FMM 8 28 2020 Crystal Vision

“I’m gonna put on an iron shirt and chase Satan out of earth.” ~ Maxi Romeo.

If you grew up in a Christian household like I did, you were discouraged from believing, or even showing an interest in things like astrology.  There was something pagan and sacrilegious about it.  Quite apart from Christian beliefs, my mother had other fixed ‘must nots’, like piercing your ears – only Gypsies did that apparently!  Of course as soon as I left home I got my ears pierced, and I also read my horoscope – though I have to say that since I did not like what my birth sign said about me (Capricorns are practical, hard-working, serious all of which said dull and boring to me), I never went crazy about the movement of the stars in the sky and what it may do to people on earth.

But I also realized, not long after I left home, that there is much which cannot be explained by science or by a belief system alone.   At some point in my life I made friends with a fellow nurse who was well versed in astrology, tarot cards and more.  We had many interesting conversations (when we could sneak them in) and one day she brought me a gift, a set of runes, with an accompanying book.  Runes are stones carved with Nordic symbols which have particular meanings.  In much the same way as Tarot cards, they can be used to give clarity to a situation, perhaps shedding light on a problem, perhaps suggesting a way to move forward.  Of course if you go to any fairground there will always be that ‘Fortune Teller’ who is willing to ‘read your cards’ or your palm, or your tea leaves, or in other parts of the world they will throw the bones. The suggestion is that a good diviner can intuit what is troubling you, may even identify the person, and predict your future.

Again, those who are raised in Christian households may be immediately distrustful of such things.  But because of my relationship with the person who gave me the runes, I decided to approach them with an open mind.  I read the book that accompanied them, and then I followed the instructions.  I turned the stones over and over in the velvet bag they came in while thinking of a current problem I was having.  I then pulled out three of them and laid them down in a row.  The first would tell me an overview the problem.  The second would tell me the challenge that I faced.  The third would tell me the course of action to take.

I was immediately hooked.  It was as if I had found a friend, one who could listen to me agonize over something and then show me another way to look at it.  The symbols represent things like ‘standstill’; ‘harvest’ (suggesting patience is needed); ‘movement’; twenty-five different symbols in all.  And somehow no matter what pressing problem I was facing, I could find an answer, one which helped me through the situation.  It was not so much fortune-telling, as self-reflection and self-analysis.

At that particular time, my life was in upheaval.  My marriage was shaky, I had emerged from a decade of having babies and working, with very little time for self, and I was beginning to question many things about my relationship.  The Runes counseled me.  I hid them from my husband, a doubting atheist and mistruster of all things that could not be explained rationally and scientifically, until one day I decided to tell him about them.  He jeered, laughed at me. I offered to ‘do a reading’ for him.  Without knowing what question he had in mind, I threw the runes.  Based on the interpretation I told him what I thought his question was. No, absolutely not, he said, it was something else altogether.  But a few days later he confessed that I was right.

I don’t throw the runes much, anymore.  Perhaps I have learned what I needed to learn, that most of our answers are already inside us. Sometimes we need a key to access them, or permission to trust our instincts.  When our life is in turmoil, we seek answers.  Some use prayer or the Bible to clarify their situation. Others seek energy medicine and crystals.  But often we find the best answers within, once we learn to trust our own voice.

I heard an interesting discussion yesterday, a scientist was explaining how it is that so many people are willing to believe in conspiracy theories.  She explained that whenever we encounter ‘cognitive dissonance’, when the things we see or hear do not support what we believe to be true, we go in search of ‘facts’ that support our beliefs.  If I keep on hearing ‘evidence’ that wearing a face mask will protect me and others from spreading the Corona virus, but the person I believe in and support tells me that is not true, then I will keep searching until I find ‘facts’ which match my beliefs, even if many would call those ‘facts’ conspiracy theories.  It explains a lot about our current dissonant world.

I am fascinated when I read postings in social media that seem to be coming from people who live in an alternate reality, a parallel universe.  Thankfully for the most part those people are ‘friends of friends’ rather than my actual friends.  I can deal with the ignorance of small-minded people.  The ones who scare me are the ones who seem reasonable, polite and well-meaning, but cannot see any point of view but their own.  There is one line of thinking which seems to be that ‘I am not racist, therefore the US is not a racist country.’ Or: ‘There may be some people who are racist, that does not mean the country is racist.’

If it is one thing that seems crystal clear to me, it is that events have come together to show with complete clarity the depth of racism that is embedded in this country, indeed in the world.  Covid-19 exposed the disparities in health outcomes for communities of color.  George Floyd’s death highlighted the ongoing disregard for the value of the lives of black men.  And all of this is happening under the presidency of a man who promotes and supports white supremacy whether in coded language or in concrete actions.  And again this week we are looking at the hypocrisy of response to actions in split screen.  A black man who walked away from is police shot in the back, versus a white teenager who opened fire and killed people was arrested without any shots fired.  The action of the teenager was described by law enforcement as being the act of a vigilante who was trying to defend property, rather than the act of a terrorist.

I don’t know if the runes can help us here.  But I have to believe that there are more good people than bad people in this country, that there are more people of every color who can clearly see the injustice and disparity, and come together for the good of the beloved community.  But we have to keep on getting into ‘good trouble’ and hope that MLK Jr’s justice and righteousness are just around the corner!

Have a wonderful weekend, Family!

One Love.

Namaste.