New Life In Ireland

I have come to Ireland to welcome wee Colette, an Aries babe born on April 3rd. She is the new child of our daughter, Danielle, who has lived in this land for over 10 years now, and her husband, Francois, a Frenchman. Their family is a microcosm of the larger macrocosm that is Ireland. Francois is part of the influx from Europe who have come to work for the multi-national corporations and financial firms that help feed the ‘Celtic Tiger’, as the booming economy of Ireland is called. Danielle, still a US citizen, works for an Engineering firm by day, and moonlights as a tarot reader and Synergy Dance teacher some evenings and on weekends. Both parents are participating in the mainstream movement of highly skilled workers that have fueled Ireland’s economic wave of prosperity in everything from semiconductors, and ITs to nanotechnology, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. Both parents also practice the mystical arts in their daily lives as a guidance system. Ireland is a very ‘open minded’ place to be right now, and Dublin is humming with new life and youthfulness.

I walk my other granddaughter, 7 year old Persephone, to school in the morning. This is a public school called John Scottus School where the children study non-dualistic philosophy, Sanskrit, and Gaelic in addition to the regular curriculum of math, reading, and English skills. Already I have picked her up after school at a major Sports Club where she gets swimming lessons, and dropped her off early for choir practice. This is the equivalent of 3rd grade in the states. To say the Irish are well-educated is an understatement. Flying here on Aer Lingus my seat mate is a woman from Donegal with 7 children, all grown. They are engineers, scientists, and the eldest daughter is head of the psychology department at a major hospital in Dublin.

Ireland today is a country with only 4% unemployment, personal taxation is quite low, free secondary education is available to everyone, and the economy has been growing an average of 6% per year since the late ’80s. Medical care is free. Colette’s birth has included five additional house calls by mid-wives this week to assure all is well. Yes, the quality of life is good here now, so much so that huge waves of immigrants are pouring in to swell the population to around 4.5 million.

Walking down the streets of Dublin I still see mostly Irish people, but more and more Eastern Europeans, Asians, and Africans appear amongst them. This is a land fast becoming multi-national in its orientation as it becomes one of the major hubs for research particularly in the fields of biotechnology and information technology. This is a far cry from the old images of Ireland that romanticize it as full of sprites and elves or demonize it as backwards and pub dominated. Yes, there are still pubs on nearly every block and once away from the larger cities, like Dublin and Cork, the land still feels enchanted and dream-like as sea and sky meet craggy cliffs and green pastures, but there is a vibrancy and pride in the peoples of Ireland now that gives it an edge, much as the Bay Area felt back in the ’60s.

Back into the microcosm of Danielle’s home, I see the eclectic mix of a modern marriage where no one is the boss, both carry equal weight economically and philosophically, and where also the ancient divination tools continue to be used in new ways to guide and provide the mirror of meaning and understanding in their daily lives. For example: before Colette’s birth they pull the ‘Seven of Cups’ card in the tarot deck. They know that there will be an emotional challenge ahead. Sure enough. Danielle’s waters break and merconium is released. She must go to the hospital, after all, rather than having the home birth she planned for. Colette’s cord is long and wrapped around her abdomen. There is a bit of distress. All, however, ends happily and she is born strong and healthy without further complications.

They use the tarot as an effective tracking device. There is no need to do formal throws or readings for this purpose. Just picking a card or two is sufficient to get a quick read-out on what is going on or what lies ahead. Foreknowledge is good for planning and preparedness. This is the modern way, but it is also a divination technique as old as our known history.

We calculate her horoscope on-line at the Clairvision school web site. We get instant images of her life’s blueprint; the road map of her life ahead. She’s an Aries all right, but her Moon is in Pisces. Tarot and Astrology dove-tail beautifully with the images of water. She picked an appropriate place to be born with that Watery moon—-an island.

Yes, there is great open-mindedness in Ireland. Alternative centers abound and people are hungry for spirituality and tools to help them on their paths. I give intuitive readings at the Harvest Moon Center on Baggot St. It is a colorful place which reminds me of San Francisco in many ways. People come in off the street for a quick shoulder massage or a tarot reading. Classes are taught. Energy is high. Spirituality is fun. It becomes apparent that it is our humanity that bonds us and the issues of right livelihood, love, and health continue to be universal themes common to us all.

Dublin is a thriving city in so many ways. Tradition and enthusiasm for the future blend together quite nicely. Life is good on this Emerald Isle. Perhaps little Colette will be part of this growing wave of international citizens of the world. She’s certainly off to a good start. She picked the right city to be born in, that’s for sure.