Unlocking the Chain

From the Fey Tarot, the Four of Pentacles; from the I Misteri della Sibilla, Sickness (Four of Spades):

It's one thing to be a good steward of what we have, but quite another to be obsessively chained to it. Joe Lightfoot describes an ideology of wealth called 'HOEM' that has infected our society:

• Hollow - it creates an endless longing for more that can never be fulfilled through its own means. 
• Oppressive - it cares little for equity, justice or the rights of the downtrodden. 
• Economic - it is firmly rooted in notions of who owns what. 
• Materialistic - it places little worth on anything that cannot be physically grasped by acquisitive hands.

The Sibilla card, Sickness, is a good indicator of what will happen to our body when the mind is imbalanced with the kind of stress that materialism causes. As Dr. Bernie Siegel wrote, "The mind and body are not separate units, but one integrated system. How we act and what we think, eat, and feel are all related to our health." Pick up the key!