The Duelist

Via The Narthex:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal…along with these instructions.

From Demian, by Herman Hesse:

Suddenly Demian laughed as if something had struck him as funny.

As I counted down, and saw that this was the 5th sentence, I laughed. Very nice. Only a few seconds into the future, but still qualifies as prophecy

Take a deep breath, Demian. Let it all flow. Let it all begin. Read the signs in the static, in the ripples. Tell us all the story of now and here.
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What covers me: The Lovers.

Separate threads of my life are coming together, intertwining. Something is forming that is greater than the sum of its separate parts.

What crosses me: Five of Cups, reversed.

The greenness of the grass on the other side should not distract me from the cups underfoot. I must not kick them over while my eyes are set on the distant banks of the river that lies in front of me.

What grounds me: Page of Cups.

The inner call. Emotion. I have always understood my own inner voice, as long as I take the time to be quiet and listen. Listen. You can hear it if your soul has not truly given up.

What crowns me: Strength.

The jaws of the beast are giving way. It is inevitable. What I am, what I am becoming. Inexorably, it comes.

What is behind me: The High Priestess, reversed.

The time of rationalizing away what is self-evident, what resonates in the quiet places within, is over. Now it is time to listen.

What is before me: The Chariot.

What cannot withstand that which is to come will be trampled, crushed underfoot. It cannot be denied.

The Self: The Mage.

The sword is the extension of the will. It can only hold an edge as sharp as the metal it is forged from will allow, it can only withstand a blow that the steel itself can withstand. Through constant refinement, through the alchemy of the self, there will be nothing that this sword cannot cut through.

The House: Nine of Swords.

Look around you. Look upon yourself. Aren’t you lost in the details of the surfaces that you see? You fall apart because your center cannot hold. This does not have to be this way. And you know it. Everyone does. But no one listens.

Hopes and Fears: Nine of Pentacles, reversed.

It’s changing, isn’t it. The order of everything. Security itself becomes stagnation unless it is turned upside down. The rigid heirarchy of everyday is upturned, rearranged, or even discarded for something completely new. There is a word for this: Revolution.

The Sum of the Reading: The Sun, reversed.

When something does not progress, it regresses. We can no longer afford to be self-centered children pursuing the selfish acquisition of what ultimately amounts to new toys, new distractions for the self. The sun is beneath the horizon for now but it will rise as it has always risen. The key is, what will the new day’s light greet? The dark night of the soul will end. The new day will bring another duel. Prepare yourself to meet it now, while we are still in the dark. Sharpen your sword.