DISCLAIMER: As always, everything presented here is for entertainment and semi-educational purposes only. Please do not mistake this for mental health therapy or advice. If you need mental health counseling or treatment, please contact your insurance company, local college’s student counseling clinic, county crisis line, or the Psychology Today Portal.
If you want a running list of COVID-19 resources and news, check out my list here. Also, check out this running list of disaster hotlines by state. **I have quite a few articles for the news and resources page, but way too much else is calling my attention right now. Sorry to be so slow.
NOTE: I have to stop doing that part of my weekly post where I rant about current events and give you some CBT-style journal prompt. It’s not you, it’s me. In addition to pulling longer hours at work, I’m working on putting out more books. You might like them, but I won’t know until I finish them. Current events still piss me off and I still hate society’s lack of distress tolerance. I just don’t have time to write about it each week and put out a weekly reading. I apologize.
If you need some extra clarification on that totally WTF energy from the 8/8/21 new moon, check this out:
So let’s bring me closer to getting high blood pressure and check out some current events:
- Have y’all heard about the investigation into Gov. Cuomo of New York? Apparently the guy that appeared to be an early pandemic hero sexually harassed 11 women and there was an investigation. The investigation came back substantiated and Gov. Cuomo will be leaving his post in two weeks. Read it for yourself right here.
- In case you were wondering, we may be in for more deadly variants of COVID-19 than our new friend Delta. That piece of info comes from the Wuhan lab that was accused of leaking COVID, per this article here. I have reservations about The Sun as a credible source, but it might be worth researching.
- In case you need incentive to apply the THINK principle when communicating with your kids, Quentin Tarantino recently dished on his childhood. He specifically mentioned he refuses to give his mom one damn dime because of how dismissive and belittling she was when he was a child. You can read all about it right here. I found myself agreeing with him on this one.
- In true Trump fashion, he is two-stepping away from Rudy Giuliani. Yeah, the same Giuliani who pretty much ruined his career and credibility defending Trump. Wanna know the real rub here? Not only did Trump leave Giuliani to fend off authorities by himself, but he also left him in deep debt. I wouldn’t wish that sort of betrayal on anyone, but given Trump’s history of bankruptcies—which all included leaving others to pay his bill—why wouldn’t Giuliani make sure he protected himself a little better? The details are captured right here.
- Speaking of Bad Life Decisions In the Name of Trump (™), I think we can expect leaked info related to all of the ways Trump the Tank Engine (™) bullied and warped the Department of Justice into doing some pretty unconstitutional things. Former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen gave several hours of testimony to that fact over the weekend. You can read the gist in this article here. Buckle up, kids.
- In Facepalm Trump News (™), Trump is asking his supporters to buy cards to show their unwavering devotion to
die Fuhrerhim. Yeah. It has come to that. You can see for yourself right here. His last name is Trump, so a Trump Card is a cute play on words. The fact that he wants his supporters to carry cards like a not-so-secret handshake is either laughable or concerning, I’m not sure which. The facepalm part is the design of said cards, which strongly resembles the eagle design from a certain German WWII-era faction that shall remain nameless. Who approved this design?! Seriously, you may as well tell the world, “I refuse to see anyone else’s point of view. I don’t read history books. I look good in white, pointy hats. And I don’t ever expect to get a mainstream job.” Or it’s a Bat Signal for other card-carriers who may or may not be in positions of power. You know, like how the immigrants network when they first come to a new country. The big difference is, the immigrants are trying to protect themselves from *ahem* certain discriminatory dynamics. - In other Bad Life Decisions News, Bill Gates has now gone on record to say he regrets spending time with dead, disgraced pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. You can read for yourself right here. Say it with me: “NO SHIT, SHERLOCK.”
- In other Epstein News, Virginia Giuffre, the woman who was trafficked and loaned to Prince Andrew at age 17, is suing the prince. The article where I gleaned this info is right here.
- Ever heard of fecal transplants? Apparently you can change your gut-brain biome using selectively-placed poop. It’s true. Medical researchers are now also saying that a poop transplant might be good for reversing aging. You can read all about it and decide just how important staying youthful is to you right here.
- Scientists are learning more about the link between consciousness and dopamine, one of the feel-good brain chemicals. The impact of dopamine levels on consciousness might partially explain that spacy feeling many clinically depressed people feel. Questions about focus, motivation, and concentration are on the PHQ-9, so it stands to reason dopamine might be partially responsible. You can read about the possible link between dopamine and consciousness here and here.
- Speaking of scientists, experts from another branch of science believe the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs came from the belt around Mars and Jupiter. They found remnants of this space nugget in Mexico. Get all the details here.
For those of you who miss the journal activities, check out Richard Grannon:
As always, I have to mention the MindBody/Wellness Research and Science Network group on Facebook. The chick who runs it takes an evidence-based approach to holistic topics. I appreciate her common sense-meets-spirituality way of doing things.
Aaaannnnyyyyhoo… Onto the Reading, Shall We…?
I asked the cards what we need to know for the week of 8/10/21 – 8/17/21 and I got: Death (number 13, transformation, rebirth, inevitable endings, a cycle that has come to an end, the need to stop dwelling on resentment, letting go of what doesn’t serve one, and a loss that can’t be retrieved); Nine of Wands (number 9, defensiveness, the need to prove one’s point, having the same argument again, one’s opinions and convictions being challenged, lengthy dispute, the need to walk one’s own path, and needing to try one more time); Ace of Wands (number 1 or 11, surge of energy, new projects, drive to make dreams a reality, new ideas, and optimism for the future); and Justice (number 11, the need to be responsible for one’s actions, the need to be honest with oneself, facing reality objectively, legal issues, moderation, a warning against being overly critical, fairness, and the need to make a decision with an open mind). Oh wow. This week is going to be action-packed, but probably not explosive. This is the first spread in a while where we have a clear numerical theme. Both Justice and the Ace of Wands correspond to the number 11, which is the number of spiritual enlightenment. Eleven energy corresponds to heightened intuition, spiritual understanding, and either becoming or finding a spiritual teacher. Doreen Virtue enthusiasts may recognize the number 11 as an angel number, but I tend to see it as the number of empathy, intuition, and transmuting your spiritual and emotional traits into something positive and useful. Any way you slice it, the Death card tells me allowing things to transform and change is the way you will most successfully move through the week. The Death card starts off this spread, which tells me that you might want to seriously consider any changes you have been just sorta-kinda-maybe noodling around in your brain. No matter what the change you’ve been considering is, Death tells us you will have the opening you need to make it happen. This brings me to our second numerical theme: good ol’ number 13. The energy surrounding number 13 is about building a solid foundation and paying off karmic debts. This is great news because any actions you choose this week can clear old karma and put you on the path to something that better fits who you are now. Again, the actions you choose are just that—your choices. The two numerical themes tell me you have a great deal of agency this week, but your choices will have a major ripple effect on the next several months of your life. Just make the choices that build the strongest foundation. Any of you that have read my posts for a while know that a spread that begins and ends with Major Arcana cards—such as Death and Justice—will be a major karmic sammich. We already met Death, the first slice of karma whole wheat, so now let’s talk about Justice. Corresponding to the cardinal air sign Libra, Justice handles all things fairness. My chart is about 40% Libra, so I can tell you the thing about Librans being balanced is a myth. Librans are always looking for balance, harmony, and fairness. This does not come naturally to most of us, which is the best way to look at the energy of the Justice card. Justice is the card of things equalling out or starting to shift towards fairness, not the card of coming into a situation perfectly peaceful. Justice is also the legal card, so this might be the week that you get a verdict on any lawsuits, court cases, traffic tickets, etc. Justice and the karmic nature of the number 13 also tell me this might be the week where wrongdoing might be exposed so that it can be made right. This brings me to the filling in the karmic sammich, which are both Wands cards. The suit of Wands has the energy of an overly-caffeinated 3-year-old at Disneyland. When you have a lot of Wands energy in a spread, you know you’re dealing with action, intuition, energy, and creativity. In this case, we have the Nine of Wands and the Ace of Wands. Nine of Wands is a combative card, but also the card of frustration from having the same argument ONE MORE FUCKING TIME. The Ace is a card of new energy, new projects, and creativity. I feel like the combination of these cards wants to tell us that your epiphany that the old way ain’t working will come from a little conflict. It might also come from the same toxic person, pulling the same toxic shit. This could be your narcissistic mom spoiling for a fight because she’s jealous of you. This could be your insecure friend calling you at odd hours, draining every bit of mental energy you have until you just tell her, “Your latest stupid life decision is not your fault.” It could be that one person we all know, borrowing money you know they won’t be able to repay yet again. Whatever the case, it will piss you off enough that you finally realize the only thing that’s going to change about this situation will be you. Pretty much every card in this spread tells me You. Are. DONE. You have no more fucks to give about this situation. However, you will need to pay attention to your lack of fucks. Not respecting your own boundaries and pushing through the bullshit yet again will manifest down the road as aches, pains, binge eating, insomnia, random bursts of anger, and the constant feeling that you are wading through concrete. There are no outright explosive cards here, which tells me you can make a quiet exit from an old tangled situation and go about your merry way. I feel like the silent exit might be the best strategy, as any arguments this week will be lose-lose. Meanwhile, I really like the Ace and Justice in this spread. The Ace tells me you will have more than enough energy—and the start of a solid plan—to make your exit. Justice at the end of the spread shows us anything that was done in the dark will be brought to the light. So if there are some unethical or icky forces at play in your life—whether it be gossip, false friends, a stank aura, people lighting candles against you—you’re going to find out about this.
PLEASE READ: I am not doing private readings for the foreseeable future. I have way too much going on to create content and be an effective reader. Please understand, this isn’t personal. I just need to clean my own mental and emotional house for now. If you want a badass reading, I suggest you hit up my friend Marshall Delaware. You can email him at ggm92666@yahoo.ca Also, I highly recommend you check out my Keen pal Silverbreeze. You can find her right here.
Do yourself a favor and check out the latest offering from Joan Carol Bird. It’s equal parts cozy and creepy.
Those wildfires on the West Coast displaced thousands of innocent pets. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) wants to help. If you would like to help the pets affected by the wildfires, please click here. Also, the American Humane Society is looking for donations for these pets. You can donate here. (Yes, they are still accepting donations for this.)
Also, consider donating to Blind Cat Rescue. They do wonders for blind and FLV+ cats.
For those of you who can’t resist a little subtle virtue signalling, why not buy a shirt that gives back? Arm the Animals has some of the cutest shirts I’ve seen in a long time, plus a portion of the proceeds go to shelter pets in need. I also love Meow.com because this site allows me to buy a new workout shirt and give to homeless kitties at the same time.
If beanies or water bottles are more your style, check out the Piper Lou collection. Proceeds from select items benefit the Australian Red Cross. You can see for yourself right here. Or you can take the more direct route through GreaterGood.com
P.S. I managed to publish the first part of my first novel in 2019!! I’m excited and want to share it with you. Check out Water Torture Part One: Have You Checked the Children? Here. Please read and review it. Thank you!!
Did you like my buddy Marshall Delaware, aka G. G. MacLeod? Check out our latest political collab. He’s coming back in the near future, FYI. If you want to read an awesome historical fiction novel, you can get your hands on his book here. It may take place in Ancient Rome, but Augusta couldn’t be any more timely if it tried. He actually dropped Part Two a while ago and then gifted the world with Part Three. Part Four is right here. And, ehrmagerd, you can even score Part Five. I think you should go get it, Tiger!
the spice is right 