A Message of Hope From My Ogham

[kimberlysteele]

 

I recently asked my Ogham for a general, state-of-the-world style reading.  Instead of designating myself or another individual as querent, I asked what was in store for the “rest of us”, meaning my commentariat and the extended communities it touches within a couple degrees of separation.  I specified that I wanted to know the general past (Left), the Situation or Present (Center), and the Karma/Outcome (Right).

 

They gave me three cards.

 

The tree-letter they gave me symbolizing the Past was Onn or Community well-dignified.  The plant originally associated with Onn is Gorse, but as Gorse is not common to my area of the Upper Midwest, I have replaced it with the native plant Monarda or Bee Balm, a favorite of pollinators and human gardeners alike.  

 

Most of us have seen the breakup of one or more of our communities in the last 20 - 40 years, with especially marked disintegration since February 2020.  I am no exception.  I grew up in the 70s on a block where everyone knew each other.  I considered my neighbors, who consisted of older semi-retired couples and young couples either had children or planned to do so, as extended family members.  We thought nothing of giving each other spare keys just in case we locked ourselves out of our own homes.  There was a thing called Neighborhood Watch.  Those who were part of it put a little sign in the window designating it as a place to go just in case some creep in a van offering candy decided to lurk in our cloistered enclave.  Every year, the elementary school put out a self-published, mimeographed address book of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of every person in school as well as the teachers and principal.  In other words, there was a sense of community that did not survive into the modern day.  

Tales of My Misspent Youth

I knew the halcyon days of 70s-early 80s community were done and over with around the time I quit my local teacher’s association after approximately six years of membership.  Hoping to prove my competence, I took on the duty of administering music theory testing for my local chapter.  An average of 300 students took the test per year and it was my unpaid job to organize a venue, testing, and grading among the other teacher-volunteers.  Many tears were shed as I came to the realization that the organization was sucking me dry.  it all came to a head when a particularly entitled teacher expected me to put 21 of her students through the test without any exchange of work while she and her husband went on vacation over the winter break.  She left a salty “How dare you!” voicemail that I have since forgiven but I will never forget.  Her Boomer outrage was one of my first object lessons in the predicament of the Professional Managerial Class, a set of people who want it all but who aren’t happy no matter how much they’ve got.  Had she been the only one who had tried her stunt, I might still be in the organization today.  She was far from the only one.

 

When I went vegan in July 2010, I found myself absorbed by a new, burgeoning community of animal rights activists.  This group had plenty of problems, but overall there was great camaraderie, especially locally.  I organized vegan potlucks, holiday gatherings, and even a charity vegan bake sale one year.  The juggernaut created by my group and others was enough to get plant-based burgers and other options on the menu of several major fast food chains.  Celebrities, eager to virtue signal, adopted veganism as a diet and soon realized that for a large number human beings, eating loads of plants can easily lead to better digestion, immunity, and the reversal of supposedly incurable chronic diseases.  Veganism made major inroads onto the health scene, with documentaries like Forks Over Knives, Cowspiracy, and What the Health skewering Big Pharma and yanking the curtain off its incestuous relationship with Big Agriculture and Big Government.  That’s why nobody was more surprised than I was when my former allies in the vegan scene went running with open arms to embrace unhealthy masking and Big Pharma’s latest cash cow, the MRNA inoculation in the guise of a vaccine.  People who I thought were made of stronger and better stuff sucked up what I thought was blatant hysteria — better mask and vaxx or you’ll show yourself to be a Trump supporter!  The vegan community has been blown to shreds over this issue. 

 

I was one of the lucky ones, for at least I did not have to come home to a spouse who wanted me to submit my body to medical experimentation.  I know plenty of people who are living with someone who volunteered for the Frankenlab Jab.  Members of my own family have gotten it.   The Plandemic has rudely ripped out much of the tolerant complacency that glued families and communities together: that’s what I think my Ogham were trying to say with Onn or Community representing a major factor of our collective past.

 

The second or Situation card symbolizing the present day is Tinne or Defense ill-dignified.  In the old system, Tinne is attributed to Holly, which is one and the same as the parasitic winter plant that climbs oak trees in Europe.  I have only seen holly growing on an oak once in my life, and someone had cultivated it in their yard and had to point it out.  Around my area of the Northern Illinois prairie, we have a common tree called Eastern Cedar.  The Eastern Cedar is not a true cedar, but like holly, it is evergreen and prickly.  

 

Just When You Thought It Was Safe…

 

Defense is a difficult balance, and my Ogham say our current approach to it is decidedly imbalanced.  it is easy to have two kinds of imbalance at once: both too much and too little defense.  

 

Defense is often imaginary.  The mask, like a toddler’s talismanic stuffed toy, is an imaginary defense.  It is proven not to work on the physical plane.  Whether or not those still wearing the mask realize it, they are engaging in superstition.  The MRNA vaccine is also superstition, and a vastly more harmful one than masks at that.  The mask wearer is in the same unenviable frame of mind as a compulsive hand washer.  The compulsive hand washer lives in fear of touch, wary of pathogens that will surely invade the sanctum of his body.  Meanwhile, his hands crack and bleed and he is ironically more prone to scary pathogens by virtue of a dampened immune system from over-cleanliness and the compromised skin of his fingers and palms.  

 

We live in an age where safety has been dramatically misunderstood.  I often think of the perfectly-titled 1995 art film Safe, where Julianne Moore plays a suburban housewife and mother named Carol White who becomes withdrawn into a hypochondriac’s world of allergies and sensitivities.  In the film, Carol’s idyllic existence of exercise classes, lunches with the girls, and gardening is disrupted when a home renovation triggers the symptoms of a mystery disease.  Carol suffers in isolation until she goes on an expensive retreat to Wrenwood, a community of other mystery sensitivity/allergy disease sufferers, and quickly becomes a devotee of the community’s charismatic leader.   Meanwhile, her body wastes away and her family have no choice but to abandon hope that she will return to them.

 

There’s a meme that says “I don’t want to give up on anyone, but if you think you are going to be killed by fresh air, sunlight, and hugs, we might have to move forward without you.”  I think those of us who did not lose our minds over the Plandemic got the memo about it being political/fake when hugging became a radical act.  Safety is never guaranteed on the Meat Plane.  That’s not how it works here.  There are special bubbles where the privileged can retreat, and they can pretend all they want that they are protected while they stew in their own misery; safety is still only an illusion.  The spoiler alert is that nobody gets out of this incarnation alive, and fear is no way to live.

 

I Know Things Now

 

The third card my Ogham give me in the much-anticipated Future position is Phagos or Teaching well-dignified.  Phagos is symbolized both in the old Ogham and my new one as the Beech tree, a tree that loves liminal spaces like bogs and riversides and that can grow to staggering heights.  The bark of the beech used to be made into paper, which is to my mind a further hint to its educational signature.  In my Ogham, Phagos is a card of mastery of a mental plane concept or concepts well enough to teach it.  For instance, I am a music theory expert.  The litmus test of my mastery is my ability to hear a tune or a harmony or both and to be instantly able to put it into sheet music notation.  Mastery is not confined to academic disciplines such as music theory: many people (not me) are masters at reading the emotional subtexts of other people.  One can also be a master in a negative, life-destroying way, for instance the narcissist who is a master at making others fearfully do her bidding.  

 

For Phagos to apply to a collective is a fortunate omen.  Well-dignified, it means that we are going to get over the aforementioned humps of misunderstanding and ignorance.  The trend of the veil of bullcrap being lifted will continue and the masses will belatedly understand that the government did not have public health and well-being in mind when they decided to overreact big time to a seasonal flu with sketchy origins.  For those outside certain salary class rogue states such as Britain and Canada, life is about to mostly return to the Old Normal.  Panic-stirring is already being rehashed as the Delta Variant, just as Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine are being vindicated by one half of the population and eagerly restricted by the powers who realize they’re about to lose profits because of their use.  My Ogham say that the difference is that people are finally onto the grift.  I know my group of 3300 members, Speakeasy Illinois, is full of Illinoisans with no intention of participating in future lockdowns.  Any future bioweapon released by the Chinese government with US government assistance will have to kill far more than 1% to have any chance at success.  If and when that happens, scaremongering propagandists will face the uphill battle of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.  Those still listening to the propaganda will have to face the inevitable music of the MRNA vaccine’s side effects, which look to be building a small apocalypse that hints at being the next Thalidomide.  

The Idea Virus

One of the main reasons I blog is because I have come to a limited understanding that ideas I put out there might act like viruses.  My husband has put a few memes into circulation and though he's had no financial compensation for them, he has watched his ideas parroted by mainstream media and therefore come full circle back to their originator in him.  I saw with veganism that a catchy phrase or a salient bit of logic easily defeated the opposing side whereas the wall of text and cited references to studies failed time and again to reach anyone outside the confines of Veganville.  I have put the idea out there that masks are symbolic (like a Swastika to a Nazi) with no purpose outside of the astral plane in a couple of essays.   I have mentioned that I believe masks are Satanic -- meaning they symbolize a specific form of demonic infestation of the Left and that their symbolism should be apparent to those who believe they worship God, especially those who belong to churches that enforce/enforced masking.  

I garden not just for enjoyment but to inspire other people to garden, including guerrilla gardening and indoor gardening.  These days more than ever, it is crucial to live by example and not just as a fan of the way you'd like to be.  Phagos speaks of people picking up some of the old ways of appropriate tech.  Our era is going to mirror the 1970s in fuel shortages and price spikes, so we might as well lean into other 70s tropes like growing enough tomatoes in one's yard to supply a small city, tinkerers tinkering with DIY off-grid power experiments and solar cookers, and neighbors who know each other by name and have a spare set of your keys just in case. 

My Ogham seem to think that sanity will prevail.  That’s the Ogham for you.  They are much like a gentle parents.  At any rate, my fingers are crossed that they are right.

Comments

[mollari]

I've had a weird sense these past few months that the future is taking shape around the area defined by Ecosophia and adjoining areas. I wonder if the Ogham are saying that our ideas will percolate and we'll see the ideas we discuss come to dominate public discourse. I hope so, because that would be a lot less toxic than a lot of the alternatives...

[kimberlysteele]

I don't know how storms build in other areas such as the middle of Canada, but here we will have a spate of increasingly humid, oppressive weather and then a violent storm. The latest one brought tornadoes that obliterated a couple of suburban neighborhoods. I think the mask/vax thing is like that: it is building towards a nasty outbreak, and then there will be coolness and fair weather for a time.

Thank you!

[randomactsofkarmasc]

Thank you for the optimistic reading. My city was slow to let go of its mask mandate (technically, they never gave it up, but our Governor said they couldn't enforce it... some people still wear masks, but I actively avoid stores that have a 'mask required' sign up). My science center is doing face-to-face summer camps, the first time we've been allowed to have visitors in the building since March 2020. I had concerns about parents measuring the distance between tables, etc., but by and large, most parents who have children participating have been quite sane and incredibly appreciative of having a 'normal' camp for their children to attend. It makes me happy that your Ogham say this isn't a momentary reprieve, but that sanity really is returning.

Re: Thank you!

[kimberlysteele]

You’re welcome. Keep in mind Covid insanity has to do with the Professional Managerial Class being psychologically unable to deal with its own decline and fall. My Ogham are saying that this specific aspect of their psychology will be more fully revealed as time wears on. At some point, I think the PMC will be lampooned for their elitism and snobbery as part and parcel of their Covid fears. Once this happens, they will be rendered powerless along with their Marxist overlords.

/|\

[ehu]

thank you for this! fwiw, I can attest that synchronicity is very much happening these days ~ imho, your sharing this divination is accelerating the ongoing emergence of an ecosophian mutual empowerment dynamic. And not a moment too soon!

Re: /|\

[kimberlysteele]

You’re very welcome.

Ill Dignified Defense

[(Anonymous)]

I have been reflecting that part of the problems with woke insanity is that we take a purely defensive posture, confident in facts and truth while doing nothing productive to strike back

The Marxists do not play defense, they are on full offense and have been for decades

When they make self contradicting nonsense declarations they are not making an argument nor do they care if it is sound. They are displaying dominance.

Re: Ill Dignified Defense

[jpc_w]

Kimberly, can the Ogham suggest how to use their dominance posture as a thrust block?
Or if that's bad strategy, how to ensure their efforts progress to the Ring-Pass-Not?

Re: Ill Dignified Defense

[kimberlysteele]

Yes. Do everything in your power to ignore them. Wokesters crave attention. It’s the reason they become Woke. Use their idiocy to become everything they are not. They are intellectually and physically lazy, so when you see them acting lazy, be diligent and disciplined. They like to think in simplistic tropes, so when you see them doing that, find a topic, preferably from an ancient source, and go deep. Don’t engage them. They’re not worth your time. Noticed that in my Facebook group, Speakeasy Illinois, it’s all about patronizing places that don’t force masks or vaccines on people. It’s not about harassing maskturbator employees or getting in the governor’s face about grievances. Always focus on building up your side rather than tearing down the other side. As much as it may be satisfying to tear them down or to fight them, the quickest and surest way to victory is to ignore them.

Re: Ill Dignified Defense

[kimberlysteele]

You’re correct, the Wokesters (or really, the forces piloting them) have always been pure offense. That’s what will be their downfall. China, for instance, will not be the next great world power. They’re too brittle for that. Notice the Chinese government’s latest strategy to attempt to offend/antagonize everyone in the world: big mistake. Collapse and a new mini Dark Age is baked into the cake for China. They’ve got a demographics problem, a massive environmental problem, and they’ve made the gravest mistake of all by cutting their largest river in half with the Three Gorges Dam. I put my bets on India or Russia.

Re: Ill Dignified Defense

[tamanous2020]

It's a sadly funny thing to note as well that China is dependent on material overproduction for western consumers fueled by cheap oil to maintain their economy. That model has littered their enormous natural environment/resources with pollution and damage we can only speculate on. And the only benefit has been a temporary upsurge in material wealth at the tail end of the fossil fuel age which will not be able to be maintained. Western consumers are tapped out like druggies after a long term addiction and thats before the debt/inflation crisis hits.

As goes the West, so goes the Orient, tied together at the hip. The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been. The CCP and The US Federal govt are both headed for the same governmental trash heap.

Re: Ill Dignified Defense

[jruss]

Interesting stuff all around. One Youtuber I follow Raging Golden Eagle has the same idea. Ignore, block, build your own stuff.

When asked what he'd do if the woke took Japan (like me he is really into Anime) he replied, sell my stuff to the Japanese who will be sick of woke.

Also, my bet is on Japan to rise up.

Re: Ill Dignified Defense

[kimberlysteele]

He seems like a cool guy! As for Japan, I really don't know. They've certainly got their work cut out for them. James Howard Kunstler often remarks that he believes the Japanese will be the first to go full neo-feudalism when push comes to shove. Personally, I don't think that will happen anytime soon, if ever.

[cutekitten]

My neighbors have been stuck in Florida because of Covid, I have their house key right now. Civilization is in good shape on my street!

[kimberlysteele]

Not a bad deal!

How dare you!

[(Anonymous)]

Kimberly, how dare you to spread positive thougts and hope? I love your Ogham reading. Thank you. Sting

Re: How dare you!

[(Anonymous)]

On a more serious note. Did you specify your Ogham reading to the US of A? Or is the reading globally applicable? In my country here in europe I feel, that we have not yet reached the peak of craziness nor the bottom of the misery.
Three weeks ago we had a poll on a covid-law that enables the government to extend the measures until 2031. The poll was enforced trough a referendum. The referendum was made possible trough citizens - like you with your speak easy group - by collecting signatures of registered voters. 50'000 were needed and 90'000 were collected. The result was in favour of the law with 60% yes and 40% no. Not surprisingly because the government, the parliament, all political parties and the MSM were unified for the law.
Because of changes in the law that were not part of the law, the 'resistance' decided to launch a second referendum. In only for weeks we collected again more than 60'000 signatures of voters who demand a second referendum. That's an amazing new record.
But we can't always fight against the establishment. We have - like you - to create alternatives. Even if the majority of the population has bought into the pandemic or is indifferent to the loss of democratic rights.
All the best, Sting

Re: How dare you!

[kimberlysteele]

Thanks! No, it wasn't specifically for the USA. Wow, through 2031? That's bats**t insane. You just have to go around them, second referendum or no second referendum. In my Speakeasy group, we had long lists of stores to boycott. For a while, we met in restaurants with indie owners who knew how to keep quiet. It really was like the US during prohibition, except it was breathing freely that was prohibited instead of alcohol!

Re: How dare you!

[(Anonymous)]

Is this Switzerland? It's remarkably hard to find out that yes, it allows these measures to last until 2031. I wonder how many people voted yes without knowing that key bit of information....

Re: How dare you!

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, it is Switzerland. I'm sure there are many who are totally indifferent to the consequences. Many think that the government did a good job in handling the pandemic by imposing measures but not as hard ones like in surrounding countries.

[lp9]

Thank you for this hopeful post! I too am feeling that, while there is an ebb and flow, slowly the COVID insanity is lifting for more and more people.