The timing of this post is going to seem pointed, but I’ve been thinking about this for several weeks. It’s just getting more and more relevant as time goes by…
My acupuncturist is an MD who also studied acupuncture in China and specializes in chemo patients. We have an interesting relationship where we have about five or ten minutes to chat while he’s sticking needles in me and we always talk about interesting stuff: Jung’s Redbook, Otzi the Iceman’s acupuncture tattoos, tattoos used for healing in indigenous cultures, the Bible as Literature and apocrypha, and so on. A couple of weeks ago he said something that I can’t get out of my mind. He mentioned that he was on a professional call with a bunch of acupuncturists and one of his friends / colleagues said “We have lost the mandate of heaven.” We discussed it briefly and I’ve been reading and thinking about it ever since.
So a short history lesson. In ancient and imperial China, the Emperor ruled under the mandate of heaven. This is similar to Europe’s divine right of kings, but with a twist. Unlike divine right, which is based on being of a specific bloodline (effectively born to rule), the mandate of heaven could be revoked. If the Emperor was just and righteous then the people and country would prosper and things would go well. Not only would taxes be fair and business good, but the weather would be kind, harvests bountiful, and people healthy. So it was a literal interpretation (fair leader = happy subjects) but a spiritual one as well.
If however the Emperor were corrupt or evil then he would lose the mandate of heaven. What does this mean? First, the people would be oppressed, businesses and crops would fail, celestial portents and warnings would appear, and there would be epidemics and natural disasters. Second, the people would have the right to rise up and overthrow the Emperor and install a new one. The new Emperor didn’t have to be from a royal or noble line, but could be a commoner (whole successful dynasties were founded by common men becoming Emperor). So scholars and philosophers would declare that the Emperor had lost his mandate, the people would revolt (the peasants are revolting!), and if the revolt was successful then historians would be like “yup, mandate of heaven sure enough.” The reason that the nature of this single person could decide the fate of a whole nation is because the ruler had influence, often life or death influence, over the nation.
So I don’t need to get into why this captured my imagination do it? It’s pretty obvious that, starting all the way back to the Great American Eclipse (which I’ve written about before) not only has what passes for our Emperor lost the mandate, but so too the American Empire as a whole. Oppressed people, check; bad weather, check; ill portents, check; pandemic, check; natural disasters, check. Check. Check. Check. Of course it’s not just US centric. How many rulers are just and fair? How many countries are doing well and how many are doing badly? Maybe your leader has lost the mandate as well.
I don’t write about politics much because right now politics is like fantasy football. It’s kind of based on what some real people you don’t know are doing. Fantasy football games can’t become real life, no matter what we’d like, and our fantasies aren’t going to change the behavior of the people we’re speculating about. So I’d normally avoid discussing this as there’s not a lot personally you can do about it.
At the same time, the idea that the people we select to rule over us could destroy the country, not just in a mundane sense but a magical one, just kept haunting me. Because there’s something else important hidden in the philosophy of the mandate of heaven. Something that applies to us plebes and revolting peasants. The key is in the fact that the new emperor could be anyone. Which means that the mandate of heaven could be given to anyone. Maybe many persons. Ordinary persons like you or me. Now sure, there’s only one Emperor and it’s not likely you’re about to be snatched up by cheering crowds as set on the Dragon Throne (though if you are, I’d like to apply to be your imperial Project Manager). But even so, that doesn’t mean you can’t have the mandate of heaven.
If you are in the US, you’re living in a dying democracy and a dying Empire (ditto the EU). Nothing any of us do as individuals is going to change that (certainly voting won’t, though voting is still important). So what do we do when the macro is out of control and also out of our control? We go MICRO. The mandate of heaven assures better luck, auspicious omens, prosperity, and happiness. And what better time to achieve that than when the larger world is falling apart? I mean, we need all the help we can get!
Plus, though you or I may never be Emperor (or whatever we end up calling our leader in whichever nation-state we end up in when the US falls completely apart — All Hail Cascadia!) we still have spheres of influence. Consider your network, your friends, your colleagues, your family, your household… all areas where you have some influence (and who correspondingly influence you). Not total influence, but influence nonetheless. I’ve seen this in action! The magic of a whole wonderful group of folks is helping me get through a rough time, which is a perfect example of how the network effects of magically operant people can share and multiply good fortune.
So how can we ensure the mandate of heaven for ourselves? Here are some ideas:
- Get right with your ancestors and beloved dead. Having a solid connection with those who have gone before you is a powerful tool for improving your life. Your ancestors, Saints, and mighty dead (basically previously-alive humans) run interference with other spirits such as Angels, Planetary Intelligences, Gods, etc. (the denizens of heaven). Everything you do and everything you are starts here.
- Embrace sovereignty. You’re not Emperor and neither am I, but we still have control over ourselves. More control than we often like to admit. I say this frequently, but you have absolute freedom to do anything. The consequences might be out of control, but you still have the freedom to do it. You can stand up right now and walk away from your entire life. You can walk into the woods and never return. You can literally lay down and die today. You have sole dominion over your mind and your heart, the things you think and feel and people and entities who you think with and feel with. Make sure you aren’t giving away your sovereignty.
- Adopt a system of virtues and strive to live in accordance with them. If you are familiar with my Lunation Rite, you know that I’m a fan of the ancient Greek arætí or cardinal virtues — Courage/Fortitude, Temperance/Moderation, Justice, and Wisdom. I don’t always succeed, but I try to manifest these qualities in my life.
- Be incorruptible. Power corrupts and while we may have far less power than an Emperor, we too have opportunities to be corrupted — to act in ways that are dishonest or illegal or to depart from what is correct. Remember that corruption also literally means decay and decomposition. When you are corrupted, that corruption can spread into your life and the lives of those you influence. This also means that you should avoid those who are corrupt, lest their decay spread to you as well. This comes back to network effects again.
- Do the work. Whatever work you are called to do in this life to make the world better, to reenchant it, to build a more sane future, or to protect those you love — magical or mundane — you have to get busy and do it. Whether that’s raising a family, having a career, making art, growing things, activism, healing, learning, creating, manifesting. When you do the work, you draw the attention of heaven.
Obtaining the mandate of heaven might be as simple as living right, whatever that means for you. When you are kind to others and have compassion, you are spreading the benefits of your mandate. When you do the right thing, others in your spheres of influence benefit. Your little empire is improved and you strike a blow against the larger forces out there that have very different goals.
