Happy Monday! September 5, 2022
– First Quarter Moon Phase – step out, take action, breaking away, expression
– Moon in CAPRICORN –
– Retrograde Planets – Saturn, Pluto, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus
– Best Days (from the Farmer’s Almanac) – Sept 4th – 5th – Bake, Cut Hair to Increase Growth, Potty Train, Wean, Wax Floors, Cut Firewood, Dig Holes, Mow to Increase Growth, Castrate Farm Animals
– Planting Calendar (from the Farmer’s Almanac) – Sept 4th – 5th – Any aboveground crops that can be planted now will do well.
– Aspect of the Aeon Sophia: (Wisdom): – Shodashi– The Fierce One (Goddess of Beauty)
– Aspect of the Aeon Thelete: (Will/Desire): Kathe – God of the South, God of Wisdom
– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Month – New Moon in Virgo SUN: “ SUN – 05 VIRGO: a man becoming aware of nature spirits and normally unseen spiritual energies” (& EARTH: 05 PISCES a church bazaar )
– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Year: –“ a flock of wild geese ”
SUN – 13 VIRGO: a powerful statesman overcomes a state of political hysteria
EARTH – 13 PISCES: a sword used in many battles in a museum
Happy Monday! “. . . there is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.” ~Samwise Gamgee
I pay homage today to Master Sam Gamgee and the folksy wisdom he offered to the story of the Lord of the Rings. His words, though simple ended up being some of the most profound of the entire series.
In the midst of all the action and drama, it comes back to the heart of the matter of why. Why do we keep on going. Why do we fight? It is to preserve what we can of what is good. And to make things better? Or are we just trying to survive?
There are so many story arcs within the Lord of the Rings that you often get lost. It is a Hero’s Journey. The unexpected hero who overcomes the Odds. It is Good vs Evil. It is the past vs the present vs the future.
While JRR Tolkien has noted that he hated allegory (stories with a hidden meaning or moral) there still remains within his worlds exactly that. We live these characters lives. We experience the hardship and the losses and the triumphs.
Why else would I have read LOTR 16 times and the Hobbit 12. The Silmarillion only twice (it gets long winded).
I have been asked many times why I reread books like this (Harry Potter series 7 times, Wheel of Time 3 times). The best reason I have to answer people is whether they have gone on vacation to the same place more than once.
Simply, each time I read them, it is like that vacation. I can relive the scenes and the emotions, the high’s and the lows.
As a kid, I visited Yosemite National Park every year but one after I was 7 years old. And that one year, we went to Sequoia instead. I reqxperienced the majesty and the grandure of one of the most incredible and beautiful places that Nature has created. Each time was different. Some times it was river rafting. Other times we were jumping off bridges. We hikes all voer the park. And one year I made it to the tomp of Half Dome. We made our own stories.
But I read The Fellowship of the Ring one year. And Dune another. And a number of other books. We did not have TV. So we found other entertainment that was more off the grid.
Worth Fighting For
We look at our somewhat less fantastic live than those we read about in the stories and ask how often we have faced that Dragon or watched as friends were slaughtered and thank the higher powers that life is better and safer where we are. Or is it safer?
Ask that question of Merchant ships attacked off the coast of Somalia. Ask the tourists travelling between Islamabad and Mumbai. As the tourists hiking the desert in Western Iraq. Or weekend warriors hiking the jungles of Guatamala. Life is not safe everywhere in the world. There are bad people Or at least people who do not have your best interests at heart.
Do you stay safely sequestered in your safe little corner of the world? Or do you venture out and explore? How far will you go to protect what you have from those outside your sphere of influence? And how much effort will it take to defend it?
These are some questions you need to ask yourself. What in your life is worth fighting for? And what will you have to do to protect it?
I ask these questions today and hope you will ask youself what you would need to do to denfnt yourself.
In my world, there is a hell of a lot that is worth fighting for.We just have to figure out who we ar fighting and how we can win.