At first glance, I am struck by how many cards in this reading from the Osho Zen Tarot deck are from the suit of Rainbows, which corresponds to Pentacles or Disks in the traditional decks. Even though rainbows are made of water and air, here they represent earth, the practical, material side of life.

According to Osho, rainbows bridge earth and sky, matter and spirit, reminding us there is no separation, that it’s all a continuum of one total energy.

I also drew three Major Arcana cards, which indicate an opportunity to examine some central themes of my journey, Integration, Silence, and Courage. With pleasure.

My reading for this year starts with Compromise (6 of Rainbows) as the issue, crossed by Understanding (Page of Water). Osho says Compromise always confuses the issue, so my real issue is Understanding the issue clearly, or actually, being fully myself.

I get it. When do I give myself away? Just a few minutes ago, I was reading James Altucher’s newsletter about making changes. He pointed out brilliantly that when we make a change, others may be disappointed because you’re changing their script — the script they’ve written for themselves and your role in that script.

Aren’t we the stars of our own scripts and bit players in others’ scripts? That’s all it is. We can change the script, change our roles, and change others’ roles if they agree. And when someone else foists change on us, it’s just a plot twist and perhaps a change in roles. That’s all.

So perhaps a better strategy is to fully meet people from my center. How do you want to change your role and script? Is someone else’s script for you holding you back? Is your script for yourself all it can be?

Integration (Major Arcana) is the unconscious influence. It’s about resolving the unconscious inner conflict by integrating mind, body, and action, inner and outer, yin and yang. Congruence is powerful.

The conscious influence is We Are the World, 10 of Rainbows. It is about creating and celebrating life. LIFE. Not some abstract thing called “life” but biological, pulsing, breathing, ever-changing, complex LIFE.

The old pattern is Flowering (Queen of Rainbows). It’s about reaching out and overflowing. I experience that at ecstatic dance more than anywhere else, of overflowing with joy while surrounded by dancing people also overflowing with joy.

I do not interpret “the old pattern” as something that has to go away; rather it’s something to be expanded upon.

The new pattern is Silence, again a Major Arcana card. Yes.

“Time changes, the world goes on changing, but the experience of silence, the joy of it, remains the same. That is the only thing you can rely upon, the only thing that never dies. It is the only thing that you can call your very being.”

This card works well with Flowering (balancing it as reaching in and deepening) and with Understanding and Integration.

The seventh card is Courage, representing my self, my feelings and attitudes about the issue. Also Major Arcana. Do I have any choice here? Not really. I chose this path.

“The seed cannot know what is going to happen, the seed has never known the flower.”

What I’m attracting from the outside is Moment to Moment, 2 of Rainbows. Which is me meeting the outside in the moment. What this brings to mind in my life, on my path, is Primary Respiration. It’s like the seed, not knowing what is going to happen. It’s about allowing.

Maturity (Ace of Rainbows) represents my desire. A being filled with flowering…a time of centeredness and expansiveness, a gift for hard work well done.

“Your base is solid now and success and good fortune are yours for they are the outcome of what has already been experienced within.”

The final card, the outcome, is Possibilities, 2 of Fire (the only fire card I drew). Osho says of the eagle soaring over the earth:

“Because you are in tune with your own nature, you understand that existence is providing you with exactly what you need. Enjoy the flight! And celebrate all the varied wonders of the landscape spread before you.”

That’s it. This reading bodes well for a year of grounded deepening and wisening. It’s perfect for me.