Well, to start out, I felt the U.S. election would turn out the way it did. I figured that George W. would again gain the presidency. I figured that based on one simple observation, that out of both candidates, the chart of George W. Bush was the most 'difficult'. He was also entering his second Saturn return (a coming of age cycle), which requires that one finish a job they started. It seems that, in fact, his new term is already laden with difficult challenges, and, though I didn't vote for him, we need to look at the fact that his first term was plagued by 9/11 and in this new term, he is confronted with the sorrowful tragedy and loss of over 150,000+ people (at this writing) who are missing or dead in the giant Tsunami at Christmas, 2004. For any world leaders this will be the waterloo of psychological change and, hopefully, the opening of the heart towards a greater humanity in 2005.

Between the brutalities of war in Iraq requiring billions and billions of dollars and this unexpected and tragic loss of people (mostly children, who are our future), in places like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra, you name it, and questions arise as to WHY? The loss of children, alone, is cause for introspection about our youth, who are our future. Did they leave because they weren't able to 'cope' with what the future held, or, were they sacrificed for a breaking open of our hearts in a world long needing the return of compassion, understanding and compromise???

I look at these major world tragedies and I bleed inside. I ask myself the question of 'why' and 'for what' and 'when will it stop'? I don't claim to have any insight except that for all the death and destruction of the last two years in war and poverty and illness, this major water catastrophe calls us back to our Spirit reminding us of the fragility and preciousness of human life.

With a war that blasts out nightly on the news, it brings back images and memories of the 1960's and 1970's and the nightly viewing of the destruction in Vietnam. Sometimes I wish we didn't have television and images. It just gets too hard to be blasted with the negative night after night after night. So where, in fact, is the light? In the media, in the news, in our hearts? We are searching for the Sun on many levels in 2005....

2005 adds up to a number 7. The number 7 is about holding the reins of the wild horses driving the Chariot. We are the charioteer trying to stay on our paths while dealing with forces sometimes beyond human comprehension. This does not imply that it isn't doable, but it does suggest that a greater inner Spirit and a greater Vision and higher Value system are required for a successful journey which 2005 invites us to take!

There are many images of chariots and horses in myth and story. One of them portrays the sun god, Helios, who, each day, takes his chariot of wild horses out of their heavenly stables, harnesses them, and with their chariot raises the Sun each day. At the end of each day, he takes the reversed journey bringing the Sun down. He does this skillfully, with heart, with positive intention and with great mastery.

The Sun represents our lives, our spirits and our paths and our life vitality. Where does your "Sun" really want to go spiritually? What, disregarding all obstacles and difficulties, can you do each day that will make a difference for you and the world? This daily intention requires humility and Consciousness. There is no room for adolescent behavior that feeds off narcissistic intention.

Helios, the Sun god, had a son, whose name was Phaethon. Phaethon, known as the Dark Star, was a young, inexperienced adolescent who, without his father, Helios' permission, secretly took the chariot of wild horses out one day, thinking he was ready or trained enough to raise the Sun. As fate would have it, he didn't have the experience, and he lost control of the horses and fell into the sea. (This is the reason the asteroid Phaethon that blew into a million parts is named what it is named).

2005 forces us to ask ourselves what do we want to do and where do we wish to change and transition? If we lack experience in doing this, then it requires us to get training and experience, thereby gaining maturity. When do we take our heads out of the sand and out of egos that insure our safety and security and say, "I really don't know what I am doing...?" This statement requires a tremendous amount of courage and humility. Both are required in order to guide those horses, which represent Consciousness – and its many different levels.

The Chariot in the tarot represents a year of transition. Transitions require courage and fortitude. Transitions imply change in every walk of life. Ultimately requiring an adjustment in attitude as the correct command for the horses and the ability to see the 'road less traveled'. This is often outside the box of our perceived limitations. This also requires an ability to say NO and YES in a way that refuses to vacillate, and, in the end, is final and clear.

The challenge in saying the final NO or YES is that others hear us or, even, believe us. The truth is that others don't usually hear us when we are making very big changes, because this change often breeds a certain level of discomfort within their person. A standard, initial response to one who is really changing is that of rejection on the part of the inquirer. Using the "Sun" metaphor, and change and transition for you as an individual, think of this....

If the Sun in our solar system were to suddenly decide that it was going to rise at night and set in the morning, we would all be thrown off. Our schedules, our habits, our way of living and our lives would drastically change. Regardless of how we feel, the key is that we WOULD change, because we would have to! So, if you are thinking of making huge and what may sometimes seem as cataclysmic change this year, then remember it isn't about making others comfortable. It is about getting on with your lives and looking outside of yourselves into the greater family known as humanity. For each gift of the heart, we are blessed tenfold. For each change, ten follow in its place.