrote a blog entry called Cutting Away the Old based on information I got from Spirit about this first quarter of 2010.  In a typical fashion, images came to me as way of analogy and I wrote about them.  You may recall that toward the beginning, I wrote about three paths through the 3 of Swords.

Normally, I shy away from writing about explicit personal events, but I feel that this time I am going to make an exception.

Right now, Tuesday morning I am back at my parent’s house in CT.  As of 4:00 am Monday, I had no plans to travel, yet by 7:00 am, I was driving to the airport.

What happened?  Well, at 4:45 am, I got a call that my dad was in the hospital and had lost such a significant amount of blood, it was not certain that he would “make the night”.

For nearly two hours, everyone’s phones were continually lit up as each member of the family shared tidbits of information with another, including how they were feeling about what was happening.  Thus the journey began.

My brother and I had the longest to travel, having to fly, so we would not arrive into CT until nearly 12 hours after first hearing the news. We didn’t get to see our father until 8:00 pm that night.  The great news is that, by then, he was stable.  He had pulled through and they now knew what had happened.  For about an hour, the family surrounded him in the hospital bed and the relief that everyone felt was obvious.

My sisters and brother-in-law, after a long day, returned to their own homes and the boys took Mom home to get some much-needed rest.

Now I only got to see the immediately family, but the evidence of the love of others was everywhere.  The extended family (whether extended by blood or not) had shown so much support, generosity and caring.  I look forward to seeing them as they are truly family.

Exhausted, I went to bed and right to sleep. Some hours later, in the dark, I woke with a sharp realization.  What I had written 23 days ago had almost come to pass just as I saw it!  My father has a tumor pressing on an internal organ that had grown to create significant pain just like in that 2nd vision.  But, similar to the 3rd one, he also experienced bleeding, significant bleeding, and this took away “choice” and forced a hospital visit as an emergency.

When I wrote those words then, I did not think they would be prophetic.  I did not see this happening to my father specifically, I just saw and felt the analogy and it fit the energy pattern that was being conveyed to me.

And seeing my father last night, “looking” better than I had seen him in a long, long time, I knew that he had passed his 3 of Swords.  The tumor still needs to be dealt with, and will be soon, but what I see is a man who has already let go of much of what had created it in the first place. And in the process, my father has given the rest of us a huge gift. Allow me to explain.

A while back, Spirit told me in these words, “Feeling bad is not bad”,  they then added, “as long as it is expressed”.

Feelings follow thoughts.  As Abraham says, they are our guidance system. I typically hear it this way: they give us information.  What we feel about anything is paramount to then know how to create a life that feels good.

Many of us, for whatever reason, entertain old thoughts that do not serve us.  We serve them coffee or tea and dessert.  We were taught to be good hosts, so even though we want nothing more but to cast them out of our lives forever, we still give them a bed at night.

Sometimes, these thoughts cause us a great deal of pain, yet due to other thoughts, we have learned to suppress the emotions.  We are not proud of these negative thoughts about ourselves, so we hide the emotions from others to protect them and ourselves.  We separate ourselves from others.  We put our shields up.  If we do not actually keep ourselves away from others physically, we do it emotionally.

When these thoughts are entertained for too long, they produce matter or events.  Long enough and the matter forms a tumor or a cancer in our body.  Why?  Well, what is the one physical thing that is more ours than anything else?  Our body.  We feel fear in our body and our body reacts, so it makes perfect sense that a prolonged bout of fear will affect our body in a more significant way.

But what happens when we reach a critical stage?  Suddenly, we are rushed to the hospital (due to accident or infirmity) and immediately, our body is no longer our own.  Our most private parts are suddenly public.  Needles are pushed into our veins and wires connected to our skin.  We become less organic as the artificial machines assist and monitor our physical vehicle.

The walls around us crumble.  We cannot hide.  We cannot even take care of ourselves at the moment. We are forced to let everyone in and succumb to the care, to the love, to the attention.

It takes a lot to choose to push through all of this and stay.  A door is open and it would be so much easier to just walk through it.

My dad, yesterday, was very brave and very scared.  Spirit says, the fearless are not brave, it is only those who have fear and walk through that fear that are.

Through his bravery, he has also served all of us.  Worry is still fear, yet as long as that fear/worry is expressed, it is not “bad”.  In the expressing of fear like this, old stagnant fear gets expressed too.

How do I know this happened?  I could see it in the room.  Every member of my family was lighter last night than I have seen in a long time.  Everyone let go of something.  I am sure everyone felt it, if not in themselves, by looking around the room.

Ever since completing A Fool’s Journey, the cards that have been most vocal in their continued teaching have been the tough ones.  They are the most misunderstood.  They are the most feared.  Yet they are the ones that heal us!  They are the ones that change our lives.  They are the ones that can bring us to our greatest desires if we let them.

No, the path is not easy and pain free.

And so the 3 of Swords reminds me (and us) that it may show three swords piercing a heart and shedding blood, but at the center of the 3 of Swords is still the heart!  It is all about the heart!

Thank you Dad for walking through your 3 of Swords and being an inspiration and a role model for me.  And thank you for helping us all let go of some unwanted weight to lighten our load as we continue on…