Nine of Wands

The fairly remote Himalayan nation of Bhutan just crowned a new king, and photos of the coronation ceremony simply must be seen to be believed. The BBC comments that the new king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, has big shoes to fill:

"His father won international acclaim for his role in turning Bhutan into a constitutional monarchy while his emphasis on gross national happiness -- the idea that spiritual and mental well-being are more important than material prosperity -- made him the darling of development groups the world over."

Every bit of this, from the bold colors and happy faces to the idealism in the Bhutanese political doctrine, is what I'd like to think of when I read the Nine of Wands. As the suit's numbers have risen, so have the stakes for success and the amount of responsibility one assumes in striving for it. A new threshold of accomplishment has been reached, one which requires many components to work together in order to keep things running smoothly. This can be quite challenging to the ego -- having to consider the good of the whole, instead of calculating risks based purely on one's own fortitude the way one used to do -- but as long as one aspires to a functional, healthy, beautiful degree of success and control, then the possibilities are almost limitless. (See the Ten of Wands for a look at power which pushes onward and rages out of control.) [Via]