ari_ormstunga

I'm quite pleased that today is election day, and I hope for the good of the country that a decisive victory is had by whoever the people of America lawfully choose.

This election cycle didn't really rev me up or interest me much, beyond a few moments here and there. Neither side seemed very interested in the sole issue that motivated me, Covid-era tyranny and the attempted vaccination mandates handed down by the criminal Biden regime. That said, I of course didn't vote for the representative of that regime.

I checked out of the election hype fairly early and spent my time and energy on things mostly unrelated to politics. Although I tracked various astrological transits as a form of divination (with decidedly mixed results), I mostly worked on other medium scale personal projects. I found it far more pleasant than being triggered by "hot button" issues I don't care much about. I've seen a lot of people of both political stripes pushed to psychological extremes this year, and frankly it doesn't seem to be doing any of them much good.

Well! There are my election day musings for posterity. What a long and strange four years it's been.

Overview:

I think the "Biden administration" will be in a bit of a bubble as scandals and financial troubles rock the country, and there is a real possibility of covert military operations overseas this month, likely in the Middle East. The Democrat party risks internal fracture, but the Republicans seem unlikely to capitalize much on the opposition's struggles. There are a lot of difficult placements but not a lot of aspects between the major planets. The lunation is opposite Saturn and there is a concerning, exact square between Mars and Neptune, both of which I'll try to delve into below.

The first house of the country as its inhabitants as a whole has Taurus on the cusp and is ruled by Venus.

Venus's condition: In her rulership in Libra, but somewhat weakened by placement in the cadent sixth house of public health. She makes no aspects to any other planets and Libra is intercepted in this chart.

First House predictions: I am cautiously associating Kamala Harris with Venus in this chart (even the recent attempts to brand her as 'joyous' fit with a Venusian archetype). Venus in the first is beneficial for women and generally promotes peace and prosperity. Uranus, however, is present in this house as well, and is very powerful and baleful in this chart, as he is in his fall in Taurus and square to Mercury in the fifth house. This predicts sudden misfortunes upon the Executive branch, discontent, rebellion, and crimes. As the square aspect is with Mercury, some sort of unsavory information about Biden or Kamala Harris may make it into the national press.

The second house of national wealth, trade, and the stock market has Gemini on the cusp and is ruled by Mercury.

Mercury's Condition: Mercury is in Leo in this chart, and is just now going direct after his retrograde period last month. Mercury is in mutual reception with the Sun, as he is in Leo and the Sun is in Virgo, the sign of Mercury's rulership and exaltation. That gives him the force of being in his exaltation, but he is seriously hindered by a square with malefic Uranus in Taurus. His placement in the succedent fifth house doesn't affect his strength in this chart.

Second House predictions: There are two planets in this house, Mars and Jupiter. Mars in second indicates high military expenses and discontent over national extravagance. Mars is exactly square to Neptune, which can portend secret crimes of a financial nature coming to light. Jupiter in the second is always somewhat good for the economy, but as he is square to Saturn, there will likely be losses to stocks and possibly another bank failure.

The third house of communication, publishing, and the internet has Cancer on the cusp and is ruled by the Moon.

The Moon's Condition: She is conjunct the Sun of course, as this is a New moon chart. Placed in Virgo in the succedent fifth house, the Moon's only other aspect is an opposition with malefic Saturn in Pisces.

Third House Predictions: The media may very well unearth some sort of scandal related to the Senate or other cultural elite figures this month; other indicators in the chart suggest a significant financial scandal may come to light.

The fourth house of land, agriculture, mines, the common people, and the party out of power has Cancer on the cusp and is ruled by the Moon.

As the Moon also rules the third house, her condition is detailed above.

Fourth house predictions: The Moon rules this house. As she is afflicted by Saturn, agriculture and resource extraction industries may suffer setbacks and difficulties. The Republicans, as the party out of power, may have as much difficulty with the New Moon's opposition to Saturn as the Democrats.

The fifth house of theater, amusements, popular sports, and the Senate has Leo on the cusp and is ruled by the Sun.

The Sun's condition: The Sun is conjunct the Moon in Virgo in the succedent fifth house. The Sun and Mercury are in mutual reception as detailed above, giving the Sun the strength of being in the sign of his rulership. The Sun shares the Moon's opposition to malefic Saturn in Pisces.

Fifth house Predictions: As the New Moon occurs in this house, expect a focus on fifth house affairs this month. The Sun in the fifth house can be good for the upper classes of society, but the Sun is afflicted by the opposition with Saturn, which can indicate tensions in, and unpopularity of, the ruling party, and a possible death in high places. The Moon in the fifth afflicted by Saturn portends trouble with schools, crimes relating to women and children, and ill-will between the upper and lower classes of society. There may be a growing rift between factions within the ruling Democrat party as the election draws closer.

Mercury, the planet of mass communication and transit, is in this house, and has the strength of being in his rulership due to mutual reception with the Sun. He is afflicted by a square with malefic Uranus, however, which can indicate strikes and unexpected troubles in fifth house affairs. His presence here, and the mutual reception with the Sun, seems to indicate that the "Biden Administration", such as it is at this point, will continue to be propped up by the media/propaganda complex, although there will almost certainly be some sort of shake-up this month.

The sixth house of public health, the armed forces, and the workforce of the country has Virgo on the cusp and is ruled by Mercury.

Mercury's condition is detailed above.

Sixth house predictions: Mercury rules the sixth house in this chart; his condition is mixed due to his square with Uranus in the first. Venus is present in the house, which is positive for the working classes, armed forces, and general health of the nation.

The seventh house of foreign affairs has Scorpio on the cusp and is ruled by Mars.

Mars's Condition: Mars in this chart is in Gemini in the succedent second house. He is almost exactly square to malefic Neptune in Pisces. This is a fairly serious handicap.

Seventh house predictions: Mars ruling the seventh house suggests warlike activity overseas; as Scorpio is his nighttime home, this could be covert military action of some sort. Since the chart indicates serious tensions in the Democrat party, and as there is a split between pro and anti-Israel factions in the party, some sort of controversial actions may occur in the Middle East this month. As Mars is square Neptune, this may involve naval activity; there was of course a huge buildup of naval forces in the Middle East last month.

The eighth house of public mortality and foreign money has Sagittarius on the cusp and is ruled by Jupiter.

Jupiter's Condition: Jupiter is in his detriment in Gemini in the succedent second house. He is square to malefic Saturn in Pisces, leaving him fairly afflicted and without much strength in this chart.

Eighth house predictions: There may very well be roadblocks to providing foreign aid due to Jupiter's square to Saturn.

The ninth house of shipping, religion, and the courts has Capricorn on the cusp and is ruled by Saturn.

Saturn's Condition: Saturn is retrograde and in his detriment in Pisces in the succedent eleventh house. He is opposed to the Sun and Moon and is square to Jupiter, both of which give him some strength, leaving him with mixed dignity.

Ninth house predictions: The conservative Supreme Court, or a higher court generally, will likely hand down a ruling that is detrimental to the ruling class in general this month. I'd also expect more problems with shipping (this could be related to the Naval military action predicted above).

The tenth house of the Executive branch has Capricorn on the cusp and is ruled by Saturn.

Saturn's Condition is listed above.

Tenth house predictions: Ruled by Saturn, the Executive Branch is likely to be fairly somber and restrictive, with prominent officials keeping a low profile and striking a more conservative tone this month. Although Pluto's impact in mundane charts is an item of debate amongst some prominent astrologers, I'll note that retrograde Pluto is present in this house. Natal and mundane astrology are two different beasts, but in various death charts I've examined Pluto does seem to be an indicator of possible death.

The eleventh house of the House of Representatives has Aquarius on the cusp and is ruled by Uranus.

Uranus's condition: Uranus is in his fall in Taurus in the angular first house, making him a powerful malefic force in this chart. He is square Mercury in Leo and benefits from a trine with Neptune.

Eleventh house predictions: Malefic Saturn is present in this house, and it is ruled by a very ugly Uranus. Expect the legislature to be unpopular with the masses and a great deal of popular discontent.

The twelfth house of national institutions has Pisces on the cusp and is ruled by Neptune.

Neptune's condition: Neptune is in his rulership in Pisces, but is retrograde and weakened by his placement in the cadent twelfth house. He is afflicted by a square with Mars, but given support by a trine with Uranus.

Twelfth House predictions: Neptune in the twelfth portends scandals in national institutions, secret and mysterious crimes, and charges of treachery or spying. As Neptune is square to Mars in the second house, a major financial scandal involving national institutions may come to light, drawing a great deal of popular ire.

Whew! Doing these charts makes my brain hurt, but I suppose the best way to learn astrology is to cast a lot of charts and put them out there, so here it is.

Man, to think I read the astrology for this New Moon as being positive for the economy and tech stocks!

The be clear, I know the economy has been in the dumpster for most of the country for years, if not decades. It's just amusing how utterly wrong my prediction was. Maybe all that activity in the 8th (house of death... and foreign money) was pointing at Japan. No idea why exalted Mercury ruling the second house would be an indicator of a stock market crash. Maybe it will spike back up by the end of the month...

I'm not really too bothered, since I don't have stocks... just maybe some egg on my face. We'll see!

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I'm trying to get back in the habit of delineating charts for New Moons. This month's chart has some interesting aspects that portend some serious, although not entirely unexpected, events in the country. If you aren't amazingly interested in the breakdown of the astrological chart, I have a brief summary and some tentative predictions at the bottom of the post

The first house of the country as its inhabitants as a whole has Leo on the cusp and is ruled by the Sun. The Sun in this chart is in Leo, his sign of rulership, but he's weakened in the 12th house of institutions (and secret enemies).

Mercury is in the first house. He's in Virgo, the sign of his exaltation and rulership, so he's quite strong. This benefits trade, education, and the national media, although he's preparing to begin retrograde motion soon.

Venus is also present in the first house, which portends peace and prosperity and good times for the ladies. She is, however, square to Uranus, the planet of sudden jolts and surprises. Since this is a mundane chart, I'm curious if Venus here may represent Kamala Harris's rise to Democratic presidential nominee. Some Mundane astrologers have speculated that a female head of state may be represented by Venus (typically the head of state is represented by the Sun, which is nominally Joe Biden).

The second house of national wealth, trade, and the stock market has Virgo on the cusp and is ruled by Mercury. Mercury is in the first house but rules the second. He's in good shape here, so I'd expect the stock market to do fairly well, and for companies associated with communications, the internet, and other mercurial pursuits to benefit.

The third house of communication, publishing, and the internet has Libra on the cusp and is ruled by Venus. Venus is in decent shape in the angular first house, and if Venus in some sense represents Kamala Harris, I'd expect the media to continue swooning over her; with Mercury in the first house in good shape, I'd expect these efforts to be successful.

The fourth house of land, agriculture, mines, the common people, and the party out of power has Scorpio on the cusp and is ruled by Mars. Mars is in Gemini and is strong due to his placement in the 10th house. He's sextile both the Sun and Moon, which also gives him some additional support. I'm expecting the Republicans and rural areas of the country to have an angry, bellicose vibe during the duration of this chart.

The fifth house of theater, amusements, popular sports, and the Senate has Sagittarius on the cusp and is ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter is in Gemini in the tenth house but is afflicted due to a square aspect with Saturn in Pisces. He's given some strength by sextiles to the Sun and Moon. The Senate may have some difficulties getting things done and the entertainment industry is unlikely to shake its slump, but the Greater Benefic is still the Greater Benefic, so there will probably be some good news here.

The sixth house of public health, the armed forces, and the workforce of the country has Capricorn on the cusp and is ruled by Saturn. Saturn is in Pisces and is retrograde, and is also square to Jupiter, and is in poor shape. Public health may be poor this month, and the armed forces are unlikely to shake their recruiting slump.

The seventh house of foreign affairs has Aquarius on the cusp and is ruled by Uranus. Uranus is in Taurus, the sign of his fall, but he's strong due to his placement in the angular 10th house. I'd expect some negative events in foreign countries to affect the country, possibly something unexpected and shocking. Other indicators in the chart point to some kind of flashpoint that will cause a military reaction of intervention; I'd expect this to occur in the Middle East.

The eighth house of public mortality and foreign money has Pisces on the cusp and is ruled by Neptune. Neptune is here in Pisces, the sign of his rulership. Neptune in the eighth house of foreign money and death can be an indicator of deaths from poisoning or obscure causes, overdoses, and can also indicate a public funeral. As the planet of foggy confusion and obscure deeds and crimes, foreign aid or money from foreign sources could be illegally used in ways that are hidden from the public this month as well (now tell you something surprising, right?).

Also present here in the eighth house is the Greater Malefic, Saturn, who portends the death of aged folks and possibly of a state official or functionary.

The ninth house of shipping, religion, and the courts has Aries on the cusp and is ruled by Mars. I detailed Mars' condition earlier; he's pretty strong and as the planet of war and conflict, I expect the judiciary to make some controversial decisions, shipping to face disruptions, and for there to be a lot of anger and controversy in the religious sphere.

The tenth house of the Executive branch has Taurus on the cusp and is ruled by Venus. Venus's rulership of the 10th house strikes me as interesting in the context of Venus as representing Kamala Harris, as I speculated earlier. This house also has a stellium of three planets in it; Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus are all present here.

Mars in the tenth house foretells movement of military forces (which I think is especially relevant due to Mars ruling the ninth house of shipping). Jupiter in the tenth house tends to be positive for the executive branch, although Jupiter is afflicted by his square to Saturn (which, again, is in the eighth house of death) in this chart. Uranus, the planet of shocks and sudden changes, is also here in the tenth. There are a lot of indicators in this chart that Joe Biden might perish or otherwise leave office this month (more on this below).

The eleventh house of the House of Representatives has Gemini on the cusp and is ruled by Mercury. Mercury is in pretty good shape in this chart, and I'd expect the House to do a lot of pretty speechmaking and smooth talking if nothing else.

The twelfth house of national institutions has Cancer on the cusp and is ruled by the Moon. The Moon is in okay shape here, conjunct the Sun of course and given support by sextiles with Mars and Jupiter.

The Sun and Moon are making their conjunction in Leo here in the twelfth house. As mentioned earlier, the Sun (President Joe Biden) is weak here, and as the New Moon takes place in this house, that weakness may the focus of a lot of national attention. The twelfth house is also the house of hidden enemies, which is going to lead to my construction of an astrological conspiracy hypothesis below.

Predictions and Conclusions:

This chart has a great deal of activity in the tenth house. Take this with a grain of salt, hypothetical reader, but there are a fair number of indicators that Joe Biden might resign or die this month. Should he resign, it may very well be due to secret enemies (the conjunction in the 12th house); rumors are swirling that his own party has the knives out for him. If he was to perish, (to which both Neptune and Saturn in the 8th could be pointing), I'd hope that whoever did the autopsy would thoroughly check for poisons or other subtle means of assassination.

The tenth house is the house of the executive branch, as mentioned above, and Uranus in his fall there could definitely indicate further shake-ups at the top. Square Venus, this could be Kamala's sudden rise may face some kind of unexpected challenge, or the disruption could just be her taking power officially and the political fallout of that event.

The reason I say to take all of that with a grain of salt is that the old astrology tomes seem very on the lookout for signs a ruler may die, and a number of aspects are listed as portents of it.

Whatever happens with Biden, Mars in the tenth can be a sign of war, or at least intensification of the thumping of the war drums. I'd expect naval maneuvers in response to overseas provocations, maybe even a full-fledged attack by one faction or another on the seas. Given the tensions in the Middle East and issues with shipping already occurring there, even as foggy a crystal ball as mine would probably point me at some escalation with Iran. A few sextiles between the conjunct luminaries and both Mars and Jupiter show this escalation being supported by the Executive branch.

I'm expecting a lot of focus on the Presidential campaigning, which will be quite a diverting show indeed, with a lot of support for Kamala shouted from the rooftops by the media and "chattering classes", as JMG calls them. Beneath and behind that, however, I'm expecting an uptick of deaths, especially of the elderly, due to Neptune and Saturn in the eighth house of death.

I'm going to close with an amusing anecdote (well, I thought it was mordantly funny). I was talking to my first teacher of magic about a mundane chart I'd cast when I first started learning the craft, and told him I'd predicted the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg from the chart. I was of course very excited that I'd seen that event in the stars. He looked at me indulgently and told me she'd been dead already for some time. As sort of a consolation, he said I'd done well to predict the official date her death was announced. He's a bit of a conspiracy theorist, that one.

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One of the downsides of the Substack app is (for me, at least) that it has a "notes" feature that seems to operate like Twitter (okay, X I guess) or Facebook, where people can make comments and engage and get caught up all of the garbage that led to me deleting my social media accounts in the first place. I really enjoy a lot of Substack authors and the essays published there, but I suspect the app is going to get deep-sixed from my phone pretty soon.

It has been useful to get a lot of information that is going mainstream much quicker on Substack. I've been absorbing a lot of information about the Trump assassination attempt, as politics is a bit of a hobby and this event obviously has serious implications for the country moving forward.

There is a lot of back and forth about how much incompetence or malice was displayed by the Secret Service, who certainly failed at their officially assigned duties. I can't say I haven't been caught up in a great deal of speculation as well. In all of this, I have forgotten some of the core lessons of magecraft imparted by JMG in his very insightful essay www.ecosophia.net/getting-beyond-narratives/.

Reality, as such, is fundamentally unknowable due to the fact that we process sensory information through our nervous systems and brains. We assemble our models of reality from this thin trickle of data, which is further shaped and filtered by evolutionary, cultural, and personal "filters". Mages recognize this and consciously shape the "stories" they tell about events that seemingly occur in the outer world, using narrative to shape both their own and other consciousnesses in accordance with their own objectives.

If the stories and narratives drift too far from the more concrete realities of everyday experience, mages can of course easily get caught up in their own bullshit (no matter how many times you insist that Russia can't win their war against Ukraine in spite of the military realities on the ground, for example, bullets and drones, muscle and steel will be the deciding factors there). Still, there is great power in shaping people's opinions, in that people tend to act in ways consistent with what they believe to be true.

In the case of "what really happened" on the 13th when someone tried to kill Trump, someone may know, but it isn't most of the people opining on it. In fact, as JMG states in his essay, it's the wrong question.

Doomer conspiracy theorists who insist that it was all set up by someone or-other for this or that purpose are just making "the system" look infallible and their victory inevitable. Portraying the system as being "a brittle, ungainly, jerry-rigged contraption whose managers are vainly scrambling to hold it together against a rising tide of crises", to quote the above linked piece by JMG, is a narrative frame that offers agency and hope. Is it "true?" Does it matter?

Whether politicians like it or not, the consent of the governed is a real factor that must be taken into account. "The system" is made up of individuals, which we reify into various groups and factions. Sometimes they act monolithically, other times they don't. Political power, while it is often derived from the barrel of a gun, still relies on people following the will of the political leaders, which includes the men with guns who enforce it.

People who don't believe in a system and who have stopped deriving benefit from it will stop acting in service of it. All of the power of the "elites" is based on an illusion (even great wealth and the like is an illusion; it's all just numbers in databases ruled by nerds).

The first thing a mage decides when he contemplates doing magic is his intention, which must be chosen very carefully.

I downloaded the Substack app recently in order to follow some pretty interesting folks who are part of the "New Right". I suppose that, as a dissident (pseudo) intellectual who rejects the modern Left and is a (decidedly lukewarm) Trumpist, I am a very loosely affiliated with that movement myself.

This morning, I wrote a journal entry about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. By the time I'd finished and looked at Substack, I found that everything I had to say about the event had already been said by someone else. Sure, I could have pulled an astrological chart and written about timing of the attack and the Mars and Uranus conjunction, but even that has been pretty well covered in other corners of the internet.

I heard about the incident last night while out to eat with my liberal family. My aunt drew my attention to one of the TV screens and said something like "They shot your guy." I heard her mutter under her breath that she was sorry "they" missed.

I don't fully blame her for her bloodthirsty viciousness. She has a neurodegenerative disease that has increasingly made her bitter, angry, and quick to lash out. She developed this disease suddenly in the last couple of years. It's probably a coincidence that she's been mainlining MRNA semi-regularly.

That aside, if someone took potshots at the people I consider to be my political enemies, I probably wouldn't verbalize satisfaction, but I can imagine that I'd feel it. I'm not claiming moral high ground, although I am against political violence. I can't even claim to be surprised by the assassination attempt, although I will confess to feeling a powerful indignance and a strong rebellious sentiment.

Every once in a while, we have those moments where Something Changes, and a new reality subsequently takes shape. Yesterday, Something Changed. Even if you regard electoral politics as the dumbest, worst sort of kabuki theater, a new epoch is taking shape.

Yesterday, they shot my guy.

I cast an astrological chart for the New Moon tonight and decided I'd highlight a few interesting aspects.

First, there is a stellium of planets in the 6th house of public health, the workforce, and the military. The New Moon itself occurs here, which means there will be a big national focus on this part of the chart this month. In addition to the Sun and Moon making their conjunction here, Mercury, Mars, and Pluto are all in this house. Mars and Pluto are also forming a conjunction (JMG doesn't include Pluto in his charts, other astrologers do; I'm going to go ahead and consider it in my charts).

The Sun and Moon are square to Uranus, which is a malefic aspect to an afflicted planet. It portends sudden loss and party splits. I suspect that the Democratic party's support for President Biden will start to crumble, possibly due to concerns about his health. Mercury in the 6th foretells stories in the media about public health and military.

Mars in the 6th indicates epidemics and diseases, and the conjunction with malefic Pluto (some astrologers associate Pluto with destruction and renovation through destruction) indicates bad public health, or a focus on the military. It can also signal fires, accidents, and explosions in relation to the armed forces.

I think it's interesting that, in the days leading up to the New Moon, some events that sort of set the stage tend to occur just before the conjunction. Given the recent controversy over Biden's handling of classified documents and very public allegations that he is effectively senile, I'd expect that to loom large in the public discourse this month.

The Mars/Pluto conjunction does make me wonder what else may be in store; an epidemic or some kind of sabotage involving the military seems like a possibility, as the 6th house covers both public health and the military. Mars afflicted in the 6th can indicate accidents, fires, and explosions related to the military as well; a helicopter carrying Marines out west crashed a couple days ago, leaving no survivors.

The fact that Uranus is the afflicted ruler of the 7th house of foreign affairs, and his square with the conjunct Moon and Sun, makes me wonder if there will be another bad surprise overseas that hurts American interests.

Venus in the 5th house of public entertainment makes me suspect that the ratings for the Superbowl will be quite good, and maybe that quarterback dude will publicly propose to Tay Tay after all. [Note: that "quarterback dude" is actually a tight end, thanks k.a.].

I'm talking about politics here. Reading about it, thinking about it, writing about it. I've had a writing goal since the New Year began. It's not work I'm publishing, just consistent writing in a notebook. I'm doing really well, regularly hitting my goal, or even exceeding it. But it seems like whatever I set out to write about, I end up circling back to politics.

I suspect it's because I often write on topics in response to something I see in the media, and I can't read a story on almost any topic without the author shoehorning in some kind of tribalistic phatic communication about some political opinion or another.

Maybe I'm better off just embracing it and writing about political topics, but it's not like there's a shortage of political commentators saying the same stuff, often more thoughtfully and articulately then I can manage.

Today I visited the blog of an occult writer I enjoyed when I first began my journey into the realms of ritual magic. His apt introductory book on the Qabalah actually led to me discovering the book Paths of Wisdom, and from there finding John Michael Greer's other work and online community.

I still enjoy reading his thoughts on magic and other topics, but he is a firm leftist who also writes on politics in America. I was geared up to skip his latest political diatribe, which led off with a picture of Donald Trump and Hitler side by side and ended with the grim prediction that if Donald Trump wins reelection he will be shipped off to die in a forced labor camp staffed by red hatted Neo Nazis. (His laughable escape plan is relocating to Canada, which in my opinion has already been taken over by cold blooded fascists who are delighting in racking up a body count with their assisted suicide on demand healthcare programs).

I took a deep breath and read through his diatribe to see if I could find things I agreed with amidst all of the paranoia and batshit crazy hyperbole.

First off, the man is against authoritarian government. We agree on this, although we disagree on who is more likely to govern in an authoritarian fashion at this point (the Dems demanding I get an experimental vaccine or lose my job or freedom is something I never thought I'd experience in America, and I found it more bone chillingly evil than anything Trump ever cooked up).

He's against Christian Nationalism and theocratic Christian rule. On this, we are completely simpatico. I'm super cool with a lot of Christians and I'm positively disposed to the faith, but I also know that doesn't always go both ways and there is probably a lunatic fringe that would consign me to the flames for my religion. Freedom of, or from, religion is one of the great things about America in my opinion.

He's against racism, Neo Nazis, and the KKK. Hey, me too. Granted, my antiquated views on racism are based on the way people of color are treated, as opposed to racism being some innate quality I possess because I'm white, but I'm going to say, quibbles like that aside, we agree racism is bad and there's a lot of it out there.

He spent a fair amount of time on all the gender and sex related "phobias" that are pervasive in our culture. I think that shit should be kept away from prepubescents who can't possibly understand it and that there are a whole lot of psychological dysfunctions being displayed by the more strident advocates of the Alphabet people. I also think that, when it's not being indoctrinated into kids by government employees, it's not really my business. I think he and I would probably disagree on most of this and I'm not sure how much common ground we'd be able to find. C'est la vie.

What I did note was an absolute refusal to address any of the actual issues that put Donald Trump in power in the first place. There wasn't even an acknowledgement that someone might support Donald Trump for any reason other than being a racist authoritarian homophobe. Declining standards of living, the housing crisis, the offshoring of jobs and vital industries, the degradation of health care (Obamacare didn't help and made things worse), the choking regulations that make it nearly impossible to start any kind of business, culture war broadsides that create unfair and bigoted depictions of whites that are as gross as the ways people of color were formerly depicted, cultural genocide against rural America by coastal elites, illegal immigration that contributes to a lot of the preceding issues... All of the very legitimate and clearly articulated reasons someone might vote against the uniparty regime are completely glossed over and utterly censored from mainstream public discourse, and from this man's political perspective.

It's pity. My timer went off so my daily goal is met, so peace out 'til next time I get a bug up my butt and break out my computer instead of my notebook. It will probably be something about politics.

A year has gone by since I posted my last self-assessment. I haven't been posting a lot; with the concerns of the pandemic receding a bit I've been able to catch my breath and do some in-depth studying. I've continued to write and work on a few projects that are probably too subjective and personal to garner interest if I tried to publish them. All the same, I've attempted to continue to build my skillset for the next stairstep down in the collapse of our society.

A short summary: it's not going that well.

Back in June I posted about my gardening efforts, which fell flat this year. I did grow abundant lettuce from seeds, but they were consumed by a groundhog who tunneled under my fencing. I learned a valuable lesson I guess, but it pretty well ruined my growing season. An entire section of my yard I partitioned off and tried to plant never came up. I have no idea why, so I don't even know what to try to correct next year. I have kept a few herbs in pots alive this year. I gave them names and I'm fond of them.

Gardening grade: F

I'm using my job to explore methods of leadership. I run a department with a number of subordinates. I decided to try to be the boss I always wanted. That pretty quickly led to some of my subordinates walking all over me, to the point that a number of them became actively toxic. I'm now trying to clean up the mess my indulgence and weakness created in my department. I've started to understand why so many managers are the way they are now. Did they all start off so bright eyed, bushy tailed and idealistic? I've managed before, but this is the first time I've had this level of responsibility.

I've also had a long term "stick it to the Man" complex, and now I'm the Man. I'm still wrapping my head around it. I also still have all of my built-in neurological issues, so the political maneuvering of the job is pretty draining. I prefer my books, and my spells, but I gotta make a living. I'm not sure anything I'm doing will assist in my survival, but I guess it can't hurt.

Leadership grade: C (there's lots of stuff I'm good at as a manager; I hit all my goals every day, but managing and leading are two different beasts).

Another goal I have is building community. Since my only real social life is work, I'm also using my job as a way to make connections and create interesting dialogues with people of disparate backgrounds. I work in a strange and unlikely tourist town with a pretty diverse set of people, so I've worked on building bridges with people from radically different backgrounds. I can usually find points of agreement with most people, enough to establish interesting dialogues, but there are of course a lot of taboo/ dangerous topics. I've been finding information and resources and making some potentially useful connections in my community through my efforts.

Building community grade: C. Since my efforts are all centered around my job, I have no idea if any of the connections I've made will endure when my employment inevitably ends.

Another goal I've been pursuing is learning Spanish. My grasp of the language has grown, and I can converse about simple topics. I can somewhat understand my Hispanic subordinates when they speak to each other in Spanish, which has proven useful from time to time. I'm still pursuing it casually, so my results have been proportionate to my effort.

Learning Spanish grade: C. If you dropped me off in Mexico, I'd be able to converse at a basic level, enough to navigate simple social situations at any rate.

I suppose I'd be remiss if I didn't mention occultism. I've had more results there than any other area, probably because it's my primary focus. Things have gotten... weird. I've known that magic, for lack of a better term, works, because I've used it effectively. I've known other mages and had a few adventures here and there, but for most of my training I've been a solo practitioner. I've now run into more practitioners; in places I'd have thought to be pretty unlikely. At least one is significantly more advanced than I am and is pretty bad news. When I found out I was the subject of someone's spooky action at a distance and they were getting through my magical defenses, it threw me for a loop.

Now, I know a lot of occultists will say magic attacks and the like are rare, it's usually just paranoia and blah blah blah, but I'm here to tell you that shitty practitioners are a dime a dozen and for a lot of people, magical ethics are really not a concern. I'll also say that, when you hit a certain level of awareness and someone is coming at you magically, you will know it. I've been dealing with the magical equivalent of a sex pest... if a sex pest could invade your dreams, spy on you, and hurl psychic assaults your way when they feel slighted. It's been a pretty draining episode, and I've gotten more a of look than I'd like at the gross underside of occultism.

It's been instructive and I've been forced to improve my skills and awareness, so I'm taking it as just another part of the training. It's very important to remember that not everyone lives by the same magical code. It was a lesson I "knew" but now I really understand. Hoodoo has given me some useful operative tools that I was lacking in dealing with a few thorny situations I've run into this year, though I'm hardly a master of the art.

Scuddy Neopagan PSA aside, I've continued daily practice and have begun studying the works of Giordano Bruno and other Renaissance mages. It's all been very instructive. I'm also practicing some energy healing techniques with uncertain results.

Occultism grade: B.

Overall, I dunno. I'm consciously trying some new things and strategies, but I don't know how much of a difference any of it is making. Hopefully I don't run into any catastrophes any time soon, because mostly what all of this has taught me is how woefully unprepared I am for one.

We've been spending most our lives, living in a cacomage's paradise.

I recently read through Ioan Couliano's "Eros and Magic in the Renaissance". Frankly, it was a tough read. I found myself cursing my substandard education as I looked up words I didn't understand. I also used Bing AI as a reluctant translator for some Latin phrases Couliano didn't bother to translate for those of us with no Latin. (Bing will translate but takes some prompting for some reason, at least as of this writing).

I ended up being very pleased that I made the slog through the book; the challenge of reading it made me really study and try to work out what Couliano was getting at. To be honest, John Michael Greer has covered a lot of the same territory in a more accessible, reader friendly fashion, so I don't think I'd have been at a huge disadvantage in my magical studies if I hadn't read it, but it was worthwhile.

Couliano's basic premise is that we live in modern magician states that maintain order through manipulation via advertising, public relations, market research and the like. He bolsters his case by examining magic from the Renaissance, including works by notables like Giordano Bruno and Marsilio Ficino. He makes the case that a lot of what they regarded as magic we have rebranded, modernized, and put to use as tools to sway and control the masses.

Couliano spends a lot of time discussing Giordano Bruno, burned at the stake for heresy (and still held up as a martyr by modern science despite the fact that he was deeply involved in the study and practice of magic). There are many ways to transmit images designed to sway others to your will (Bruno calls them phantasms), but one of the most important portals the mage uses is through the eyes.

In modern society, the cacomage (a term for a black magician dedicated to manipulating others against their will for sleazy purposes) has possibly the best vehicle imaginable to access people's minds and nervous systems, the Internet. They also have the most sophisticated means of determining the triggers they can use to do their manipulations in the form of Big Data. Giordano Bruno would probably salivate at the chance to use some of our modern toys to ply his craft.

It isn't exactly an uncommon notion in the occult community that AI is sort of like one of the spirits mages of old consulted to gain information, and internet could certainly be seen as a powerful grimoire and magical scrying mirror as well. Like anything, of course, they are tools that can be used in many ways. Also like most tools, they have been thoroughly explored as potential weapons and exploited by bad actors for nefarious purposes.

After I finished Eros and Magic in the Renaissance, I read Ted Anton's Eros, Magic, and the Death of Professor Coulianu (his spelling of Couliano was different for linguistic reasons that evade me). It was another very worthwhile read that shed some light on some of Couliano's insights and political activism (he was a practicing magician who evidently attempted to use Bruno's methods to influence Romanian politics; he had a fair amount of success, until he ended up dead).

I picked up a recent translation of Bruno's De Magia and I'm reading my way through it. I like Bruno (his authorial voice at least), just like I found myself liking Couliano as I read his book and Anton's book about him. I definitely saw echoes of some of their ideas at work in our society, and even some in my own work (which must have gotten there by osmosis as I unconsciously imitated things I've read and studied in the mass media). All things considered though, I'm content to leave the manipulation and soul hunting to others; the price of that power seems pretty high from where I'm sitting.

I've always been somewhat absurdly proud of my intellect. I think it's because, growing up, I didn't have a lot of positive things around which to center my self-concept. I was a quick reader, my grades were good, everyone said I was smart, so I ran with it. Doing well on various standardized tests and the like reinforced this idea and so I christened myself one of the smart people, read all the smart people publications, and aped the ideas and values of the smart people set, while still somehow convincing myself I was being an edgy and rebellious free thinker.

I kept putting a lot of weight on the idea that I was a smart person, despite the massive pile of failures I created in the way I actually lived my own life and conducted my affairs. I became an insufferable atheist/materialist, railing against religion and the Bible and faith. I know a lot of people go through this sort of thing in adolescence, but I entered a protracted adolescence that extended into my thirties. The whole thing was a massive embarrassment in retrospect.

I've written before about the tendency that's been observed in the managerial class to go through what amounts to the same process, at least as far as identifying as a smart person and really leaning into it in the face of all evidence to the contrary. I suppose some of my angry ranting was probably shadow projection stirred up by the pressures of the pandemic and lockdowns. I don't regret my writing and ranting, although looking back from a calmer and healthier place some of it feels a bit too personal and raw for publication.

One of the more valuable lessons of the swirling psyops and lies that have been foisted on us these last few years is that I have come to realize that the various appendages of the ruling class have much greater capacity to lie to me than I have ability to ascertain the truth. I have the cognitive resources of one man, busy with the responsibilities of everyday life and survival in a collapsing empire. Arrayed against me (and, ultimately, most of us) are all the apparatus of an entire system designed to ensure we are compliant and ignorant.

I suppose, put like that, it sounds paranoid, but ultimately, I'm the modern-day equivalent of a peasant or serf. What purpose could the royalty and aristocrats of this world have in telling me or my ilk the truth of what is happening in the world, or in their private circles? Obviously, an informed and engaged citizenry is not what the ruling class is hoping to create with their shoddy educational systems.

I guess this is a long way of saying that the old programing adage holds true; garbage in, garbage out. It's almost impossible to find the signal in all the noise. I feel lucky that I found some voices I trust, and of course we all have access to various non-rational sources of guidance, if we have the courage to go looking for them in our inner worlds.

Whatever "intelligence" I may or may not have, I certainly don't have much access to real information about a huge array of events, including many I have opined upon at length! I guess all one can really do is muddle through the storm of bullshit. Socrates had the wisdom to know that he knew nothing. I'm starting to catch up, thousands of years later.

I appear to have failed in my duty to conquer, subjugate, and otherwise force Nature to do my bidding. Admittedly, I didn't really TRY very hard.

I began this spring with the vague objective of cleaning up my household and property. I have been living with what I suppose one might dub a sort of down heel, white trash aesthetic. I let about half of my yard grow wild last year. This year I aimed to reduce it to about a quarter of my yard. I succeeded, so yay I guess. Frankly, the area I left untouched looks pretty unsightly. The burdocks and pokeweeds are scary huge. My land loves producing them. They don't hurt anything but sometimes, standing out back and seeing weeds as tall as small trees encroaching on "my" part of the yard, I feel a powerful urge to grab my machete and hack and slay them, and mow it all down to a neatly controlled patch of dirt and grass like it used to be.

My land also apparently enjoys producing poison ivy, which I discovered as I tried hacking a bunch of vines spreading on my trees and all over the property and apparently stuck my face in some. I spent two miserable weeks pretending like no, it doesn't really itch much, don't feel the need to scratch it at all, when I wanted to scrape my skin off with sandpaper and douse the wounds in rubbing alcohol. Sort of start fresh, you know.

I created two gardens this year. Well, I tried anyway. The plants out back never came up at all. It was really dry and I put them in a little late, so perhaps that's the reason. I also planted a lettuce garden up front. They all came up nicely. The massive groundhog who squeezed under my woefully inadequate fence is certainly enjoying them! I just spent five minutes watching him feast on my carefully watered crops. I finally scared him off, although if he had just stayed I'm not sure what I would have done. Beaned him with a shovel maybe? I'm not the violent type as a rule, but luckily he doesn't know that.

I guess the pokeweeds sort of offend my sensibilities and ideas about how one's property "ought" to be. The poison ivy is a danger to my personal comfort. The groundhog is consuming things that I have cultivated for my own use. I guess I don't mind that much. I know I could douse the lawn with chemicals to get rid of the ivy and weeds (for a time, at least). I could shoot my groundhog neighbor (I won't, but you better believe that I'm going to improve my fence). Ultimately, I know that this idea that I own this land is a fiction. A fiction I appreciate for various reasons, but it will still be here long after me and mine are gone. Why battle against the inevitable, try to enforce stasis and conformity on the earth?

Maybe all of this is just a lengthy rationalization for not doing a bunch of tedious yardwork. I'll have to meditate on all of it.

Just as soon as I get that fence fixed.

I was recently having a conversation with a few individuals and Pride month came up. We each shared our opinions, which were relatively diverse. When it was my turn to speak, I started with a number of caveats, including that I think adults should be allowed to do what they like with consenting partners, or to modify their bodies as they see fit, including surgically, and that I am at least somewhat pro-choice. Then I told them I thought Pride, and more broadly a lot of aspects of modern Liberalism, were rebranded eugenics.

I spoke about the history of eugenics, and of how it was popular before World War 2 and the atrocities of the Nazis. Sterilizing so-called undesirables like the poor, people with disabilities, mental illnesses, and homosexuals was regarded as being a positive thing by a number of the intelligentsia of the time, including Margret Sanger of Planned Parenthood fame.

Observing the pro-trans movement now, people who would have been gay or lesbian in the past are now often coming out as trans. Many of the people who are now identifying as trans are autistic. They are being encouraged by society to take treatments and essentially submit to sterilization via “gender affirming” care.

Unlimited abortion on demand and assisted suicide as it is currently being practiced in Canada are two other Liberal policies that are being embraced and championed as essential, compassionate healthcare.

All of these things are being pushed by the liberal intelligentsia of our time, and when you put aside the rationalizations for them doing what they are doing, it amounts to fulfillment of the same goals eugenicists have always had. Sterilization of "undesirables" and population control for the poor, but rebranded for our times and given a rosy spin with public relations wizardry.

“So Pride month, and modern liberalism in general, are basically eugenics with a colorful flag,” I finished.

One of the participants in the conversation nodded wisely.

“You think that’s messed up, I just saw this TikTok with a bunch of people who saw mermaids.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think mermaids are groovy and maybe the person was just trying to change the topic from my controversial hot take, but it occurred to me that anything someone says that deviates from conventional wisdom is instantly going to get lumped in with Qanon, Satanists on the Moon, and other entertaining flights of fancy.

I guess anyone who self-identifies as a magician in the 2020’s shouldn’t expect to be taken seriously by pretty much anyone.

That mermaid video was pretty neat though.

Occultism has been a thread that has run through my entire life. At times it has been very overt, other times it has been more obscure, but it has always been there, whether I was conscious of it at the time or not. I'm still sometimes surprised when it surfaces from unexpected quarters, though.

One of my siblings has had a pretty rough life and has made a lot of questionable decisions. Who hasn't, right? But she has torpedoed her life and her and her husband recently found themselves destitute and with their children removed from their home. Generally, I don't like state intervention in family affairs, but my sister was negligent and is addicted to drugs, so in my opinion removing the kids was the lesser of two evils.

My sister leans pretty heavily on our mom, who has reluctantly put her foot down and ceased giving her financial help. Mom is retired and while she certainly isn't impoverished, she worked hard all her life and is by no means wealthy, either. Sis still wheedles and whines and manipulates to extract regular tribute, though. As a mage, I've had to work hard to stay out of the situation, because the temptation to bind my sister or hotfoot her out of mom's life has been pretty strong from time to time. If it wasn't for the strict magical ethics that have been instilled in me by my training, I would have let it rip months ago. I also know that mom wouldn't want me to intervene (but I'm a mage, and one of the things we are known for is meddling, so the urge resurfaces at intervals).

My sister doesn't perform magic, as far as I know. Consciously, anyway. She converted to Christianity a few years back after having many experiences with demons and ghosts. Or so she says. I think Christianity is good for a lot of people, for the record. It's a valid path and many of the things done in its name and by its practitioners shouldn't reflect on it negatively as a path for spiritual development. My sister almost immediately became toxically holier-than-thou and became a self-proclaimed expert on all things Biblical, though.

I would say, based on my training and studies, that my sister is almost certainly a "natural witch", in the old sense of being a person who has the inherent power to curse and wield malefic powers. She has no training that I'm aware of and would surely reject the label. Hell, she'd probably curse me just for saying it. Still, if the curly toed shoe fits she can wear it as far as I'm concerned.

Having brought it up, I should probably mention that I'm not opposed witchcraft as a spiritual path, either. It seems to be a mixed bag in terms of practitioners and what they do and don't with their magical skills, with some using malefica and others avoiding it. My specific ethical prohibitions against malefic magic and the like aren't universal even amongst mages, although I've been around the block enough to know that those prohibitions exist for sound reasons. I've also had enough malefica thrown at me for petty reasons to know that lots of practitioners really get off on cursing people. To each their own; they will reap what they've sown in the fullness of time.

Anyway, Saturday evening I got a weird text from my mom. My sister had hit her up for money again. My mom was initially noncommittal. Sis then sent her a text in a foreign language. Mom laughingly asked if it was a curse, and my sister said she didn't know how to curse people. Mom ended up taking her the money she wanted and getting her and her husband ice cream; apparently no one mentioned the text until mom got a hold of me later and sent me a screenshot.

Mom knows I'm a magician, and she is a bit of a dabbler in astrology and tarot herself, so she wanted some insight into the message (she is also internet illiterate and needs help with some tasks).

The text read "Nu neglecti sa ararati ospitalia te caci, facand acest lucru, unii au primit ingrii ca opaseti far sa stie" which I initially thought may be Latin (anyone who has studied Latin will now know that I haven't, at all). Turns out it's Romanian and is a Bible verse, Hebrews 13:2. The translation is something like "Do not neglect to show hospitality because, by doing so, some have received angels as guests without knowing."

Apparently my sister's husband has Romanian roots. My mom doesn't speak or read Romanian, obviously. When I told her what the message meant, she was relieved.

I'm not.

One definition of magic is creating changes in consciousness in accordance with will. I'd say my sister intended to change mom's consciousness with her message, and not in a way that was to mom's benefit. My sister dressed up her black magic manipulations with a Bible verse, but she still intended to manipulate, confuse, and cloud mom's judgement. It's far from the first time Christian people of my acquaintance have performed what we would call malefic magic using the Bible and their faith as tools to do the work of evil.

An odd feature of my deeper initiation into the Mysteries is how the people around me have begun to embrace magic and other spiritual practices right along with me. I guess it's at least partially because it's trendy and there are a lot of spiritual seekers disaffected with mainstream religion and looking for something else, but my world has gotten more and more enchanted as I have moved forward on the Path. Sometimes that has been a pleasure and source of delight.

Sometimes it hasn't.

I've been spending some time looking into the tendencies of Western elites to change regimes in foreign countries. They seem to do this more frequently than my kids change their socks. By Western elites, I mean the United States. Technically, I'm a citizen and the government "represents" me, but I don't have any influence over the unelected aristocracy that really runs the country. I'm also fully aware that my vote doesn't mean much, although after the "election" in 2020 it probably means less than it did prior.

Yes, I am one of those awful conspiracy theorists who think the 2020 election was rigged. I couldn't say to what extent, but I have no doubt that through various means the Biden regime was installed by the same Western elites who have engineered various regime changes oh-so-frequently in the past. Trumpo upset the status quo, so Trumpo had to go. For that matter, some of the same types of people probably regime changed Kennedy back in the 60s.

The case of the rigged election deniers is hurt by admissions on the part of various elites that they, in fact, "fortified" the election (read all about it: The Secret Bipartisan Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election | Time). In rare moments, I have had liberals in my life admit that "they" probably rigged the election to get Trump out, they just think it was a good thing. I'm reminded of the apocryphal saying from the time of the Vietnam war about destroying the village to save the village.

When I was wet behind the ears, I thought that we did that kind of shit overseas but for some reason I assumed that those same agencies and organizations wouldn't do the same thing here. I also thought the evils of the government were due to one political faction, and if only they could be defeated everything would be groovy in the country ever after. Oddly I was accused of being cynical as a young man, but I now realize I was amazingly naive.

When your go-to model of handling inconvenient regimes is overthrowing them through covert operations and your loyalty is to the globalist cabal instead of the representative government that nominally employs you, someone like Trump is just another annoying obstacle to be removed and the American people are just another bunch of rubes to be fooled (and if you aren't fooled you damn well better shut up about it, ask the mostly peaceful protestors who are still rotting in jail over the "insurrection" all about that).

I was spurred to write this essay because I recently read an article about the majority of Americans now regarding the press as being the enemies of the people. Largely, it is Biden supporters who still have faith in the press and in the institutions of the country, which makes sense I guess. If you are happy with the status quo and feel like it's working out for you, why go looking for problems with it? Still, as I listen to the strident screeching about the death of our democracy, I can't help but think about psychological projection. I mean, democracy in the USA
officially died in 2020, when the democratically elected President of the United States was overthrown, just like Western elites overthrew dozens or hundreds of regimes before him. The assholes screaming about the death of democracy are the ones that killed it, or aided and abetted in the murder at least.

It's fine I suppose. To paraphrase the Puppet in Chief, what are you gonna do about it, we have planes and nukes. I'll close out with some Rage Against the Machine, whom I quote very ironically since they are a bunch of authoritarian sellout shills:

"And Orwell's Hell, a terror era coming through
But this little brother's watching you too
And Orwell's Hell, a terror era coming through
But this little brother's watching you too, watching you too"

I've had an interest in Taoism since I first read the Tao te Ching in high school (I should probably mention that reading it and understanding it are two different things, although I grasped enough to make it worthwhile to study and ponder). I was disenchanted with Christianity and was looking for other philosophies and conceptions of reality at the time, so I read materials like the Bhagavad Gita, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and various New Age tomes looking for things that resonated better with me.

When I took up the work of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose while on a hiatus from traditional Golden Dawn magic, I had to choose various methods of divination to study. This was agreeable to me because even after literal years of practice, my Tarot readings are still hit and miss. Sometimes I get the message like a bludgeon to the head, other times I miss the message entirely. I still perform a Tarot divination every day, but I was ready to try something completely different.

Enter the I Ching. I've had a manual on my shelf, untouched, for years. I grabbed a few more to round out my collection of tomes and dove in. I got a few modern takes on the topic, like the Occult I Ching by Maja D'Aoust, the Living I Ching by Deng Ming Dao, and the Magical I Ching by J.H. Brennan. I also bought a bunch of Chinese coins, but often as not I use quarters or even the I Ching online website if I'm on the go.

Unlike the Tarot, 9/10 times I get some kind of useful answer or advice out of the I Ching. The oracle is really like a supremely wise and good teacher. I'm beyond pleased that I discovered it, and some of the alternative materials on the oracle and the legends around its creator and its creation are weird and fantastical enough to appease my inner dorky magician.

If you haven't tried it and this inspires you to give it a go, I copied a list of useful questions from Brennan's Magical I Ching book; his take on the oracle is more western in orientation but I found his book valuable all the same.

Some Selected Questions for the I Ching:

How should I act in this situation?
What is my most profitable course?
How can I best deal with this problem?
Am I missing something in this situation?
What hidden aspects are there to this situation?
What are the pitfalls of this course of action?
What are the opportunities of this course of action?

I usually start with a general reading about a topic, then apply these questions, or variations on them, for more insight as seems appropriate. I've really dug deep into various questions using these methods, although as with any method of divination I've tried, sometimes I come up short in successfully interpreting the results. Asking for strategies in dealing with problems almost always yields useful results, though.

I have a fair amount of probably superstitious reservations about using the internet or technology more generally for magical purposes, but as far as I can tell the results I get with online programs and the ones I get with coins are equally useful and valid.

Fear not, I haven't been hacked by some multi-level marketing promoter. I'm not even sure that "It Works" is still an ongoing thing; one benefit to checking out of most social media is that I miss out on a lot of stuff that I'd otherwise be subjected to in one way or another.

I'm also not talking about magic or astrology, which also work. Since I write on few topics that I obsess over relentlessly, that leaves my least favorite but still strong obsession, politics.

In a lot of ways, my own personal level of political polarization has lessened a bit with the more authoritarian phase of "pandemic management" seemingly behind us, although I still have grave concerns about the draconian censorship and methods of social control being unleashed on us. I've noticed that I'm becoming more polarized on other issues, though, and that a lot of that does seem to fall along the partisan lines of the media I consume.

As I scroll through the newsfeed my computer helpfully provides, I regularly encounter material custom designed and curated to make me feel anger, disgust, and hostility toward people who have different opinions than I do. I know this, I'm aware that it is all cynically created to manipulate me, and that awareness does basically doodley-squat to stop it.

I suppose the obvious answer is to just quit consuming "news" products, which is something I struggle with because I have always thought of myself as being an informed person. I've looked for news sources with less bias, but I haven't been able to find any. Even sites that claim to have "just the facts" have become politicized and partisan, and you can determine the editorial slant fairly easily just by seeing what stories they cover and what ones they don't.

Another aspect of the problem is that some of the differences of opinion I have with my political enemies are pretty serious and are about issues important to me. I've noticed, though, that I become pulled more into identifying with the political right even on issues that I don't care about very much. I'm guessing that I'm being drawn into an egregore or groupmind, which isn't necessarily bad but also isn't something I'm doing intentionally, either.

The divide and conquer polarization slime being churned out by the cacomages of the media works quite well, even if you know damn well what they're doing. I'm trying hard to stay balanced and in my center, because I think things are really to get very ugly very soon.

One thing that has become clear is that modern politics has been shaped quite a bit by trends in television. I suspect that it is easier to see if you are more disconnected from visual mass media, especially TV shows. Aside from catching a few glimpses of shows in public now and again, I haven't watched TV regularly in about a decade. Before that, I wasn't a regular TV watcher, but my (now former) spouse was, so it was usually part of the backdrop of my life to some extent. Nowadays, my kids stream cartoons fairly regularly, but without commercials. I'm not always thrilled with it, but I'm not a tyrant and try to make reasonable concessions to my family's wishes. TV is a part of most people's lives and I think everyone has to make their own decisions about the role of this technology in their lives.

I recently watched most of Tucker Carlson's recent expose on the events of January 6th (I prefer transcripts but sometimes I do watch various news clips and the like). Obviously, Tucker was creating a counter-narrative to the narrative the January 6th committee created using cherry-picked images. The mainstream media is frothing at the mouth about this, even though it is exactly what they, and the J6 committee did to begin with!

When the reality TV phenomenon kicked off, I was exposed to various shows (I watched the first three seasons of The Real World on MTV voluntarily for reasons that now elude me, demonstrating that in some small way I have grown and developed slightly better taste in entertainment over the years). I spent some time reading about how those shows were created, and the techniques described were obviously utilized in creating the narrative around "J6".

Participants in the shows described how the editors selectively edited footage to create narratives and storylines that, while they obviously occurred, were portrayed to create drama, storylines, and characterizations that didn't really fit the reality of what was happening. With hundreds of hours of footage to play with, editors were able to force the messy events of "real life" into something that resembled a dramatic narrative. Everything that was depicted happened, but context was left out, scenes and dialogue were smashed together, and sometimes producers sort of conspired to create extra drama so they'd have some good material for their show (cough Ray Epps cough cough).

I'm sure, hypothetical reader, you can see where this is headed. When the J6 committee hired a TV producer to edit the films into a narrative and the whole thing was run by Deep State swamp creatures to attack the King in Orange and his weird cultists, I for one, got the idea that maybe this wasn't going to be an austere and reasoned attempt to establish the truth of what happened that day. Indeed, what we got was selectively edited propaganda pushed by a media that is more and more basically no different than the state-run media of any other tinpot authoritarian regime.

In the middle ground between the partisan propaganda of both Carlson and the J6 committee is the truth of what happened that day. I'm far more sympathetic to Tucker's version in this case because he has created a corrective to the lies and distortions served up by the Uniparty and their lapdog media lackeys, and he doesn't deny that the events the sham committee highlighted occurred, just that they don't show the whole story, which is obviously true.

I decided to do an Aries Ingress mundane chart today because I had some spare time and I'm trying to bone up on my astrology skills again. I’d highly recommend subscribing to JMG’s Patreon or Subscribestar for superior quality charts and better interpretations; I’m an apprentice at mundane astrology and his charts are invariably better than mine.

Once again, this chart is pretty malefic. Honestly, I haven’t seen a great chart since I’ve been practicing mundane astrology; whether that is because life on earth is always afflicted with a lot of negativity from the heavens or if it is specific to the cruddy times we live in is an interesting question!

Virgo is on the ascendent of the chart, which means this chart is valid for 6 months, until the Libra ingress. It will be modified by the Cancer ingress in June.

The first house of everyday people and the country in general has Virgo on the cusp and is ruled by Mercury. Mercury is conjunct the Sun and therefore combust, a serious debility. Mercury is in the 8^th house of death, foreign trade, corruption, and graft. I’d expect those themes to be forefront in the mass mind during this chart.

The second house of the economy, banking, and trade has Libra on the cusp and is therefore ruled by Venus. Venus is in relatively good shape in this chart, although she is in the cadent 9^th house she is in her rulership in Taurus and strengthened by a trine with Saturn, which is a positive indication for stocks.

The third house of media, communications, and transportation has Scorpio on the cusp and is ruled by Mars. Mars is given great strength by placement in the 10^th house and is trine Saturn, although is in a malefic conjunction with Neptune. I’d expect the war drums to beat steadily during this time, probably in relation to Russia or perhaps even China… or both.

The fourth house of agriculture, the rural hinterlands, and the party out of power has Sagittarius on the cusp and is ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter is in the succedent 8^th house and makes no aspects to the rest of the chart. It doesn’t seem like the fourth house will have much influence on the events of this chart.

The fifth house of the Senate, speculative markets, and the entertainment industry has Capricorn on the cusp and is ruled by malefic Saturn. Saturn is given some strength by a trine with Venus, although he is weakened by placement in the cadent 6th house. I'd expect the entertainment industry to continue contracting, the Senate to be somewhat ineffective and restrained, and speculative markets to have some success due to the trine with Venus mentioned earlier.

The sixth house of public health has Aquarius on the cusp and is ruled by Uranus. By and large, with Uranus in his fall in Taurus, any area of a chart ruled by Uranus has been a disaster. Uranus is also weakened by placement in the cadent 9^th house, although a trine with the Moon gives him some strength. Ominously, Saturn makes his appearance here in the 6^th house, which portends bad public health and disease. This could be a new coronavirus variant, a novel pandemic of some kind, or perhaps side effects from an experimental medical treatment.

The seventh house of foreign affairs, treaties, and war has Pisces on the cusp and is ruled by Neptune. As there is a stellium of three planets in this house, I’ll break it all down in bite size chunks.

Neptune is given strength by placement here in the angular 7^th house and is in his rulership in Pisces. Afflicted in the 7^th, Neptune foretells trouble abroad, scandals, and underhanded dealing. Neptune makes three important aspects in this chart.

First, Neptune is combust due to conjunction with the Sun, which is a very malefic placement. This conjunction foretells disorder, confusion, downfall, and collapse. In the seventh house of foreign affairs, this could indicate trouble for the US in its proxy war in Ukraine. The Sun represents the executive branch and specifically the President, so I’d expect Joe Biden to have a really rough six months.

Neptune is also conjunct the Moon, which indicates secret and mysterious crimes and scandals. This could be related to the recently revived lab-leak theory of Covid’s origin, or perhaps President Biden’s shady business dealings in Ukraine. Or both, who knows?

Neptune is also square Mars, which suggests secret crimes, murders, poisonings, vices coming to light, and sicknesses and epidemics abroad. I’ll elaborate on Mars' role in this chart when we get to the 10^th house of the executive branch.

Finally in the 7^th house we have the Moon, which is strengthened by placement in this angular house. This placement foretells disturbed foreign affairs, discontent in the masses, and public scandals. The Moon’s trine to Uranus strengthens the works of Congress, but she is conjunct malefic Neptune which again indicates scandals and secret/mysterious crimes. Forced to guess, I’d say the House’s investigations will be turning up some interesting information related to events in foreign countries.

The eighth house of public mortality and foreign money has Aries on the cusp and is ruled by Mars. As mentioned earlier, Mars is given strength by placement in the angular 10^th house and is operating at maximum malefic intensity due to his square with the Sun and Neptune.

Mercury is here in the 8th house, portending the deaths of writers and publishers and public discourse about death and epidemics. I am thinking the epidemic of sudden deaths will come to the forefront of the mass mind during the next six months.

Jupiter is here in the 8^th house, which is a positive indicator, but as he makes no aspects to any other planets in this chart, he may not have a lot of influence.

The ninth house of the judiciary and religion has Taurus on the cusp and is ruled by Venus. There may be court cases that benefit religion or rulings that help the country prosper in some way.

The presence of Uranus in this house, however, suggests that there could be complicated court cases and problems with shipping during this time.

The tenth house of the executive branch has Gemini on the cusp and is ruled by Mercury. Mercury is generally in poor shape, combust under the rays of the Sun. 10^th house affairs will be strained and the executive branch will be weak.

Mars is here in the 10^th, indicating warlike rumors or perhaps even outright war. It can also indicates strikes and riots. Mars is trine Saturn, which gives some strength to the army and government, and is also square Neptune, which, as mentioned earlier, indicates secret crimes, murders, and sickness or epidemics abroad. Basically, I’m expecting the shale to hit the fan for the executive branch and for Biden to have little influence over the events that unfold.

The eleventh house of the legislature and House of Representatives has Cancer on the cusp and is ruled by the Moon. The Moon is strong by placement in the angular 7^th house and is strengthened by trine with Uranus but greatly afflicted by conjunction with Neptune. While the trine with Uranus indicates strengthening of the works of congress, the conjunction with Neptune again indicates secret crimes and scandals. I’d guess some of the investigations promised by the House will bear fruit and reveal a lot of corruption.

Finally, the twelfth house of bureaucracies and institutions has Leo on the cusp and is ruled by the Sun. The Sun’s position in Aries is not considered in determining his dignity, so his conjunction with Mercury and Neptune and square with Mars determine his strength, meaning he’s horribly afflicted. Institutions can expect to be severely tested and perhaps fail during the tribulations foretold by this chart.

Conclusions:

I’m expecting huge problems with foreign policy, probably related to the Ukraine war or relations with China, which may lead to escalation in hostilities or direct conflict. Scandals related to foreign countries will rock the executive branch, with serious crimes coming to light. An epidemic of deaths will damage public health, and institutions are unlikely to be able to cope with the fallout from all of the events in this chart. Oddly enough, the economy may be stronger than one might expect through all of the turmoil.

I’m sort of hoping I botched this chart somehow; that’s been known to happen from time to time.

I have to admit, I pretty much wrote Trump off in the wake of the 2020 election. Frankly, I thought he mishandled the whole thing, J6 was a PR nightmare, and he just can't stop pimping the vaxx. He also keeps attacking people who are fighting pretty hard against the Covid BS like DeSantis (of whom I am admittedly a fan).

I just watched him at East Palestine interacting with people who showed up to support him, and I damn near teared up. I wasn't sure how serious the derailment is and I've refrained from commenting on it, but it looks pretty devastating, and the people really do seem to have been abandoned by the government (this view has been expressed by people I know with liberal political leanings as well). People still love the guy, and a lot of people will never understand why. He took the time to show up, and when people are hurting and afraid, that means a lot.

I'm not saying it wasn't a cynical political maneuver, but I'm not sure that's all it is, either. I started to get the idea, watching him campaign in 2020, that he actually does care about the country. Admittedly, I may just be a sucker, but I get the appeal and I understand why people believe in him.

If this Trump starts showing up, maybe I'll give him another shot. And man, he really does tick off the right people.

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