It is the day before Rosh Chodesh, the Jewish festival of the new moon, on which a new Jewish month starts. Cabbalists call this day Yom Kippur Katan (Minor Yom Kippur). It is a day of repentance and purification, to be able to enter the new month with a clean sheet. It is also Ash Wednesday today. One of the tones of this day is repentance too.
My question is: "What is my sin in the month that lies behind me?" I’ve pulled Five of Quills (Five of Swords) from the Jane Austen Tarot. It is the second time I pull Five of Swords for my sin. Last month it was the Five of Swords from the Gilded Tarot.
Depicted on the card is a scene from Emma. At an outdoor party Emma, the young girl with the knife in her hand, says something witty, but unkind about Miss Bates, the person with the glasses, to impress a young man, Frank Churchill. My sin of the past month has been that I was “Mrs. Know it All.” On several occasions I found that I did better than others, thereby belittling them.
O God, hear my prayer,
I often felt better than others,
let anger and stiffness fill my heart.
I turn around on this day
to open my heart for love and kindness.
Hear my prayer.
Amen
