When William Safire sent those biting words into the mouth of Spiro Agnew back in 1972, the barb was aimed directly toward Mainstream Media (MSM). In those days, many Americans, specifically what was then called the “Silent Majority,” were becoming disillusioned with mainstream media, which for most of us consisted of three network tv channels and our daily newspaper of choice.
Two generations on and America has watched the nascent disillusionment of the 60s and 70s grow and metastasize into an ugly malaise of profound distrust and resentment.
And rightfully so! MSM no longer can legitimately boast of any pretense to objectivity when it opines on matters of great importance to the corporate/political establishment (“the swamp”) that controls it. For truth, one must reject the swamp and its obsession with greed and power.
Fortunately there is a survival strategy. While journalistic integrity as we once knew and admired it appears to be dead and buried, MSM itself now grows less and less important by the day as more Americans are bristled by its outright lies and subtle deceptions and turn instead to alternative media for information. However, the death of disillusion is part and parcel of evolving a personal worldview. This is where Chrysalis Tarot comes in. We created Chrysalis to help confront and survive the difficulties and stress of a paradigm shift. And to overcome chronic negativity, which is a low-vibration, unhealthy emotion.
One has two obvious choices when confronting truths that fly in the face of a cherished worldview. The confrontation is called cognitive dissonance – uncomfortable weighing of contradictory thoughts. For example, one can retreat into denial and cling mightily to old preconceived notions, ideologies, etc. While affording a sense of comfort and joy, denial of reality can often lead to delusion and eventually depression. Alternatively, one can construct a new paradigm – create a new map of reality. In other words, discover and embrace the larger picture.
The gentleman who graces the cover of our Chrysalis companion book is Aeolus, Master of the Four Winds and Great Cosmic Organizer (and Reorganizer). He’s the fellow whose fair winds saw Odysseus safely home to Ithaca.
In one way or another, we’re all just trying to return safely home to Ithaca, a metaphor for finding one’s true Self. Tarot allegorizes this Hero’s Journey, this epic quest, that animates the spiritual life of countless seekers of truth.
Tarot allegorizes the Hero’s Journey through a particular type of meditation. Meditation techniques have many guises, one of which is called “guided meditation.” This type of meditation, which includes tarot, is more active mentally than Zazen (Buddhist), Yogic (Hindu) or Taoist (Chinese) meditation practices, to mention a few. Meditation using Chrysalis is active participation in writing one’s own personal mythology of self-discovery.
We believe that personal introspection is essential to the Hero’s Journey and that personal introspection requires an honest effort. A Chrysalis Tarot reading of only one card a day can be transformative. It can help one gain perspective; discover and embrace the larger picture, which is benefit #52 of the 100 benefits of meditation. The entire list of 100 is available below in .pdf format courtesy of the Lotus Temple.
Denial is a function of the egoic mind; the more threatened the ego, the more stubborn the denial. Enlightenment (higher consciousness) is a function of surrender and acceptance of change (#97).
“If we only knew what Illusion is, we would then know the opposite: what Truth is. This Truth would liberate us from slavery.” ~ Boris Mouravieff
Chrysalis Tarot 