Post No. 1,431 - YouTube video for this Sabbat

I recorded the Southern Hemisphere chant for my ritual for this Sabbat, which is Southern Hemisphere Beltane, Northern Hemisphere Samhain.

The "vid" is at https://youtu.be/_ZlVQUj5-J8

Post No. 1,430 - Cross posting: A commentary on protests, police, and perceptions - and violence

This first appeared on my political blog at https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2019/10/a-commentary-on-protests-police-and.html.


When I was a very young kid, Mum and I were in the city (Melbourne) for one of - if not the - the earliest Viêt Nàm war protests. It was incredibly loud - not very physically active, just people slowly walking and chanting, but the noise and one other aspect overwhelmed and terrified me. I wound up hiding behind Mum's legs - one of the protestors tried to reassure me, but I was having none of it, and Mum asked her to move on. (I've occasionally recalled that when former protestors have claimed they were welcomed by all - they weren't.)

The other aspect I mentioned was what I, in my early primary school years, perceived as anger.

I think that's something which people of passion need to keep in mind: that their passion can be perceived as anger by others, and thus feel threatening, even though there may be no intention of physical harm. In the case of the protests at a mining conference this week in my home city, protestors shouting at not just delegates but innocent people going past is likely, rightly or wrongly, to be perceived as threatening. (If the police inferences of protestors being physically violent are true, I would expect them to be able to produce evidence - or do they no longer film people at protests?)

In a domestic violence situation, words and the way they are spoken are accepted as being a form of violence (something a disgraced union leader demonstrated a few weeks ago, and well called out by Rosie Batty), but that seems to be forgotten in the passion of a protest - and we are considering a protest about the extinction of human and much other life.

When trying to justify the feelings of being threatened, many people try to find physicals act to justify their feelings, but often it is just a human reaction to being on the receiving end of passion that has been perceived as human aggression (one of our greatest fears, according to Paul K Chappell). It just seems embarrassing to say "they were making scary noises", even though that may be the truth. (The Australian soldiers facing a protest in Afghanistan, on the other  hand, that is being investigated, were facing genuine physical threats.)

This, in addition to the fundamental threat to a possibly cherished perception, value, or edifice (of individuals, groups, or society) can lead to excessive responses on the part of authorities and others.

When reading about protests, I've often thought of the view attributed to Gandhi (in the film, at any rate) that the role of a civil protestor is to provoke a reaction. I don't know how disciplined the protestors organising these protests are (having heard one of them interviewed, I am inclined to consider they are well-informed, and likely to be organised and probably disciplined), but I do know Gandhi acted to stop or calm protests when things got out of hand - and he was dealing with situations where police had been killed by protestors, in one instance, and various other forms of violence.

Mt opinion is that the protestors are being effective protestors, mostly physically peaceful, but forceful - noisily so, and in a way that is being perceived as threatening on a primitive, subconscious level by those around them. That leads to any wrongdoing by the protestors to be latched on to and magnified.

On the other sides - and yes, there are multiple others: police and attendees, I'll begin with the police. (There is also the role of the neoliberal denialist dinosaurs in the Federal government, but I consider them beyond the pale.)

The police are trained, but they're trained by people who I suspect are conservative, and maybe don't know much about human emotion (although that has slowly been changing for the better in recent years). But they're also trained from the perspective of power, and to ensure that they are not overwhelmed or lose control of a situation - and I think most people would want that when police are dealing with violent criminals, police also need to understand when to change tactics, when situation are fundamentally different.

Many people tend to think police are there to enforce laws, but they're actually charged with enforcing law and order, and it is the attraction to order that (a) draws some conservative personalities, and (b) makes for a bad copper (an example of this is the officer who described peaceful but effectively disruptive Extinction Rebellion protestors a few months ago as "violent" when there was no such thing).

In the case of the current protests, the police have been using capsicum spray. I'm an asthmatic, so that is potentially fatal to me, but for many people, the physical harm done by capsicum spray probably passes quicker than having bones broken or being bruised by a baton - and it definitely passes quicker than being shot (thinking back to what happened to those protesting for India's independence). Nevertheless, using capsicum spray indiscriminately, or against journalists, is not acceptable.

The police have also been using techniques, such as swarming onto people on the ground to stop them moving, which are aimed at arresting potentially violent people in the safest way possible.

Potentially.

I think the evidence is that the police have certainly felt threatened by the protestors in this instance - and again, that threat is probably from the display of raw human emotion, rather than any overt physical act, but that can be threatening, as is illustrated by the view of such behaviour in a domestic violence situation. Their responses have, at times, been concerning - using horses is an inherently dangerous act for all involved, including the horses, and I don't doubt that the woman reported to have two broken legs will successfully sue police.

Nevertheless, a lot of their actions have been reasonable (the construction barriers - water filled plastic - were a good idea: it would have been good to see those deployed earlier, and that will provably be the case in the future).

What has not been reasonable is the anger I saw on one officer's face as he wielded his baton against protestors (his colleagues were not resorting to using batons), anger that shows he has been overcome by working under the situation of threat, despite his training, and a similar incident where a police member very forcefully (I think it qualifies as "violently") pushed a protestor who had probably been giving lip. (I've also seen one officer calming and reassuring his colleagues, keeping them under control.)

Now, I consider that we expect too much of police. I would like to see frontline police managed the way frontline soldiers are - with time rotated out of the "firing line" of crime and human suffering and occasional protests, and given far more psychological support (which would probably be resisted by the toxic masculinity and emotion-denying conservative elements that still reside in pockets of the police force). I have admired the incredible restraint shown by police and similar forces - as exemplified by the restraint that US soldiers in Iraq eventually learned to use (in response to being filmed on mobile phones), or by the soldiers in early Viêt Nàm war protests who held their ground despite women unzipping their flies - which, make no bones about it, is sexual assault (being in a protest does not justify all acts any more than wearing a blue uniform automatically reassures members of the public).

Notwithstanding that, the reality of the modern world is that all people, including police are under extreme levels of surveillance and criticism, and actions in one situation can have effects elsewhere.

The film of the officer showing anger on his face is likely to cause some people to have concerns about calling on the police, although some  conservative people may consider it "good".

In this sort of situation, it behoves police to remember that they are acting not just to enforce order in this situation, but they are also advertising their conduct to all of society, and most people are probably less conservative than they are. Closing ranks at this time is understandable, but may not be the best long term response. I'll be interested to see how the discussion on conduct goes next week, after the conference has ended.

It is worth noting that one of the ways to calm someone who is angry is to let them have their say. I recall film from some years ago of an umpire running backwards as he was followed by a player who was having an absolute rant: it worked, the player got it out of his system, and the umpire was quite rightly praised later.  This is a technique that isn't always appropriate, and it may not be a cure, but letting protestors make a lot of noise is fundamental, in my opinion.

It equally behoves the protestors to keep the same in mind, and this is where we get to the third group involved: the mining profession, and those responsible for the current climate crisis. As a group, they have been slow to respond - remember my earlier comments about cherished views, but they are also correct about people not appreciating things like the minerals that make mobile phones possible (one of the many reasons my personal mobile phone is not a so-called "smart" phone). Those counter-points are true, but they do not outweigh the seriousness of the situation in - we really are in a crisis.

So how do you get someone to change their mind about what they've cherished probably most of their life?

You have to get their attention first, and that is what these protestors have certainly done. However, you then have to change their minds, and at that point it is important to remember Gandhi's admonition "Do you fight to changes things, or to punish?"

Changing people away from cherished positions takes sustained effort, by people who those you are trying to change consider have credibility - and there are some people trying to do that from within at the conference. The effort, however, needs to go on well beyond a three day conference, and that is where I have concerns: who is going to do that? Who is going to engage with mining companies, in a long, persistent campaign, in a way aimed at trying to change their minds, after all this metaphorical "fire and fury" is gone?

The protestors - and many others - are genuinely feeling desperately afraid and powerless: anyone prepared to get a persistent email conversation underway with those whose minds need to be changed? Of course, that question equally applies to the minind industry: anyone prepared to engage in a long term dialogue?

Post No. 1,429 - Rune book project: "Runes in Space"

One of the projects I have waiting for me to have time, energy, and opportunity to finish, is a book on runes.

I want to generalise what I write in that book, and so I've actually chosen to set it in space, and use something from the physics of space to illustrate the essence of the rune. There are a couple of other matters I wish to cover for each rune; from the draft (which I haven't touched since 2015, now):

For each rune I will provide:

-       the rune shape;

-       the rune name (I have used the Germanic names as I am most comfortable with those);

-       some keyword associations;

-       (some) alternative names and symbols,

-       a commentary based on general associations and the “runes in space” concept;

-       a micro-rune perspective of the rune;

-       the New Australian Rune Poem I have written;

-       a commentary on the position of the rune (i.e. the rune in the context of the sequence of runes before and after it, and the ætt it is part of); and

-       some introductory comments about the types of energetic workings I consider the rune could effectively be used for.

So, the extract I have chosen is Fehu. Before I give that:

Copyright © 2015 - 2019 Kay White 

The moral right of the author has been asserted. 

All rights reserved.

Feoh / Fehu

Let’s start by seeing what this rune looks like: please have a look at Figure No. 1. 

Figure No. 1– Feoh / Fehu, from rune card set

The card has the rune in the centre, and underneath it is the main name, with the Saxon version first (i.e., the name used in the Northumbrian runes – or, rather, one of them) and then the Germanic version many people are familiar with (again, that should be described as “one of “). Underneath that may be one or more of any alternate names. Below that are some key words which I use to summarise the energy of the rune, as I feel it.

The key words that I use have changed over time as my feel for the runes has developed, and I have started looking at them in more depth and subtlety. The first set of rune cards I made had half a dozen key words in some cases, but now I know most of those, and thus have cut down the keywords to those that I need … I need - not, Dear Reader, necessarily those that are best for you, or anyone else.

I actually quite like the idea of people making their own rune sets, and if they make cards, they can write whatever key words are most appropriate for them and, over time, remake the deck if they wish to change some of the key words to suit their understanding – and depth of understanding – of the runes. It’s worked well for me J

OK, so let’s look up, a little higher on the image.

On the outside, at roughly the centre on the left, will be various microrunic version of the rune itself, and, on the right, alternate ways of drawing the rune.

I won’t go through all that for the other runes.

The space rune Feoh / Fehu

Traditionally, Feoh / Fehu is considered to represent mobile – in the sense of “moveable”, or “transportable” – wealth, such as cattle, in the “Dark Ages” and Middle Ages in Northern Europe. In the context of interstellar space, the most wealthy thing to have is life – it is rare, of inestimable value, and requires a significant quantity and variety of resources to sustain it.

It is also “on the move” in a number of senses – evolution is changing all forms of life through time, and the places upon which life is found are hurtling through space at staggeringly high velocities.

Life forms are mobile – mostly within the life-space (planet) they evolved on, but we’ve stared dipping our toes into interstellar space a little …

From the point of interstellar space, the lesson of Feoh / Fehu is to appreciate the rarity of things that make life worth living – true wealth, rather than the false images of wealth that, in the words of the Old Norse Rune Rhyme, “causes strife among kinsmen”.

A microrunic perspective on Feoh / Fehu

If we look at Feoh / Fehu from the point of view of micro-runes, there are many ways to create this rune. Most commonly, this is shown as two upside-down alternate-Kenaz runes overlapping, and spaced slightly one above the other – see Figure No. 2. Viewed as such, it is easy enough to see that energy can be considered to be coming from energy – and hence “wealth breeds wealth”, in a sense, and all the problems that come with being wealthy (such as jealousy, family struggles for control of wealth, etc).

Figure No. 2 – traditional microrunic view of Feoh / Fehu

From the point of view of this review, I will consider Feoh / Fehu as two bind microrunes – again, laid one over the other, slightly overlapping, but this time, each bind microrune comprises Kenaz flowing out from Isa – see Figure No. 3. 

Figure No. 3 – modified microrunic view of Feoh / Fehu

To consider this version of the construction of Feoh / Fehu, consider first the image of a river being created by the melting of a glacier. As the ice is transformed, it becomes something which can – in the harsh Scandinavian and northern European world - give life by growing crops and giving water. That is all very straightforward, and understandable; the crops give sustenance for life, and so “wealth”, in a sense is created – true wealth, something which is of genuine value and use, rather than something such as gold, which is of no direct, life-giving value.

When we have two glaciers, and two rivers, side by side, things can potentially still go well – or even better, but provided the water being created can flow away freely. If one river cannot get away, a flood may result, with potentially lots of damage and even loss of life.

So … if things keep flowing, keep moving, thereby allowing room for more “wealth” to be created by this transformation, “wealth builds wealth”. If we attempt to hold on to something, we risk restricting this natural flow of energy, and the consequences may be dire.

This analogy is not saying that the consequences of trying to hold on to “wealth” are due to karma: it is saying that the fundamental harm arises from the result of stopping the transformation or flow which creates something wealthy from something which may not be of value.

Water from ice is one such transformation, but other transformations can be created from our effort, our skills, our hard work. In Middle Ages Europe, one such transformation would be to turn grass and water into meat and milk, by having, nurturing and growing a herd of cattle.

The New Australian Rune Poem on Feoh / Fehu

That which we value and hold most dear

is rarely fixed to the ground,

and that which we create

- by wit, by grit, by skill,

we must pass on

- or block the flow.

For comparison, the traditional poems for this rune are as follows:

Hávamál – Feoh / Fehu

Those spells I know     which the spouses of kings

wot not, nor earthly wight:

“Help “ one is hight,     with which holpen thou’ It be

in sorrow and care and sickness 

Old English Rune Poem (OERP) – Feoh / Fehu

(Money) is a comfort

to every body.

Although everyman ought

to deal it out freely

if he wants to get approval

from the Lord.

Old Norse Rune Rhyme (ONRR) – Feoh / Fehu

(Money) causes strife among kinsmen;

the wolf grows up in the woods.

Old Icelandic Rune Poem (OIRP) – Feoh / Fehu

(Money) is the (cause of) strife among kinsmen,

and the fire of the flood tide

and the path of the path of the serpent.

Sequencing: Wunjo to FEOH / FEHU to Uruz  

In  this section I will consider the significance of the runes of either side of each rune – either side within each ætt, that is. In this case, Feoh is the first rune, and thus is succeeded by Uruz, which is 2^nd in Freyja’s Ætt, and is “preceded” by the last rune, Wunjo.

I used to have this on the rune cards, but took it off my current versions, as I tend to focus more on the microrunic aspects.

So, let us consider Feoh / Fehu, and, with spiritual ecstasy (Wunjo) on one side, and strength (Uruz) on the other, how can you not be wealthy?

This sequence reminds us that wealth is not necessarily material things, it is those attributes, both physical and non-physical, which we carry within ourselves.

Actually, this could go further, and remind us that having spirit and the physical close together, perhaps even in union, is the ultimate in wealth.

Energetic Workings with Feoh / Fehu

In magical workings, I invoke Feoh / Fehu if I wish to increase a resource. Comparatively rarely is this anything to do with money: more commonly it would be something like increasing friendships (i.e., the wealth of “social capital”, as the [good] economists would say). I don’t use this rune to increase time (Jera is more appropriate for that) or skills (there are generally specific runes better suited to whatever skills I wish to increase, although there may be times when Feoh / Fehu is the best fit for a need). Similarly, I wouldn’t use Feoh / Fehu to change perspectives to increase appreciation of the non-monetary things we have (again, other runes are better for that). But if you want to increase the support you have from other people, or, say, diaries/organisers and pencils etc for a workshop (to be a little flippant), Feoh / Fehu is the rune for you.

Just keep in mind that, as the New Australian Rune Poem for Feoh / Fehu says, we need to remember that life has a dynamic flow, and if we try to hold on to something with the nature of Feoh / Fehu, it won’t work. If you want something fixed and stable (which is only relative of course, but more on that later), turn to Uruz or Othala one of the other runes better suited to that purpose.

In the old Norse and Germanic tribes, family is often described as being of great importance. True enough, but the sense of family was broader than the small nuclear concept paraded around in the last century or so as “traditional family” (I was so tempted to throw a “faux” in there … ). For the sake of survival, your tribe had to work together. If your tribe needed a blacksmith, it had to be someone who was capable of being a blacksmith – not someone who took it on for social prestige. Just as importantly, that person had to take on an apprentice, so these essential skills didn’t die out. If you have a blessing, enjoy it, appreciate it, and stay aware that it is not your possession – remember the adage about love: “If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they are yours to love, if not, they never really were. Remember, these people were not so individualistic that they couldn’t include a rune like Mannaz in their rune set, nor so presumptive of ownership (as, in my opinion, too many in the modern developed nations are) that they couldn’t have a rune like Gebo. In fact, in my opinion the traditional warning about strife amongst kin shows a strong awareness of this issue: true wealth is best shared.

In the modern developed world, when many people obtain a home, rather than simply enjoying it, they become obsessed with making it bigger or flashier (“better”), or moving on to the next “better” “home”, and that leads to attitudes where they oppose changes which could make it easier for other people to own their own home. That is a modern form of the “strife amongst kin”, selfishness and materialism triggered by having a modest amount of wealth and suddenly wanting to be one of the rich. The same sort of attitude applies to smaller possessions (“Is your TV bigger/flatter/thinner/newer than mine? Then I better get a new one”), and is a great way to isolate yourself from the energetic flow of Feoh / Fehu.

Whenever you work with Feoh / Fehu, be aware of the flow. Where does this blessing come from? Could anyone else be losing out as a result of you having more? If so, then perhaps you need to start the increase of prosperity before it gets to you, “upstream”, in a sense. If, a thousand years or so ago, you wanted more milk, then it maybe had to start with someone else getting an extra cow,

In addition, you need to consider the ability of things to continue flowing. Let’s say the extra cow can only come at the expense of someone’s farmland, so more milk but less crops. Overall, that may not be a benefit  remember the adage warning of such things, which refers to “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.

While we’re on that, one of the alternate names for Feoh / Fehu is Fé, from which, I understand (and I’m no linguistic expert) I understand our modern word “fee” comes from. What is the fee you are going to pay for your increased blessing? Only children and fools think a solution to economic woes is to print more money! Only children and fools think they have done enough by existing to automatically earn the right to have more – there often is enough abundance (I am a great believer in abundance) to have more, the only question is, have you done enough to earn a bigger share? Consider: are you generous? Do you enable others to also share in this abundance? Would the all-knowing Ódin (or, if you prefer, the all-knowing “Universe”), knowing your innermost self, really think giving you more resources to run a workshop is an investment in other people, or would it be known that you want to laze around and bludge off others?

At the very least, you will have to invest enough time and energy and effort to invoke the rune, even if that is “only” by lighting a candle (be too dismissive of that; it’s the technique I most use … and I do it online! J ) with the intent of invoking the energies of Feoh / Fehu. That straight away raises an opportunity for you: how about you also light a candle for the rune to use as it wills – or better yet, if we take the sandwich approach (the old guide for giving criticism, good comment/praise – bad comment/criticism – good comment/praise), light a candle to the rune, then for your request, then another for the rune. This demonstrates your intention to give more than you receive, which is a great way to keep the flow of “moveable wealth” (the traditional meaning of this rune) going. (Galina Krasskova writes about the concept of runes as being alive in her book “Runes: Theory and Practice” [pub. New Page Books, 2010, ISBN 978-1-60163-085-8]: if you want to know more about this approach to the runes, I suggest you read that book.)

Now, let’s turn to my personal working experience.

Matters I have used this rune for include:

Ø  improving the spiritual climate of this planet / physical level of reality:
- for a successful outcome for a spiritual conference I was helping to organise (this needs money, good financial management [including around setting a budget so ticket prices can balance cost recovery against maximising attendance], and ticket sales);

Ø  addressing other matters on this planet / physical level of reality:
-

Ø  change of personal characteristics:
-

Ø  other goals:
- gaining the resources to have a sacred space; gaining the resources to recommence sailing; having a stable income; having the resources I and my team need (including enough business) to do my (day) job; for the (financial) wellbeing of my family, friends and Significant Others; for the financial independence and coping of people I was helping after they had experienced a major personal crisis (often through no “fault” of their own);

I’ll cover more on how I have done this in the Section Working with energy.

This has been a great way to start the consideration of energetic workings!