Deep MidWinter Potpourri

Picture found here. (This kind of potpourri can be a great way to humidify the air.)

We’re still a few weeks out from Imbolc, but if you pay attention, you’ll notice the shift in the light. The sun comes up a bit sooner and goes to bed a bit later, and there’s a different slant as the afternoon sun hits your floors and counters. I always think the sunlight this time of year shows up every spot and bit of dust. But it’s also comfortingly beautiful when it spotlights a bowl of lemons on the oak table or the leaves of your favorite houseplant. Maybe (it’s all real, it’s all metaphor, there’s always more) that’s symbolic of the work we’re meant to be doing at this time of year: seeing what needs to be seen and enjoying beauty when we find it. The bulbs I potted up a few weeks ago are just beginning to send up a few exploratory green shoots — snowdrops and tulips so far, but I’m hopeful the daffodils will follow shortly. Up here in the mountains, winter jasmine is in bloom and mullein’s fuzzy leaves are out, but not much else. What signs of Spring are you seeing?

Dio has an interesting post up about this year’s astrology. I’m asking myself how much of what upsets me is the result of me trying to cling to a world that no longer exists. What does her post say to you?

Do you make fire cider? I do most years, but haven’t yet this year. Maybe it would be a good project for this weekend when snow is predicted. (Hat tip: Byron Ballard)

I keep saying that people vote based as much on emotion as on facts and logic. I think Republicans get this and use it far better than do Democrats. Sure, the Republicans are exploiting negative emotions like fear, resentment, and anger, but they aren’t under the illusions that people will vote based on graphs, charts, figures, and logic. There’s an enduring belief among some people that if the Democrats would just provide “nice things” for people — MediCare for all, free college, legalized pot — then even white people without college educations would vote for us. After all, it would be in their own self-interest! But, look at Virginia. The Democrats got control and spent two years doing all kinds of nice things, demonstrable nice things, nice things that they talked about a lot. They ran a fantastic economy, built up a surplus, were recognized as the best state for business two years in a row. They eliminated school lunch debt, made it super easy to vote, and decriminalized pot. And they just got voted out of power. Why? Because while we were talking about how new rail lines were creating jobs and helping the environment, Republicans were ginning up racial resentment over Critical Race Theory. If you haven’t read Dying of Whiteness, you need to read it. Meanwhile, here’s an article that makes some of the same points and looks at how to move forward concerning environmental justice. (Hat tip Gus Dizerega)

I don’t think this will surprise any Witches: “[T]oday – two hundred years after its abolition – the locations in which the inquisition was strong have markedly lower levels of economic activity, trust and educational attainment than those in which it was weak.” (Again, thanks, Gus)

Call your Senators today and tell them to pass the voting rights act. I mean it.