They say a picture is worth a thousand words and today, I deleted many thousands of words as I worked on this article. I wrote an article on how empaths can manage the onslaught of negative energy from all that is going on in the world today. I deleted it because it was akin to handing someone a Band-Aid when their arm is cut off.
I wrote an article about the importance of remaining focused on the now, releasing triggers from past traumas and letting go of worry about the future. I deleted it because the sheer privilege of the suggestion sickened me. My family is not currently at risk. I have a place to live and food to eat. What business do I have telling someone who is terrified for their future that they should focus on “now?”
I wrote an article about how individuals are kind, compassionate, selfless, and generous and people are selfish, cruel, and violent. That throughout history, humans have proven that the people will disadvantage, kill, and persecute anyone who isn’t like them. Individuals who are kind and invested in more than just their own interests are rare and that is why we hear about them. They stand out.
In the context of the article, I was at a loss of how to convey the idea that we should strive to be individuals and not people until the number of individuals reaches the critical mass sufficient that they become a collective people of compassionate, inclusive, and kind humans. I have no faith in that happening in my lifetime, but I am willing to work hard to be the best individual I can be now… in my lifetime.
I wrote an article (mind you, all of this writing happened in one day) about how lonely we all are and how we are desperate for connection, for validation, and for feeling included and seen. I deleted that because I felt like it excused bad behavior rather than explained it.
I stared at the blank page, which stared back at me accusingly. I have been an online journalist since 1998 and I am a published author of nearly 40 books since my first published in 2013. Now, I find that I am out of words. All I can do is gesture helplessly and silently around me at this.
Ultimately, I did what I always do when I don’t have answers. I consulted the oracle. In this case, the Lenormand cards. “What can I tell the people who for some reason, what to read what I write?”
The House and The Ring: Commit to your home and the people in it. Hold your people close and treasure them. Make your home a refuge. Love yourself enough to make your home a beautiful reflection of your sacred self. Create a home that is a safe space, a soft place to fall after you have been out there in the world.
The Rider and The Star: Move forward toward your goals, whatever they may be. Do not hesitate to make goals and work toward them. When it feels like the world is burning down around us, it is natural to go into warrior mindset and succumb to the flight/flight/freeze crisis response. This card combination tells you to remain calm and methodical. Make small goals inside larger goals and act on those goals. Do not collapse into fear and dread. Immobility is your enemy. Give yourself things to look forward to. Try not to dwell. Stay busy doing things you love.
I started adult paint-by-number projects. Here is mine:
I find I need to do things just for me, unrelated to anything going on around me. Next comes diamond paintings.
The Tree and The Ship: This is another call to forward motion with a different element injected. It says for your health, you must move forward. Travel. See new things. Go on day trips. Travel with friends you love. Ironically, to flourish and put down deep roots with strong branches reaching to the sky, you must embrace forward motion. Another important aspect of this pairing is “we will get through this” and “this too shall pass.” Time passes. Experiences pass. Life is forward motion. Forward motion, of course, means that we leave some parts of the situation behind us. We are in one place, but we are merely passing through… passing through a point in time on our way to somewhere else.
Lastly, we have The Clover and The Crossroads: The Crossroads itself is a symbol of movement. When we stand at a crossroads, all possibilities are open to us. We can go left, right, straight ahead, or turn around and go back to where we were. There are choices available for how we can be in the world and we must decide. We cannot take two roads at once. We must commit to a path and start walking. Once we do, we will find good fortune.
In keeping with one of my articles I wrote and deleted, we must decide who we are as a people and who we are as individuals. Since the first task is a consensus undertaking and involves decisions made by others that we cannot control, what is most important is that we focus on the second task and decide who we are as individuals and stick to it. Own it. Remember that the compassionate, kind, and open-hearted individuals are the rarity. Those who go along with the consensus when they know it is wrong are the typical ones. Do not allow the ugliness and selfish behavior of others to define you or influence your thoughts and behavior. Do not normalize the persecution of others or the prioritization of one group of people over another.
Meanwhile, as the Buddhist saying goes, “Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.” Tend to the things that need to be done. Practice immaculate self-care. Make sure your loved ones know how much they mean to you. Let go of relationships that are too toxic to continue. Distill your focus and attention to the people who the people who show up for you and are committed to maintaining the relationship. Stop chasing people and forcing relationships.
When we lost our house in the Caldor Fire in 2021, our house was one of the first to burn and we were on the edge of the impact zone. If you stand in the place where my yard used to be and look in one direction, it was a scorched earth wasteland. If I turned 180 degrees and looked in the other direction, it was like nothing had happened at all. Everything looked the same.
The world is like that now, I feel. Most of us work the same job, live in the same house, have the same interests and hobbies, eat the same foods, and listen to the same music. And yet, everything feels different. If I look at the sociopolitical landscape, it’s pretty depressing. If I focus on what I can do to make life better for me and the people around me, it feels more manageable, so I think I can relate to the reading. I hope you can too.
What I do feel is that like The Ship and The Tree tell us, we will get through this. We will persevere. Time will move on, with or without us. What we must do is be the best individuals we can be right here, right now, today.
“Chop wood, carry water” feels almost as impossible as “Be in the world but not of it,” but I am sure going to try.
Eric and I are still here for your metaphysical needs with magical supplies, personal spellwork, and readings.
Candles have been especially active lately. Clients are burning their own intention candles or having me burn them on their behalf. We offer more than fifty different candles covering nearly every life goal a person could have. To check them out, click here: https://crossroadsoccult.com/candles/ The New Year brought new goals and the porousness of candles allows them to easily absorb projected energy for gradual release.
Candles pertinent to today’s article (above) are: Grounding, Shielding, My Best Life, Cast Out Evil, Cut and Clear, Fiery Wall of Protection, Hand of Glory, and 7 African Powers.
If you feel overwhelmed with toxic energies, a spiritual cleansing can help https://crossroadsoccult.com/spiritual-cleansings/, as can candles like Uncrossing.
To learn more about this kind of candle burning, here is a candle class, along with a list of my YouTube videos on candle magic that might interest you: https://crossroadsoccult.com/pw-candlemagic/
The class is passworded, but my Substack followers can access the class for free with the password Substack_Candles. Don’t forget the underline between the words. The password is case sensitive.
We hope you are all doing well and that you are safe from all of the crazy going on out there. As the reading says, “Get your house in order (literally),” “Make goals and move forward,” “Travel, see things, flourish, endure,” and “Decide who you are and own that. Be authentic and true to yourself.”
