Electoral College

Preparing For the Storm – Day 764

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Christmas Lights Before the Big Storm – Photo: L. Weikel

Preparing For the Storm

Well, no one can look at the major stories in today’s news cycle and not have the question at least cross their minds, “Huh. I wonder if it was in the stars?” Eclipse? What eclipse? Meanwhile, my neck of the woods, the mid-Atlantic and Northeast region of the United States, is preparing for ‘the’ storm that just might cap off 2020 in the manner in which we’re accustomed to being treated by this year-of-all-years: brutally.

Today was a huge day of enormous contrasts lurching from one spectrum to the other. Not least of these being the United States breaching the appalling record of 300,000 Covid-19 related deaths while on the same day rolling out and beginning administration of a vaccine for that same disease astonishingly ahead of predictions.

And of course we can’t forget the seemingly never-ending saga of the 2020 presidential election. Apparently if we didn’t have the good fortune of a solid civics course growing up, we’re being given a crash tutorial in it over the past six weeks. Sadly, I don’t think the obscure challenges and desperate last-minute attempts to thwart the will of the people will end with today’s formal Electoral College certification, either.

While we were treated to watching the broadcast of arcane but somehow reassuring legislative protocols being enacted by electors across the nation, we were simultaneously reminded that more than one of our states required said electors to be either swept into chambers via secret passages or forced to meet non-locally due to credible threats of violence against them for doing their jobs.

Yep. Must be something in the stars.

Need a Distraction

Beyond the somewhat dramatic events of the outside world, my family has experienced some of its own drama. While I’m not one to share the details of others’ traumas, suffice it to say, the day was marked by two falls and one emergency surgery. Stressful to be sure; but by all appearances, at least two out of three of these events could lead to some essential and long-awaited opportunity for change.

Not a walk in the park, though. And definitely revelatory of some long-suspected obfuscation. How eclipse-like (wink).

All of which leads me to an overwhelming desire for some distraction. In light of the winter storm bearing down upon us (over a foot of snow, perchance?), I’ve decided to revisit my culinary quest down the memory hole to Christmases past that I indulged in last year. Yes, I’m going to bake some kiffels. And this year I’m going to do it before Christmas actually arrives!

To the Grocery Store

Thus I am heading out tomorrow to gather the supplies I will need to recreate one of the best memories of Christmas from my childhood: Hungarian kiffels. I’m hoping that this year I’ll be able to dive right into turning out some decent confections. Last year entailed a significant amount of both trial and error as well as seemingly divine (if niece-conveyed) intervention.

This Christmas promises to have its ups and down, its challenges, and hopefully some unexpected moments of brilliance and love.

I want to savor as much goodness as possible. As I’ve said a couple of times in the past several days, 2020 and its after-effects aren’t over yet, and the next six weeks are probably going to be even more intense than we think we can handle.

But we can. And we will. And Goddess willing, as we weather the snowstorm barreling our way this week, we’ll at least have some kiffels to see us through.

More Christmas Lights Before the ‘Big Storm’ – Photo: L. Weikel

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Race to the End – Day 749

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Nearly Full – 28 Nov 2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

Race to the End

Here we are, approaching the eve of the final month of this seemingly relentless year. In an undeniable display of the paradoxical nature of time and our perception of it, few would disagree that this has been one of the longest years in recorded history. And yet in some ways, it feels like we’re in a race to the end.

Is the election really over? Has that major quadrennial event in our country’s life cycle taken place? When did that happen? Did I miss it? I feel like was aware of it, yet it also feels like it has yet to take place – it will, but in the future. Not because of some sad in ability of some people to face the truth of the election but because the election that did take place feels like it happened about three years ago or so.

Thinking back to January of 2020 feels like a snapshot into, oh, I don’t know…2017? And here we are, one more interminable month to go.

Every day enough happens in the news to merit a month’s worth of back stories and investigative reporting.

The worst part is that, deep down, most of us – if we’ve been paying attention – know that all of December and the first 20 days of January hold the potential for some seriously calculated mayhem. What could possibly add to the maelstrom of self-inflicted harm at the highest levels of our government?

How ‘bout Those Eclipses?

The moon, our closest and most intimate luminary, reaches her fullness at 4:30 a.m. Monday morning. Thus, some of you earliest of risers (or those of you who stay up even later than I do!) may find yourselves not only witnessing the fullest expression of the moon but also looking at the darkest phase of the penumbral lunar eclipse occurring at that very same time.

Because it’s a penumbral eclipse and not a total eclipse (an easy scientific explanation is here), the moon will not appear that deep, blood red color of a full-on total eclipse. It will, however, appear darker. (The moon will enter the penumbra – shadow – of the Earth at 2:29 a.m. ET and finally exit that shadow at 6:56 a.m. ET. The moment when the moon is in the greatest amount of the Earth’s shadow (and will thus appear darkest) at 4:42 a.m. ET.

So if you’re an early morning riser – willingly or unwillingly – you might as well check out the astronomical phenomenon that’s ‘kicking off’ the final eclipse season of our most beloved year of 2020. This lunar eclipse occurs in the sign of Gemini (because the moon, being full, is opposite the sun, which is in the sign of Sagittarius).

And as I’ve mentioned before, eclipses happen in pairs. So the fact that tomorrow morning’s eclipse is a lunar one means that two weeks from now (on December 14th, as a matter of fact) we will experience a total solar eclipse.

Is it me, or do you think this celestial phenomenon may have an impact on the final casting of electoral votes that’s supposed to take place on December 14th?

Time will tell, I guess.

In the meantime, here is one astrologer’s, Chani Nicholas’s, discussion of the next two weeks’ worth of planetary aspects and how we might interpret them in our lives.

We Can Do This

The long and short of this post is that we’re not out of the woods yet. This year still has some tricks up its sleeve and these final four weeks hold some seriously profound influences that would challenge us in the best of times.

I dare say, these are not the best of times.

But knowledge is power. And solidarity is too. The more we can pay attention and try to understand what’s going on (not only in the minutiae of the workings of our government – for those of us here in the States – but also the much greater, more comprehensive view of the evolution of our country, our species, and our planet), the better able we’ll be to navigate whatever we’re asked to adapt to as we encounter unforeseen and possibly totally unexpected circumstances.

It’s a lot. But we were born for these times. A huge key is sticking together. Communicating. Sharing our fears (so they are halved), but even more importantly, sharing our vision, our hope, and our compassion. We have each other’s backs.

We can do this.

Photo: L. Weikel

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Pennsylvania Delivers – Day 725

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Photo: L. Weikel

Pennsylvania Delivers

I’m sitting here on the couch, alternately falling asleep from sheer nervous exhaustion, then suddenly waking to hear yet another update on the count of the votes across the country. It would appear (from MSNBC’s uber-number-cruncher Steve Kornacki) that between the time I post this and when I wake up tomorrow morning, there’s an extremely high probability that Pennsylvania delivers the presidency to Joe Biden.

I have to say, the prospect of this is particularly sweet given DT’s sneering disparagement of Pennsylvania in general, and Philadelphia in particular.

There’s his stunningly tone deaf admission-against-interest statement when he campaigned in Erie (was that only last week?) basically admitting that he wouldn’t have been back visiting Erie if he hadn’t felt desperate.

And of course, his recent infamous statement, “Bad things happen in Philadelphia.” Hmm. I’m thinking there just might be some poetic justice coming DT’s way, courtesy of Pennsylvania.

Big Question

The question I’m facing now is whether or not I should try to stay awake to watch the call in real time. Yeah, I’m that confident. Why? Because it’s all down to the mail-in ballots. And the mail-in ballots have been yielding vastly greater numbers of votes for Biden uniformly, throughout the state. (Why? Because most people who believe in science and the contagiousness of Covid-19 and decided to be smart and vote by mail are Democrats. They also didn’t believe DT’s scare tactics about mail-in voting.)

It’s almost as if he shot himself in the foot by making all the bogus claims about mail-in voting. His scare tactics caused the vast majority of his supporters to vote in person, which then gave him a false sense of superiority and confidence on the evening of the election.

The results of the election have been blurred by the obfuscations of the current occupant of the White House. But tonight, and tomorrow, my sense is that everything is going to become crystal clear to all of us, including him.

But, as always, we must count every vote.

Photo: L. Weikel

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