A few years back, a friend of mine co-created the Tarot Life Card deck that employs a simple numerical system using your birthdate to identify your personal life Tarot card. The deck also offers a card for each year of your life. For 2022, mine is the Wheel of Fortune.
Essentially, the Wheel of Fortune card advises me to expect the unexpected and to face whatever that is head-on. Whether I’m showered with good fortune or struggling with adversity, it behooves me to stay in the center of the wheel and connected to my heart.
My first reaction to this card, was “Holy shit, I’m doomed!” Then I took a breath and realized this: the wheel symbolizes the cycles of life. Just like night turns into day, Winter into Spring and so forth, we are in a state of constant change. And it’s all necessary. 2022 has already proved the point with devastating wildfires here in Colorado followed immediately by long-awaited, ground-quenching snow.
Yet, with the constant bombardment of challenges in this time we’re living in, sometimes hard to remember the cycle aspect. I know well that I can’t control what’s happening “out there” or even what happens directly to me, yet somehow, I suffer the illusion that I can. My responsibility actually lies with my thoughts and behavior. So, no matter what else occurs in 2022, I have the choice to stay centered at the hub of the wheel or to allow myself to be flung out to the spokes. Or worse, onto the rim of the wheel where I might be crushed.
I’m going to try to remain in the hub. But how? First, by trying to let go of expectations. Not hopes and dreams, but the expectation of how something is supposed to play out on the world stage or in my personal life. And, whether I feel I’m in a good fortune period or an adversity period. I believe that is one of the secrets to manifestation. When I can successfully release expectations, tap into my desire, then follow the signs and synchronicities the Universe uses to lead me to what is there for me, I usually receive what I ask for. It just rarely looks like what I thought it would. Releasing expectations is a growth edge for me, which is exactly why I need to practice it.
And that leads me to my second thought about staying in the center of the wheel–practice, or tools for living. Clients most often seek me out when they are flung out onto the spokes of their wheel or even dangerously close to the rim. And that’s okay. I am happy to be of service. But what keeps us grounded and strong are tools practiced regularly. Then when faced with crises big or small, we’re supported. We can ride the cycle of the wheel instead of getting stuck in a helpless place.
There are lots of opinions about which tools are the best. I think the most effective tool is the one that works for you, whether that’s meditation, moon-gazing, moving your body, or whatever. The key is to notice whether your practice is bringing you closer to your inner self or distracting you away from it. If it’s a distraction, it’s not a tool that will keep you at the hub of your wheel. (If you want more information about how we might work together to develop your tools, contact me.)
With all this in mind, I welcomed the new year and the new moon on Sunday with short hike in the forest to offer back to the earth the contents of my Christmas gratitude ceremony. My simple plan was to take my bundle of pinecones, feathers, flowers and the like and place it under my favorite tree, to express my gratitude for the easy and the difficult parts of 2021, then to offer a dance to my body and to the forest inhabitants.
The holidays were pretty stressful for me, so I was feeling a bit somber. For once, I didn’t really have any expectations. To my delight, I got a gift in return– a reminder that humor is essential to remaining in the hub of my Wheel of Fortune. I used the Shuffle Oracle, meaning I let the Universe randomly pick a song from the almost 700 on my “liked songs” playlist. And following the seriousness of my little gratitude ritual, the song that was chosen for my dance was Super Trouper by Abba!
So, you can picture me there in the middle of the forest, rose petals and pinecones at my feet, dancing and chuckling away to this chorus (and I really hope you can hear the ear-wormy tune in your head):
Tonight the super trouper lights are gonna find me
Shining like the sun (sup-p-per troup-p-per)
Smiling, having fun (sup-p-per troup-p-per)
Feeling like a number one
Tonight the super trouper beams are gonna blind me
But I won’t feel blue (sup-p-per troup-p-per)
Like I always do (sup-p-per troup-p-per)
‘Cause somewhere in the crowd there’s you
Wishing us all many moments of silly play, flowing gratitude and centered peace in the hub of our Wheel of Fortune in 2022.
