According to the Mayans, we have now entered into Katun 2, a time in which, “For half there will be food, for others misfortunes. A time of the end of the word of God. A time for uniting for a cause” as I wrote in an earlier blog. For Nostradamus, we are right in the middle of a world war III which he predicted will end in 2025. The Christians believe that 144,000 people will survive the upcoming undated Apocalypse due to special seals on their forehead. Edgar Cayce thought that the earth would be violently destroyed by floods and earthquakes soon. The Hopi’s predicted that we will see our earth change rotation and completely reverse poles.

The Chinese do not speak of the end of the world. Rather they tell us that we are entering the year of the water snake. The snake, according to the Chinese, is graceful, analytical, and likes the finer things in life. People who are born in the year of the snake are usually very good in finances, are great philosophers and theologians, and can wiggle their way around effortlessly. The snake for the Chinese is the most enigmatic and wise of all signs.

Personally I have always loved snakes. In my first novel Journey to the Heart, Lucina is afraid of snakes. Teleo tells her that snakes are symbols of our sexuality but also our creative energy, that the two are linked hand in hand. When Lucina gets bitten by a coral snake and nearly dies, she realizes that she must stop repressing her sexual nature and make peace with it. By the end of the novel, she is able to face a snake in the jungle and thank it for its wisdom and clarity on her path. One of the central themes of my first novel is that sexuality should not be repressed but rather welcomed and tamed.

In Greek mythology, the caduceus was carried by Hermes and is a staff with two serpents intertwined. It symbolized commerce and balance. Myth says that one day Hermes saw two snakes fighting together and separated them with his staff, which later became his main symbol and strength. Today that symbol has become our medical sign. There are two snakes coiled around a staff with wings above, reminding us that true health comes with balance and in my belief a sense of freedom.

Water is another central theme in my first novel. Water is all about emotions and letting go and surrendering. For the Chinese, water is the most powerful of all elements. It can eat away at a rock with time, no other element can do that. The power of the water snake year is thus about balancing ourselves, being wiser, and surrendering to the great currents around us.

I wish everyone a Happy 2013!

People close to me can testify to my cloudy past with bosses. I was the kind of girl who would never put up with disrespect; I preferred to be jobless than to be someone’s doormat. It took me over thirty random jobs, most of which I quit impulsively, before I finally discovered that I could become my own boss and never have to bend over backwards again. The brilliant idea came to me five years ago that whatever I was good at, I could do it on my own. And ever since then,  I have never looked back and regretted my choice of starting my own language school from home.

Many people lately are experiencing waves of fear concerning their jobs. They are afraid that because of so many cut-backs, because the economy is so shaky, that they might also pass through the blender and lose their jobs. Maybe it’s time for us to stop relying on the shaky foundations of others, and start building our own solid ones instead. But how do you become your own boss?

First thing, start by making a list of your talents, what makes you unique in your field. Look back at all the times you worked for someone else, and bring to your consciousness all that experience that you could use on your own terms. Then research the competition around you; the more you know about the competition, the more you can offer something new and exciting, sometimes at a lower price at first. Talk about your business idea to friends and family, ask for advice, consult an accountant on how you can start your own business. Talk to independent workers in your town or city, don’t be shy to ask them how they became their own boss.

It seems scary at first: becoming your own boss? Haven’t you always worked for someone else? Haven’t you always sacrificed your needs for someone else? The energy shifts presently on earth are pushing us more and more to become fully independent from the past shaky foundations. Once you step into your own vibration, your own work space, you will become so much lighter and freedom will finally embrace you. Trust yourself and the rest will follow naturally.

In Quebec, we are very lucky to have several spiritual writers who are “channeling” messages from various sources. One of these writers, Martine Vallée, has written a series of books in French called La Grande Transformation (The Big Transformation). Her book on 2009 deals with various events or energies that we are supposed to encounter in 2009, some which touched a chord in me.

To begin with, many believe that 2009 will be a year of co-creation. What does this mean? It means that people with a common goal or dream are finally going to unite and create groups or networks whose aim will be to support one another and guide each other. This coming year will be a year in which we no longer feel alone on the path of light, in which we finally find our spiritual families, and form true and lasting friendships. This is great news for all of those who have felt isolated and alone the past few years.

Another message conveyed in this book is that humans will no longer be able to hide behind masks and lies anymore. Supposedly the new energies arriving on earth will cut away all masks and falsities, leaving us very transparent and very naked. For some this will be a painful experience because there will be no more running away from truth or reality: we will have to embrace things that we have never before wanted to embrace. That mirror on the wall will reflect back exactly who we are. For those who are already used to being honest and truthful, we shall find ourselves content at last because the outter world will suddenly appear less menacing and cruel.

One last point which interested me in Vallée’s book was the section on sacred feminine energy. Tom Kenyon and Judi Sion have written a fascinating book called The Magdalen Manuscript in which they discuss the importance of the woman in the coming years. Vallée interviews Kenyon and Sion in her own book, and we learn through the interview about the return of the sacred feminine energy. The time has come, the authors explain, for the return of the female energy on earth. Women must re-discover their powers and tools and become equals once more to men, who have for very long degraded and dominated them.

Whatever energy comes into your life this year, I wish you all to find your soul group and to welcome the sacred female energy back into your lives.

We are living some pretty drastic changes these days; the economy seems about ready to collapse any day now, elections are coming up and we are shaky as to who will take power, and the environment seems to get worse every day if we tune into the news. How do we remain positive in times like these, when everything seems to be collapsing around us? How do we stay calm if the very foundation is cracking?

If you have been reading Karine Bishop’s energy alerts at all, you might already know that the collapse of an old system has been predicated by some for a long time. For those of us “in tuned” to the energy shifts, it comes as no surprise that the economy is crashing. What does this all mean though? Should we panic and run for the hills to become self-sufficient farmers, dig our trenches and take cover, or should we calmly stay put and await the next world?

Stay grounded during these shifts, remembering the saying that when one door closes another one opens. Now is the best time to return to our real Selves, to go back to a more authentic, real, and meaningful way of living and being. If you are feeling the need to surround yourself with people more lately, it’s not surprising; when an old world dies and a new one begins, it can be scary and we can feel more alone than ever before. Many people have come to me lately telling me they have never before felt so alone and lost.

Remember that if the old system is crashing it is because something better is coming, and even if change is scary at times, it is necessary. Although the Mayans predicted that 2012 is the big crunch time, it has already begun, look around in the world and you will see that collapse is a common trend these days. What I try to do when I think that everything is crashing around me is go somewhere in nature where I feel connected to my Higher Self, and from that spot, close my eyes and work on consciously erasing the fear of change.

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