Damn, baby!  Ain't you on fire?

I know I am.  Isn't it nice to have all or most fears go bye-bye?

Ah.  Say hello to a week in which something interesting bursts out of us that very, very few have witnessed before.  And, folks, worry not if the something interesting has yet come forth.  It will.  It will come forth. And it will be a surprise to others, that's for damn sure. 

We can thank our levels of determination and ambition later for all of that. 

So, what needs to burst forth, folks?  What hasn't been said that needs to be said, now?  What have we been holding onto for too long a time?

This is not a week for the faint of heart. 

Whatever it is, good or bad, let's enjoy releasing it and bidding it farewell.  We'll do ourselves a lot of good through doing so.  Believe it.




This week's card is the Flame, and the call here is for purification.  Yah.  We're being asked to participate in a good ol' purification process.  Throw your shit into the fire.  Because in the days ahead, ideas and talks and arguments will intensify.  Everything heats up and becomes full of adrenaline, much spices up, and we're gonna have to purify as we go in order to handle all the news and pressure and possibly demands as well.

Now, pressure is not necessarily bad.  Some of us work really well under pressure.  Hell, many creative types produce their best work while under pressure, such as that of great anger.  This is why I don't see anger, or pressure, as a bad thing.  Instead, I see both as the driving forces that they actually are.  Any anger or stress/pressure that results in violence is simply MISUSED anger.  But properly directed anger? 

Huh.  I wouldn't fuck with anyone who properly directs their anger and produces great things, period.  This is the kind of person who will stand the tests of time with grace and courage at his/her side.  So unless you want to be a smushed roach, I advise that you pick on someone your own itty-bitty size.  Don't try to stop someone like this from achieving his/her goals.  Or else you will be doing the walk of shame.

Use this anger or rage-- use this intense time-- to build yourselves up.  To exercise.  To participate in some form of physical therapy if necessary.  Warm up and move, whether indoors or out.  

Now we're cookin'.

Ooooo, and someone is pretty angry, isn't she?  Yeah, well, that's what happens when you annoy someone who knows how to figuratively kick your ass by using your own manipulative mechanisms-- the very fire you dish out-- to make you burn.  It's called "fighting fire with fire".  Google it. 

Guys, if we can't stand the heat, we need to stay the hell out of the kitchen. 

What can I say?  Some of us live quietly and humbly.  And we learn.  And then we use what we learn, as opposed to, say attempting to learn and grow from what we use. 

An inanimate object is an inanimate object.   You know, just like a senseless belief is a senseless belief.

If you're sitting in a quiet, empty room and given a hammer, and only a hammer, what would you be able to do with it?  Eyeball it?  Feel its cool metal?  Carry it around?  Maybe you'd imagine all the things you could do with that hammer.  Maybe you'd hit yourself with it if you felt creative and ballsy.  Or maybe you'd go nuts and start attempting to destroy walls or doors or windows until you were free of the room. 

But even if you're free of the room, what the hell would that accomplish?  What would you do with the hammer?  You have no other tools to work with, so what could you build?  Besides that, no one's taught you how to build anything, so what would you build?  Is the hammer even of any use to you anymore?  Other than for the purpose of defending you from an attacker, probably not.  Heck, even that's a gamble, especially if you've never learned to defend yourself.  Because an attacker might have a rifle and your shitty hammer ain't gonna kick a rifle's ass unless you've fighting skills (which would have to be learned-- all warriors are trained, you know).

However, if given a hammer and a couple of pieces of wood and some nails and even some suggestions for things one can create with those pieces of wood and nails and that hammer, then we might have ourselves a... birdhouse.  Or a table.  Or maybe a chair. 

Whatever we make, we'll have something because we'll have used what we have learned in addition to our tools.

Learning plus drive equals accomplishment.  And drive comes from... that little fire in our bellies which comes from... anger!  Yes, that fire comes from a refusal to settle for a situation that is simply not right.  Not just.  Not fair.  And, boy, we can see lots of not-fair things happening around us, no? 





What is "under construction" at this time will turn out to be far more surprising than we imagine.  Some will be rising into some kind of power and/or fame pretty soon, pretty swiftly and unexpectedly, even taking over for others.  These folks withhold a passion for who and what they are, they take sh*t from no one, and what they do is backed by lots and lots of heart.  They don't expect to be called heroes, but you can call 'em heroes if you want.  Totally up to you.

Speaking of passion, there is no shortage of it when it comes to this card.  None.  There is also warmth and light and radiance-- the opportunity to exhibit a natural brilliance, really-- all week long and to both ATTRACT and CREATE what we've been longing for for some time now.

Clutter is a reflection of how we feel about our lives.  And a messy environment is less than motivating, preventing our plans from taking form and taking off.   So if we've been planning on tackling clutter, as much as it hurts to get rid of certain items, folks, let's do it already.  This is the week in which we'll have the power, energy and strength to do it.  Our immediate environment is a priority all week.

We deserve a nice, neat environment.

When it comes to other tasks: if we can't become passionate about something, if we can't quite summon the energy to undertake a risk, then we shouldn't bother with a certain task because we are very capable of screwing it up and screwing it up royally. So let's not try to prove a point.  There's nothing left to see here, folks.  Move it along.

Everything operates in its own cycle. Everything begins and ends, and it seems that some have ended something that shouldn't have begun in the first place but did for its own reason, and that reason was that we were needed for a specific mission at a specific time. 

That mission, though short, began to feel long.  Too long, and sort of like a painful obligation. 

Gah. 

Thing is, when something that we don't like lasts this long, it makes us age and tire very quickly.  So much so that, no matter how much we try to recuperate from its bits and pieces, we can't quite manage to do so.  We can't quite manage to get enough rest.  And we become fragile, so that we break under pressure.

We're not supposed to break under pressure.  If the pressure becomes so tremendous as to break us, there is an underlying problem for that.

And now there is another mission coming...

Now what?

We prepare for it by ceasing to expend energy on the things that drain us the most and the people who have no problem whatsoever killing our spirit.  We do this so that we don't run out of logs to throw into the fire.  Our fire. 

We do this to keep our own fire alive.  We're going to need it.  We're going to need our energy and dynamism and passion.

So, what is our fire looking like, these days?  Is it dimming?  Or is it nice and full?  Can we seek warm and fuzzy refuge in it?  Or is it frightening to cozy up to it?

Let's do ourselves a favor and stop freaking out over what "fires" others are causing.  They have to do some things in order to survive and to purify and transform their societies for a greater good.  Let them be.  Our country has been through revolutions.  Other countries have been through revolutions.  Revolutions, fights, arguments, disagreements, protests are nothing new.  Revolutions are nothing to fear, and they should not come as a surprise.  You can ask my dad about this-- he grew up in South America.  Don't allow news networks to tell you otherwise, folks.  Some battles are necessary to our growth.

We'd do well not to interfere in battles that are not our own.  If we play with fire, we're going to get burned. 

All fires die, eventually.

Rumors, words, ideas, thoughts, stories, trends, personalities-- many of them pointless, some juicy, some fantastic-- spread like wildfire.

Weeee're baaack.

What we can do is hope that what is best for everyone involved develops as quickly as possible so that the least amount of humans, including innocents, are harmed.  That's it.  There's no need to pity anyone-- this is what needs to be done in order for some societies to transform and grow from their problems. 

It's annoying, the way some try to force fear or controversy or some sort of fluffy ideology down the throats of others, knowing full well that others look up to them when they're not even fluffy (or sane for that matter). 

I can't begin to explain what I felt when my in-laws were asked to pray for the pope at a mass a couple of weeks ago.  Really? 

I was so glad that my father-in-law accidentally spoke his mind. 

"I'm not praying for the pope", he said. 

And, folks, my father-in-law has been a Catholic for decades. 

Pray for yourselves, some of you.  'Cause you could use at least one restful night in your lives.  Then do us all a favor and sit the eff down and shut the eff up, yes?




The Flame translates to the Suit of Wands.

And what do we have here?  We have initiators.  Fearlessness.  Inspirational types.  Passion.  Drama.  Exploration.  Experimentation.  Competition.  Victory.  Reason.  The development of a team.  Offense.  Defense.  Logic.  Hearts which have grown fonder post a period of absence.  Broken barriers.  Options.  Strong wills.  An overthrow.  People with big ideas.  Inventors.  Great lovemaking.  Warriors.  A Don Juan or two.  Defining moments.  Decisive action.  Rescue efforts.  Preparation.  Broken records.  Broken habits.  Leaders (and not just any leaders-- good, heroic leaders).  Climbing up a ladder to success.  The tools and skills with which to succeed.  Royalty.

There is just as much a tendency for magic as there is for violence.  Tempers are flaring, and there are wands involved here after all.

The Suit of Wands is ruled by the element of fire.  This means, as mentioned above, energy, dynamism, movement.  This means forward momentum.  This means fire signs Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.  This means masculine signs Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius.

Well, some of us have the attention and generous support of great males or masculine signs, that's a given.

Others are those males or masculine signs.

Many of us will be inspired all week.  Others will serve as muses.  Either way, there are huge manifestations of creativity upon us.  It's as if some of us are rocket ships and we're finally blasting off into a great, educational journey.

Folks, don't waste this week.  It is one in which some of us are going to shine and shine rather brightly.  It can't be helped.  Think of this week as a vitamin that is about to be fortified, and take it in.  Take it all in.  Recuperate.  Re-energize.  Digest your "aha" moments.  Tend to your fires, keep them going.

There is a little bit of man-made destruction about to go down.  Remember, a fire like the one in that fireplace above doesn't spark itself up all on its own. 

Let's stay out of the line of fire and try not to be forceful, demanding, overbearing or boastful. 

As far as I can see, this destruction will result more beneficial than tragic in the long-term.  Out of ashes come great people and great things.  Our own planet Earth has suffered lots of destruction and abrupt changes.  And look at how marvelous and lovely she is!

So let's create our own fire, burn up all that brings us pain, and then concoct some amazing "dishes".  We have it in us to do so.

Have a super week.