Annual Tarot Reading for the World 2016
Tibetan Dorje
We have reached the brink of transformation into the New Era, symbolized by The Aeon XX, a powerful encouragement for each of us to offer our unique gifts to a world in distress.
This card, usually called Judgment, traditionally depicts the end of the world, when we are called before a god to be judged. Instead The Thoth deck uses the name Aeon, to envision a time of liberation from the dark ages of violence and exploitation into the Aquarian Age of the Water Bearer. This represents the elevation of love out of possessive, obsessive, and delusional romanticism, into a time of Intelligent Love. Aquarius is not a water sign even though it is the Water Bearer, It is an Air sign, the element of the mind or intelligence, ergo The Water Bearer is Intelligent Love. No more the sacrificed god of the Piscean Age, that is epitomized by a litany of martyrs, Jesus, Joan of Arc, King, etc.
There are no court/personality cards in the reading, so this is not about individual heroes, saviors, or martyrs. Its time for circles of people and communities to come together with shared purpose and seize the time. The 2 of Wands, (Mars in Aries), shows a Tibetan Dorje, that symbolizes the power of thunder to send our egos scurrying for cover, so that each of us may rise like a phoenix from the ashes, and find our true domain. Drop all ego disguises like the skin of a snake and let’s feel our life force become clothed in the light of our soul purpose.
As opposed to power over one another, the toxic version of Mars in Aries, we are being “shocked” into awakening. Not only thunder, but extreme floods, earthquakes, drought, famine and all the natural phenomena that are a result of our abusive treatment of our Mother Earth.
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She is shaking up everything, so Spring is going to come in like a lion, be prepared! We are being offered another chance to claim our destiny as midwives of our own liberation by joining with all other species in abiding by the laws of nature.
In my recent poem called, We are becoming wild again, is the stanza:
…that the laws of man
are a trick to protect thieves
and tyrants
and we are wild animals
declaring our allegiance to the earth
to Earth Justice
to the laws of nature
that love is power…
Now let’s go through each card in the reading using the Kabala, Tree of Life diagram, as the layout. Take your time reading this; I only do it once a year…
1) The Aeon
In addition to the above synopsis, it is important to look carefully at the image. It shows a pharaoh receding into the background, as the arching body of Nuit, the sky goddess, encircles Horus in his aspect as the god of silence.
This hints at the procession of the ages, as patriarchy releases its stranglehold and fades away, and the great mother, Nuit, nurtures the hidden, joyous, curious and creative child spirit in each of us.
The god of silence suggests that each of us needs to come to a place of clarity concerning our relationship to this time, beyond our concerns about personal relationships, jobs and location.
The emphasis is not about ego/personality, but a knowing that allows us to make decisions based on life purpose. It is key to speak of our plans only on a need to know basis to avoid planting the seeds of confusion and doubt.
The shadow of the god of silence points to the reality that all of us were silenced in some way as children by family and/or society. We need to re-parent that part of us, so we all may reclaim the basic joy of existence. We need validation that being ourselves is enough and we don’t need to do something to be loved and supported. Seek help in this process if necessary.
2) 8 of Swords “Interference”
Jupiter in the divided sign of Gemini will attempt to disguise himself as golden opportunities for fame and fortune to distract us. Do not be fooled! Your soul is like a shining Star/Sun and the best way to avoid temptation is to make sure your time is allotted to keep you on course, orbiting your own inner light. If not, you will open yourself to the accidental aspects of life.
3) The Magician I
Stay tied to your true will like the Magician and synchronicity will abound. In the Kabalistic position of Binah, the womb of the great mother, you are gestating new ways of communicating (Mercury) and resisting attempts by your rational mind to defeat your intuition. Let reason serve your true will and it will be your ally not your enemy.
4) The Hermit/Crone IX
In the position 4 of the Kabala appears The Hermit standing at the crossroads, holding up the light of truth as a guide. How will you choose? The Magician, as Mercury, rules Virgo the sign associated with The Hermit. To see this card follow The Magician bodes well. Do not be turned away from your path as the hound of hell, Cerberus nips at your heels. He is the three-headed representative of the unrelenting march of time, past, present and future. The linear lens is a false perspective, as Einstein proved. The pyramids are being built as we speak; wrap your mind around that one!
When necessary step away from the battle, all external influences, and go inward. “This above all, to thine own self be true, then thou canst be false to no man”. –Polonius to Hamlet
5) 2 of Wands “Dominion”
As was stated earlier, this card shows that the individual ego limits our ability to see through the lies about the authentic forces of the universe. That the Dorje is a Tibetan symbol brings to light the great gift of the Eastern teachings as they have influenced Western culture.
This wisdom has been adapted to bring to the West mindfulness, breaking the ego/mind trance and helping us cultivate the ability to respond and not react. In the process of Westernization we have also seen the rigidity of the patriarchal aspects of Eastern religions learn to shed their own skin to be of service in these times.
6) 4 of Disks “Power”
In the center of the Tree of Life, the 6th position, we see a castle surrounded by a moat with only one way in. In the previous card we were prepared to view power as the ability to lead an authentic life by finding our true domain. Now we must confront the old paradigm of power over and recognize the need to create structures that are not rigid and hierarchal like the “royalty” of the past. Its deeper meaning is to create structures that can keep undermining influences at bay, dropping the drawbridge only to allies. Practically speaking, it is time to see power not as ownership but stewardship, by humbly abiding by the laws of nature and building a society around these principles. It is time to end the hubris of humans who have attempted to enslave nature and find ways to integrate human institutions and businesses by following the precepts of permaculture and bio-mimicry.
7) 10 of Disks “Wealth”
Fours and tens are completion numbers so this card and the last signal a shift away from worshipping the false gods of Power and Money. This card is Mercury in Virgo, combining the previous cards, The Magician and The Hermit in the position ruled by Venus on the Tree. A powerful indicator that wealth will be extricated from its crass meaning of accumulation of money and things and restore it to its higher implication that true wealth is found in community. This card is exemplified by the image in the Motherpeace deck of a tribal circle singing and drumming to help a young mother give birth.
In tribal traditions potlatches were held so that those who amassed more possessions then they needed gave everything back to the people. This was considered an act of the highest moral integrity in service to the common good.
8) The Devil/Pan XV
Here we will encounter all our demons of obsession, possession and addiction to power at the cost of our humanity. Traditionally the image for this card is The Devil enthroned while his male and female servants are chained to his seat of power. They have been fooled into believing that something outside them will bring satisfaction, be it drugs, money, sex or things.
In the Thoth deck we see the reinstatement of the god Pan in all his glory as a tenacious, playful, sensual and embodied lover of the female principle. The Devil was the attempt by religions to demonize the horned god and all humans who loved the natural rhythms, cycles and joys of nature; to in fact condemn sensuality to the realm of sin that is punished by eternal damnation.
May each of us throw off these shackles and know that there is nothing they can sell us that will bring happiness. No amount of power and possessions will ever give us peace and self-love.
As we leave the Chinese year of the young goat let’s take a leap of faith and climb the mountain of our destiny by gaining footholds in pursuit of our life passions until we once again reach the wild places, free from the false gods that see life as a test and a sufferance.
9) Death/Transformation XIII
Here we arrive at the position on the Tree of Life called the Foundation. Death shows no mercy for any toxic structures that are “founded” on the false presumptions of ownership and the right to enslave. The image of Shiva dancing recalls the essential nature of all life; that all things die and our composted to create the soil of renewal.
In this image we see a skeleton cutting through the stagnant waters to aerate the dream-filled waters of the emotional plane and bring bubbles of new and potent visions to the surface.
On the personal level it calls on all of us to recognize relationships that are stuck and draining and release them. It is not the idea of cutting people off just letting go and seeing what happens when we trust in the process of non-attachment.
On the world stage, imagine we are hospice workers urging the dead and corrupt systems of human superiority to go to the light. Goodnight Capitalism, Good-by Patriarchy, We are no longer afraid to face the mystery on our own.
We are growing beyond the need to have parents, in the form of religion, government, or academia that refute our essential right to self-determination.
We are growing up just in time to dance the Apocalypso as our ears are re-tuned the music of the spheres, the cycles, and the seasons of life.
10) 2 of Swords “Peace”
The final position on the tree represents the resultant manifestations of the steps delineated above. How perfect that we arrive at blessed peace. Here we find our Lunar guide through the darkest hour and our balance in the restorative justice of Libra. (The 2 of Swords influences are Moon in Libra).
The Aeon is 20 so it is on the same vibrational level as both the 2 of Wands and the 2 of Swords. Two is also the number of The Priestess who crosses the abyss on the Tree of Life, fearlessly guiding us through this long night into the dawn of a new age. After all the Moon is what engendered life on Earth in the first place.
The emphasis throughout this reading is on being, not doing. This does not imply inaction at all, just the release of reactivity. It does emphasize that all action will flow from a certainty derived from knowing why we are here. That can only be recovered by listening to the voice within.
Hold strong, resist the temptation to make anyone the enemy, to believe we know the “right’ way to proceed and stay present, awake and alert to all signals. We will all see more clearly everyday that we are interconnected, unlimited by false beliefs in external gods. We are reclaiming the reality that we are essentially loving and compassionate beings.
May kindness be your practice, may you be a fierce warrior, flexible and firm in defense of life. May we all recognize that love is all we need and all the answers are always in full view when we are awake!
