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Five of Cups: Mars in Scorpio

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LORD OF LOSS IN PLEASURE

Five of Cups (AI Version)

   One day, as Nathan was riding through the realm, he found a a knight staring down at three golden cups that had fallen over. The knight was apparently grieving over what he had lost. Then Nathan remembered that the man was no longer considered a knight of the realm: in a fight for truth and justice, the knight had gone against a few corrupt people who dominated the realm behind the scenes, and they had driven him away. For a moment, Nathan felt afraid that, as a knight, he too would find himself in a losing battle against people with no morals who stop at nothing to gain power and status and wealth. Nathan still considered the man a knight but without the official title. As Nathan rode away, he shuddered to think that a man so noble could be treated so badly.

King of Cups (AI Version)

   As Nathan rode near the ocean, he came upon the King of Cups. Nathan dismounted from his steed and bowed. "How may I serve thee, my King?"
   The King stared at Nathan. "You seem perturbed, my devoted knight."
   Nathan responded, "Yes, your Majesty, I just saw a knight who had been driven from the castle by corrupt, power-hungry individuals. The knight at that time was fighting for a noble cause."
   "Yes," the King responded. "I believe I know the man."
   "He seemed to be grieving over a great loss. I did not know how to comfort him, or whether I should still treat him as a knight even though I believe he still is."
   Still balancing his scepter straight up and down, the King nodded his head. "People without moral values sometimes try to banish a valiant knight who is fighting for truth and justice. Scalawags are more concerned about their own ego than about maintaining harmony in the realm, and to protect their own interests, they try to destroy those who fight for justice and truth. On the other hand, some knights are more concerned about the realm than about their own welfare and will even sacrifice their hard-earned title and reputation in order to promote harmony and justice and truth. But when the rogues least expect it, the lightning bolt of Mars strikes those miscreants and knocks away their ego like a false crown from their head.
   "As a knight, you must stand out in the thunderstorm and expose your ego to the lightning so that you know the peace and love at the heart of all creation, the great wisdom of the Father, the understanding and compassion of the Mother, the glory and power of the human spirit, the beauty of sacrifice, the victory of love, the splendor of consciousness, and the great strength at the foundation of our world and within yourself. Remember that Mars gives you the courage to fight knaves until they are gone from the castle--even if it takes a lifetime, even if you are no longer considered a knight anymore, but a loss that destroys your intentions and dreams can take a terrible toll on you, especially if you are fighting for what is right. Some people, like our courageous friend, are willing to make that sacrifice. But just as importantly, you must learn to forgive those who have harmed you so that you release all negativity and experience love and compassion. The  lower astral plane contains terrible thoughts and feelings that can influence humanity, and they must be cleansed and forgiven and released so that you and humanity can feel love and compassion. You might need to unlearn everything you have ever learned in order to be a moral human being and open your heart and imagination to the holiness of all energy, the divinity of all life, which includes all human beings. When fighting deceit and injustice, you must go above the intellect, above the mental level to the spiritual level to experience compassion and love and manifest it in this realm."
   "I too will strive always to serve thee with honor and compassion." Nathan bowed, then mounted his horse and rode to a secluded part of the forest, where he created a make-shift altar.
   The holy man in the castle had shown Nathan how to create a positive living image with The Tower. The holy man had confided that The Tower is considered by many to be one of the worst cards in the deck. The way to overcome this problem, he said, is to find a living image in one of the symbols within the card, in this case the lightning from heaven. For this ritual, the holy man used the lightning from heaven to show that the higher self reveals itself sometimes during the most horrible betrayals and losses in order to cleanse the soul and burn away the negativity that plagues individuals and humanity. The lightning represents the path of Geburah (Severity), the Emanation of Power, to awaken the higher self. So, the holy man said, instead of just eliminating negativity, you can also manifest the impulses of truth and righteous power.
   So Nathan first chose to banish the Lord of Loss in Pleasure. He started by placing the Five of Cups in the center of his imaginary pentagram on an altar. Then, to banish the negative energies of the Lord of Loss in Pleasure, he placed the foundation cards down in a banishing pentagram, beginning with the Ace of Pentacles, then laying down "Judgement," then the Ace of Wands, the Ace of Swords, the Ace of Cups. He continued the motion with his finger back to the Ace of Pentacles and tapped the card. Then he imagined releasing all negative feelings into the fires under the surface of the earth. (See the description in the August 26 post of The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.)

The Tower: Mars (AI Version)

   Then he performed the first eleven steps of the Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram. (See the description of The Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram in the September 2 post.) Then he got ready to create an artificial elemental of the lightning from heaven with the Tarot Pentagram Spread. He picked up the foundation cards and placed them in a pentagram with the tops facing south on his altar. Since Fire is an active element, he used the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram while laying down the cards, starting in the lower right corner of the pentagram, moving to the upper left corner and continuing from there. After he placed all of the cards, he tapped each card in the direction of the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram, making sure to tap the one in the position of Fire in the lower right corner to complete the pentagram.

Foundation Cards with the Tower

   Then he placed The Tower in the middle of the pentagram, saying, "The Tower, Mars," and tapped the card.

Spirit Pentagram

   Then he drew the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram and the spirit wheel in brilliant white above The Tower on the altar, charging the pentagram and the symbol in the usual way with the Sign of the Enterer. After that, he drew an Invoking Pentagram for Fire directly over the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram, charging the pentagram and the symbol of Leo in the usual way.

Invoking Pentagram for Fire

   At that point, he imagined the symbol of Leo becoming the living image of the lightning in the The Tower. He imagined the lightning moving a few feet south of the altar and coming alive as a powerful force. As he visualized the living image of lightning, he imagined that salamanders, brilliant points of light, flowed from the Archangel Michael and filled the living image while at the same time tiny points of fiery light emanated from his aura and filled the living image as well.
   He stated, "I name you Lightning of Mars."
   Then he said, "Provide the lightning of the higher self to cleanse negativity and awaken and heal myself and others for the highest possible good."
   Then he stated, "Perform this task and then return to the element of Fire, doing no harm." He ended by exclaiming, "So mote it be!" Then he imagined for a few minutes the living image of the lightning of the Tower providing the light and power of the higher self from the deepest part of his psyche.
   He unexpectedly felt the light of the higher self often afterwards, and he knew that the higher self was always there, guiding him.

   Nathan, as he always did, finished the Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram with the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.

(Please Note: All AI generated images are based on my 3D Blender renderings, my paintings, or my photographs.)