1. 8 of Cups
2. 2 of Cups
3. 2 of Wands Rx
What I have learned to associate with the 8 of Cups is the turning away from social situations in order to focus inward and upward toward a more spiritual life. I would like now to bring in the Crowley interpretation: this is the card called the Lord of Indolence and has the association of energy being stagnant with little renewal. This is a warning to attend to whatever is blocking the energy, get channels moving again.
One area to look into is the sort of relationship in which one partner gives too much and receives little payoff. It's worth doing an appraisal of your relationships when this card comes up, just to see if anything is dangerously one sided. We deserve to receive from others exactly what we are prepared to give to ourselves...so, if we give ourselves little attention, why would anyone else give it to us? It's time to look inward and upward, retreat from a social circle in this manner and take time to give attention, love, and respect to the self.
The 2 of Cups brings up an image, for me, of a great friendship that turns into a deep romantic partnership, harmony, reconciliation, and love that is reciprocated. Delving further into research with the Thoth deck and at Angel Paths, this card is the Lord of Love. The image here is reflective and receptive to love and passion, and while it shows having a partner, it does point out that love comes from within. When I love myself, and hold my inner nature in high regard, and see myself in this light, others cannot help but respond to my personal sense of value.
When I work to love myself, I can release so many areas of self-doubt and uncertainty that I will become infused with a new energy--new energy I can lavish on others. The 2 of Cups is about engaging in a caring fashion with my own needs first...and reassurance that existing relationships are as meaningful as they are strong and can develop into what we need them to be.
All this is very very important to me today...I woke up in a somewhat negative mood...thinking about all the ways marriage can suffocate...I'm not allowed to go out anymore, I can't drink, everything has to be on his schedule...so negative in fact, I had to immediately had to go and look at my horoscope because I knew some transit was going on and I needed to look a the bigger picture and figure out what I cycle is going on. First, I have a Mars square Mars transit--aggressive and energetic. Second, Venus is squaring Saturn, with has to do with feelings of being unloved...or not loved enough. I realized that this has little to do with the external influences of being married or not, because even if I wasn't, I'd still likely feel the way I did this morning, and be blaming it on whatever my circumstances were. The cards I've pulled for today's reading have been very reassuring and given me a strategy with which to deal with my emotional landscape today.
The 2 of Wands Rx, typically has to do with having to go back to the drawing board in a project. This is the Lord of Dominion and concerns my personal freedom of choice, and living in accordance of my Will. Yeah, ''Will'' was so important in Crowley circles...and I think the fact that it is reversed shows how much I have to bend within my relationship. And by the word ''Dominion'' in the title of this card, the meaning is 'rulership'. And the ''Will'' Crowley refers to goes along the lines of... Every moment we are asserting our Will, at all moments, it creates a piece of our upcoming reality. Every thought we think, our Will operates to bring that thought into existence. So, be warned about unhappiness generating more unhappiness. This card says to pay attention to our thoughts, by asking us to take responsibility for the future we are making for ourselves, make a plan. Yes, I need to go back to the drawing board on that today.
8 of Cups Affirmation: My energy is the energy of the Universe. My power is my own.
2 of Cups Affirmation: Love flows into my life in an endless stream.
2 of Wands Affirmation: My Will flows effortlessly in perfect acts of creation.
