Happy birthday to Mel! (though it’s a pity we’re featuring her least favorite card today.)
Alas, it was too good to last. After the brief shining success of the 6, we arrive at the Lord of Failure in the 7 of Pentacles or Disks. The 5 posed problems of scarcity and Mercurial anxiety, while the 7 suggests Saturnine obstacles which must be overcome if our efforts are ever to bear fruit. Failure it shall be for certain, if we give up now when the going gets tough. But at the moment, perhaps it is only 'success unfulfilled' as yet. If nothing else, the bull of Taurus is steadfast. He may yet have hidden reserves of strength in his final decan.
In our conversation we discuss: the malefic expressions of Saturn throughout the minor arcana, the geomantic figure Rubeus, red complexions and blotches, the dark sterile mother, Aphrodite as Melania, apotropaic magic and insurance, Caput Algol, the Pleiades and Hyades, two sets of seven sisters weeping, the archangel Hanael and the archdemon Ba'al, demon of invisibility, Netzach as endurance, prayers for stamina, unselfishness vs unchastity, the seven palaces of Assiah, the fall from Eden, potato blight, the leaden coins of Saturn, the man with the hoe, little gain for much labor, and "Magic, not Tragic"!
We also talk about one of its nicer (and very obscure) correspondences you may have known nothing about: Harahel the Library Angel, angel of books, treasures, the markets, and banks. Mel and I have each written 2 books, so for this week's giveaway, we are going to have FOUR winners. Each winner will get one randomly selected book and we hope that the Library Angel will direct them to the recipient that needs them.
You can sign up as a patron and find out more about the drawing at www.patreon.com/fortuneswheelhouse.