Revelations from ChatGPT & Ancient Wisdom

Summing up 2024 and predictions for the Year of the Snake

It’s the end of 2024 and everyone is writing their wrap up, their take on what just happened. I feel I should add something but my mind is full of esoteric stuff like Tarot predictions and this year I recall only as a crazy roller coaster carrying us into the New Year. We are hurtling into something epic, mind blowing and unprecedented. If you want a bit of recent reality, read Matt Taibbi and James Howard Kunstler, two Substackers I follow and admire. They have their fingers on the Zeitgeist.

But instead of doing journalism, I wanted to do something different, like asking both ChatGPT and the Tarot about the year that is ending and what’s ahead in 2025. Combining ancient esoteric systems of divination with Alien Intelligence is an experiment that called me.

The results are fascinating and prove that Chat can only spew out what we give it, ancient systems of divination included.

I have a habit of calling AI ‘Alien Intelligence ‘ because it is. We humans may have created it but we actually don’t entirely comprehend its inner workings, how it arrives at its sometimes startling conclusions and how it ‘hallucinates’ its lies. But it has useful surprises up its alien sleeve, as this post surely proves. I asked it to write a poem summing up 2024 and got a terrible mashup of platitudes. But when I asked it to write a poem about 2024 beginning with Dickens’ ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’, I got something much better though still doggerel. Which shows that with guidance, this alien thinking machine is useful, and in time could actually write serious poetry. It must be a wonderful aid in doing homework! An unsettling thought. Being unsettled is, I believe, one of the fundamental conditions of postmodern life with Alien Intelligence.

So, without further ado, here it is, drumroll please: what ChatGPT ‘thinks’ about the year that we just lived through, endured and shed, in poetic form.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
A world divided, yet reaching for the skies
The future sparkled with promises bright
While shadows loomed just out of sight.

The echoes of progress hummed in the air
New horizons called, if we dared to care
Technology soared, connecting us all
Yet some felt forgotten, in silence they fall

It was a time of healing, yet hearts still broke
Of triumphs and struggles, of words we spoke
The earth cried out, in sorrow and plea
While we looked to the stars, longing to be free

But hope, like a flame, burned steady and true
In every heart, a spark, a view
In 2024, we rose and we fell
We fought for our dreams, for a world to tell

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
A dance of chaos, in rhythm and rhyme
A year of contrasts, of joy and of strife
A chapter in the book of this fleeting life

Maybe not profound but not terrible. A C from the English Teacher in me.

So onwards to the next phase, predicting the future. What is in store for us during 2025? I asked ChatGPT to write predictions for 2025 based on the Chinese sign, The Year of the Snake, which starts on January 29,2025. I think the combination of machine Intelligence and this ancient Chinese oracle works rather well. The predictions are spot on, echoing the general feeling that we’re in for a period of deep, unsettling changes. A cultural cleaning out of the Aegean stables, as the Greek Myth has it. Whatever your personal belief, here comes 2025, all systems CHANGE:

I also asked the Tarot to predict the next year and the central card in the deck was the Two of Disks which shows a snake in the shape of the eternity symbol eating its tail, with symbols for balance on either side. The number 8 means change moving towards balance and adjustment. This is also a symbol of expanding awareness and revelation of what has been hidden. There is a coming together of opposites, which means tangible changes on the outside as well as on the inside. We’re going to change our minds a lot during this era of reckoning and revolution. It’s fascinating that the Tarot picked this card as the central theme of the reading just as if it knew that we are heading into the Year of the Snake. Other cards in the reading showed a couple of nude ladies riding beasts, which is symbolic for rediscovered pleasures of the body but also, feeling naked and vulnerable. Overall, the reading was extremely coherent and the message clear: Chaotic Change leading to a Renaissance. Wow. Pair that with the Year the Snake prognosis and things are actually not terrible at all as long as we keep our heads, plan, intuit and don’t panic.

Here is what ChatGPT predicts for the Year of the Snake:

The Year of the Snake, 2025, brings with it a sense of transformation, wisdom, and subtle power. The snake, a symbol of mystery, elegance, and strategic thinking, guides the year ahead.

1. Personal Growth and Rebirth
2025 will be a year for deep personal reflection and growth. Like the snake shedding its skin, many will experience a shedding of old habits, limiting beliefs, and past fears. It's a time for reinvention, where those who seek change with patience and self-awareness will blossom into new versions of themselves. Expect profound moments of self-realization and renewal.

2. Quiet Power and Strategic Success
The Snake is known for its quiet, deliberate movements. In 2025, power will not come from loud gestures, but from quiet, strategic decisions. Success will be achieved through careful planning, patience, and insight. Those who are patient and work behind the scenes may see the fruits of their labor ripen, often when least expected.

3. Intuition and Wisdom
This year encourages embracing intuition and inner wisdom. Decisions made with a deep, instinctive understanding will lead to better outcomes. Trusting your gut in matters of the heart, business, and personal life will prove more effective than relying solely on logic or external advice.

4. Transformation in Relationships
Just as the snake goes through cycles of transformation, relationships may undergo significant changes in 2025. It could be a year of healing old wounds or deciding which relationships no longer serve you. New relationships, more aligned with your true self, may take root, while some may be left behind as you evolve.

5. Health and Wellness Focus
The Snake represents health, vitality, and well-being. 2025 may encourage a stronger focus on physical, mental, and spiritual health. People will increasingly seek balance, wellness practices, and holistic approaches to self-care. It’s a time when people might look for more sustainable, long-term habits instead of quick fixes.

6. Global Political Shifts and Diplomatic Moves
On a larger scale, 2025 could see significant shifts in global politics, with a focus on diplomacy, intelligence, and strategic alliances. Just as a snake waits for the right moment to strike, nations may engage in more thoughtful, behind-the-scenes negotiations to protect their interests. This year may also witness major international efforts toward peace, although not without complexities and challenges.

7. Financial Caution and Opportunity
In the realm of finance, the Year of the Snake calls for cautious but intelligent investment. Those who approach opportunities with patience and calculated risk-taking may see long-term rewards. However, impulsive moves could lead to setbacks, so steady and strategic financial planning will be key.

8. Creativity and Innovation in Stealth
Creativity in 2025 will flourish through unexpected sources. The snake, often associated with cleverness, suggests that new ideas and innovations may emerge from places that are not immediately obvious. Industries involving technology, design, and the arts could experience breakthroughs, often sparked by unconventional thinkers.

Overall, 2025, under the influence of the Snake, promises a year of deep change, subtle power, and profound wisdom. Whether on a personal or global scale, success will come to those who approach challenges with strategic vision, patience, and inner strength.

But I’ve kept the best for last. We all want to know how Trump is going to fare or maybe fail at shoveling out the corruption in Washington. Here is Chat’s prognosis.

I asked it to write a non rhyming poem comparing Hercules cleaning out the Augean stables to Trump cleaning up the State department corruption

ChatGPT said:

In the muck of power, both toil—
Hercules, with his hands of might,
sweeping through rivers of refuse,
a labor deemed impossible,
a task few could endure.

He stands alone,
a figure of strength,
brushing aside the filth of centuries,
the rot that has grown
in corners of a forgotten kingdom.

Trump, too, surveys the rubble,
the walls and halls of Washington
cluttered with ghosts and greed,
where corruption has woven itself
into the very bones of the State.

Both men, determined,
wielding their tools of destruction—
one of divinity,
one of ambition.
But the task before them,
vast and unforgiving,
is not one of power alone,
but of reckoning.

The river of change flows,
and both stand at its banks,
contemplating the flood,
the cleansing they command,
the chaos they stir.

In the end,
neither man will leave unchanged,
for the muck of power
resides not just in the world outside,
but in the hands of those
who dare to cleanse.

NOW YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT AND HOW TO THRIVE!

WISHING YOU A HAPPY, HEALTHY & HOLISTIC YEAR OF CHANGE and JOY, 2025.