As I write this, we are in the middle of a worldwide crisis – the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. There is a global quarantine; schools are closed, non-essential businesses have been shut down, hospitals and front-line workers are being overwhelmed, people are staying home and social distancing as much as possible.
We are living in crazy times.
For some of us, this crisis has been extremely difficult. There has already been many deaths from the virus itself, and the more heartbreaking thing is that some people are dying alone because their families aren’t allowed to see them due to quarantine.
For some others, this is all just a minor inconvenience, and this is a good thing. We should never begrudge or shame anyone for being safe and healthy and untouched by tragedy, and, if we are in that position, let us be thankful of our fortune and do what we can to help make the situation better for everyone.
Right now for me, all I can do is continue sharing what I know about tarot and numerology, and hope that there may be something here that will help make things a little better for someone.
Numerology and the Coronavirus
Back in December 2019, I had a conversation with Natalie Brite about the numerological energies of the year 2020 and the start of a new decade, a conversation which predicted the themes we are seeing now with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are the basic highlights:
- 2020 is the Universal Year of 4, and also the first year in a new decade – a Universal Decade of 4. The number 4 energies are about systems, infrastructures, education, physical health and safety, work and job security, planning and organizing, sustainability and more along these themes.
- One of the things I mentioned in the conversation was how the last decade was the Universal Decade of 3 – for communication, creativity, media, and how we’ve seen a huge boom in the way social media has evolved over the last ten years. I predicted that there would be a huge impact in the way we move forward with our systems of education, healthcare, infrastructures, and more, in the next ten years.
- Natalie and I talked about the sustainability of our current systems, and how many of them don’t work and need to change. One of the biggest lessons of the number 4 energies is letting go of the resistance to change, so things are going to get worse before they get better.
- The Universal Number energies are pervasive and affects everyone globally, so things are going to happen in these areas whether we are conscious of them or not. Understanding the numbers and how they work allow us to work with those energies and direct them, in order for us to help create the changes we want to see.
The full conversation was recorded and is available in its entirety over at Natalie’s Align and Flow community, or in my A Touch of Magic community, if you would like to access it. You can also find more information about how to work with the Universal Numbers in the Charting Your Future with Tarot and Numerology course.
The Coronavirus Pandemic
Having worked with numerology for some years now, I have said over and over again that it is one of the most accurate modalities I have ever worked with, and I am constantly amazed every day. I had absolutely no doubt that the energies of the number 4 would be prominently in play this year and in the next decade, but I had no idea how it would come into play.
The Coronavirus pandemic has made it completely unambiguous for us. All the issues dealing with the number 4 energies are now staring at us blatantly in the face. The pandemic has painfully revealed all the cracks in our government systems, some of them so bad that they should be rightfully called chasms, and made it difficult to pretend that they don’t exist. If anything good must come out of this crisis, it is that change must happen.
Of course, seeing as this is a global crisis, the problems we see in our systems will differ from country to country. Some governments have better systems than others, some may be good in certain areas and not-so-good in others.
This is a time for us to learn what works and what doesn’t. And it’s easy to figure out where the problems are when we ask some of these questions:
- How did our government react to the crisis?
- How quickly did our government put plans into place and implemented them?
- Are the basic needs of the people being met and protected? (Including toilet paper, I guess?)
- Is our healthcare system capable of handling this and other medical emergencies?
- Is our healthcare accessible to all?
- Do we have work/job security for workers affected by the crisis?
- How are we protecting those whose livelihood are being threatened?
- How are the schools and our children’s education being affected?
- How are the immunocompromised, sick, and elderly being protected?
- and so on…
Sadly, the answers aren’t very favorable for some of us, but this is where we can finally force these problems to be acknowledged and demand that changes be made.
People who resist change tend to be the ones who benefit most from the current systems, but that comes from a scarcity mindset that for them to “win”, there must be others who “lose”. Systems that work, that are sustainable, are the ones in which everyone wins. Whenever changes have been called for, the excuse is that it is too difficult or costly or time-consuming to implement those changes. And yet, because of this crisis, certain changes have been made overnight.
Change happens when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of making the change.
We know that change can happen when it needs to. So what can we do to direct the changes we want to see?
Tarot Wisdom for Corona Times
I love using tarot and numerology together because they complement each other so well. Using a rough analogy; if numerology is the tool that tells us there is bad traffic ahead, tarot is the tool that shows us all the alternate routes we could take.
In this case, the Major Arcana cards talk about the big themes and issues, while the Minor Arcana cards give us advice about the day to day things we can do.
The cards that correspond to the number 4 in tarot are:
The Emperor – 4
The Emperor is number 4 in the Major Arcana. In a nutshell, he represents our bodies of authority – our governments, presidents, politicians, military power, CEOs and ruling power in an organization, heads of families, and so on. It is his responsibility to make sure that his empire (countries, companies, households, etc.) runs smoothly and that all his subjects are being given all they need in order to be happy and fulfilled, as they contribute to the needs of the empire.
In its positive form, the Emperor is the loving father who feeds all his children and makes sure they are all protected. In its negative form, the Emperor can be the power-hungry and egotistical tyrant who abuses his power.
One of this card’s message is to check ourselves on this front; how is our empire (on all levels – household, businesses, country, etc.) doing? How are our bodies of authorities (including ourselves) doing? How are our subjects doing? How well are our systems working? What needs to be reorganized, restructured, retired?
Very important questions that many of us are asking right now, and in some cases, receiving very poor answers to.
Personally, I would recommend keeping a close eye on The Emperor (whatever form he might take for you) during these difficult times. His behavior will answer these questions more honestly than any words will, and will help you determine what you can do on your part, to make things better.
Death – 13
Death is number 13 in the Major Arcana, and corresponds to the number 4 because 13=1+3=4. Here’s the interesting thing: Easterners tend to be superstitious about the number 4, and westerners superstitious about the number 13. I don’t know for sure where these superstitions come from, but from a Chinese perspective, the number 4 is considered bad luck because it sounds like the word “death” in the Chinese language. Coincidence?
In tarot, Death often represents change and transitions, a rebirth of sorts. It has been depicted as a phoenix, a mythical bird that when it dies, rises again from the ashes, more magnificent than before. Of course, it represents actual death as well.
In our current times, unfortunately, the virus is causing actual deaths. Hopefully, the preventative measures put in place will reduce fatalities, but unless you are working in the medical field, for most of us, the only thing we can do is to self-isolate and wash our hands in order to slow the spread of the virus.
What we can do with more effectiveness, is to focus on the rebirth aspect of the Death card. Our respective ways of life has now been put on hold. Our lives as the caterpillar is over. We are all in cocoon mode now – quarantined, unsure about our future, about what will emerge when we finally come out of the cocoon.
Listen up – we can never go back to being a caterpillar, that life is over. We need to grow, we need to change, we need to let go of past systems that will not work for the future we want. We know that when this is over, we don’t want things to go back to “normal”. No, we want to move forward to better things.
So the question is; what kind of butterfly do you want to be when we get out of this cocoon?
4 of Wands
Teamwork. Cooperation. Collaboration. Working together towards a common goal.
All things to keep in mind during these coronatimes. It is absolutely essential for all of us to stand in solidarity and work together in order to get past this with minimal damage.
You can absolutely see, in fact, the differences of how the coronavirus has impacted different places around the world, based on the cooperation of its people. Invariably, in places where people have rallied and worked together to do their parts – even if their parts are only isolating themselves and staying home – we have fewer cases of the virus, or at least slowed down the spread. There’s higher morale.
You can also see the opposite happening when there is less cooperation.
However, we cannot control what other people do, only what we do. So let’s all do our own parts in this.
4 of Cups
Letting go of what doesn’t work anymore to make way for new opportunities.
As mentioned previously, the number 4 energies can be resistant to change. They can stubbornly stick to a situation that doesn’t make them happy simply because they are reluctant to start anew or afraid to learn a new way of life. Learning to let go of what doesn’t work to make way for new systems is one of the most important lessons for the number 4, and it applies here.
Let’s be honest, many of the issues that has been revealed by the coronavirus situation are not new to us. Many of us have been complaining about these same issues for a while but not really doing anything about them.
Admittedly, there are some things that are difficult to tackle without support, and there are some cases where the process of change can seem more painful than staying the same.
Change happens when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of making the change.
We are in a unique situation right now where change, or at least the beginning of change, has been thrust upon us. I say the beginning of change, because it is a process, and it has to be followed through to completion.
Look at it like this; you were in a toxic relationship and you finally wised up and dumped the other person. Anyone who’s ever had a breakup knows that the next few weeks and months are crucial. You are getting over a heartbreak, you are grieving the loss of a relationship. Do you find healthy, fulfilling ways to get over the loss, fill your time with activities and people who make you happy, and finally move forward into a healthy new normal for you? Or do you decide that it’s too hard to learn a new way of living, that you rather stick to something you are used to even if it makes you unhappy, and get back together with the ex?
Please don’t get back with the ex, people. We deserve better.
4 of Swords
Rest. Temporary hibernation. A reprieve.
For some of us, this is literal because there is literally nothing we can do except stay at home and rest. Some of us can still work from home, or take online courses, and for the frontline workers, there’s no rest at all.
But in a general sense, the whole world as we knew it is on pause. Some of us who have been overworked and haven’t had a vacation in years can finally allow our bodies some rest. Yes, I understand that some of us need to work and this forced rest is affecting incomes and livelihoods. This is where the messages of the other cards come in and where change must happen, but in terms of the current quarantine, if there’s nothing you can do about your situation right now, you might as well allow yourself to rest. The lack of human movement and travel is also affecting ecological renewal; it’s not just us who needed the rest, the earth is getting a much needed rest as well.
Spend time with your family. Catch up on that TV series on Netflix. Read the books you have been wanting to read. Sleep until noon. Many people are already talking about using this time to pick up some new skills and educate themselves so that when the quarantine is over, they will be able to go back into the workforce with better qualifications.
We have the time right now. How we use this time is up to us.
4 of Pentacles
Conserve energy. Use your resources wisely.
This card is sometimes seen as being stingy, but there are times when it makes sense to be frugal and this is one of those times. Being quarantined means that many of us have to buy enough food and essential products to last us through our quarantine, but let’s not misinterpret this as hoarding toilet paper and not leaving enough for other people who need them. Don’t be a jerk.
Buy enough, and use what you have frugally. It’s not like you have to have a feast every day you are quarantined, just enough so that you don’t starve.
Being frugal also applies to using your financial resources wisely. Many of us are taking a hit financially because we are unable to work; some of us are living on savings, some of us are relying on unemployment. Whatever your situation, it makes sense to only spend money on necessities right now. We don’t know how long this quarantine will last, and we don’t know what things are going to look like when we come out the other side.
Also, unless you are one of the frontline workers, right now is not our time to fight. Save your energy for things you can actually make a difference with, like finding solutions for the broken systems that are hurting you right now, and making sure that when this is over, we never go back to those broken systems.
Where do we go from here?
There is hope. Things look bad now, but the corona virus crisis is a catalyst for change, and we can all choose, collectively, to make sure that things get better from here on out.
I must emphasize that numerology has proven itself to be freakishly accurate in my experience, and I want to make clear that in the year 2020, and in the next decade, the universal energies of the number 4 are prominently in play.
Whether you are conscious about it or not; all these energies relating to systems and government, education and healthcare, safety and security, are going to affect us universally on a global scale. You can choose to go along with them blindly, or you can choose to harness those energies and direct them to your benefit. You can also choose to resist, but I can tell you from experience, resisting only makes it harder on yourself. I learned that the hard way.
Here’s the good news; 2020 is only the first year in a Universal Decade of 4. There is a lot we can do in the next ten years to create better systems and sustainable structures.
Breaking it down as simply as possible:
2020 – Year of 4 in a Decade of 4
– where we are now, focus on foundations, planning ahead, research and education, letting go of old systems
2021 – Year of 5 in a Decade of 4
– focus on experimentation, adventure and travel industries, trying new things
2022 – Year of 6 in a Decade of 4
– focus on nurturing and healing, responsibilities, home and family structures
2023 – Year of 7 in a Decade of 4
– focus on introspection, ethics, faith, religious leaders and institutions
2024 – Year of 8 in a Decade of 4
– focus on industry, movement and momentum, businesses, financial security
2025 – Year of 9 in a Decade of 4
– focus on humanitarism, charities, non-profit organizations, endings
2026 – Year of 1 in a Decade of 4
– focus on leaders, new beginnings, new innovations and systems
2027 – Year of 2 in a Decade of 4
– focus on people and connections, love, weddings, the institution of marriage
2028 – Year of 3 in a Decade of 4
– focus on communication, creativity, art institutions, entertainment industries
2029 – Year of 4 in a Decade of 4
– ending with a Year of 4 again, wrapping up the decade with another look at our systems and foundations
There is a lot of unpack with numerology and understanding how to work with the universal numbers. I have been working closely with it for years now and I still learn things that amaze me.
If you are interested in learning more about numerology, please check out the free resources page. There are several articles and free PDF downloads that may be helpful to you.
If you would like to go deeper, I also have a course available on Teachable that is specific to learning how to work with the Universal Year Numbers, Charting Your Future with Tarot and Numerology.
In the meantime, stay safe, and stay home!
Hazellie Wong
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