BALANCE ... CARD OF THE YEAR  by James Wanless

It's always interesting to connect the number of a year with a tarot card. This year's number is EIGHT (2006 adds up to 8) and that represents the Voyager BALANCE card. It's a year for balancing, or perhaps for RE-BALANCING. (see December's Connection about the RE-Generator card).

As a Charioteer excitement freak (My Life Card is the CHARIOT), I confess that I've always thought Balance was good... but boring. Stable, steady, level... how dull! Where's the passion, the pizzazz, the play? But after my last year's (Year of the Chariot) fall on my head, Balance is heaven, even luxurious (how relative is everything in life).

What stands out for me in the Voyager Balance card, at the precipice of the New Year, is the image of the Dancer. Balance is a continuous dance, not a straight line monotone march (flatline) with the automatic pilot on. We go up and then we re-balance and go down. Think teeter-totter. Life is about seeking the center only to find that it's gone again as we go the other direction. (Perfect center is probably a rarified state of "nirvana," a void and stillness beyond ego and body). If you think you've found stasis in your life, watch out for STAGNATION (8 of Cups). In fact, the healthiest of hearts are irregular, says science today.

We all want regularity in life though, not a precarious balancing act. However, in our world of quick and quirky change, we need to learn how to dance and move – such a perfect metaphor for life. Things are unpredictable, the music shifts, the floor becomes slippery, crowded, new partners, and different dances. Are you on your toes? Back on your heels? Stuck, fixed, mobile?

(Transmitted 8/28/05)