Wordle 747

click here to read all of this week's contributions

 

The Sunday Whirl is graciously hosted by Brenda Warren, and this week's words are:

 

 

 

still rattling hunch chains packages crunch life scan lose fits grasping colony

 

I have a hunch that the majority of the people still rattling their angry chains about events currently happening in Western Asia don't have ancestors who heard the crunch of Nazi boots in the streets they lived in, or suffered under the Islamic regime all their lives, where women are grasping towards a life that doesn't require them to dress like packages.  can you even begin to imagine being forced as a child to submit to a marriage to an old man or a terrorists, or be permanently scarred and possibly die in an acid attack - or endure the pain of surviving one?  what about the many people who went out in the streets to protest, even though they knew they may lose an eye for demanding justice and peace from their government?  a quick scan of who reads and comments on the various blogs/bloggers that participate in this writing challenge reveals a small colony of folks who are against 'war' in general (as am I), yet don't understand the wider implications of what military action in this region means for them in their safe little homes thousands of miles away.  now, I'm not pointing fingers, but, if the shoe fits...  I see a lot of anger on social media at the way ICE is operating, and opposition to the loss of many social safety nets for veterans and folks who live on the lower end of the 'socioeconomic scale', but would that online anger be seen in the streets if the consequences were the loss of an eye or an acid bath?  how many LGBTQAI+ folks would be waving their anti-American flags if it meant they would end their lives in a public hanging?  I don't enjoy sitting in the bomb shelter with my neighbors, but I do want to see more support behind ending the regime that targets both the country I grew up in, and the one I now live in (and many others around the globe, as well).  you can hate your government and what it does and still want there to be peace and justice in the world for all.

 

  

Acid Attack Victims Need Love and Compassion

 

Shabbat Mercury Retrograde in Pisces Shalom & Community Reading

 

*this post begins with one of the drafts that has been lingering on a back-burner since January 23, 2021, which has been edited and expanded.

 

I've always been deeply connected to my dreams, and still remember at least one from my very early childhood, and one I had during my pivotal 15th year, when a few life-changing awakenings happened for me at once.  I started a dream journal 10 years later, when I was 25, which I've continued to keep to this day.  I sometimes wonder if deja-vu is a recollection of a dream, and I have in fact had moments - BIG IMPORTANT moments - when that has turned out to be true, and the realization of "hey...I dreamed this!" can be mind-blowing and profound, testing the limits of what we know of and consider to be reality.  

 

even though I started the journal in 1994, I didn't start dating the entries until 2014!

 

dreamwork is one of the many things I've thought should be a more prevalent part of our education, and developed along with whatever forms of divination or psychic abilities young people (people of all ages) exhibit.  it's nice to see how much that's changed over the years, with literally thousands of courses now available in many 'magical' disciplines.  we have accounts of dreams and dreamers dreaming all the way back to Sumeria (the beginning of written history), and many examples throughout the ages of 'prophetic' dreams from well-known people across a wide variety of lifestyles such as scientists, composers, writers, programmers, mathematicians, and more.

sometime in 2020, I started recording some of my dreams on this blog as drafts, without publishing them, perhaps thinking I would get back to them later as a way to build my dream practice.  it could also have been due to transience because I move so often - it's possible that my dream journal was packed up in storage somewhere and the laptop was simply more accessible at the time.  as I periodically go through my many drafts to keep up the habit of finishing old projects, I decided to transfer the 'dream drafts' to my dream journal, then delete them from the blog.  it's been an interesting practice to relive those dreams and reembody them through the physical act of writing them down, and deleting old drafts feels great in the sense of making space for something new to form.

when I got to Israel, I started recording my dreams on the 'notes' tab of my phone because my dream journal (along with the rest of things I shipped) was making its way here on a slow boat, and my laptop didn't often have a way to connect.  that's more than a year's worth of dreams to put in the journal!  and since I'm running out of pages in the original journal, I had to look around and see if I had an empty one to continue writing in.  I didn't have a completely empty book to start over with, but I do have a 'spell book' that I started...many years ago, probably also back in my 20's, that I didn't keep up with because I don't really write spells, I just kind of create them on the spot when I'm doing that kind of work.  meaning - I'd only written on three pages of it, so...it will become the new dream journal!

 

I've gotten through 'Dreams' 1, 2, and a good bit of 3, which brings me to August of last year.  it continues through September, then moves into 4 which spans September through November, and culminates with 5 which is the rest of November up until last night.    

 

here we are today, with the original journal all filled, with the last dream written in it being from August of 2025.  again, it was a really interesting experience to go over most of the dreams I had during the past year (I'm sure I didn't write them all down, sometimes they get away from me), and see what they have had to tell me about my journey here, and what my mind has made of it so far.  I'm looking forward to getting the 'dream notes' out of my phone and onto paper, and returning the process of recording my dreams back into a hand-written practice, as I think there's some merit to doing it that way - I'm thinking of Julia Cameron's 'morning pages', here, if you're familiar with her or them.  if not, look it up in her book The Artist's Way.  

 

old dream journal, 'new' dream journal

 

during this time of Mercury retrograde in Pisces, some of us are having Really Heightened Dream Experiences, and if you're one of us, please share in the comments what you're dreaming, and how that feels for you!  or feel free to contact me on my tarot and dreamwork facebook page, Mysteriam Tarot & Dreamwork.  for instance:  my dream two nights ago was about understanding that not everyone sees, or judges me by, the trauma I've carried for years, and that if I can lead with the compassion I still have in my heart despite it all, it can help guide me back towards my own path - but it was all wrapped up in cool sparkly art installations at my old college, someone getting all kinds of sick in the bathroom and my having to walk through it, rescuing some kittens, and then making sure to take the right exit off the highway that I missed in the dream from the day before (!) that got me so lost and anxious I woke myself up rather than try to figure out how I was going to get home.

I love to listen to people's dreams and help them work out the symbols and feelings in them to paint a picture of what they may be dealing with, and see if we can glean from that experience some thoughts that can bring clarity and balance into their daily lives.  so with that in mind, let's draw some cards!  I'm using Isabella Rotman's This Might Hurt deck, and the question I meditated on was:

do our dreams matter/can we find useful information in them?

 

 

ah, The Magician!  of course this means YES.  The Fool's (sometimes called 'the dreamer') first stop on his trip to wherever he's going today.  why?  because that crafty old wizard is the one who gives us what we need to take in our little satchels for the trials and tribulations ahead.  we can see the symbols for all of the four suits/elements (earth, air, fire, water) floating around him as he channels the energy of the Universe through himself, and into the ground like a lightening rod.  he's saying 'as above, so below' to remind us that all we need to do in life is move through it with the awareness that we're simply conduits for whatever Higher Powers we ascribe to.  as an alchemist who moves between the spheres, he can be seen as someone who would take the messages found in dreams seriously, worthy of being studied.  The Magician is the pure potential for everything that comes after it in the tarot; the Spark of Creation.  Act Now, he says.  use all of that amazing potential to manifest your dreams into reality!  so focus, concentrate, and commit to the task at hand.  

one of my favorite sayings about dreams comes to us from Rabbi Chisda who lived in the 200's CE.  he said "an uninterpreted dream is like a message left unread".  so take the time to see what you can learn from your soul's nighttime journeys.  and if you need help taking that first step, ask me - I'm here to help!

 

Six Sentence Story - Fly

click here to read all of this week's stories!

 

the message was sweet, but she didn't really know how to respond to her friend's offer to fly her back to the States because of her projection of her own fears about the missiles currently being shot at Israel since they and the US had preemptively chosen to strike at Iran in what was definitely NOT a war, but rather a rescue mission for the people who have been horrifically oppressed by the current regime there for close to 50 years.

after deliberating for some time, she responded as gently as she could that not only did she NOT have any plans to leave her new home, but that the airspace was closed anyway, no airlines were flying in or out, and the only way anyone could conceivably find a flight out was by crossing over land into Jordan or Egypt, or traveling by sea to Cypress, all of which were just as - if not more - dangerous than simply sitting in her building's bomb shelter with her neighbors when the alerts went off.

(pause in the writing - there go the sirens now!)

she continued on to say that from her sun-drenched porch she could see grandmothers toting shopping bags full of groceries, mothers pushing strollers laden with babies, children playing in the street (schools are currently closed due to the situation), and that even though only essential businesses are 'supposed to' be open, the variety store, the pizza shop, the pet supply store, the little clothing store, the party store, the nut shop, the schwarma restaurant, and the small neighborhood market were all open, and that was just on her block - one block away there were several more markets and shops doing business, including the McDonald's in the central bus station where the buses were still keeping to their schedules (to say nothing of the rest of the city).

and people were singing and dancing out in the street, as well, since it was technically a holiday, though gatherings had also been prohibited, and congregations were forbidden from assembling to read their sacred scroll that is only read on one night out of the year - the scroll featuring the story of Esther (and Vashti) who married the king in order to save her people (the Jews) from annihilation back around 480 BCE.

she concluded by saying that she was in no way living in fear, that this is just the way things were there, and when the 'all clear' was sounded they went back to doing whatever it was they were doing before they were rudely interrupted by those who are constantly trying to kill them, such as dressing up in costumes to celebrate a holiday with their children, rejoicing at their continued survival, mourning those who were sadly killed by recent missile strikes, or writing a blog post about how they explain to their friends that they're never leaving their homeland again because they feel safer in Israel than they did back in the US where people they used to consider friends dressed up in Made in China keffiyahs (popularized back in the 1960's by an Egyptian terrorist) while openly calling for the death of all Jews/Israelis/Zionists, and pretending to know more about Western Asia (note the post-colonial geographical language) than those who have been doing this dance their whole lives.

 

Shabbat Purim Full Blood Moon Eclipse in Virgo Shalom & Community Reading

sadly, the eclipse won't be visible where I am, and there won't be another one until New Year's Eve 2028/29.  oh well.  I've seen blood moon eclipses before, most notably on my 50th birthday, so I can visualize what I need to connect to the energies we are currently experiencing.    

 

not my image - I stole it from the internet

 

as this eclipse is the third in a set of 3, I'm looking back to March and September of last year to see what themes or changes have been unfolding for me in order to recognize some 'bigger picture' that may help me release whatever needs releasing to see my path more clearly.

during the March eclipse I was in a pretty good place, having found a bunch of 'hag stones' on the beach which gave me a kick in the spiritual ass as if to say 'change your perspective, sister, and Get Your Spark Back!'  soon after, I finally found an apartment to sublet while still looking for my own, and it was blissful to have the kind of privacy I need in order to thrive after the airbnb I stayed at for a month, followed by a 'guest house' for a few weeks.  I was finally able to eat well and hydrate properly, and make a more concerted effort towards looking for work.  I got a pedicure and had my toenails painted bright orange to reflect the season and my mood.  I wrote - to quote the Magic 8-ball my son had given me as a Chanookah gift years ago - 'signs point to yes'. 

by the September eclipse I was on my third job and was trying to get into a rhythm of cooking, meal prepping, and cleaning, figuring out the health care system, and doing my best to work with several different 'specialists' to follow their plan for me to lose weight and lower my A1C.  my body was hurting (always an indication that I'm not in a good place) and I was exhausted from work, so I barely had enough energy at the end of the day to do much of anything but take a nap.  other than growing my tiny garden, my life was feeling mostly empty and unfulfilling.

 

as an aside:  it's been hard to work on this post as we're being bombed in response to our preemptive strike on Iran.  I've been up and down the stairs to the bomb shelter all day for the past few days, and in the moments between, doing my best to take care of myself.  

 

so what has this look into my recent past revealed about my path forward?  as this eclipse is happening in the sign of Virgo, it's indicative of slow and steady change focusing on realigning with kindness, awareness, patience, and quiet care for the Self.  I need to keep myself balanced in both mind and body through meditation and reflection, so I can meet the challenges of my life with courage and wisdom.  saying goodbye to anxiety about the future in order to feel stable in the present is one way to take thoughtful action towards healing, and a reminder to use my strengths like Doing My Research rather than jumping from one thing to the next.  it's also a great reminder to celebrate my wins - and there have been many - as perfection isn't the goal, here.  it's healthy to accept when we make mistakes, and move on from them.  they are important chapters in our story.

 

I got this one from the Forever Conscious website

 

let's pull some cards!  since I'm currently experiencing the residual effects of the war in western Asia (post-colonial language for accuracy) - meaning I'm nowhere near the front lines, just minding the alerts that tell me when to seek shelter from ballistic missiles - I'm thinking I'll use the Hoodoo Tarot.  I don't use that deck very often, or at all really, because it always seems mad at me.  or maybe that's me projecting, who knows.  that's the message that came to me, so that's what we're doing.  and because it's Purim tonight, I'm looking through the lens of Esther and Vashti, and asking these ancient matriarchs to share with us what they know:

 

 

what do we know/what can we say about the Divine Feminine globally:  Ten of Knives

~ knives or swords are the suit of air, and are associated with thoughts, ideas, the intellect, and writing.  and 10's are the culmination of the suit - the 'end of the journey', or the complete expression of all the experiences The Fool has had on her way through the suit.  and these have been Hard lessons.  while the image is scary (ten knives in the back!  scroll down to see the cards), and speaks of betrayal and a kind of 'hitting rock bottom', it also shows us the dawn after the dark.  it's about surviving disaster, learning from your mistakes, and being more cautious about who you trust.  times may be hard, but they are getting better.  it speaks of one who has used a powerful tool without the proper respect for its destructive power, and not only gets burned (stabbed), but plays the victim in the hopes that someone will come and save them.  while the complete and total defeat of the spirit is beyond painful, on the other side of it is the start of something new.  the only thing we can control is our own response to it, so we just have to get up, dust ourselves off, and start again.  we've done the research; we've studied our history and written new books.  we've taught what we've learned to our daughters who have continued the conversation with our grand- and great-granddaughters.  and now we need to get it out of our heads and bring it further into our hearts, create with it, and ground all of our work with the knowledge of what we are moving forward from.  dance it out, sing about it, and invoke the Divine Feminine in all aspects of our lives and work.  there is no greater way to bring more balance into the world.

what do we know/what can we say about the Divine Feminine in Israel:  Big Mama

~ Big Mama (or The Sun) is one of the most positive and uplifting cards in any tarot deck!  it appears right near the end of The Fool's journey and in this deck in particular, speaks directly to The Matriarch being the cornerstone of family and the keeper of ancestral wisdom.  it tells us it is Our time to SHINE.  to share our glory, our light, and our power with the world!  in being our authentic selves we liberate and uplift everyone around us.  the path is cleared for our ultimate success, and abundance and joy will be the result of sharing our radiant brilliance with others.  as Israel has been struggling through dark times, let this be our sign that through the Divine Feminine/Shekinah, our liberation is assured.  it is inspiring to see the increase in understanding of our ancient connections to female power in what has been a predominantly patriarchal country and culture for centuries.  may we have the wisdom as a nation to heed Her call.

what do I know/what can I say about how the Divine Feminine relates to the work I do:  Seven of Coins 

~ this is my garden growing.  this is a card of slow and steady progress, of taking the time to assess what is working, and what isn't.  by reflecting on my choices and considering the possibility that my fear of failure is preventing me from finishing what I start, I will have a greater ability to see the bigger picture and create a long-term plan that will pay off into my future.  by focusing on my vision and what it means to me, through patience, gratitude, and staying grounded in the present, success is literally just around the next corner.  

 

 

wow.  and doesn't that all relate back to the eclipse in Virgo energy?  what an exceptionally divine and important moment to be living through.  we may see the liberation of millions of women suffering under oppressive regimes in the near future!  we may see women across Western Asia become a global force for bringing more balance to the world!  let it be so.

 

as always, if you enjoy these community readings, feel free to connect with me for a private reading through my Facebook page, Mysteriam Tarot & Dreamwork.

 

Wordle 746 - When the Sirens Blare

why not?  I've always been a glutton for punishment.  click here to read all the contributions, and Make Sure To Leave A Comment to let people know you've enjoyed their work - even if you didn't.  I leave a comment on everyone's posts (even if they have an horrifically appropriative name for their blog and double down on their racism when you point it out).

 

 

 

shelter step rocks rose settle tremble edge left flesh scrap ghost messy

 

rushing down the 43 steps from my apartment (twice while writing this post) into the bomb shelter with my neighbors - more for those on the higher floors - as the air trembles with explosions above us, we settle into our places.  the three Russian ladies and the guy I assume is one of their sons against the far wall, their poor dog on its leash at their feet, or under their chairs when more than the usual number of unruly children are locked in with us.  one of their elders can't even make it down the stairs in the minute and a half we have to get there and seal the door shut, so she sits on a chair in the hallway outside of their apartment.  also in the hallway is Elena (when she's awake), the elderly woman who lives in the apartment across from me - her personal care worker runs down to the shelter with the rest of us.  the Ethiopians (mostly a pile of unruly children as schools are closed during these times of frequent bombings, whose parents are all essential workers) on the dilapidated old couch on the adjacent wall; the boys absorbed in the video games and social media reels on their phones; the girls chattering away loudly (causing the traumatized dog to slink under her owner's chair rather than lay on the blanket she puts down for her) and posturing in the full length mirror, while slapping and teasing each other by snatching phones from hands and snapping pictures; the littlest boy (too young for a phone of his own) playing with a yellow balloon that makes the terrified dog bark when it comes too close, a sound that hits the eardrums like rocks against metal reverberating uncomfortably in the enclosed concrete space that is already messy with echoes.  on the far wall is where the people who came in from the street stand (no chairs for them) because even though this shelter is in our building, our regularly locked front door is thrown open during emergencies to accommodate our neighbors (we're all neighbors here).  And me, settling down on the only scrap chair left, in the far corner by the barely hidden toilet at the edge of the shelter, just right for a fleshed ghost such as myself what rose from who knows where, or why - the only Israeli/American in the building, and quite possibly the neighborhood.

 

 

Shabbat Saturn in Aries/Aquarius Solar Eclipse/'Ezekiel Conjunction' Shalom & Community Reading

wow, Shabbat again already?  time is just passing more and more quickly for me, and I'm reminded of how after my father died at 57, I just assumed I would, too.  I turned 57 last month, and it's been a hard transition.  I started this post on the 13th of February, and didn't have the energy to finish it, so I'm picking up where I left off, with Saturn having entered Aries on the 15th:

there's SO much astrological 'stuff' whirling around us that been it's sapping my energy quite a bit.  from May through September of last year, Saturn was moving through Aries, and during that time, it gave us "a brief glimpse into the lessons and gifts that...we need to step up and take greater responsibility for" (according to one astrologer I tend to like, link at the end of this post).  while Aries is impulsive, fast-moving energy that likes to set things in motion, Saturn prefers to take it slow and calculate all the risks before choosing to proceed.  so you can see why I'm fatigued by the push and pull of it, and though I'm a bit desperate to move forward with my 'next steps' (whatever they turn out to be), I'm busy feeling stuck and doubting myself at the moment. 

 

looking back at what I was doing during the May-September Saturn in Aries window of 2025 that was a prelude to what's happening now, I was definitely exhibiting my "willingness to take leaps of faith and start new things" by getting several different jobs in a row as I learned what it means to work in this country, and how to deal (or not deal) with the agencies and people behind them.  so I'm hoping this time, instead of jumping impulsively from one opportunity to the next without a great deal of information to go on past my need to cover my rent and bills, I can focus with more clarity on where I need to put my energy in order to feel more grounded and aligned towards opportunities where I can follow through and experience some sustainable growth over this two year cycle.  

then two days later on the 17th, the Aquarius 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse hit us:

the eclipse energy is all about new paths, transforming and awakening, and a 'surprise' that will be "shifting our consciousness in ways we could not have predicted".   and what is ending in order to clear the way to build a new foundation?  I guess that will be made clear by August.  we're looking for a gentle pathway towards healing - transformative, softening, "turning to nature and our intuition for guidance".  we need to pay attention to our dreams, what we're putting in our bodies, and are encouraged to ask for signs and stay open to what insights may come.  setting open ended intentions and trusting the process are also part of this lunation.

 

looking back to 2017/18 (when 'eclipse season' last happened in this sign) for clues about what may be coming up for me, I found myself building my life with my small family - taking good care of my son and nurturing his friendships, supporting his creativity and growth, and enjoying two really fun vacations together.  I took a deeper dive into my activism within the Roma community while building a small tribe of friends-as-family around us where we also shared spiritual connectivity and even some ritual work.  I took care of both my mother and a dear elder I had known for decades, and really started to enjoy being in the kitchen and learning recipes old and new.  there were some buried traumas that unfortunately needed to come to the surface for me, but on the whole, I did a great deal of work towards centering my own health, remembering my passions, and reviving practices that had been been the cornerstone of my identity forever before I got sidetracked by all the noise of life.  it was a solid time in our lives where I was able to keep us relatively stable, and my son and I thrived as a result, in many areas of our lives.  lots of good news there! 

then last but certainly not least, we experienced the 'Ezekiel Conjunction' (as Lorelai Kude called it) on the 20th, when Saturn and Neptune met at 0 degrees Aries, which hasn't happened since 593 bce:

 

The Chariot of G*d, Art by Mikayla Ragsdale

 

this event is all about rupture and reconstruction as 'holiness no is longer bound to a single place and becomes mobile', signalling a collapse of illusions into reality or the end of a long myth-cycle.  a reckoning between idealism and structure, if you will, a "time to forge a new reality from scratch".  we are expected to be grieving as we enter this time of renewal, as we learn to take personal responsibility for our actions (offer up a prayer for collective opening).  "the collapse of inherited meaning is followed by the demand for a new moral architecture...the end of illusion". are we ready to grow up and stop looking for someone to come and save us? we'd better be - we need to do it on our own. do we know who we are without the stories we've been telling ourselves all these years? we are being called to exist without all the old baggage, and to surrender to compassion. a very tall order, indeed.

I'm truly very tired, so I'll just pull one card (using the Thoth deck) and see what it says ~

 

well, would you look at that?  I can't think of a better card for our current astrological situationship.  the Queen of Swords sits on her throne of clouds ready to slice through All The Illusions to get to What's Real.  she works to refine the world, upgrading our understanding so we can fully become ourselves.  that head (or mask) in her hand represents breaking away from old roles and behaviors towards the light of liberation.  she frees our minds to make logical decisions, encourages clear and concise communication, cutting through old patterns that hold us back to see things fresh with the eyes of a child, showing us the courage and conviction to move forward in a new way.  having had a hard journey towards becoming, she also shows her vulnerability and 'goes with the flow'.  ultimately, she uses her intuition to gain insight, then uses her intellect to get what she wants out in the world.  and that seems to be exactly what what we're being asked to do. 

 

Saturn in Aries

Aquarius Solar Eclipse

Ezekiel Conjunction part 1 & 2

Another Six Sentence Story

click on the link to enjoy EVERYONE'S posts!

 

prompt word:  MARK 

 

"hey Mom," Mark yelled as he burst through the door from school like a runner off his mark after hearing the starting pistol, "check out the marks I got on these exams!"

"well, that is fantastic, young man - you've really been hitting the mark this quarter and I'm very proud of you!  umm...what's that mark on your forehead that looks like a question mark?"

"Oh...that's just something a kid in my class did; he bet me an old Deutsche Mark from back before the Euro came out that I couldn't guess what he was drawing on me with his eraser while we were supposed to be learning about how Mark Twain took his name from the term 'marking the twain' on old riverboats, which means the water is 2 fathoms - or 12 feet - deep."

"kiddo, you may be some kind of genius or something, but I fear you may end up being an easy mark for some of your classmates who grow up a little closer to the edge, if you know what I mean."

"I know," he sighed, "but once I manage to make my mark in this world by using my success to help uplift our whole community, they'll thank me, and that will be the best revenge ever."

 

(in case you couldn't guess, I tried to use as many different forms of the prompt word as I could, just for fun.)