It is high time to dispense with things that no longer work, to let things go as you turn in a new direction in mind, heart and action. With a unified intent, with your heart focused on a fresher outlook, and with your mind sharp as a tack, look now in the direction of hope, compassion and love for all. With the greater good of self and other uppermost in your intentions, stay the path that will lead in a direction of benefit and possibility for all, no matter what kind of chaos surrounds you. One good heart, one determined mind turned in the direction of good is all you need to see progress.
To be truly prosperous is to be fearless, to let the flow of life run unimpeded toward you and to greet it with open arms, looking always for the golden nuggets it drops at your feet. Every day life gives you golden nuggets in some form. Do you notice? Ask to be shown how you are being provided with the unexpected, the fantastic, the unusual or the sublime. Life is full of golden nuggets. Begin a conscious practice of looking for them and you will indeed find them.
Arrange your thoughts so that you can distinguish between thoughts that are positive and helpful and those that are negative and detrimental. Thoughts that are positive get to stay while those that are negative go in the trash. Keep a positive outlook on life no matter the circumstances you find yourself in, for a positive attitude aids in prolonging a positive outlook. Allow yourself to question your thoughts as to their helpfulness, and immediately distance yourself from any thoughts that will not lead you in a good direction. Turn away from thoughts of failure, disease, decline and imbalance. Embrace thoughts of prosperity, success and calm centeredness. A clear mind leads to a clear body, and a clear body paves the way for gratitude, the ultimate positive thought!
Now is the time for honest reflection. The disavowed shadow of America has come home to roost. The shadow is transparent now, and has knowingly been chosen to rule. Such is the inevitable karma for a high-minded nation’s persona that denies its self-serving underbelly. To truly arrive at the place of equanimous love we must first square with the needs and demands of our shadow.
The I Ching portended to me, just prior to the election, that the time of stagnation was ending and that the right ruler would be chosen. Indeed, the sweeping, one-sided victories of the election will end the stagnation that has plagued governance for decades. However, true success requires leadership that addresses the true needs of the whole.
We are in the time of the waning moon. DuQuette states, “The moonlight of Atu XVIII (Tarot Moon major arcana card) is that which illuminates the phantasmagoric nightmares of all of us who cannot acknowledge the dark horrors of our own fears. The Moon card shows a path through and beyond this nightmare, but it is not an easy path, and the myths of all ages and cultures prove that this journey through “the poisoned darkness” is an obligatory chapter in every hero’s quest.” (Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot, p. 147)
DuQuette quotes Aleister Crowley’s suggested correct attitude in such a time as ours: “Whatever horrors may afflict the soul, whatever abominations may excite the loathing of the heart, whatever terrors may assail the mind, the answer is the same at every stage: “How splendid is the Adventure!” (ibid p.147) That is true equanimity.
The journey, so seemingly outer, actually reflects the inner fixation upon survival that currently plagues the human species. Survival threats, real or imagined, cause the subconscious to select the instinctual operating system that outwardly blames and attacks rather than inwardly assuming responsibility.
The hero’s journey requires a consciousness that seeks only the truth, regardless of how tainted it renders the soul. Christianity may have stalked altruistic love, but the human race has hardly budged beyond the reach of narcissism. The hero cannot skip over the needs of self, but is easily defeated if motivated by the needs of self alone. The keys to the kingdom are generally awarded to random acts of kindness.
The hero expands their vision by owning their nightmares. The culprit may be reflected outwardly but resides within. The hero calms the central nervous system with gratitude for all the truth that has been revealed. The hero programs the subconscious to override old unnecessary survival programs. The hero finds joy in the equanimity of the adventure, at every stage of its never-ending story.
The truth of now is that we are individually, and collectively, upon the journey of the dark night of the soul. That journey traverses the span between the solar plexus and the heart, from the narcissism of the ego to the refined love of the altruistic self.
The waning moon takes us through the shadow of our hidden truths. Beyond that necessary stage is the waxing toward wholeness, that which is to come.
Find balance and stability in mundane everyday tasks, knowing that they ground and center you so that life may proceed in a normal, steady and predictable manner. When things are set to change, such activities offer a known reality that anchors and makes the unknown less frightening. Fear is but a memory of old situations that limits and restricts spirit, which is the other half of physical life, that which ignites and sustains it. So while you are going about your daily tasks, keeping to a known path, keep your light within lit and focused on a new and bright outcome. If all is to be well, it is within you that the spark will arise and burn bright.
