The Paradigm Shift and Bitcoin

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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

At the Nexus of Good and Evil

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Good vs Evil by ladyrapid on DeviantArt

A metaphysical nexus is defined as a shadowy, reactive juncture of two of more things. The two things in this instance are the metaphysical concepts of Good and Evil, two terms that are much more difficult to define. Philosophers have been trying for years with diverse results. For our purposes here, we associate good with the dominant presence of order and evil with the dominant presence of disorder or chaos.

Like everything in the universe, these two concepts may be expressed in terms of frequency and vibration. Good is among the higher order of frequencies and evil is among the lower, e.g. good is love, evil is hate. Good is healing; evil is destructive. Confidence and calmness are good; fear and loathing are evil. The reason we humans now find ourselves staring down this nexus is because the levels of fear, hate and disunity in the world are off the charts. By my historical reckoning, in the past such extraordinary levels of fear and hate were last experienced during and immediately prior to the American Revolution, the Civil War and the twin crises of the Great Depression and World War II.

In Chrysalis there are, by design, no low-frequency negative archetypes. Several cards, such as Bella Rosa and Ariadne, symbolize the shadow or dark side of the psyche, which we each possess. Spiritual growth (a good thing) requires that we integrate our shadow-self and not repress who we really are. Since shadow work is not the upshot of this piece, here’s a helpful introduction to the topic.

Kali (left) is the Hindu mother-goddess archetype of creative destruction, which can be envisaged as the crafty yet measured use of chaos to kick start some eventual greater good or higher purpose.

I used to think that a measured use of chaos was precisely what lies ahead in these stormy days and it still may well be. However, what I now intuit is a far greater and unrestrained triumph over good by the dragon of evil, as shown above. So the upshot of this blog is to offer suggestions on how to cope with this darkness and perhaps even how to mitigate it.

Holly wisely included the all-seeing Third Eye of Horus in our Kali art – don’t let Kali’s string of skulls frighten you, they symbolize higher consciousness. The Third Eye when activated represents our first and foremost coping mechanism for the chaotic times we are experiencing today. We discuss how to activate your Third Eye a few paragraphs below.

Time can be reckoned in one of three distinct ways: chaotic, cyclical or linear.¹ To focus your Third Eye on what lies in the offing, what we call Kali’s Crazy Puzzle, we must appeal to cyclical time; prophecy and precognition are in part a reinterpretation of historical patterns filtered by a healthy dose of intuition. The Third Eye (6th chakra) is the mystical conduit for human intuition.

From our Chrysalis Companion Book: [Kali’s] Third Eye reminds us to use intuition and always to remain open to new ways of thinking. Such openness is the key to locating the all-important cornerpieces in Kali’s Crazy Puzzle. Cornerpieces can help you identify situations in life, e.g. people, beliefs, bad habits, etc., that have become obstacles to self-fulfillment. Kali will then motivate you to act appropriately and in your best interest. Like a jigsaw puzzle, Kali hides her solutions in plain sight.

“Our lives are shaped by creative and subjective forces that can only be intuited by the Third Eye. The unicorn’s horn symbolizes the bridge of perception that connects our world to the Otherworld.”

Recall that the word Otherworld refers to the spiritual Akashic Field, a vast unseen storehouse of information situated in the aether. The Third Eye can gain access, the consciousness can not. When activated, the Third Eye can glean the immediate future with varying degrees of clarity via meditation, prayer, yoga and other “bridge of perception” relaxation-response techniques.

As you know, Chrysalis Tarot was designed to help you develop your innate intuitive skills and creative imagination. In Chrysalis, the Suit of Scrolls corresponds to the element of Air. In traditional tarot this suit is called the Suit of Swords. Chrysalis’ Scroll cards represent the fine qualitative balance between the intellect – your attitudes and beliefs – and intuition. As I noted above, the intellect should remain open to new ideas and new ways of thinking in order to stimulate spiritual growth and encourage self-awareness so that you can make sense of your life.

In times of chaos, events unfold in no discernable path; the essential nature of chaos is randomness. This is surely one reason many of us feel ill at ease in these days. There is no way to foresee where today’s hate and fear will lead. The only thing we know for certain is that it’s better not to go there.

If you are one of the many among us experiencing trumped up levels of fear and hate, do try to chill out and regain perspective. The ego-driven incivility and cultural contempt infecting media and the body politic is repulsive. Moreover, it is dangerous not only to one’s personal health – both physical and spiritual – but to society as a whole.

View of the Washington Monument and the National World War II Memorial with its Pearl Harbor Dedication, Washington, DC

¹A book about historical cycles you might enjoy reading: The Fourth Turning

© Toney Brooks 2021

Sa Sekhem Sahu

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Egyptian mysticism played an important role in the development of Chrysalis Tarot and plays an equally important role in its daily use. At least a rudimentary understanding of Egyptian mysticism can be useful in understanding Chrysalis Tarot’s shamanic attributes and how these attributes help you grow spiritually. I’ll return to Egyptian mysticism and Ma’at directly.

First and foremost among the objectives addressed by Chrysalis is spiritual growth. (Spiritual growth has nothing to do with religion. Indeed, religious dogma often stymies spiritual growth.) Spiritual growth is defined by Chrysalis as the awareness of conscious and unconscious Self in the physical or worldly realm and the awareness of how Self functions or interacts in the ethereal or imaginal realm.

Joan Forest Mage is a shamanic practitioner and teacher in Chicago. This is a link to an excellent piece she wrote about shamanism a few years back. You can follow Joan on Facebook.

If you’ve been feeling “out of sorts” of late, welcome to a very large club. The world is out of balance and in dire need of healing. Consequently, when nature itself is out of balance we humans are similarly affected. We heal the world by healing ourselves; by growing spiritually.

Just as Skehmet is Ma’at’s guardian, Ma’at is our guardian. It is she who maintains cosmic balance. The mantra used to invoke Skehmet is “Sa Sekhem Sahu.” It means, “With each breath spiritual energy enters my being.” The word Sa means the breath of life. It’s Sanskrit equivalent is prana, a more familiar word. Sekhem is the feminine Divine energy or Universal Life Force that animates Sahu, which translates to spiritual awareness.

Each of us is called to mysticism – to become a mystic. We accomplish this feat over many years of study and by always being open to Sekhem. In Egyptian mysticism, which influenced and inspired all mystical traditions, we allow Skehmet to devour us symbolically and to reemerge in a glorious rebirth of spiritual transformation. In Chrysalis, this spiritual rebirth is symbolized by Psyche, a word that means both soul and butterfly in Greek.

One aspect of being a well informed mystic I have not written a great deal about is what science refers to as retrocausality and anomalous psychology refers to as precognition. It’s a straightforward notion: the future influences the present. That is a cornerstone of quantum cosmology. Indeed, past, present and future are all inexorably entangled. It’s a fascinating topic well presented in Robert Lanza’s best-selling book, “Beyond Biocentrism.”

“The future influences the present just as much as the past.” ~ Nietzsche

“We no longer have the luxury of learning only from the past – we must also download information from the future in order to be fully present, fully conscious, in our most embodied and best self now.” ~ Linda Star Wolf

© Toney Brooks 2020

The Nature of Evil

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The image below is of a bronze sculpture of Baphomet. You may recognize the image as the inspiration for the Devil tarot card in the Ryder-Waite deck. The sculpture was commissioned by the Satanic Temple in 2015, although the original image dates from the 1860s and is attributed to the French occultist Éliphas Lévi. 

We won’t delve into the esoteric symbolism pictured here. There’s no point. I simply selected this particular image to introduce the Chrysalis worldview’s position regarding evil. No worldview can be complete unless it broaches this topic.

Evil exists in the world because we are all capable of it, just as we are all capable of doing good. As long as good outweighs existential evil, the world is a happy, mostly peaceful place.

Each of us is capable of evil because the genetic makeup of our psyche includes an evil archetype, such as Baphomet, or perhaps even several. Most of us intuitively seek to keep that archetype in check. In other words, not to feed it energy, at least not willfully. The Satanic Temple and many others, however, willfully feed the beast and do so regularly.

Therefore Chrysalis Tarot regards evil as archetypal without appealing to the supernatural. Moreover, the Chrysalis Worldview rejects supernaturalism in favor of preternaturalism (existing outside of nature). Psychic phenomena are, for example, preternatural and spiritual.

Evil energy is very low frequency energy, ranking below even the negative energies of hate, fear, envy, etc., which are all in the 0-100 range, as illustrated above. It’s this very low-frequency energy of chaos and disorder that fragments the psyche and in extreme cases presents as a pathological condition, e.g. a serial killer.

The archetypes in Chrysalis Tarot were selected and painted to elicit positive energies, promote positive energies and raise individual self-awareness, hence consciousness and enlightenment.

However, rising levels of intolerance, self-righteousness and contemptuousness in society today, not to mention willful blindness, sound shrill echoes of the breeding grounds of anger, hate and violence that almost destroyed Europe and other parts of the world in the 1930s and 40s.

We can only hope that sordid chapter of human history is not repeated in coming years. For if it is, Armageddon will be on our doorstep.

Whenever you feel anxious or stressed, activate your heart chakra to lift your spirits. One quick way to do this is to express gratitude.

Heart Chakra by Nayamoon Art

© Toney Brooks 2020

‘Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones’

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“There is no future. There is no past. Do you see? Time is simultaneous, an intricately structured jewel that humans insist on viewing one edge at a time, when the whole design is visible in every facet.” ~ Alan Moore, Watchmen

I’ve been paying due attention to the Book of Daniel as of late. Well, ever since the recent address by Archbishop Vigano, which is available on YouTube – here.

In Daniel, Watchers are angelic beings who serve as the sentinels of Earth. In other words, they keep watch over us and keep us informed in regard to the bigger picture. The Watcher archetype helps us to grasp more than just a single facet of the Grand Design.

What is the Grand Design? Who wrote it? The Grand Design is the ultimate potentiality for us Earthlings. It was “written” by the Nexus of all Universal Archetypes, a vast energy field theologians instruct us to refer to as God and physicists instruct us, well, to ignore.

In philosophy, that (false) choice is known as the Fallacy of Exhaustive Hypothesis; not all possible choices were stated. Let’s examine the ‘choice’ or the approach imbued within the Chrysalis schema, an alternative choice that helps our users approach and understand the Grand Design.

Laurie Blake, Watchmen (1984)

Chrysalis instructs us to approach the Grand Design or bigger picture by employing intuition and active imagination in problem solving. As Moore noted in Watchmen, “We’re all puppets, Laurie. I’m just a puppet who can see the strings.” In other words, the narrator, Rorschach, is a mystic and a watcher. Indeed, all watchers are mystics and all mystics do see more than most. Much more, in fact, including the ‘strings,’ a metaphor for the inspirations that inform the consciousness.

Let’s return for a moment to the “jewel” that Moore referred to in our opening quote. In Buddhism, this “jewel” is known as Indra’s Net. It is a metaphor for the interconnectivity and interbeing of all things, one of the cornerstones of Chrysalis (and Buddhist) philosophy: everyone is connected to past, present and future probabilities. We delve into greater detail on Indra’s Net in the Chrysalis Companion book.

“Indra’s Net is very much related to interbeing. Very basically, interbeing refers to a teaching that all of existence is a vast nexus of causes and conditions, constantly changing, in which everything is interconnected to everything else.” ~ Barbara O’Brien, Indra’s Jewel Net.

During these difficult times, I urge you to widen your perspective through meditation, tarot, yoga, prayer, dream analysis – whatever your favorite modalities for self-centering happen to be. Egocentrism isn’t one of them.

Blessings!

© Toney Brooks, 2020

What Evil Lurks

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Enthusiasts of Vintage Radio programs will recognize the opening line of The Shadow as the inspiration for this blog’s title: “Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?”

So, what exactly is the origin of evil in the world? What underpins it? Could evil, in fact, really be caused by a red-tailed cosmic cartoon character run amuck on mankind? Or might it proceed from so-called “original sin,” an accursed spiritual birth defect ostensibly passed down to us from Eve?

Well, the “problem of evil” can get rather complicated.

However, the problem becomes far less complicated when you replace theological allegories with depth psychology, quantum physics and the scientifically proven universal interconnectedness of all things, both good and evil. Ironically, spiritual growth is actually stunted when theological allegories are taken too literally, but that’s another topic for another time; spiritual growth is dependent upon keen conscious awareness, reason and rationality.

In physics, good and evil are analogous to order and disorder, or chaos. Chaos serves as a touchstone to measure the amount of disorder (entropy) and, consequently, the quanta of negative energy plaguing the world at any given time. Unquestionably there is more negativity, fear and uncertainty in the world today – more furious negative vortices – than at any time in our history since the Second World War. And the situation appears to be getting worse.

A vortex is an emergent property of energy. It can ossify into either a positive or negative force that can fester and grow or just fade away of its own accord if not replenished. Too many negative vortices are festering and growing. They swirl in search of sustenance – more negativity, fear and foolhardy behavior.

Positive energy vortices, on the other hand, are palpable at such revered sites as the Great Pyramids, Stonehenge, Glastonbury, Sedona along with various other venerated locations across the globe. You yourself are a micro-vortex of energy – and there’s the rub. Each of us is naturally susceptible, and some of us perhaps even prone, to being imperiled by negative vibrations. We are then in danger of becoming negative vortices ourselves unless we mount a spiritual defense by refortifying our natural auric center.

Irrational fear is chiefly responsible for our current dilemma. Throughout the ages it has been the weapon of choice for propagandists. The wanton manipulation of populations through fear fueled by lies and deception is itself inherently evil.

Fear and hate are the bottom feeders among energy fields of negative vibrations. I imagine “apocalyptic fear” ranks even lower. Other notable negative vibrations result from anger, anxiety, stress, envy, lust and shock, which is a sudden psychic jolt of debilitating emotion and/or trauma.

A vortex of negative energy affects not only those overwhelmed by it, but also those who come in contact with that colorless aura. For example, an elderly couple enjoying a quiet meal in a restaurant are suddenly accosted by ANTIFA thugs. Those who stumble across the video replay on social media are shocked and repulsed. Such negativity can fester inside and spread to others like a noxious weed. Social media is particularly apt at this.

As we approach what looks more and more to be a global tipping point, maintaining one’s center becomes vital. Just as vital is the need to produce positive energy via positive thoughts, prayers, meditation, nature walks, friends and family connections – whatever you generally do to regain your center and maintain peace and order in your life is now more vital than ever.

This lurking evil proceeds from an archetype that is increasing in efficacy. Gird your defenses with spiritual protection like Chrysalis Tarot (all our archetypes are positive). In our next blog we will identify and characterize this evil archetype now being activated and sustained in so many unwitting people. This archetype, lurking in the shadow-side of everyone’s psyche, is being worshipped and invoked by many servile, disaffected, power hungry souls and evildoers, particularly those in the corrupt twin towers of evil – the Deep State and the Deep Church (Vatican).

We are entering a period of spiritual warfare writ large. Meditate, pray and safeguard your inner peace. Bless you.

© Toney Brooks, 2020

Animal Communication

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“The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things;

“Of shoes and ships and sealing wax; of cabbages and kings;

“And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings.”

Lewis Carroll’s Walrus hosts this blog because we neglected to work him into our final Chrysalis cast of characters and don’t want him to feel completely left out.

We did, however, work animals, fish and fowl into two-thirds of the deck (52 of the 78 cards to be exact). And that’s a good thing because human consciousness and emotion operate within the same frequency range as those of the animal kingdom, of which Walrus is King. The added animal vibrations (pure energy) intuited using Chrysalis serve to enrich readings by providing additional consciousness raising attributes and symbolism. More on that directly.

Before we begin talking to animals, though, let’s clear one thing up. “Cabbages” in “The Walrus and the Carpenter” poem from Alice in Wonderland is not a reference to veggies. No, cabbage is the left over cloth put in a basket under a tailor’s worktable (French cabbaser – to put in a basket). These discarded leftovers could make a nice quilt or something else later on.

South African native Anna Breytenbach is one of the better known animal communicators in the world. Her videos are hits on YouTube – this particular one about a black leopard named Spirit is my favorite.

According to Anna, we all have a natural ability to communicate one-on-one with other species, particularly the furry friends who share our households and play a mutually important part of daily life.

This inter-species ability to communicate applies also to your own archetypal spirit animal(s), be they ravens, owls, tigers, bees or even a walrus. Spirit animals, such as those seen on all 16 Chrysalis Troupe cards, share attributes with their familiars who are featured on each card. Owl is The Watcher’s familiar or spirit animal, for example. Any animal species that resonates with you is likely to be one of your spirit animals with whom you can take shamanic flights into unseen worlds. Your spirit animal may also be trying to tell you something.

“It’s a simple matter of quieting the mind and intending to connect,” says Anna. “The animals pick that up right away, very easily. Then I send either a mental image, or a thought/sentence (not vocalized), or an emotion… whatever comes naturally. There’s no effort required on the sending side of things. Transference happens at a quantum level, in the universal language of pure energy.”

That “pure energy,” often referred to as Qi, (also Chi, Prana, Ki and others), is an oriental concept that’s been in practical use for at least 4,000 years. It’s mind-directed life force energy that flows throughout your body, keeps you healthy and helps to balance your emotions. Qi originates in the aether and returns to the aether somewhat like a feed back loop.

Animal communication, as well as communication with other archetypes in the Akashic Field (aether), are dynamic functions of Qi. The more adept you become at aligning and manipulating your personal Qi, the greater your ease of access to telepathic communications both within this world with live animals (and humans) and in worlds beyond with spirit animals.

By the way, Walrus as a spirit animal symbolizes calmness and mesmerizing kindness – both are attributes and hallmarks of well balanced Qi.

For further study you might look into qigong, which is life force (qi) + work or cultivation (gong). Here’s a decent article, particularly the section that deals with “internal qigong.”

© Toney Brooks, OS, 2020

Spiritual Healing

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Since Chrysalis Tarot was published in 2014, our deck has been lauded by many tarotists for two highly valued hallmarks: spiritual growth and healing. Both contribute significantly to increased self-awareness, an antecedent of higher consciousness and enlightenment (Awakening).

Our previous blog was titled, “Safeguard Your Inner Peace.” However, in order to safeguard inner peace you must first master one or more methods to attain inner peace and then master how to recover it when it wanders off; inner peace isn’t constant, it ebbs and flows and sometimes gets lost. That’s what this blog is about – maturing your center, your home of inner peace, and learning how to quickly regain your center whenever you become perturbed.

Perturbations, even mild occurrences, clearly indicate your spiritual center is off-kilter and that you’ve become emotionally and intellectually out of sorts. You can’t think straight when perturbed, so it’s certainly not a propitious time to make important decisions or behave impulsively. So what is the root cause of spiritual perturbation?

Why, evil spirits, of course!

Well, not really. That’s an archaic expression from yesteryear used to explain what we today call negative energy – both the negative energy we absorb and the negative energy we release. Emotions, both positive and negative, emit energetic vibrations that have specific frequencies. Love is the highest frequency.

If you find yourself in close proximity to a negatively disposed individual, you will immediately sense it and recoil. We’re all familiar with the more common types of low frequency emotion: anger, hate, humiliation, conflict, jealousy, envy, spite, self-loathing, etc.

Low frequency negative emotions should be felt and released, not bottled up and stashed away, as our Chrysalis centaur has done. When you retain negative energy, it can do serious harm to body, soul and spirit alike.

Another “evil spirit” is the spirit of unforgiveness. Author Joyce Meyer calls unforgiveness “spiritual filthiness.” Forgiving someone – even yourself – is an act of will: You resolve, sometimes reluctantly, to put an end to the “blame game” and unshackle yourself. The absence of forgiveness is like a a malignancy on the heart of inner peace.

To summon forth the fortitude necessary to forgive requires “grace,” another almost archaic term. The wellspring of grace is often misconceived, as is the pneumatic concept of grace itself.

Grace is the free favor of God and means “unmerited mercy.”

Accordingly, should you require divine grace to forgive someone or yourself, or, say, to stop smoking, stop overeating, stop lying, the list goes on, all you need to do is ask the Divine, however you choose to conceptualize or personify Divine Assistance.

Divine Assistance refers to our cosmic support system. We have unfettered access to it by virtue of our co-creative nature and human responsibilities. Not to toot our own horn, but Chrysalis can help you become aware of your own divinity and co-creative nature.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

In Greek mythology, the Three Graces were daughters of Zeus known collectively as Charites. They were renowned for their beauty, charm and creativity. The Charites are easy to spot in Botticelli’s artwork below. As here in this painting, they are often depicted attending Venus, the goddess of love, who occupies the center of this garden. That’s Mercury, the messenger of the gods, on the far left. He’s looking up and gesturing to something. I thought that rather odd, so I researched it.

La Primavera by Botticelli

Primavera is a complex and controversial painting. I chose it because of its beauty and symbolism, one way the Divine communicates with us and dispenses grace. Yes, contemplating symbolism in art, nature or literature brings grace and inner peace.

Primavera hung in the Uffizi Museum in Florence in close proximity up and to the left of another canvas titled Pallas and the Centaur, also by Botticelli. Pallas is Pallas Athena, the patroness of Athens. This close proximity explains why Mercury is looking up and gesturing in the general direction of Pallas and the Centaur, who is half man and half beast and clearly NOT in a state of grace. Fear not! Athena will shape-shift him back into the fullness of his human nature in no time.

Half-human, half-animal creatures are called therianthropes. They are metaphors for what Carl Jung might term “arrested individuation,” i.e. they ceased to grow spiritually, perhaps because of unpacked baggage, a dearth of sense of self or utter despair resulting from soul loss.

Interpretation: The centaur wandered from his customary hunting grounds in the forest into off-limits territory. He has lost his inner peace and is in desperate need of Grace. Athena, unamused by all beastly (ungodly) behavior, grabs his hair and yanks, it as if to say, “So just ask for it.” This tête-à-tête attracts Mercury’s attention while everyone else in the Primavera tableau continues to merrily allegorize.

Pallas and the Centaur

When I began composing this blog, I had no intention of writing about Pallas Athene, neither the Greek goddess nor the asteroid discovered in 1802 that bears her name. I didn’t even know about the asteroid. Here’s a snippet by astrologist Rebecca Farrar, who recently wrote about Pallas Athene, the asteroid:

As an unmarried virgin goddess, Athena channeled her life force into her mental capacity and what astrologer Demetra George calls “creative intelligence.” Athena’s symbols of wisdom and war, such as the owl and spear, speak to her complex meaning to the Greeks. Athena demonstrates the ability to think for oneself, as well as the internal balance of active and receptive energies when head and heart combine.

Asteroid Pallas Athene by Olivia Healy

Pallas Athene, pray for us.

© Toney Brooks, OS, 2020

My new site and blog, The Apostles of the Last Days, can be found here.

Safeguard Your Inner Peace

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As I sit to write this blog, I decided to feature 3 Chrysalis cards that, in my opinion, are among our deck’s more peaceful characters. Since the emotion of love is the highest human frequency, let’s assume I’ll choose 3 cards that convey love, particularly selfless love. Let’s select a major, a minor and a Troupe card. (Done🔽)

Well, that turned out rather blue and watery.

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” —Saint Francis de Sales

This is for certain, as I write this blog our “whole world seems upset.” Indeed, our last three Chrysalis blogs were on the subject of Spiritual Warfare, which permeates planet Earth in these days. The most effective breastplate we have to defend against spiritual warfare being waged upon our very souls is the ability to safeguard our inner peace and tranquility.

One of Holly’s favorite cards, if not her absolute favorite, is The Moon, which also appears on The Dreamer card (above). Early in the process of creating Chrysalis Tarot, Holly wrote this to me, “Don’t even think about changing the Moon card.” As a Cancer male, I’ve always been rather fond of the moon myself.

Once In A Blue Moon by Alex Hardie

We all can intuit the moon is an inspiration of loving energy that engenders inner peace. However, the moon actually reflects energy rather than generate it; she softens the robust masculine energy of the Sun and feminizes it with motherly compassion.

In astrology a Blue Moon, such as the one shown in the lovely image above by Alex Hardie, amplifies the energy of whatever astrological sign it’s in. The next Blue Moon occurs on Halloween or Samhain this year (2020). Ancestral energy and communication will be off the (astrological) chart, so to speak. Everyone will be hyper-sensitive to the Unseen world this Halloween – a good thing.

A brief word or two now on each of the 3 cards chosen to aid us in achieving and maintaining inner peace.

  1. The Moon. ‘Know that you are not alone.’ The Great Mother, however one desires to personify her, watches over you and protects you constantly. In times of agony and turmoil, no one is more important to you than your mother, whether she’s still in this world or not. St. Padre Pio once said that when in Heaven he would be able to help his spiritual children so much more than when he was still living. On a personal note, I once visited his monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. Let’s invoke St. Pio via his image and seek his heavenly blessing. (Click on the image for more info about Padre Pio.)
St. Padre Pio by Roberto Bizama

2. Quan Yin, the Five of Mirrors. In Buddhism, Quan Yin is known as a Bodhisattva, someone who has achieved nirvana but chooses instead to remain in the world to help her spiritual children. She is a Mother Goddess of Mercy and Compassion. And she walks among you.

3. The Dreamer. I like the passage I wrote in the Chrysalis LWB. “The Dreamer drifts effortlessly over land and sea upon carpets of romantic magic. He inspires you to sail the seas of your own imagination. Thoughts and dreams represent energy The Dreamer channels into real-life experiences.”

Keep in mind that inner peace comes from within. Introverts, like myself, probably have an easier time calming their souls and regaining their center than do extroverts. Some souls need to visit their quiet space more often than others during stressful times.

“We don’t realize that somewhere within us all there does exist a supreme self who is eternally at peace.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

That quote almost requires us to conclude the blog with a fourth Chrysalis card – the one that was inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s book and movie.

The Visionary Ketut is a shaman or Balian, as they’re called in Bali. In Chrysalis he represents our healing ministry. Chrysalis primarily is a deck for healing and spiritual formation. A Balian is a traditional healer who regards disease, both of body and soul, as the result of disharmony.

The bird on his shoulder, an Australian kookaburra, is there because it laughs a lot. Laughter is a great healer. Just click on the card to hear a kookaburra.

 

On another topic…

I recently inaugurated a new website and blog to monitor the spiritual war that seeks daily to destroy our inner peace by fostering division and strife throughout the world. While Chrysalis Tarot is spiritual, this new blog is religious in nature; the State, the Family and the Church are all under siege.

Spiritual people are well equipped to defend against the weaponry of spiritual warfare, as are devout religious people who may or may not be spiritual. Frankly, I think it’s good to be both.

Not long ago I started and then shut down a website called “Apostles of the Last Days.” The term “Last Days” is Christian-speak for the coming paradigm shift we have mentioned again and again throughout Chrysalis literature. The Shift, as it’s called, is why Kali was made a major Chrysalis archetype. Holly’s Kali art (below left) well portrays this Hindu avatar whose name means, “The fullness of time.”

Center: The Woman clothed in the Sun with the Moon at her feet from Rev. 12 is depicted as Our Lady of Guadalupe. Right: Samhara Kali by Raja Ravi Varma.

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth…  (Rev. 12)

© Toney Brooks, OS, 2020

Spiritual Warfare: The Antichrist

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our lady of civitavecchia

This photo of a statue of Mary is located in Civitavecchia, Italy, a small suburb of Rome. On 13 separate occasions in 1985 the statue purportedly shed tears of blood.

Since her apparitions at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, Mary has warned visionaries in various parts of the world of a great upheaval that will happen in their lifetimes. Specifically at Civitavecchia, she warned of a, “Satanic onslaughts against the family, apostasy within the Church, and the risk of a world war.”

The theme of this 3-part series is “Spiritual Warfare.” Each of us experience this particular phenomenon in our psyches today because we’re all part of the one, undivided Universal Consciousness. Universal Consciousness can be described in both scientific and spiritual terms such as the electromagnetic spectrum, quantum entanglement, panpsychism, the Children of Light and the Children of Darkness. The Antichrist is the spiritual leader of the latter. He is Mary’s archenemy, according to the Christian Book of Revelation (Chapter 12).

wilber consciousness

Chrysalis Tarot is secular spirituality. Were we religious in nature, we would describe ourselves as neopagan, panentheistic and transcendent, the unshakable surety that some-thing higher than ourselves is out there – a Universal Consciousness, if you will. Not only is Universal Consciousness transcendent to our reality (it is wholly other and independent of creation), but Universal Consciousness is also immanent (operating within each of us). This is the point of Chrysalis’ Divine Child archetype. In other words, we each are having a unique, individual human experience of Universal Consciousness.

The more selfless or self-denying we are, the greater our experience of love, joy, peace and the higher vibrations. The more selfish or self-centered we are, the lesser this experience, perhaps even devolving into hate and other lower vibrations, such as fear, anger and pride. Those low vibrations arrest spiritual growth, thus the evolution of consciousness for everyone. The Antichrist is a metaphor for the manifestation of, you guessed it, the intrusion of an militia of low frequency vibrations into the Universal Consciousness, a.k.a. the devil, Satan, Children of Darkness.

In these days, the Children of Light are attempting to evolve our collective human consciousness into a new Age of Enlightenment on Earth. Enlightenment, you see, is the highest vibration that is accessible to humanity, at this time. And not unexpectedly we are suffering heavy diabolical resistance. What’s the source of this resistance? There are several metaphysical explanations. I’ll set forth one below.

powers-of-creation-louis dyer
The Powers of Creation, Louis Dyer

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols – such as Chrysalis Tarot’s artwork and piece like the one above. This motif is created to raise the vibration of the human spirit and remind us of our co-creative responsibilities. The word symbol comes from the Greek symvolos, which means “to unite things.” It’s Greek opposite, diályo, means to ‘disunite” things – to divide or rip them asunder. From the latter, we get the word divolos – the devil and diabolical. Truth unites and lies divide. Symbols bring things together.

Put another way, the aim of the devil in Christian eschatology is to sow division and chaos. We see this all around us today. It is “The Storm” we wrote about in the first blog of this series.

By Biblical inference, the personification of the eschatological Antichrist is whoever sits in the Chair of St. Peter during the End Times. Them’s the rules! If you think we are witnessing wholesale division and chaos today on the streets of Minneapolis, New York, Seattle and other American cities, you wouldn’t believe what’s happening in the Vatican, the definitive cosmic epicenter of spiritual warfare.

 

truth louis dyer
Do You Seek the Truth? Louis Dyer

 

 

© Toney Brooks, 2020