Alignment

There's a cosmic, astrological, and terrestrial event that began August 14th  to follow through the remaining days of August, where Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars are all going to be in alignment. These planets are pertinent to The Mythic Tarot, in that each planet is associated with a Major Arcana card in the deck.

This is a good time to get our lives in alignment, and here is my interpretation. It strengthens my faith giving me a deep sense of affirming clarity. I hope you will find meaning strength in this interpretation. 


Venus rules the Roman goddess of love and is symbolic of The Empress, the Great Mother, who is beautiful and bountiful suggesting luxury and abundance. We are reminded without this Great Mother within us, we can bring nothing to fruition.

Jupiter, the planet of expansion represents the Wheel of Fortune, meaning fortune, power, movement, sudden change and reminding us of the cyclical nature of life. Jupiter also connected with the Hierophant, the Higher mind, philosophy, and the wise teacher, that reflects an individual vision of the spirit.

Saturn the planet of time, age, decay, death, finance and also represents the goddess of fertility, Aphrodite. The Devil is the Major Arcana card associated with Capricorn, the goat, representing emotional, spiritual and physical bondage. Saturn serves as a model of discipline structure and commitment. It reminds us to work hard and reap the rewards, and to know we can be released from bondage and know freedom through love.

Mars the Roman god of war rules the Major Arcana card, The Tower, which signifies radical transformation.


Here's the down low, from the Old Farmer's Almanac about the alignment of the planets, using the moon as your guide, so you can witness this rainbow of of planets and brilliant stars.

• Starting with Venus in the southwestern sky, go left and a bit higher and you’ll see the blue star Spica. 
• Continue left and slightly upward to the brilliant white Jupiter, the highest point of the rainbow. (It’s not quite as bright as Venus.)
• Go farther left and a bit lower from Jupiter to the bright orange Antares. 
• Continue left and the next bright star is the colorless Saturn, which is actually a bit higher than Antares, spoiling the perfect rainbow arc. (Saturn is dimmer than the other three planets. Antares twinkles, while Saturn shines with a steadier golden light.)
• Now continue left and lower from Saturn to finish up with the very brilliant orange Mars, near the horizon in the southeastern sky, shining brighter than Jupiter.

If you counted six “stars,” you’ve succeeded, with four of them being planets, and three (Venus, Jupiter, and Mars) being super-bright. They’re each separated by roughly the same distance from each other. The only challenge is finding a site with an open, unobstructed view halfway around the sky from the southwest through to the southeast.

Follow the Moon as a Guide

From August 14 to August 23, the Moon passes all four planets in the evening sky, one after the other, following the same path!

• From August 14 to 16, the Moon passes Venus and moves toward Jupiter. 
• On August 17, the bright object nearest the Moon is Jupiter.
• The First Quarter Moon falls in the early morning hours of August 18.
• Around August 18/19, the waxing Moon passes red super giant star Antares.
• From August 20 to 22 look for the Moon to come very very close to planet Saturn.
• Finally, on August 23, 2018, the Moon is right next to brilliant red planet Mars. The two pair up all night from dusk to dawn.

The Tower - Time For a Big Change

Here we see Poseidon rising up out of the sea coming to the famous Labyrinth of King Minos to reclaim his White Bull. He's mad as hell, and he's not going to take it any more. Poseidon is about to crush the kingdom.
A rather dark story, but not a hopeless outcome as the Tower represents the values of the past that have enslaved us, and there is a need to take a serious and honest inventory of ourselves in order to spare ourselves of any further anguish.

Not unlike the two Major Arcana cards, The Devil and The Death card, the message expressed in this card id dependent on the attitude of the individual who is presented with an immanent situation that calls for some kind of radical transformation. And depending of the attitude of the individual this will determine a positive or negative resolution.

Generally I see The Tower as a card of transformation and change, that comes from new beginnings and the tearing down of the old order. A very suitable card to draw in this New Year.

I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions, as I'd just set myself up for failure. I do gratefully determine to, as I have over the past 24 years of recovery, one step at a time, to live one day at a time, in the present moment, living life to the fullest extent that I can. I maintain my conscious contact with the God of my understanding asking the Creator for help everyday.

Step By Step - Jesse Winchester
 
Step by step
All the happy Saints go marching in
And if a Saint step out of line he'll have to start again
'Cause Jacob's golden ladder gets slippery at the top
And many a happy-go-lucky saint has made that long long drop

[Chorus]
If I'm late don't wait
Go on without me
I may tarry awhile
'Cause I need to know
Before I go
How come the Devil smiles

If I'm late don't wait
Go on without me
I may tarry awhile
'Cause I need to know
Before I go
How come the Devil smiles

[Verse 2]
Free from care, free from fear
The Saints are trooping in
The children play all around the throne innocent of sin
A trillion voices sing the name the mortal may not know
And Heaven's wall's too high to hear the trouble down below

The Tower of Pickled Eggs

I don't ever recall drawing this Major Arcana card, The Tower. I know I haven't seen it before in my daily draw. But I do know it's a very relevant card for me today, having learned from a recent experience, after completing a lot of diligent hard work and then easily concluding that circumstances aren't always as they appear to be. The reason I say that was easy to conclude, is a result of having continued to trust my intuition and have the discernment to understand and accept what has happened and was meant to be, and to know  there are better things to come.

I'm actually further ahead than I was before and I'm now relieved of the stress that I was feeling. I think my increased cortisol level was simply a message from my intuition doing it's job, leaving me with that nagging pull or sinking feeling in the pit of my gut. I wasn't exactly sure why, what it meant and how it was going to all turn out, but I kept trusting that all will be revealed, and happily, it was.

When we experience periods of confusion, it can be very stressful and can be compared to going through that Labyrinth of King Minos, and we wonder when that scary, horrible, and gross creature, the Minotaur is going to show up and do his dirty work.

What has all this got to do with pickled eggs you ask? I'll tell you.
 I just finished making a batch of pickled eggs. I carefully placed them in the refrigerator, after making them, where they have to stay for two days before they're ready. Oh I've made them before, but I was usually in a big hurry to make them, skipping steps and certainly not following any recipe and I sure as heck didn't wait for two days for them to be ready!

This batch of pickled eggs I've made today, are going to be like none other I've ever made. I'm absolutely confident they are going to be delicious after paying very careful attention to detail. I took my time and followed the instructions in the recipe, right down to how to properly boil and even peel the eggs.

Discernment, intuition, having trust in that still quiet voice within my psyche, and practicing acceptance is rather like making pickled eggs. You really need to have the perfect combination of ingredients. You also need to follow the recipe if you don't already have one that you know that works because you know it like the back of your hand. It needs to be a recipe that's been trusted, tried and true, so you can be confident in knowing, you'll have the perfect pickled eggs.

Having patience, taking the time to pay attention to detail is essential in order to get the kind of result you want, or perhaps even something better than you expected, and you'll be a better person for it.

The collapse of the Tower, representing the collapse of old forms, outgrown ideas, and attitudes that don't emerge from the whole self, but are "put on" like a costume to impress an audience, need to fall away, to make room for a better attitude that's no longer confined to that Labyrinth and you can say to yourself, bring on those pickled eggs! They're ready and so am I! If you want the recipe, just ask, I'll be happy to share it with you!

The Tower - Radical Transformation

The sixteenth card in the Major Arcana, the Tower, ruled by Mars, the Roman god of war. Lightening hits the Tower and there is a bolt that knocks the golden crown to the ground. It augers outmoded structures, inner and outer, being smashed cleanly away, leaving the way for complete change. Radical transformation is at hand. The Tower is symbolic of false or outgrown values, which must fall away. Out of this destruction comes the creation of a new structure. Possibly a dissolved partnership, or the structure of your home is problematic, or in jeopardy.

The bolt of lightening represents inspiration and realization. Change as a result of trauma, brings growth and clarity of perception, depending on the attitude of the individual and how painful the situation.

We can often become complacent in the familiar and can have some sort of shocking event that happens place and it shakes the very foundation of our values  our beliefs, and what we thought was normal. This can be a positive opportunity, the heralds change, and positive growth, depending on our attitude. Introspection  with humility, honesty and definitely having a sense of humour is essential. Getting real with ourselves, and with others, is the only way we can move forward with integrity. But regardless of what we do, the Tower is sure to fall away.