As the year of the Wood Snake draws to a close and the year of the Fire Horse has not yet begun, we find ourselves within a choice point. As we have allowed all that no longer serves us to be consumed by the snake, we now reside within the emptiness of the Void between what has been and what has not yet come into being.

At this juncture we are being given the ultimate choice – will we remain on the path that is driven by perceived powers outside of us, or step off that path and onto the road of claiming our own power and authority?  Personal power, inner authority, and executive functioning are the gifts of the Fire Horse, should we choose to accept them. But first, we must get really clear on how we have given our power away to those we have considered our “authorities.”

The authorities of the past include:

• Our perceptions about “God.”
• Those we call “teacher.”
• Those we have voted into power and entrusted with making decisions for us.
• Celebrities.
• Parents.
• Pastors, priests, etc.
• Employers/bosses.
• Human Resource departments.
• Union leaders.
• So-called gurus.
• Peer groups.
• The media.
• “Influencers.”
• Romantic partners.
• Our children.
• And just to get the point across: GOD!

In one timeline, we will continue to rely on those outside of us to tell us what is true, what to do, how to act, while allowing them to make decisions for us (believing the lie they are working on our behalf). In this agreement, we are forever subject to the fearful and selfish whims of those we have put into power, and we will only and forever find ourselves powerless.

The timeline, into which the Fire Horse invites us, is that of personal power and authority. In learning how to accurately discern truth on our own, and owning that truth, we come to realize that not one human being knows more about who we are or what we need than ourselves. We are able to see through the illusion of falsehood behind which most people of “power” reside. We see that their motivations are their own and have nothing to do with our wellbeing or what we might need as an individual or a species.

For thousands of years we have lived within this dynamic of giving our power away – and look what it has gotten us…..a species on the brink of its own extinction by its own hand, and a world forever at war – not because people can’t get along, but because those we have placed in power can never get enough.

To this, we say “enough.”

Or do we?

For sixty years, I have lived this lesson, first doing what I was told and believing what I was taught because that was what made one a “good girl.” At a young age, I began to see through the cracks of this illusion and have spent the past 50+ years learning to discern my own truth by trusting what my gut tells me, above all else. Living that truth, however, has never been easy. From kindergarten on I have experienced the punishment that comes from challenging the status quo and questioning that which we are not meant to question. My gut has always proven itself to be true, but that has not made the journey any easier – I’ve lost community, so-called friends, belonging, and the ability to be “successful” within the current system and its rules.

Standing in our own authority costs us everything upon which the current system depends. I have found, however, that I can live no other way. If you found yourself drawn to this blog, I’m guessing you, also, cannot live any other way. The good news is that in the year of the Fire Horse, it will be those who choose to embrace their own inner authority and trust what their own heart tells them is truth, that will thrive. Those who remain in the path of attachment to the status quo, enslaved by external authorities will find themselves suffering in the same dumpster fire in which the world of fear, power, and control is currently heading.

Which timeline are you going to choose?