The Artisan stands on the slope of Haleakalā at dawn under the flowering wiliwili tree. She is an arborist who gently and patiently manages the forest trees to ensure their health and longevity. She’s holding a billhook that she uses to clear invasive plants that overgrow native plants.

The wiliwili is one of the few deciduous trees in the Hawaiian Islands that drops its leaves. The colorful flowers blossom at the beginning of the dry season before the trees go bare during the hottest months of summer. The leaves regrow with the return of the rainy season.

  The maple and deer card is the Japanese equivalent to the Artisan card. The maple tree and deer represent spiritual power. Both the maple and deer are at their peak in the autumn. The maple is covered in fiery red leaves and the deer has a full set of antlers. In winter the maple loses its leaves and the deer sheds its antlers. The next year the maple begins to grow new leaves and the deer sprouts new antlers.

People are transient like the antlers and leaves. The maple tree and deer are durable like the ‘āina, the land. People come and go. We are born, mature and die, but the land remains. If the land is healthy more people will come. If the land dies, people will end too.

The Artisan harnesses ideas with proficiency.

Hale-a-ka-lā means “house of the sun.” This is the mountain on the island of Maui where the legendary hero, Maui, subdued the sun god, Lā. Maui is often portrayed as a trickster. He uses his intelligence to set traps and make the gods do what he wants. The Artisan and Maui both look at the big picture and think two steps ahead.

How Maui Captured the Sun

The sun, Lā, was lazy. Lā would sleep in, and wake up late. To make up for his late start, Lā would hurry across the sky, resulting in a short day.

Maui’s mother, Hina would make kapa barkcloth in the morning, but the sun would not shine long enough for it to dry. She complained to her son Maui that the day was too short to get all her work done.

Maui made a plan and took a strong rope to Haleakalā mountain before the dawn of the next day. He tied one end of his rope to a strong wiliwili tree and waited for the sun to rise.

As usual, the sun god, Lā, was late. When Lā finally appeared, he rushed across the sky on his many legs made of sunbeams. Maui, skillfully threw his rope, and lassoed the legs of Lā. Maui pulled the rope tight and broke off Lā’s sunbeam legs, one by one.

Lā cried for mercy, before all of his legs were broken off. Maui had subdued the sun god, Lā. Maui released Lā after forcing him to promise to go across the sky more slowly.

The Artisan represents careful planning and skillful work. Maui could have focused on his mother’s labor and tried to make her work faster. Instead, he looked for the root cause of the problem. He chose the more effective and difficult task of slowing the sun.

The Artisan looks at the whole system of interconnected parts when deciding how to do things. She consults the akua and recognizes the many kino lau. She recognizes all of the people, and investigates how each person will be affected. She recognizes all of the living organisms, and investigates how they will be affected. She recognizes the ‘āina, and investigates how the form and function of the land can be worked with.

The Artisan chooses systems over plans. Plans deliver results once. Systems are a process that consistently delivers repeatable results. She knows that nothing lasts forever; a maintenance plan is as important as a construction plan. Whatever we make, must be maintained, and made again.

The Hawaiian proverb, “Set in order at Waineki are the houses of Limaloa,” describes the process of planning. Limaloa is the god of mirages. His perfectly ordered village appears in the shimmering mirages on the hot dry plains of the west side of Kaua‘i. The buildings of Limaloa’s village are always as perfect as the observer’s imagination. But, Limaloa’s village will always eventually disappear. The village of one’s imagination needs be built to be useful.

The Artisan makes a balance between thinking and doing. Too much thinking without implementation will lead to delusion, and living in a fantasy world. Too much habitual working without imagination will lead to stubbornness and a lack of innovation. Like the balance between day and night, the Artisan sets her mind free to shine and wander and spends equal time to focus on action and evaluating experience.