I pulled The Devil three times this week. While this card had some personal messages for me, such as feeling chained to responsibility and work, I couldn’t help but notice that The Devil is also speaking about what is going on in our society.  Knowing that the Cosmic Tarot, created in the 80’s, has strong social and political themes, I decided to bring out The Devil from that deck. Notice how it shows individuals chained to an industrial, patriarchal system of oppression. A decaying world order is held on the backs of people who are arrested in this system. Sounds familiar?
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Our hearts weigh so heavily in face of such grave injustice in the world. We see the events going on, we see how the governments operate, and we feel hopeless as we watch what would-be dystopian, sci-fi-style, draconian and unjust forms of governance take up shape right before our eyes. You know when you see movies set in the future, in which all-powerful leaders, with aid of technology, crush their helpless citizens under the weight of their oppressive might? We are watching that system be built right in front of us. Have you ever wondered how the German citizenry ever allowed a brutal government to take hold earlier in the 20th century? We are watching as people all around us assent to the very same horror. These are fucked up times.

I asked the Cosmic deck, what is our collective medicine at this time? And out came the Nine of Pentacles, which as you can see in the picture, I had just pulled hours before on my personal read.  Nine of Pentacles is self-sufficiency, it is taking care of yourself because no one else will.  Hordes of people in the world are willfully ignorant and borderline evil, and often straight-up evil in their selfishness and arrogance. We are being crushed under a system that is racist, oligarchic, sexist, and perverse. In times like these, it feels like “doing our part” is not enough.

When the normative, legal ways of appealing public grievances fail, such as what we are witnessing, what is there left to do? Can you really blame the masses that take matters into their own hands? The Pentacles suit deals with the structures of this world. Are the people radically embodying the Nine of Pentacles in a way to restructure the system from a self-sufficient point of view? Who else can they trust, when there is no great power who will hear their plead?

But how about you and I, sitting within our homes, not engaging with the “violence”, what are we to do? I don’t have a complete answer, but I hope to bring a little bit of support and medicine. Nine of Pentacles calls for a restructuring of the way we relate with the world, and a transformation of our relationship with the system. We can align our electoral, economic, and purchasing choices with the freedom that we seek to see in the world. But, aside from that, today’s medicine is to really take care of your own.

It’s hard to believe that the situation in the world will get any better. Most likely, we are walking hand-in-hand toward an even more oppressive, intrusive, heartless world order.  Without infringing further hurt and damage to the world, and without upending anybody else’s rights, we are left to ensure stability and protection for ourselves and for our loved ones. A while ago, my husband and I were just discussing this.  It’s time to assume the decay of social justice will go on. We must continue contributing to the causes of liberation, but we also must be structured correctly within our own personal worlds.

Strengthen yourself and your family. Save some money because times are uncertain. Spread out your risks. Be prepared. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Continue assisting and donating to support causes. Help directly with your own sweat however you can. Support the businesses that belong to the people. Do not be politically absent, specially wherever your vote matters the most. Speak out. But strengthen yourself and your family, for the hope of the world will depend that we are strong. Make sure yours are taken care of, because the system we have contributed to sure as fuck won’t be there to help them. Again, this is not a call to be selfish and to horde or take away resources from others. But as we engage in this world of oppression, we will need a strong core. This reading’s medicine is just for you, individually; you who have a roof over your head and have a source of income and food to eat. Put on the armor of self-sufficiency and strengthen your support networks however possible. We won’t be of any help if we dissolve into the lake of capitalistic complacency and despair. Be well, be safe, be protected, be prepared.