In our world – which is full of so much psycho-babble and spiritual what-nots – this is one question that always manages to rear its ugly head in the minds of people like me – especially when one is on a certain spiritual path. So I am going to venture out and pen down a few of my thoughts about this topic. And of course, I am going to take the help of some wonderful Tarot card imagery to do so… 🙂

In the world where we live – we need money to buy the things we need for our basic survival – such as food, clothing, shelter, Internet etc. We need to pay our bills and since the barter system has become obsolete, money is the best manner of purchasing what we want.

Since the need for having money has firmly been established as one of the essentials of living in today’s world, it is reasonable to want a certain amount of money in order to live.

However, what needs to be addressed is a situation when this desire becomes overwhelming enough for a person to be ruled by that desire. I have seen people become obsessive about the amount of money they earn, or spend, or don’t spend or even save! Really, how much money is too much money?

Economics tells me that ‘wants are unlimited’. In short, no amount of money is ever going to ‘feel’ enough. So let us look at what some of the cards in the Tarot deck have to say about money and wanting money…

The first picture from the Robin Wood deck shows a couple pulling at what seems like a treasure chest full of money. But both of them are pulling it in opposite directions. It seems as if they have found a way out of a dark place – but then the chest seems to be bound by chains and both of them are at cross-purposes. The next image from the Druidcraft deck shows a man locking away his money in a big chest. And the third image from the Universal Waite deck shows a man who is hugging his money to his chest – he also has a coin on his head and two coins each, below his feet.

All these images show the situation of what happens when you cross the invisible line between wanting money to buy you things that make you happy and wanting money because you never seem to have enough.

Well, to be honest, wanting to make money is not a bad thing. That is the bottom line. But then, wanting money above all else – well, that is a sure-fire way to take you down in that dark place (like in the Robin-Wood deck) where you are going crazy to take something but you are fighting your inner self and others to do so. It is also not a good thing to keep the money so close to your self that you cannot see, think or be anything beyond or without it (like in the Druidcraft and Universal Waite deck images).

The thing that we must understand is that money helps us buy the things we want or need, so that our lives can be better, and that we can live comfortably well. Saving money is not a bad deal either – because in that manner we ensure that we have something for that ‘rainy day’ or for our ‘old age’. But, at the end of the day, one must not get so carried away by it.

The way is not the destination. Money is the way to buy the things – money is most certainly not the aim of life. Money is used to buy things – don’t let money buy you!

So, to answer the question: wanting to make money is not ‘BAD’ – but thinking that money will solve all your problems, is most certainly an unwanted approach towards it.

Meanwhile, here are some interesting tidbits for you to chew on:

The Wikipedia Page on Money states:

Money is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main uses of money are as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value.

The article also goes on to state: 

The word ‘money’ is believed to originate from a temple of Hera, located on Capitoline, one of Rome’s seven hills. In the ancient world, Hera was often associated with money. The temple of Juno Moneta at Rome was the place where the mint of Ancient Rome was located. “Juno” etymology may derives from the Etruscan goddess Uni_(mythology) (which means “the one”, “unique”, “unit”, “union”, “united”) and “Moneta” either from the Latin word “monere” (remind, warn, or instruct) or the Greek word “moneres” (alone, unique).

Interesting, isn’t it?