Gung Hay Fat Choy – Happy Year of the Dragon!!!
“Don’t speak too soon, for the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’
For the loser now, will be later to win
….the times they are a-changin’”…. Bob Dylan
This quote immediately came to mind when the Wheel of Fortune X turned up first in my annual Tree of Life, Kabbalistic reading using the Deck of Thoth.
The entire reading orbits around the concept of Fortune, and how we are going to define it. Traditionally it deals with fate, work, money, success or failure, and influences that come from without. Our challenge now is to make choices that match our sense of inner will and purpose even as we are dazzled daily with the delights of money for its own sake.
The Fortune 500, (the 1%), continue to dominate the world markets. To quote Dylan again, “money doesn’t talk, it swears” and the obscenity of the greedy seems to have shed all pretense of humanity.
The response is a strong thrust toward self-employment or cooperatives that are local, community enterprises for a sustainable future.
The clock is ticking and since it is the nature of humans to procrastinate, it must be the perfect time to ‘occupy’ the 11th hour before we destroy life as we know it on planet earth and find a new way to co-exist. There will be no success in going back inside the old paradigm, now Fortuna points us to the center of the wheel, the eye of the storm, to learn the mystery.
In the card we see three beasts; the crocodile, the monkey, and the sphinx; simply put they are inertia, action, and stillness.
All life moves through these phases and yet the 1%, against all evidence to the contrary, pretends that progress means an ever increasing, expanding empire of the greedy. The world’s wealthy only acknowledge the ‘monkey’ business of maximizing profit no matter what the consequences may be.
The world of religious monastics may only recognize the meditative mystery of the Sphinx but that crocodile is swimming with his eyes just above water making sure we are paying attention to the shadow side results of all our actions. When we least expect it he will pull us under, just like he did when the tsunami hit Fukushima and the disaster of nuclear energy was revealed once again.
As individuals this means facing our shadow, our own hostility, frustrations, self-pity and doubt and with kindness take the time to go within through journaling, fasting, and spending time in nature. Refreshed we can return to the monkey’s call of action in a more conscious way and next time, when the action phase winds down, we might go to the witnessing of the Sphinx instead of being thrown into depression or illness first.
Fortuna tells us to stay in the center, to recognize the cycles like the phases of the moon or the rising and falling of the tides. Nature has its seasons and its reasons to maintain life. Slowing down, composting the past, taking time to rest and spend time with loved ones will feed us so we can survive the demise of empire.
Instead of seeking our fortune externally it is time to offer our gifts to the world and create right livelihood. Otherwise we are just working for the man to get the credits we need to buy the stuff they sell; this is called consumer hell, and welcome to it.
Behold the Center
Next we see the Ace of Cups echoing the central idea of this reading – that true wisdom is sourced in the heart. As Einstein said, “The intuitive heart is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift”.
Unless we bow to our hearts we will be caught between compromise, the 4 of Swords, or futility, the 7 of Swords, both ways of being paralyzed by the ego’s fear of change. Interesting that the Wheel of Fortune is the path between 4 and 7 on the Tree.
We see this repeated in the suit of emotions represented by the 4 of Cups, Luxury, and the 7 of Cups, Debauchery. Now the choice is the illusion of romantic fantasy or the overindulgence in the temporary fix sold to us everyday in tasty adlines.
These are both clear examples of the old paradigm of Fortune and negate our power to fulfill our unique potential.
The Fiery Triumvirate
Next we have a potential for real victory with the combined forces of The Sun XIX, the fierce warrior, Mars, (The Tower, XVI) and the Courage of the Lion in the card called Lust/Strength XI! If we can harness this trio as individuals and collectives we are unstoppable!
True strength/lust is sourced in our life purpose and not determined by external opportunities. Be not fooled by the golden ring on the merry-go-round of life. As Crowley states, “Lust, without lust of result, is in every way perfect!”
Passionate, uninhibited free spirits are showing themselves in freedom squares across the planet!
The Sun brings its gift of self-sufficiency into the realm of structure and order, suggesting further expansion of solar powered communities as well as the reality that the sun sheds light, supports life, and gives warmth to all – free of charge.
Individuality, for so long manipulated to divide us, is redefined. Now to be a great individual is to contribute to the well being of all life with one’s unique imagination and creativity.
Then Mars steps in to declare his supremacy in the realm of revolutionary change! The challenge is to choose what kind of warrior we aspire to be. In the old paradigm all the victories of Mars were born out of violent convulsions of war, death, and destruction. Past revolutions that defeated corrupt dictatorships failed because they sought to use the violent methods and eventually became what they hated. As feminist Audre Lourde so aptly stated, “ you cannot dismantle the master’s house with the master’s tools”.
The 3 of Disks, called Works, represents the work we as individuals and our culture have created as a foundation to build on now. Since the 60’s alternative systems continue to evolve across the board. Healthcare, education, human rights, ecology, consensus, locally sourced food and industry are thriving even as the old disintegrates.
In the Motherpeace deck the 3 of Disks card shows women building a temple to the goddess. It is not important whether you relate to this imagery, what is being shown is the honoring of the earth as mother and rerooting ourselves in the natural order.
Women all over the world are calling us home, invoking the real meaning of economics, ikoniokos, the household budget; that actual fortune lies in an economics of care. Check out Riane Eisler’s work on this idea currently being practiced in Scandinavia.
Mars can be externalized as a monstrous War God or owned in each of us as a strong and fearless warrior for peace!
Warning: Everywhere the old Mars will continue to rape and plunder until will can sit in the fire of conflict and use mediation and collaboration to make peace, especially with that person right next to you!
May we enter the age of gifting and leave the age of greed that fed us the toxins of our own failed imaginations. Dream big, love fiercely, and always remember that the children’s future is our responsibility.
