Up and down. Front and back. We learn these words, as children, and then we move on. We never have to search for words like "down" or "front" in the dictionary, because they are basic concepts.

Too bad! So easily, we take for granted the basic rules of the universe. They say, "What goes up, must come down". Well, maybe, there is still no up without down. We know that whatever has a front, must have a back. Cars have a front and back. People do. Even a sphere, like the sun, has a front and back; depending on where we are in relationship. The side facing us is the front (what egos we have!).

Even time has a front and a back, like the beginning of a month or the end of a vacation. Simple yin and yang that is practiced by everyone, subconsciously, every day. You can't have one without the other. This is a 5 Soil Year. The year of front and back, up and down, center and periphery. Hold Still. Feel the tension and the release. A movement and a rest.

Every nine years, we return to this house. The Axis, upon which all things turn. Five returns to the center of the 9 Ki square and all of the other numbers move back to their home position.

A movement and a rest. All creatures returning home. Hold still. We are traveling on a ship that has been racing across the big lake. Our Captain drops the sails and we come to rest in the center. For a few moments, all is calm, but then our ship begins to rock. The deck begins to wobble beneath our feet, then it is still, then it pitches again.

It is the boat's wake catching up! The valley that we cut through water, has returned to us. Reverberations, wave forms and patterns from our past. Karma.

We sail this ship together. Every nine years, we enter these Horse Latitudes and, before we are through, we are pitched and wobbled by our boat's past progress. The repercussions of every war, every treaty, every potential action and decision, every corporate move, slam against our hull in tell-tale patterns. Have we done well, as a crew? Were we moving in the best direction? It's all there to see. We just have to know how to look.

Stranded together in the center. Before it is time to go, we will all exhibit our true nature. Held in quiet captivity, we first resort to our personal worlds. Each to our own personal thoughts. Silent, at first, working our way through the stillness. After awhile, each begins to show their history and capacity. Simple words. Hand gestures. Expressions. Sorrow and laughter. It becomes apparent. We just have to know how to look.

This is a 5 Soil year. This is the time to see. Without and within. Close relations and global patterns. All of us will have the opportunity to evaluate humanity's progress; the status of our effort as a group. Our valiant successes and our dismal failures. Each of us must draw our own conclusion.

Hold still. See.

Global Karma.

What can we do, on this drifting ship in space? Actually, quite a lot. Since we are the crew, we can choose the ultimate destination. So, we had best start working things out with one another, and with Our Captain.