Witches In Action, Witches Inaction

Recently, several groups of witches performed a collective hex or curse on President Donald Trump and his administration. This caused a lot of discussion about the threefold law, aka the Wiccan Rede.

Specifically, the Rede says (with many wording variations): Do No Harm. A hex or a curse is meant to do, at least most of the time, SOME harm, usually harm triggered by or stemming from certain behaviors of the recipient.

So why would it be okay to do this?

Now, I don't personally follow the Rede. I'm not Wiccan, and I have no beliefs regarding that. However, let's pretend we all do follow the Rede, for the sake of this discussion. What could make a hex or curse acceptable under the Rede?

What if it is our only alternative to sitting back and doing nothing?

The argument is that the Trump administration is a clear and present threat to several demographics, specifically virtually all minorities - women, people of color, LGBTQ, immigrants, Muslims and Jews (and, by extrapolation, any other non-Christian religious group), or even people PERCEIVED to be any one of these.

People aren't necessarily asking if the Hispanic is a real illegal immigrant before harassing him, or if the woman is an actual Muslim before ripping the scarf off of her head, or if the teen boy is really LGBTQ or just more feminine in his behavior than they like.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, the go-to organization for determining hate groups, has reported a significant spike in hate crimes since the election. Trump's executive orders have resulted in a dangerous and/or extremely discriminatory set of policies towards minorities. His administration, via support for the GOP-heavy congress, has resulted in a slew of proposed laws that also discriminate against minorities.

Make no mistake, love him or hate him, Trump has had an effect on discrimination and bias in the US.

So, in the simplest form, the choice is to harm Trump and his administration via a hex or curse, or to sit back and allow the harm of thousands of innocent people by the rippling effects of Trump being in power.

Oh, but Karma will take care of Trump and all the others.

Really? And how does Karma do that? Earthquakes? Heart attacks? Other "random" things that just happen?

Rule #1 of spell casting is that spells do not manifest in a void. You want to do a spell to find work? Fine, but you still need to apply for jobs. You want to do a spell to find love? Great, but you still need to be a lovable person, and get out and meet people.

Karma often works the same way. It isn't just people getting what they deserve through great cosmic effects. It's also people getting what they deserve by reaping the reactions of what they sow. If we suppress our reactions because KARMA, we are inhibiting the way the world creates consequences.

We need to stop being afraid of our power. Spells and energy work are our strength, and that includes the darker magics of hexes and curses. We are like a bodybuilder walking past a man attempting to rape a woman. We can "control ourselves" and keep our power on a leash while we call the police, and hope they get here on time. Or we can use our power to hurt the man and punch him in the face.

I'm not ashamed to admit, I punch people in the face. #Resist

When the Economy is the Grinch that Stole Yule, Take a Lesson from Whoville

This year, as with the last few years, the holiday season is tainted with the depressing and hard-to-fix problem of economics. There isn't the money to buy the presents. There isn't the money to spring for the trips to see other family. There isn't the money for the holiday feasting. There just isn't the money...

Now my family does not do materialism very well, but we exchange a few gifts. Some people have spending limits this year of just $150-300. We stay around $25-50 no matter what. But this year, even $25 seems to be in short supply.

We scrimp and save. I gave up on a "big" gift from my parents so that Stormie could get the gift he wanted (a gun, to hunt... meat - which will theoretically help us save on buying groceries). My gift ideas for my immediate family has been completely practical - a winter coat for myself, pajamas for Bug, pants for Ladybug.

I shop for deals and cover my eyes before clicking the "order" button, just because I'm not sure we can afford it. I collect Swagbucks to earn gift cards to offset - partially or completely - the cost of shopping. We buy only one or two holiday decorations each year - and pack everything away carefully for the years to come. We are going to make our gingerbread house from scratch rather than buy a kit (that doesn't taste good anyways).

Some of our holiday traditions this year include (or have included): putting up and decorating the Yule tree together, burning a Yule Log candle when we eat our Yuletide feast, discussing our DYGs (Dark of the Year Goals - see my blogs on the Dark of the Year)...

The thing is, and I have discussed this with many people over the past weeks, that the most memorable holiday traditions are often the ones with little or no cost. All kids remember the times they played games all night with their family, the drives around town looking at the lights and decorations, making cookies and crafts together. Kids don't remember what they got for presents six months later. They remember the time they spent together with family. It's all about the togetherness. It's all about the love.

To this end, I've decided to not stress about presents (after all, Gramma & Grampa will certainly buy more than we have room for), not stress about parties (school parties only last an hour anyways), not stress about travel (we'll get there when we get there - why add the pressure of holiday-time travel?), not stress about what anyone, outside of me and Stormie and Bug and Ladybug, thinks of whether we are celebrating "enough" or "appropriately".

Who cares about how much money I spend on the holidays, except the giant corporations with one eye on the bottom line and their hands reaching for my bank account? Oh, and my overly money-conscious brother, but I don't care what he cares about anyways.

Speaking of Who's, I have a holiday playlist (I *LOVE* Christmas songs) that has the song of the Who's. You know, the one they sing on Christmas morning, even after the Grinch stole all the STUFF and thought that would stop the celebration from coming. Then the Who's sing anyways, saying "Christmas day is in our grasp, So long as we have hands to clasp" and "Christmas day will always be, Just so long as we have we". The singing swells the Grinch's heart destroying the grumpiness of that grump and inspiring him to become heroic and generous.

I think the way things are going, the economy's oh-so-slow recovery, the protests over corporate and government corruption, the overt, peer-pressure MATERIALISM of the holiday season, we are all in danger of becoming a Grinch, or of letting the Grinch-economy steal our holiday. But we can embrace the Who's song and declare that this holiday is about celebrating US, celebrating FAMILY, celebrating people, not STUFF.

We have hands of friends and family to hold. We have us and all the happiness that "us" can be. Pull out all the stops this holiday season and concentrate on FUN and FAMILY. The corporate bottom-line will return Christmas once it sees that we don't need the "Who pudding and rare Who roast beast" or the noise-making toys and bleepity-bling.

"Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought... doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps... means a little bit more!"

"And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say - that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day. And then - the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!"
 
"Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas Day is in our grasp, so long as we have hands to clasp. Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have we. Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart, and hand in hand."

Lyrics to Welcome Christmas:
Welcome Christmas come this way
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome Christmas, Christmas day
Welcome, welcome fahoo ramus
Welcome, welcome dahoo damus
Christmas day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome Christmas bring your cheer
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome all Whos far and near
Welcome Christmas, fahoo ramus
Welcome Christmas, dahoo damus
Christmas day will always be
Just so long as we have we
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome Christmas bring your light
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome Christmas, Christmas day
Welcome Christmas, fahoo ramus
Welcome Christmas, dahoo damus
Welcome Christmas while we stand
Heart to heart and hand in hand
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome welcome Christmas Day...
Welcome, welcome X-mas day....

Mercury Retch: Flying Backwards May Induce Nausea

He races in reverse; like un-drag...

A week ago, Mercury went retrograde. I should have gone back to bed then.

The problem with Mercury retrograde is that it is the time when you are supposed to take a break from moving forward and solidify your position, assess your direction, and reinvigorate your energy levels. You aren't supposed to begin new projects, sign contracts or initiate new contacts.

Not THAT Mercury...

The problem with Mercury retrograde is that there is no job in the modern economy that allows its employees to "take a break," to slow down, to *gasp* reassess the purpose of your work.

Made to be a warning,
not a guidebook.

Gods forbid we stop for a minute to check our collective direction. Maybe then the financial industry wouldn't have screwed up so badly BETTING on the housing bubble. Perhaps we wouldn't have had to spend my retirement funds bailing out CEOs who might have otherwise gotten fired for being STUPID. It's even possible that my children would not be in danger of losing all hope of going to college so that we could make sure that big companies that screw us up one side and down the other can use loopholes and tax breaks to boost their profits (which they do NOT trickle down).

Maybe someone would have said, hey, wait a minute, this isn't right. Maybe someone would have remembered the golden rule, or how their mother taught them to play nice with others. Maybe someone would have realized that, if they had the chance to take a minute, they would have to face their conscience during that minute and that they couldn't treat their fellow Americans with such disrespect.

Maybe we should stop fighting Mercury when he decides to run backwards like Kindergarteners at recess. It might be just what we need.