It’s Wild Outside – ND #90

Posted on March 8, 2022March 8, 2022 by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment

Foreboding – Photo: L. Weikel

It’s Wild Outside

Wow, it’s wild outside. The wind is whooshing, whipping, sighing, and occasionally pelting rain down upon us. It doesn’t take a meteorological degree to know that the temperature outside is plummeting and we’ll be back to taking walks with neck gators and mittens augmenting our winter jackets.

Yeah – this is March weather. Wild and wooly. Unpredictable. Possibly a little scary with the way it can turn on a dime.

I knew I should’ve tried harder to take a photo of Pacha and Brutus this morning. They were absolute maniacs, reveling in their newfound freedom, tearing around the yard tackling each other, spinning, whirling, rolling, and occasionally flipping end over end (ass over tea cups?) (or is it ass over teakettle?). Not only were they exuberant over the mild temperatures, they also seemed completely buzzed by the rising winds and the cacophony of sensual overload they brought. It was as if the pups were experiencing the unsettling effects of our version of the Santa Ana winds.

Everywhere You Look

It seems like everywhere we look we can find evidence of behavior that could fall into the ‘Santa Ana’ category – that defies belief. I guarantee that on any given day you can find at least a dozen stories of people saying or doing things that just make you say, “What the hell are they thinking?” And in some cases, “Who do they think they are?”

Of course, it’s one thing to be dealing with two seven month old puppies hell-bent on tackling each other and ripping their chew toy away from each other. It’s quite another to be dealing with a national leader who cynically keeps his people propagandized and weak, lies with impunity, and deliberately thumbs his nose at all civilized rules of engagement, creating a culture of abject terror.

I find Putin’s nuclear posturing and veiled threats the worst kind of despicable. There’s no negotiating with a person like this. He’s incrementally taking more and more and more, without fear that he’ll be stopped, all because he the rest of the world now looks upon him as having been touched by the Santa Anas.

“Will he?” “Won’t he?” “He wouldn’t dare.” “Oh my God, he went there.”

He will use any excuse to ‘go there.’ He’s at the point where no good can come of this war; there can be no saving of face. He will decide he’s been dissed by us (and by that I also mean NATO) when he feels like it. While we dither and choose not to take advantage of the 40 mile long convoy being stuck in the muck because we refuse to breach a ‘no-fly zone,’ he will spontaneously decide to deem some random effort of support to Ukraine an equally egregious breach. And then do what he wants.

In the meantime, how many people will be permanently uprooted from their homes, from their families? How many cities, bridges, airports completely destroyed?

Where’s the Line? Photo: L. Weikel

Taking a Stand

It isn’t as if good faith negotiations are taking place. This entire fiasco is built on pretext and lies. Supposed cease-fires and evacuation routes are a mirage and enable the invaders to perpetrate even worse crimes against civilians (like leaving IEDs that look like children’s toys).

We can’t be afraid of someone who would order such atrocities. We can’t insist on playing by the technical rules when he refuses to play by them as well. What point is there for rules of engagement when only one side honors them?

My gut tells me he will wreak death and destruction for as long as he can and then decide on a whim, on a pretext, that the West has stepped over the line – a line he arbitrarily chooses. And then he’ll do what everyone is tiptoeing around right now. Why? Because he totally doesn’t give a shit. Not about his people, not about the Earth.

And there’s nothing we can do to change that reality. I hope we don’t sacrifice Ukraine to the “surely he won’t do that” crowd.

(T+90)

Exposure of an Illusion – ND #82

Posted on February 28, 2022February 28, 2022 by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment

VI – Crossroads – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

Exposure of an Illusion

Let’s face it. We have witnessed an unprecedented exposure of an illusion this weekend. Without a doubt, ‘conventional wisdom’ was tolling the death knell for Ukraine when it became clear last week that Putin was actually going to mobilize the nearly 200,000 troops he’d amassed along Ukraine’s eastern and northern border. No one believed Ukraine could stave off the Great Bear.

Yet the manner in which Putin’s attempt to run roughshod over Ukraine is imploding has the world agog. Indeed, the sheer refusal of the Ukrainians to yield has rallied and united almost the entire world against the bully Putin. Ukrainians are the model of a people willing to ferociously fight with every fiber of their being for everything they find precious: their freedom, their families, and the principle of democracy. The manner in which Ukrainians are fiercely protecting themselves and each other is probably how all of us – all over the world – would like to imagine we would personally act if faced with similar dire circumstances.

Given our mythology, I’d guess we Americans are especially prone to thinking we’d be as brave and resilient (and defiant) as the Ukrainians. Whether we would or we wouldn’t may yet be determined – sooner than we think.

Starting the Week

The unified slap down on Russia (I should say Putin – I don’t think anyone wants the majority of Russian people to suffer) by so many major nations is going to have a huge effect on the Russian economy, almost certainly by the time you’re reading this. As I write this, the value of the ruble has already plummeted. Knowing this, and sensing that this week could be like no other we’ve experienced (possibly ever), I sat with my Tarot of the Crone deck and asked what we need to know.

VI – Crossroads – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

VI – Crossroads

“If you think you can go back now

Think again

The choice must be made

No one can help you All you know cannot help you

You cannot know the future But you must know your heart And choose to follow

Faces cloaked in shadow, triple Hekate stands at a crossroads on a moonless night. The brown paths indicate you have come to a time when making a decision affects your bodily existence, your life in the flesh, what you will do with your days and nights on this planet. The great hill behind Hekate says you don’t always get to choose the ways your life will turn. You don’t always get to see ahead. But when life does turn, make the best of it. Every face of hers is dark. She is not there to show you the way, she is there to challenge your path, to tell you to choose your course like your life depended on it. Her red cloaks and the living earth of the hill behind her, tell you the knowledge of the way lies in the quiet of your mind, the strength of your heart and the deep wisdom of your body. Listen. Each aspect is telling you, in it own way, how to live a life that includes their power.”

Underneath the Crossroads

Seven of Wands – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

Seven of Wands – Risk

“To go further, to be more

I will light the match I will fan the flames I will dance with danger

Let Power lead

A cloaked figure stands with arms outspread amidst flames and lines of raw power. She plays with fire, as well as opening herself to let power play with her. She is willing to embrace danger in the hope of further achievement, knowing that sometimes you have to take chances. Trust your experience gained thus far; you know when something has potential. It’s time to take a real risk, but not a blind one. You know you can’t stay comfortable where you are. There’s more you want. So let the discomfort goad you into a creating a more powerful future and investing in a proposition. Go stand out on that limb.”

My Take

World-wide, we’re going to have a week unlike any in a very long time. The risks inherent in doing what’s right may feel daunting. May we choose wisely, with our hearts and minds balanced and unfettered by fear. And may we all find and embrace our inner Ukrainian ferocity.

And seriously: you cannot make this stuff up. These cards could not feel more potently accurate and sobering.

(T+82)

Invasion – ND #79

Posted on February 25, 2022 by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment

Weird clouds this morning – Photo: L. Weikel

Invasion

I’m having a hard time thinking about much of anything besides Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. I realize this is in all of our faces (and rightly so), and it’s probably the last thing you want to think about when you wake up in the morning. But I’m having a hard time separating Ukrainians’ experiences from how I imagine we might respond in similar circumstances.

Of course, it’s hard to imagine precisely similar circumstances, since our geography protects us in many ways and renders our shared borders quite dissimilar from Ukraine’s. It would be much harder to surround us with troops the way Putin has surrounded Ukraine.

Nevertheless, what I find myself resonating in solidarity with are the everyday people who are willing to stand up and fight for their country. They are willing to literally defend their democracy with their lives.

On a visceral level, this feels eerily akin to how we’re told the first Americans reacted and behaved when the British arrived on our shores in order to dissuade us from following through on our Declaration of Independence. There’s a fascinating coincidence playing out in this regard, having to do with the United States’ ‘Pluto return.’ Perhaps I’ll write about that soon.

Mal-intentions

In the meantime, Putin’s mal-intentions are pretty clearly evident to anyone who cares to see through and beyond the fog of disinformation his propaganda machines belch out non-stop.

Luckily, it looks like many (hopefully most) Russians are not fooled by Putin’s efforts to gin up a war for his own self-aggrandizing purposes. They are resisting his oppressive threats (and actual efforts) to squelch the truth of their disapproval by arresting protesters gathering by the thousands in something like 54 Russian cities. It’s probably too early to tell, but it feels like more people remain cognizant of how World War II played out than Putin thought.

As a coda to the malevolent intentions of the head of Russia is this clip. It shows what purport to be cremation machines following behind the lines of Russian troops. It is suggested that this is to substantially reduce the number of body bags coming home Mother Russia, thereby circumventing the wrath of Russian mothers when they discover their children are dying for Putin’s ego-aggrandizement. Talk about a cynical propaganda effort.

Underestimation

I have a feeling Putin is underestimating the will of his people (and their willingness to have war declared and perpetrated in their name). But even worse for Putin is his underestimation of the will of the Ukrainian people. They know democracy. They’ve lived it. They’re not going back, and they’re sure as hell not going to roll over and allow Putin to snatch it from them, their children, and their future. Zelensky gave a rallying cry for defense of their nation to Ukrainians shortly before the invasion began.

He then turned his attention to the Russian people themselves.

Indeed, if you didn’t get a chance to listen to the speech Zelensky gave to the Russian people – in Russian – here is a link to the transcript of it. In my opinion, it was a brilliant and powerful move to attempt to reach the Russian people directly. (It’s unknown how many Russians managed to hear it, given their propagandized state-run television). Sadly, a mere three hours after giving this speech, Putin’s* attack began.

If you want to provide tangible help to the Ukrainians, here’s an article by Timothy Snyder (the professor and author of On Tyranny**, among other extremely salient books) outlining specific places where your donations can make the biggest difference.