Donnaleigh: Paying for 9-1-1
9-1-1 No Longer Free
News reports today revealed that residents of Tracy, California will now be required to pay for emergency 911 calls.
I read, appalled, at this most base of needs for all residents, despite anyone’s income level. This hit me on a deeper level than hearing that some local towns are now required to pay for their children to ride on public school buses.
As for the Tracy residents, there are reportedly a couple of options, if they can be rightfully defined as options.
Residents can pay a $48 voluntary fee for the year which allows them to call 9-1-1 as many times as necessary.(Huh? Like a BJ’s Club bulk discount?)
Or, there’s the option of not signing up for the annual fee and instead they will be charged $300 if they make a call for help.
Residents will soon receive the form in the mail where they’ll be able to make their selection. No date has been set for when the charges will go into effect.
Consequences
Does this mean that someone will weigh calling in for chest pains if they are concerned about a bill? Will motorists no longer call to help at an accident scene because they’ll have to pick up the tab? What will be the consequences of lives with this new law going into effect? I am utterly disgusted that I am reading this news as happening in my own country.
I decided to ask tarot about this situation using Kat Black’s Golden Tarot. Let’s see what came through.
SITUATION: Wheel reversed, 7 of Swords (rune Nauthiz/Need)
CHALLENGE: Knight of Wands reversed, 2 of Cups reversed (rune Pertho/fate/karma)
ADVICE: High Priestess, 5 of Swords, 9 of Coins, (rune Wunjo reversed, overturned joy/happiness)
OUTCOME: Strength, Ace of Coins reversed, Ace of Cups reversed, Ace of Swords (upright), King of Wands (runes Manaz reversed and Tiwaz reversed).
SITUATION:
In summary, these cards (and rune) suggest that this is a weather climate brought on by a deep recession and empty pockets, and as a result we are cheating ourselves out of something that is an absolute need. And yet, the decision itself was also made out of deep need.
The cycle of the fat cow and plentiful wallets has emptied out and we are left with dust in our pockets an nothing with which to pay a necessary service.
I always say that the first card down is the most important in the spread, and in this spread it is The Wheel. The card of cycles, of things turning, and in this case it is reversed, a strong point to our financial climate, the thick cloud of a recession that has darkened our country. The good news is, if it is truly a cycle, there is hope of this wheel turning as wheels always do, and moving toward change in the future, though this wheel seems to be turning at a snail’s pace.
The 7 of Swords is the “cheating” card, the card of deep betrayals, and this is the system betraying its people. But in this card the person is running off with more than his share, and this certainly makes reference to the way the workings of government and community have worked for the past 20 years, years of excess and immediate gratification. Have we cheated ourselves out of something through excess spending? Or are we victims of circumstance, being cheated out of something over which we have no control?
The rune here speaks of “need”…of the commotion caused by the circumstance, the storm that has culminated as a results of the crossing weather fronts of spending versus absence of funds. Hazards often crop up with this rune of “need” and now we find mechanical problems with our system. Spoken quite literally, 9-1-1 addresses hazards and now we are faced with “making the emergency phone call or not making the call.”
CHALLENGE:
A bold statement is made here. Overlapping layers of messages are in these cards and this rune.
We have dictated our fate; this is a karmic reaction to how we have handled finances, a forced consequence of excesses that will, unfortunately, disconnect us from making soul connections with those we need, and the messenger, the ambulance won’t come when it needs to be there.
The Two of Cups card is, in my readings, my card of soul connections and soul partnerships. Being reversed, it now speaks of two people who were fated to come together, never making that connection. The Knight is a messenger, and this one is not happening. His fire is out, he is out of gas and out of energy. And unfortunately, this can mean lost lives.
Advice:
We are being asked to realize that this is a war we can’t win, a lost cause, a war that can only be offset by each individual’s personal responsibilities with money, and turning our backs on pleasure and excess in order to meet our basic needs.
Our instincts to this difficult health conundrum will be right when we first read of this situation im Tracy, California. It is wrong and the nation will feel it at a gut level. It is “off.” It is against our instinct to hear something where those whose lives are on the line are now in the game of making monetary choices when it comes to saving lives. The 5 of Swords references a battle that has no winner, a war that can’t be won. That someone has to put down their swords because while one side may think they’ve found their victory, countless will be victims of this decision and will pay a dear price for it. And while a battle feels like it has been won, a war has been lost.
We are asked to reduce funds on things that are more frivolous and pleasurable in order to make basic life needs happen. And because the 9 of Pentacles speaks to individual abundance rather than community, it asks each of us, in our own walls, to have a sense of inner responsibility, to protect and take care of that what must be taken care of, even in times of entrapment. Discretion is a key word here, and our instincts will have to be offset with logic: tarot suggests here going with our instincts in dire situations and push aside logic or fretting about a fee when lives are on the line.
OUTCOME:
There is strength in numbers and the community must fight to create a common goal. While it seems there will be delays in making a return to center, continued issues of dire lack of resources, and feelings of strong deflation, a benevolent leader and fiery action with messages to those in charge may create the rise to the cause that stimulates people to create a shift back to what once was.
The outcome of this spread is the most difficult part of the spread. The Wheel, our first card down, speaks whispers of this being part of a cycle, that “This, too, shall pass.” But this outcome suggests that it will be slow in coming, and that building our Strength back will be our primary concern. Being upright, this suggests that it will happen. But this card in the Thoth deck is called “Lust” and here is where we must temper our urges. We must point away from the frivolous and trivial pleasure pursuits to focus on what our real community strengths must be. And I felt “Strength in Numbers” when this card was set down. This card speaks about reconciling opposites, and turning opposing forces in to one powerful united front. It is the courage to take risks, and to use strong assertion rather than aggression. It is learning to have perseverance and freeing ourselves from oppression. This card suggests that this can happen.
However, the Free Will cards that accompany this karmic completion are ifficult ones. Lack of resources to make it start. Lack of love for the system, and feeling a lack of reciprocal love from the system. There seem to be delays, and people having trouble committing to a cause and reclaiming what was once theirs. The upright Ace of Swords says that we will cut away what is not necessary and keep what is…but what is it that we find most necessary in our society?
The good news is that the King of Wands flanks this reading and he creates fiery action, and may represent a passionate leader to moves the crowds, who takes charge and focuses on achievement for this cause. If he can challenge, inspire, motivate the crowds, then we will be able to see a turning of the wheel and returning to people being able to make a 9-1-1 call without worrying about paying a mortgage.
The question will be: who will rise to the cause? The runes present here suggest a deflation of soul and lack of movement, that there is a communal realization that this is not a decision made in the Highest Good, and we need someone with the power to run the community effectively in order to keep finances afloat and the community safe. What types of leaders are we allowing to run our community and what has become the overall result of the community?
To those in the community of Tracy, California, the Nation will be watching you, and we are hopeful that you will rise to the cause and create change in your safety by appointing leaders with the right message and a focus on increased resources for the most basic of your needs, even if the more frivolous things must be denied for a time of regrowth.
Donnaleigh
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