Society
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The Cat Cure: Animal Husbandry and Human Civilization
I do love my cat. Gods, do I love my cat. Cu Gwyn is his name, meaning “White Dog” in Welsh; we chose it for him because he’s a black cat, and that’s the kind of sense of humor we have. Cu wanders the house at random, mostly sleeping or looking out the window or Continue reading
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Temperance, Terror, Torch, Torture
My old blog, the Word of the Day, is defunct, and I’m getting ready to take it down. Before I do, though, I’m going to repost some of the best words here over the next few weeks. Enjoy! Temperance Ultimately, temperance comes from Latin tempus, “time”. No one knows where Latin picked up tempus – Continue reading
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The Tie that Binds: a Meditation on Love and War
Why are people violent? Years ago, during a visualization meditation on physical violence (I wanted to try and get at the root of it, to understand where it came from), I found myself on a path edged with tall, tangled bushes. Their branches were bowed with huge blossoms and masses of matted leaves. The air Continue reading
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Nature and Social Insanity
I’ve been talking with Alison a lot over the past week about insanity — particularly insanity in societies. Obviously individual people can be insane — usually broadly defined as mental or emotional distress that interferes with functioning normally in society. But what would it mean for a whole community to be insane? Is that even Continue reading
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At Death’s Door: Thoughts on Immortality and Spirituality
A few months ago there was another breakthrough in geriatrics. This time, scientists were actually able to reverse aging in mice. The very thought of reversing aging has been considered insane for most of the history of science. Getting old happens — to animals, plants, buildings, planets, and stars. Bodies, like everything else, just wears Continue reading
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Year 2010
Year is originally from way back in Proto-Indo-European, yer, meaning “doer”, i.e. one who does something or makes something. It became jæram in Proto-Germanic, and gear in Old English, before softening to year in modern English. Energetically, year packs a lot of punch; it’s a forceful, powerful, high-strung burst. 2009 definitely packed a punch. A lot of folks I know had Continue reading
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Man vs. Machine: John Henry, Science Fiction, and the March of Progress
There are only two kinds of plots in true science fiction: Science is a Hero, and Science is a Villain. In Science is a Hero, there is some problem or other — an asteroid is going to hit the Earth, the Galactic Empire is falling, there’s a Plague IN SPACE!! — and the heroic characters Continue reading
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On Grief and Connection: A Response to the Fort Hood Deaths
A Guest Post by Ali, of Meadowsweet & Myrrh Jeff’s last post illustrated very well the kind of divisive rhetoric utilized in most political speeches these days, language that takes for granted an implicit superiority of American citizens and soldiery, and that rejects understanding, compassion and forgiveness for fear that such things will lead to Continue reading
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Obama’s Best Speech Never: What the President Should Have Said
OBAMA’S BEST SPEECH NEVER Obama’s speech at Ft. Hood, honoring the dead in the recent shooting, is being hailed as a masterpiece of rhetoric. Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic (http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/11/the_best_speech_obamas_given_since_the_inaguruation.php) says: (blockquote) “I guarantee: they’ll be teaching this one in rhetoric classes. It was that good. My gloss won’t do it justice. Yes, I’m having Continue reading
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The Myth of Modern Mythlessness
I don’t usually have posts that do nothing but link elsewhere, but I couldn’t resist pointing you over to Ali’s latest, The Group of Twenty and the Mythology of the Market. Ali’s thesis is that myths are not just stories that our ancestors believed back when the human race was young and full of childlike innocence, Continue reading
About Me
Word, Card, and Star – a journey through language, divination, and inspiration. A chronicle of my search for guidance, insight, and a connection to nature and the ancient world. Along the way, I hope to discover beauty, connection, groundedness, and a sense of wonder.
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