The April newsletter didn’t offer a reading, so here it is:

This month’s card is The Chariot (VII), from the Starman Tarot

Davide and Esther say this about the card:

The Chariot is the war vehicle that carries this dreadlocked Bowie-esque king forward to victory against his enemies. His battle-dress, demeanor, and maturity suggests he has been navigating the battlefield for many years.

In life, like Homer’s great champion and Trojan War hero, Odysseus, who (in The Oddessy) faces tremendous travails on his long return home after the war, the ingenious early-won victories turn to absurdly challenging battles requiring enormous tenacity. Weathered by time, experience, and adversity, he knows that he will not be successful without rigorous preparation, planning, creativity, and, above all, self control.
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This card therefore implies the game of life can only be won if we can master our emotions, control our worries and fears, regrets, resignation, and hopelessness. The king driving his chariot symbolizes that self-belief and confidence comes from consistently refocusing one’s thoughts and ideas to the objective and goal at hand. We must move past the limbic system, the stress response of fight or flight, to engage with greater emotional intelligence. When we know ourselves, our motivations and needs – the why we do things – we can become more aware of when we are off track.

I am going to assume that more of my readership is interested in stemming the tide of Covid-19, and that we are all clear about how to do so (stay home, avoid interacting in person with folx outside your household unit wherever possible, wear a mask, sanitize everything, wash your hands). And we are also human beings with needs and wants and egos. As I frequently point out, if you are in a body, you have a negative ego, one that likes to use fear-based messaging, that tells you that you’re not enough, there’s not enough, and that there will never be enough. So we’re all battling with that aspect of self.

The good news is that the negative ego is not the only operating system available to you. It does take conscious effort to move out of it, though, because we are so used to running the show. The most simple solution is to shift your operating system to your Heart Center. This is your point of connection, within yourself and with everything and everyone else. It’s a good space from which to operate at this time. Start by bringing yourself into a light meditative state, and pulling all of your attention and all of your focus into the center of your chest, at the level of your armpits, in front of the spine. See yourself interacting with others from this space. If you are on the phone or a video conference with someone, see yourself reaching out to them from that space, almost like a handshake. If you are emailing someone, or texting, or instant messaging, you can do the same. It allows you to humanize every interaction, and communication becomes clearer.

In addition, I have found it helpful to look for, and remind myself of, all of the gifts that are coming from this global pandemic:

We now have a proven infrastructure of differently-abled people to work in alternative settings.

We now have a proven infrastructure for people with child (or parent) care issues to have a more flexible work schedule.

We now have an infrastructure to allow our kids to have a school schedule that better fits their circadian rhythms.

We have proven that we can modify our behavior ways that will allow nature to heal itself – have you seen the amazing photos from Venice, Italy?

We are all becoming much more community minded.

With so many people unable to work, and with the majority of the people who are making it possible for the rest of us to stay home, we are being given the opportunity to see people as people, not commodities.

I would love to hear from you about what you are doing to keep your ego in check, to control your emotions, and to say out of worry and fear.