Tarot Economics - 2009

According to news reports around the world, the global economic downturn has led increasing numbers of people to seek out the advice of tarot readers and psychics. My own business hasn’t seen a significant change in either the number of clients or what they’ve been asking, but time will tell. As we enter this new year, the economy certainly is at the forefront of people's minds so I decided to go ahead and ask the cards what they had to say about it, or at least how we might react to it. My question to the deck was: What advice do you have for weathering the economic conditions in 2009?

Amazingly enough, the card that appeared was the Nine of Cups – the one Crowley’s Thoth deck labels ‘happiness’. Hmmmm… what kind of advice is that when the whole world looks about ready to fall apart?

In the Golden-Waite image, there’s a guy sitting on a bare wooden stool, wearing a long mumu-like garment, striped black and white. His face is calm, almost smiling. On his head is a bright red hat and he’s wearing socks to match. His shoes are brown, his stance balanced and confident. Behind him is a high curved table draped in blue fabric, almost like a waterfall. Nine gold cups sit on the table above his head.

The first thing that strikes me is the stool. Looking at it, there is a certain austerity to this card. The essentials are what’s important. No extravagance here except maybe the guy’s outfit. The message is about finding love of life in simplicity. Where can we pare down while not cutting out that which is most important, that which truly makes us happy. We need a place to sit, but it doesn’t have to be fancy. Of course sometimes the fundamentals are difficult to determine. Each one of us will have to figure out what they are to us. Looking inside is a good place to start.

Despite the serious potential for challenging times in 2009, confidence and a quiet enthusiasm is still recommended. Try to look at all sides of your situation and see how the disparate elements of your life might work together rather than fight against each other. This card reminds us not to let emotions overwhelm, but rather to see them as a continuous flow of potential inspiration. And don’t ignore what you’ve already achieved. So much of your strength going forward comes from the work you’ve already done. Give yourself the credit you deserve and keep building from there.

Happiness has no one meaning, but within this context I think it’s about the strength of attitude necessary during tough times. It can be found in the confidence of knowing that no matter what, you can face your fears, get up again after being knocked down and use whatever is around you to build the physical world you require.

The Nine of Cups is not delivering an airy-fairy ‘think positive in the face of catastrophe’ message. It’s asking us to find our power by looking inside and honestly evaluating what we have, what we need and what attitude we wish to take, no matter what the rest of the world seems to be doing and thinking. A primary theme in all the Nines is the importance of looking within to find strength and direction - whatever the global or local trends are. Remember that trends are nothing more than averages. Where you end up on the continuum of any average is a completely fluid matter, and surprisingly enough, most often up to you.