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.
For those of you who like my hot take on current events, check out the following (you can click on the hyperlinks to take a look at my sources):
- As many of you know, gas prices all over the world are at an all-time high. Here in the states, gas prices jumped to over $4 per gallon back in May. Pundits say the Russia-Ukraine war is responsible for a lot of this, but these same experts also believe China coming out of lockdown increased overall demand for oil, less available oil from other sources due to environmental concerns, and demand is still strong. You can read about these reasons right here.
- Speaking of environmental concerns, some folks are saying Biden and his damn caravan of hippies is driving oil prices up because of stricter environmental laws. This article right here (an op-ed, not straight news) talks about why that could well be bullshit.
- Disgruntled Trumpsters are blaming Biden for the surge in gas prices, but should they? Some experts believe gas prices are out of Biden’s control. You can read more about that here. Check out the National Resources Defense Council’s article on the common gas price myths right here. If you really want to feel like a selfish, whiny piece of shit, read this blog post. That post makes a good point, though. Maybe instead of complaining—trust me, I’m bitching about it too—we should see what we can do to ration before the government forces us to do it.
- Have you heard of the Federal Gas Tax? It’s been all over the news for the last month. Check out this handy article on what the FGT does, or this article on why it no longer helps pay for our infrastructure. Aaannnyyyhoo, Biden has been receiving a lot of pressure to at least suspend the FGT until oil prices correct themselves, which some believe would amount to maybe a 50 cent per gallon discount at the pump. Economists are giving this theory a major side-eye because it wouldn’t do anything about the supply/demand issue, which would not do anything to help the prices. You can read about that right here. Biden is unfortunately caving to this pressure. You can read the White House’s official plan to suspend the FGT in this statement.
- Some experts believe that demand destruction, or finding ways to not need so much gas, is the way to go. You can read more about that right here. No matter how you feel about demand destruction, Yahoo reports that it’s already happening. You can check out that article right here. Bloomberg reported demand destruction is already weakening the demand for gas in the bigger metropolitan areas. You can read about it in this article. Experts believe we shouldn’t count on demand destruction to give a whole lot of relief. Remember how China lifting their lockdown created an upswing in demand for oil? Here in the Northern Hemisphere, people are getting a little stir crazy and might cope with the higher prices in order to do a little traveling. You can read what Canadian economists are saying about the possible impact of demand destruction right here.
- Even though we’re all getting squeezed, OPEC nations refuse to lower prices. Given the history of bad blood, I’m not really surprised. There appears to be more to the story, though. Did you know Russia is one of the largest oil exporters in OPEC? ‘Tis true. The other OPEC nations, such as Iran and Nigeria, simply can’t match Russia’s output. Aaannnyyyhoo, in addition to not being able to keep up without Russia’s help, keeping prices high keeps Russia happy. This puts the other OPEC nations in the middle of Mother Russia and Daddy NATO’s fight. You can read more about it right here. This whole debacle reminds me of the oil embargo of 1973 and 1974. I wasn’t alive at the time, you smart ass, but I remember it from history books. You can read about the embargo and the resulting shortages here.
If you’re concerned about Russian civilians being incarcerated for peaceful protests and speaking their minds, please consider donating to OVD-Info. This organization works tirelessly to make sure less Russian civilians are unjustly jailed. You can donate to OVD-Info right here.
If you can, please consider making a donation to Ukranians affected by the current crisis. Consider making a donation to Catholic Relief Services or the International Rescue Committee to provide displaced Ukranians with much needed food, shelter, and medical care. Or, if you are more concerned about the children, please donate to UNICEF. Honestly, anything helps at this point.
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 about 6/21/22 – 6/28/22 and I got: Two of Swords (number 2, a stalemate, a potentially lose-lose situation, the need to balance opposing forces within oneself, finding balance amidst emotional or mental turmoil, a clear head is needed, avoid trying to make everyone happy, the need to face facts); Ten of Cups (number 10, sharing love and joy, fulfillment, happiness that is contagious); Seven of Swords (number 7, someone cunning and perhaps two-faced, schemes that do not work, possibly the need to cover one’s tracks, impulsiveness, the need to do some detective work, hiding one’s intentions from others, possibly the need to keep one’s ideas and plans to oneself, avoiding or manipulating the truth, and the need to use tact); and the Queen of Cups (water sign female, nurturing and sensitive person, intuitive person, possibly someone in their own world, emotional person, a sympathetic ear and support, nurturing a creative idea, and the need to be kind to oneself). Hmmm… A couple themes jump out at me. First, all of the cards in this spread are either from the suit of Cups or the suit of Swords. This tells me that we have a drag race between your mind and your emotions this week. It looks a little exhausting, so, gurrlll, you better WERK. All six of you who read my weekly posts—thank you, btw—know that the Suit of Cups deals with relationships, emotions, and connections between people. A ton of Cups in a reading means someone feels strongly—or a lot—which can be both positive or negative. By contrast, the suit of Swords deals with logic, communication, and the mind. A spread of mostly Swords means someone is primarily in their head about an issue. When I look at this spread, I want to read it as the first two cards telling one story and the second two cards telling another. The first two cards—the Two of Swords and the Ten of Cups—tell a tale of wanting to share your happiness or something you’re proud of (Ten of Cups), but you can’t because you don’t see it being productive or positive (Two of Swords). This can signify a fear of success or being scared of being happy. If this sounds like you, it might be a good week to take a step back from unnecessary social obligations. For those of you that journal or do automatic writing, you might want to ask yourself when was the first time you felt this way, why you think being happy or successful might come back to bite you, or what you think will happen if you allow yourself to talk about your success with others. The super cautious Two next to the obnoxiously happy Ten tells me that you might not trust the situation itself, like you think it will all end tomorrow. To be quite honest, I don’t trust the situation on a gut level either, but I don’t think it has to end with your being completely fucked over. All of the Two cards in the Minor Arcana talk about balance in some form or other. The Two of Swords talks about balancing your mind so that you can handle the possibility of not getting exactly what you want. Remember how I used to post gratitude spells? I chose to post non showy gratitude rituals to help teach you how to appreciate a situation for what it is, rather than what you hope it could be. This might be a good week to practice some humility and be grateful for what the situation is right now, while still preparing to deal with the end of this cycle. Our next story involves the sneaky Seven of Swords and the uber emotional Queen of Cups. Rather than a continuous story, this reading feels like two episodes of the same sitcom (or drama, given the themes). The Seven automatically tells me we have some trust issues going on or you’re dealing with an individual who thinks they’re slicker than grease. Or both. I feel like one person in this situation might expect to get screwed over because that’s what the other person has always done. In this case, the snake in the grass attempts to manipulate the other person by appealing to their emotions and caring nature, as signified by the Queen. As a Swords card, the Seven might also deal with someone looking to steal your ideas, especially since one aspect of the Queen is creativity. Do not share any deep feelings or creative projects with this person, but you can enjoy the superficial truce while it lasts. The Queen also tells me that you might be especially emotional this week, which might cause you to shut down or try and distract yourself from your feelings. Please don’t do either of those things. A better course of action would be to write your deeper thoughts and feelings in a journal, then focus on exchanging pleasantries with the known snake. If you are on the receiving end of the silent treatment or someone seems to be hesitant to engage with you, this might be a good week to think about how your actions may have hurt their feelings. It might be a case of you lashing out at them so many times that they look at you like you’re nuckin’ futs when you approach them in a friendly way. Although you probably had your reasons for acting in the ways that you did, there were still casualties.
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.
If you’re looking for an inspirational poem on finding your place in the world amongst a million ghosts, check out Joan Carol Bird’s latest. Hey, sharing is caring. While you’re at it, check out her newest collection of creepy tales right here.
I don’t know if you’ve heard about the abortion bans over the last year, but my OG readers can probably guess that grills my cheese in a bad way. Please consider donating to Planned Parenthood. The problem with banning abortion is, this makes a huge legal loophole for conservative legislators to make things like birth control or women’s healthcare cost prohibitive. Banning abortion also criminalizes doctors in situations where the pregnancy is nonviable and the fetus needs to be extracted in order to save the mother’s life. You know those babies conservative pro-life types don’t like paying for? Taking away abortion rights will most likely create more of those. I know, I know. Anyone who would read my blog probably doesn’t get stigmata or have a trauma reaction at the thought of Planned Parenthood. (If you do think I owe the world an apology for singing the praises of Planned Parenthood, I have two things to say to you. One, please remember what your religion told you about judging others and take a long look in the mirror. Two, perhaps you should acquaint yourself with other services Planned Parenthood provides. They offer women and men’s preventive healthcare, birth control and emergency contraception, HIV services, assistance for the transgender community, sexual assault crisis counseling, pregnancy counseling, and STD testing. You can learn more about these services right here.)
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 signaling, 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.
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. For those of you who can’t do the piecemeal thing, check out The Omnibus Edition so you can get Volumes 1-6 in one place. I think you should go get it, Tiger!