Botticelli’s Primavera is probably one of the most recognizable paintings in the world. It is emblematic of the paradigm shift that birthed our Modern World. Primavera calls the Uffizi Museum in Florence her home. The painting’s timely theme is the arrival of spring, which is one reason it headlines this March blog. Actually, this article is as much a macroeconomic newsletter as it is a Chrysalis blog. We’ll turn to the news and editorial sections directly.

But first, to reacquaint you with Primavera we start on the left side of the painting with the first of the nine figures in the orange-grove party scene. Carefree Mercury, the messenger of the Gods, seems preoccupied in a world of his own as he announces, “Spring has arrived!” by pointing to transient clouds. The Three Graces frolic merrily in a circle in front of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty who occupies center stage as Cupid aims his arrow from above. Flora, the fertility goddess of spring and youth, wears a garland of festive flowers, a floral dress and sprinkles rose petals on the ground.

These last two figures suggest one reason this artwork is particularly relevant to Chrysalis. Flora is depicted being transformed from the nymph on her left by Zephyr who marries and transforms her. (The Medicis, a wealthy Florentine banking family, commissioned this painting as a wedding gift.) Zephyr, who personifies the west wind, hovers above the nymph to symbolize the transition to springtime. Today, Primavera recalls to mind a paradigm shift to those better days we know as the Italian Renaissance, a movement that began in the 15th century and transitioned the Middle Ages into the modern world of enlightenment. Nothing escaped change.

The paradigm shift which Chrysalis was conceived to prophesize is the shift from the modern world to whatever comes next. Future generations will define it. But lets not bog ourselves down in murky modernization theory.

The goddess Flora has a sister named Fauna, as you likely guessed. Fauna is the fertility goddess of wildlife and the woodlands. In Chrysalis we conflated Flora and Fauna to beget Gaia, who oversees all life in Earth’s biosphere. In fact, Gaia is both a goddess and a scientific theory, as we detailed in the Chrysalis companion book. Gaia Theory posits that she maintains optimal conditions to support life in Earth’s biosphere.

All life on earth contributes information and energy to Gaia’s feedback loop. For reasons sufficient unto herself, Gaia presides over the transitioning of our society to green energy. We should embrace that truth whether we accept the prevalent theory of anthropomorphic (human caused) catastrophic global warming or not; the metaphysics of the proposition are what’s important, not the politics.

In fact if Gaia repeatedly appears in your readings, she might be imploring you to focus more on the big picture. Whatever the issue, there is usually a bigger picture worth considering. You will not discover truth in political slogans intended primarily to manipulate your mind and control your behavior. Chrysalis is about developing and using critical thinking skills with divine assistance from archetypes of the Collective Unconscious who speak to us via our inner voice.

In addition to Gaia, we should assign additional attributes and qualities to two other Chrysalis cards. These two cards are important when coming to grips with the New Paradigm and the creative destruction that will accompany it. In financial circles, “creative destruction” is now expressed as “disruptive technology.” That’s not only more sanguine but it better describes what’s really happening – the facts on the ground, so to speak.

Money

We – the world – are rapidly moving toward a cashless society. The tipping point or Minsky Moment lies in the offing. It is being called The Great Reset. The Great Reset is necessary because all global currencies are in a massive state of decline well past a point of no return. For example, 40% of all dollars printed in the 200+ year history of the U.S. have been printed in just the last 15 or so months.

The card below signifies the enormous amount of energy – 70% of it green energy – at work in cyberspace. It’s name is Bitcoin and it will provide the monetary transportation/impetus needed for the Great Reset. Bitcoin is backed by enormous amounts of energy and, to repeat myself, 70% of it is green energy. If you see this card popping up in your readings, it’s urging you to inform yourself with the basic facts of blockchain technology and crypto currency.

One rather pleasant consequence of the new paradigm’s cashless society powered by digital currencies is there will be no debt. All debt will be wiped out by the Great Reset, although the central banks may seek (unsuccessfully) to utilize debt as the monetary bedrock of the future paradigm.

This card asks you to recognize that the Great Reset, as well as Bitcoin itself for that matter, are trains that have already left the station. Resistance is futile, although some “old timers” who remain mired in the old paradigm will continue to fret about “how are we going to pay for all this stimulus?” We aren’t.

If new paradigms promised smooth rides, we might not have designed Chrysalis as “transformational technology.” The folks who will at least have a smoother ride are those able to heed their inner voices and silence the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) constantly shouted by the world around us.

Remember, the media are clueless so do your own research. Draw your own conclusions.

Aeolus (left), Master of the Four Winds, is a card and a mythology you should get to know better. It was Aeolus who guided Odysseus safely home to Ithaca. We picked Aeolus to be the cover art for our Chrysalis companion book:

“Aeolus is pictured on the Nine of Spirals with an astrolabe, a device used at sea for navigation. An astrolabe measures not the speed or direction of the wind, but rather the position of heavenly bodies such as the moon and stars.

“On the Nine of Spirals, the astrolabe foresees the gentle breeze of the Age of Aquarius entwined with the last snarling gusts of the Age of Pisces. The ramifications of such a shift are stupendous!”

Aeolus chose Zephyr, the west wind, to guide Odysseus home just as Botticelli chose Zephyr to symbolize the transition into springtime. Allow Aeolus to help you navigate the turbulent winds and waters of the paradigm shift we clearly see in the offing.

© Toney Brooks 2021