By: Stephan Zielinski <szielins@well.com>
So here we stand on the eve of a new millennium-- or, for those of you in the antipodes, the early morn of a new millennium and just about time to be muzzily wondering if anybody is sober enough to drive.
The path of wisdom is for us to gaze clear-eyed into the future-- to firm our resolve to consider the problems before us with all the rationality and detachment we can muster, putting aside our ancient hatreds and superstitions.
I'm not very wise. So, instead, I present to you
--> STEPHAN ZIELINSKI'S TAROT PICKS FOR THE NEW CENTURY <--
(I'd do it for the new millennium, but not even *I* am arrogant enough to think I can see *that* far into the future.)
Just a moment while I disable the protective spells on the box of the Scary Deck-- Elisabetta Cassari's _Solleone Tarot_, painted by a woman who I'm pretty sure is clinically insane. At least, several of her images now figure pretty prominantly in *my* nightmares... Okay, that's done. There was a mana discharge, but it hit a passing fruit fly-- which has a small enough soul that I can safely wait 'till later to exorcise it.
Since I'm attempting to tell The Future in the grandest sense, I'll be using The World as a significator. The fruit fly ("Bob") agrees, but this shouldn't count as much of a vote of confidence-- what does an undead bug know?
Cards down...
Hrm. Very _Blade Runner_. Invest in biotech, folks...
Covering, we've got the three of wands-- a man walking into the future who's just heard a noise that is either nothing, or a pack of wolves that's about to jump out of the bushes and tear him apart. Mind you, since we invented agriculture there has never been a moment of history where this *wouldn't* be a accurate summarization of how society feels...
Crossing, page of cups. Expect a large number of new ideologies, and ravening hordes of fanatics behind them. (Bob would like to particularly recommend the Insect Cults that'll start up around 2024.)
Behind us, ace of pentacles. Bad news-- if the *last* century is going to be remembered as an age of wealth, that doesn't bode well for the coming one. Anybody who lives where it snows, consider fleeing to a coast.
Before us, the Magician. A good omen-- if you're into science, at least. I, personaly, was scared that the New Stupidity was going to lead to technological stagnation-- but the cards say that ain't going to happen. Rather, we'll continue on our flight into the terror and unpredictability of "progress"...
Supporting us, the seven of cups. In this particular deck, the image is is of Circe gazing upon one of Odysseus's followers as he finishes his transformation into a pig. Ergo, what we've got going for us is what we've done to tame and regulularize the environment. Sorry, Greens; expect a *lot* of extinctions.
Crowning us, nine of cups reversed. Nine of cups is a card of discovery; reversed and in the crowning position means that the best we can aspire to is to *not* discover things that we'd be better off not knowing. Smells like eugenics to me-- hot on the heels of the Human Genome Project will be proposals to change the tax laws to encourage raising kids with "good" genes. Resist them.
Self: Ace of swords, reversed. Just your usual fear and angst; nothing surprising here, move along.
Surroundings: The Moon. Ordinarily, this card should be interpreted in a spiritual sense, but I think the deck is trying to be literal just now: expect still more ill-conceived space megaprojects. (In particular, expect the "International Space Station" to hemorrhage cash and be mocked mercilessly on Leno.)
Thoughts: The Fool, reversed. The Fool is a baffling omen at the best of times; reversed and on the cusp of the millennium, I'm tempted to just call it an indicator of change and hurry on to the next card. But after squelching this impulse, I say it means that we'll be just smart enough to realize how stupid we're being.
And now, the last card...
Final outcome: Strength. Drat. I was hoping for something really dark, so I could maintain my self image as a Cassandra doomsayer-- but it isn't there. There will be setbacks, but nothing crippling; there will be problems, but nothing we can't solve. I realize I sound like Pollyanna, here, and I apologize-- Lord knows *I'm* not comfortable expressing anything even resembling optimism-- but that's what the cards say.
So celebrate. My friends and family, allow me to get mushy: happy new year, happy new decade, happy new century, and happy new millennium.
--
Stephan "And Bob says hello" Zielinski