Matriarch of Coins

Fire of Earth ~ Oracle of Security ~ The Wise One

Personality. The matriarch of coins is the ultimate authority in all matters of practical knowledge, common sense, and natural wisdom. Her years have taught her all the subtleties of the ways of the world, so that now it is as if all the millenia of human wisdom is available to her intuitively. She knows which ventures will succeed, and which will fail. She is a healer, an herbalist, and an infallible dispenser of practical advice. She prefers to speak in proverbs, maxims, pithy sayings, and even cliches. For her, these homilies and quips, even when they seem trite, convey ageless truths.

The matriarch of coins has an apparently infinite capacity to take care of things and keep her people out of danger, although her level of ability is such that she can usually keep things on track by a simple suggestion or bit of wisdom, whispered in the ear of the right person. She has tremendous acumen in financial matters, and may have great wealth at her disposal. However, she sees money as one of many reservoirs of security and stability. She is more likely to see the natural world and its profound consistency as offering a greater resource than human currency.

Her shortcoming is an impatience with others' "profound visions", be they intellectual, emotional, or religious. She has trouble appreciating anything that does not promote immediate, practical well-being. And she is quick to relate parables of those who have followed their "foolish obsessions" into disaster. In the end, of course, she sees these things as part of human nature, and prides herself that her wisdom and experience keeps her (and those who heed her advice) from being led astray.

Role. In tribal societies, the matriarch of coins is the mother of the village, the healer, the witch. She knows the earth and all things that come from the earth, and thus stands as a human interpreter and symbol of the greatest mysteries of experience: birth, death, and life itself. She is both loved and feared. She is the center of the community, the solid, motionless rock around which everything revolves.

In a more modern context, the matriarch is the "voice of experience", the person who knows the ways of the world and feels a duty to let others know what to expect before it's too late. She is the cautious, overprotective mother, or the older friend who keeps you grounded by reminding you that there is nothing new under the sun.

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Copyright © 1998 Tom Tadfor Little