Friends, It is time to rise to the occasion! Honor and activate your unique gifts and give them now. Let us act in whatever way we are called and capable. This reading offers one perspective that will help us let go of fear and reactivity and find a way through.
It is exceedingly promising that Gaia/The Empress III, the power of Women, is holding forth in the heart center of this Kabalistic Tree of Life reading.
THE WOMEN’S MARCH is the defining and foundational moment that we must all build on. Every continent, and 81 countries were represented and there were no incidences of violence or any arrests.
It was a moving performance piece of the world we want; celebratory, fierce, courageous, all inclusive, artistic, humorous and focused on love as the true source of authentic power!
For decades many have carried a vision of the dawn of a New Era of peace, compassion, creativity and celebration of this amazing gift of life. We have laid the groundwork; now let us bring this vision into reality.
Communities across the planet are re-rooting themselves in the Earth and re-defining law as agreements that align with the laws of nature. Ending the enslavement of the Earth and rejoining all our relations by creating community agreements that acknowledge the Rights of Nature and Community Rights is a great place to start.
The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, CELDF.org is helping communities and countries integrate these rights into their Constitutions and their General Plans.
Bolivia, Ecuador and now New Zealand have worked with CELDF to affirm these rights in their Constitutions. Cities across the nation are establishing these Rights. From California, (including Sebastopol) to Pennsylvania, Oregon to Ohio, the movement grows daily.
Continue reading to learn about the challenges we face and how to meet them from a realistic and resilient perspective.
1) The first card is called “Wealth” (10 of Disks). Right now, Wealth is considered an accumulation of money and property, when the true meaning of the word comes from “weal” which means “wellbeing, happiness and health.”
Our healthcare is threatened and we already feel the huge burden of student loans, mortgages and medical bills coupled with low wages.
We have a clear path to avoid impending disaster by reclaiming the true meaning of “Wealth”. In Riane Eisler’s book The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics we have a proven blueprint. So many of our words have been perverted to serve economic systems when their roots are in our relationships. Look at the root of the word “Economics”. It comes from “oikonomos,” which means care and management of the household, which is traditionally the role of women.
If our systems were based in the feminine values of care, as the word economics implies, then we would be rapidly building on Gaia’s methods of caring for all life by employing permaculture and bio-mimicry to restore balance, as well as solar, wind and bio-remediation to remove toxins caused by our pollution. Gaia offers all the abundance and wealth we need to live and thrive.
2) The Princess of Disks holds her ground in the 2nd position of Wisdom/Chokmah on the Tree. She is rooted in the Earth and draws up ancient knowing from the depths, symbolized by the diamond on her scepter that is formed over millennia.
She is the witness, recognizing that “being” present will reveal what we need to be “doing”. Slow down to the pace of guidance then act instead of reacting to stay embodied and immovable like the trees she is surrounded with. As Joan Baez sang at the SF WOMEN’S MARCH, “Just like a tree that’s standing by the water, we shall not be moved!”
3) Here we see the Knight of Swords clothed in green charging down from the heavens to fulfill short-term doable goals like planting a garden or creating a piece of art. Time to trust that when we get out of our heads and complete projects that have been waiting in the wings, the soul will co-operate by sending up the next inspiration.
4) Next the persevering, passionate, and loyal Prince of Wands shows our need to stay connected to our long-term friends, family, and long-term goals. We need to stay the course by trusting in the courage of our hearts to embody this Leo leader that is both flexible and practical. In the fourth position of structure and power, this offers us a stable force for long-term change so it balances well with the short-term projects of the Knight that will keep the mind focused during challenging times. In other words do what can be done now and hold to the vision of the world we want in the long run.
5) Here we see the second ten, this time in the suit of Wands representing fire/action/spirit. Saturn is putting the pressure on to end old structures revealed in this card called “Oppression” or the 10 of Wands. Tens always indicate the end of a cycle and the need to reseed our collective imagination. Oppression will be seen all over the world in the coming year and it cannot be countered by false optimism, implied by a superficial form of Sagittarius, that will try to cheerlead us into the New Age.
The dangers of imprisonment are all too real especially for those already under attack by “not my president”. We always ask what would we have done in Nazi Germany. We would’ve had each other’s backs and refused to comply with laws that are not based in ethics and true justice. As the I Ching states, “It is only when we see things exactly as they are that we can find a way through.” Although I never thought it would look quite like this, I have known since I was a hippie in the 60’s that this structure had to change drastically.
It is time to revive ‘meaning’ as essential to our work/careers in the world, not only fair wages. We will see a culture emerging that is based on the socialist principles that were revived thanks to Bernie Sanders. Time to trade prisons for rehabilitation centers, and invest in housing, food, shelter and healthcare for all. We need to end the glorification of war, as a selling point for the biggest industry on the planet, weapons.
6) Gaia/The Empress III is holding forth in the center of this Kabalistic Tree of Life reading. As stated above, Gaia offers all the abundance and wealth we need to live and thrive. Our work is to first let go of ownership as the rule of law and instead build communities that create agreements based on common values to protect life, not just our lives, but all life.
In the Motherpeace deck the 10 of Disks shows a circle of people supporting the birth of a child by a young woman. This is the perfect symbol for true wealth. In these trying times, it is important to remember that it is a loving community that will be our safety net as financial systems continue to destabilize. When there is generosity and giving, we all benefit and feel we belong and are cared for.
7) Moving through the path of death and rebirth we land in the home ruled by Venus/Gaia called “Victory”. Here we find the Moon in Taurus card the 6 of Disks called “Success”. Taurus is the sign of agriculture and education. The Moon asks us to dream the world we want and work hard to educate ourselves and others in all life-affirming systems. The glowing lotus in the center of the card calls us to open our consciousness to the recognition of the interdependence of all life. Much of Eastern philosophy has informed the western mind with wisdom and tools to end the primal reactivity of fright, fight or flight, us or them, and help us evolve into compassionate humans that are no longer ruled by fear. Fear becomes an alarm clock that tells us to wake up, shut off the alarm and follow the example of the Princess of Disks, to act from intelligence based in love, so that our actions will do no harm.
8) The 5 of Cups, “Disappointment”, shows the pentagram inverted, symbolizing a victory of matter over spirit. Crossing over the path of Mars from 7 to 8 on the Tree, we are working to redeem our Mars warrior self out of his toxic form that continues to lead us into wars of extraction, that burn the Earth. He has been oblivious to the reality that water is life, Mni Wiconi, as the Lakota water protectors of Standing Rock declare. All the water is gone in this image because this greedy god has forgotten his love of Venus and in his hubris is destroying life itself. We need men and women to embody an evolved Mars as a warrior for love acting with courage, imagination and flexibility.
What is happening in Standing Rock is an awakening movement that rips the cover off the false history of this country, and demands that we honor our great mother, Gaia, who is the source of all life, not a re-source to be exploited!
We need our warrior self to be set in motion only after listening to the Princess of Disks and Gaia on how to proceed. We need the fire of our passionate hearts to be inspiring and courageous. We cannot allow Mars to think that power over and violence are legitimate forms of governance.
9) Here at the Foundation of the tree is “Sorrow” the 3 of Swords. Saturn in Libra is putting the pressure on us individually and as a community to fulfill our destiny by birthing and nurturing our unique gifts that brought us into this time and place to midwife the Aquarian Era of Intelligent Love. The sorrow will be a result of us not fulfilling our destiny at this crucial time. All of are experiencing the anguish and urgency to do something now. Please know that what needs to be done is to give your authentic self to the world and keep breathing with the labor pains. Let us encourage our children by drawing out their innate gifts and giving them the tools and resources they need to carry the dream forward.
It is essential that we hold a vision for our children and not infect them with our fears. All of creation is imagined before it happens, if we can see we can make it Real.
10) The Lovers VI appears in the final position of this reading and is calling us to redefine our relationships including lovers, family and community. Since the so-called traditional family is steeped in religious and cultural limitations it calls us all to bring up-to-date what partners, family and community looks like when it is inclusive and thrives on the diversity that love engenders.
For too long the family has been a place of secrecy and hierarchy that hides sexual perversion, verbal and emotional abuse, and disempowerment for women, children and queer-identified people.
In the old decks this was called, “Decisions or Choices”. It is time to make our choices grounded in a sense of equality and freedom for all. No child should be raised in a way that makes them feel wrong for being themselves and only right if they become what they are told to be.
Self-love is the single most important building block in a happy, harmonious and evolving culture. When people accept themselves they easily honor all individuals and will seldom be hurtful, prejudiced or excluding in their behavior.
Communities that encourage individuals to “come out” in all aspects of their self-expression create a cornerstone for an interconnected, loving and peaceful society. May it be so!