Projections and Other Demons
If I had to choose one of the most important lessons that my mentor Camelia Elias has taught me over the years, it is this one: projections of the future are bound to fail you because they are never rooted in the reality of a moment. But it is precisely that which makes them so attractive a method of self-realization for so many. How else could we explain the ridiculous craze for the ‘new’ trend of “manifesting”? But this trend is not so new, as many tend to think. It seems that everyone has forgotten that The Secret (2006) has sold over 30 million copies. And before The Secret, there was The Power of Your Subconscious Mind (1963) by Joseph Murphy, which used to decorate my late grandmother’s nightstand. And many, many others. “Project it into reality” seems to be the mantra. The one that very often seems to blow back in our faces, without us ever wondering why.
One could even say that the entire American culture, and specifically the phenomenon of ‘the American dream’ is based on a projected desire. Allegedly, it was John Steinbeck who once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires (Wright, 2004). One can only imagine how effective this modus operandi is considering the rampant poverty and inequality in The United States, all the way from its beginnings up until today. Neil Strauss famously said that “expectations are premeditated resentments” (2015). This often tends to be the case precisely because our expectations rarely tend to be based on what is happening to us right here and now. And at the risk of repeating myself like a broken record, where we are right here and now is usually defined by our place in societal and cultural structures of our neoliberal existence. ‘Manifesting’ tends to work like a charm if we possess enough social, economic, and cultural capital to make our desires a reality. It is these elements of our existence that create plausibility and probability for their successful manifestation. As you can imagine, this can only be the case for a very small amount of people in this preposterously unequal world of ours. And even there, not all aspects of projected desires have a manifestation guarantee. Matters of the heart can be a rather challenging territory across the socio-economic strata. With all this being said, why is it that we are still so susceptible to projecting desires that only tend to bring us disappointment? Is it simply a case of oblivion and lack of clarity, or is there something more to it?
I decided to ask the cards the following question: What lies behind the ever-recurring trend of ‘manifesting’?
Soprafino Tarot from 1835, reconstructed by Il Meneghello.
All through the night, all through the day, we are propelled by the urge to push forward, to keep ourselves in motion. We try to capture our nighttime fantasies (Moon) and materialize them in broad daylight (Sun), all for the sake of moving towards something bigger (Charioteer). Our howling desires, the two howling dogs, turn into two embodied figures under the warm summer Sun, which in turn become two horses propelling the charioteer forward. Logical, if we understand that it is precisely the philosophy of neoliberal economy that tells us it is dangerous to slow down and secure yourself in a ‘safe spot’, and that instead, we always need to be pushing onwards, to push for something more. Here, to stop and settle means to fail. What this represents is an eternal struggle, as the Force card reminds us from the bottom of the deck. And to quote a famous drag queen Kennedy Davenport: “The struggle is real”. The need to succeed in the context of always needing to have more, do more, and achieve more is itself a losing game. Because just like the cancer cell does not know how to stop itself from multiplying, spreading, and suffocating other vital tissues, neoliberal capitalism does not recognize the notion of sufficiency.
This inevitably has serious consequences for our definition of happiness, which can only result in an inescapable disappointment when we realize that we have failed to manifest our desires yet again. To paraphrase my mentor once again, the secret to a good card reading is understanding what is plausible and what is probable in a given context. Just like that, a healthy relationship to our need for manifesting our desires is designed by understanding what is plausible and probable within our present predicament.
If you would like to obtain more clarity on your desired achievements, you can book one of the reading options available on the Readings page, or feel free to contact me at info@theuncrossedpath.com.
References
Byrne, R. H. (2006). The Secret. Atria Books/Beyond Words.
Murphy, J. (1963). The Power of Your Subconscious Mind. Prentice Hall Press.
Wright, R. (2004). A Short History of Progress. House of Anansi Press
Online Sources
Camelia Elias: https://www.cameliaelias.com/. Link visited on 13/08/2023
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/?ref=nav_hom. Links visited on 13/08/2023
Neil Strauss: https://www.neilstrauss.com/the-truth/. Link visited on 13/08/2023
Vox, Shut Up, I’m Manifesting: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/21524975/manifesting-does-it-really-work-meme by Rebecca Jennings. Link visited on 13/08/2023.
WOW Presents Plus, RuPaul’s Drag Race: https://www.wowpresentsplus.com/rupaul-s-drag-race-2. Link visited on 13/08/2023
The Secret: https://www.thesecret.tv/products/the-secret-book/. Link visited on 13/08/2023
The Uncrossed Path, On 30’s and Happiness: https://www.theuncrossedpath.com/blog/on-30s-and-happiness. Link visited on 13/08/2023.
