Traditionally the Emperor is seen as representing authority and rulership, the stability and solidness needed to build a civilization.  It symbolizes the traditional power structure in modern, patriarchal society.  This card is the 4th Trump of the Major Arcana.  Four symbolizes earthly reality, basic structure and orientation, and stability - think of the 4 seasons, 4 directions and 4 elements of earth, air, fire and water. 

I think the key to this card is connected to the announcement of Robert Morgenthau's retirement as District Attorney of New York.  Mr. Morgenthau has been the chairman of our board for over 30 years.  His connections through his position have often benefited this agency.  I'm sure we will lose a number of those contacts when he leaves office.  This will result in some serious financial struggles for an agency that is already in challenging straits.  It will also provide us with an opportunity to move beyond our current boundaries and see if we can expand our current sphere of influences and reach out to previously untapped resources.  Of course this would be much less challenging if we were not in this economic climate.

However it is possible to look at this as an opportunity to bring some new blood into the process; let a fresh breeze sweep through the place.  The down side of this is that the agency has already experienced this type of dramatic change with the installation of our new executive director and his upper management staff.  That happened in Oct 2006 and we're still reeling from the fallout.  Of course I suppose that is also a matter of perception.  The people who are new to the agency or benefited from the decisions and changes made by the new regime will have a very different attitude about things. 

I am the first to acknowledge that change is never easy.  And I know there are people like me who find any change (no matter how positive it may ultimately prove) to be frustrating and problematic.  I can appreciate change and transformation on an intellectual level, but its implementation is often a different matter.  So many times the promises we hear about change being for the better turn out to be false.  I have often found that it ends up being a case of "look at the new boss, same as the old boss".  This bothers me on a number of levels, not the least of which is that I have a low tolerance for bullshit.  If you're going to screw me over, at least be honest about it.  Don't tell me it's for my own good or that you aren't doing exactly what your predecessors have done.  As Joan Crawford famously said "this ain't my first rodeo".

I have my full of that at this job already.  I'm not sure how this new power shift will play itself out, and on some level my curiosity is driving me wild.  On another level it is making me evaluate whether I am ready to adjust and adapt to the new changes that must be coming down the pike.  My security tree has been shaken so much lately, I'll be amazed if it has any roots.