We Invoke Blessings

Strategic Joy Deployed Against Despair

a blessing on the meals you cook
as democracy collapses

a blessing on your healing hands
that mend what empire breaks

a blessing on your quiet mornings
when you choose to rise again

a blessing on the stories you preserve
when others would erase them

a blessing on your vigilant heart
beating strong through the storm of cruelty

a blessing on the seeds you scatter
in neglected spaces

a blessing on your fierce protection
of all things small and wild

a blessing on the wisdom you gather
from elders and from earth

a blessing on your careful documentation
of what must not be lost

a blessing on your mutual aid networks
flowering in oligarchy's rotting shadow

a blessing on your kitchen table strategies
where sly revolution simmers

a blessing on the wild songs you sing
when courage starts to falter

a blessing on your strategic joy
deployed against despair

a blessing on the future
being born in what you do

a blessing on the bridges you build
between wounded communities

a blessing on your sacred rage
that fuels the work of redemptive justice

a blessing on the hope you sustain
when vulgar bullies assault hope

a blessing on your children's children
who will know what you defended

a blessing on the healing
you dare to imagine now

OUR QUESTIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

How do we summon the right blend of practical love and constructive anger?

How do we refrain from hating other people even as we fight fiercely against the hatred and danger they have helped unleash?

How do we cultivate cheerful buoyancy even as we neutralize the bigoted, autocratic poisons that are on the loose?

How can we be both wrathful insurrectionaries and exuberant lovers of life?

How can we stay in a good yet unruly mood as we overthrow the mass hallucinations that are metastasizing?

In the face of the danger, how do we remain intensely dedicated to building beauty and truth and justice and love even as we keep our imaginations wild and hungry and free?

Can our struggle also be a form of play?

ANGER IS THE DEEPEST FORM OF COMPASSION

David Whyte wrote all the words in this section: “ANGER is the deepest form of compassion, for another, for the world, for the self, for a life, for the body, for a family and for all our ideals, all vulnerable and all, possibly about to be hurt.

“Stripped of physical imprisonment and violent reaction, anger is the purest form of care; the internal living flame of anger always illuminates what we belong to, what we wish to protect and what we are willing to hazard ourselves for.

“What we usually call anger is only what is left of its essence when we are overwhelmed by its accompanying vulnerability, when it reaches the lost surface of our mind or our body’s incapacity to hold it, or when it touches the limits of our understanding.

“What we name as anger is actually only the incoherent physical incapacity to sustain this deep form of care in our outer daily life; the unwillingness to be large enough and generous enough to hold what we love helplessly in our bodies or our mind with the clarity and breadth of our whole being.”

- From David Whyte’s book, Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words

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FIGHTING THE ATROCITIES OF THE TRUMPOCALYPSE

What can we do to fight the atrocities of the Trumpocalypse?

Choose Democracy says: If you look, there are people resisting at every level. Blockades of freeways. American Bar Association urging an end to illegal orders. Past inspector generals penning op-eds, as a current inspector general refuses to accept her illegal firing. The Pope slamming VP Vance’s theology.

Here are some starting points on what you can do: https://tinyurl.com/DisruptDisobey

How to stop Trump’s power grab. Trump isn’t inevitable. Here’s a plan to keep democracy intact: https://tinyurl.com/StopTrumpTrauma

Alexandra Rowland writes: ”Hopepunk says that genuinely and sincerely caring about something, anything, requires bravery and strength.

“Hopepunk isn’t ever about submission or acceptance: It’s about standing up and fighting for what you believe in.

“It’s about standing up for other people. It’s about DEMANDING a better, kinder world, and truly believing that we can get there if we care about each other as hard as we possibly can, with every drop of power in our hearts.“

WE INVOKE BLESSINGS, PART 2

a blessing on your patient labor
weaving networks thread by thread

a blessing on the knowledge you guard
as ghoulish thugs push to extinguish history

a blessing on your determined feet
traveling miles to serve the neglected

a blessing on the light you kindle
in harried sanctuaries

a blessing on your underground railways
flourishing beneath the towers of greed

a blessing on your midnight councils
where future liberation takes root

a blessing on the ancient rhythms
you drum against the predators’ deceptions

a healing grace upon your voice
that dares to speak truth to grinding power

a blessing on your dance of defiance
nurturing your zeal for justice

a blessing on the refuge you make
for those cast out of comfort

a blessing on your midnight vigils
tending truth’s embers

a blessing on the tomorrows you conjure
from the wreckage of today

a blessing on the myths you reshape
to house new gods of justice

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WANT TO GET YOUR ASTROLOGICAL CHART READ?

If you want your personal chart done, I recommend a colleague whose approach to reading astrology charts matches my own. She's my wife, RO LOUGHRAN. Her website's here: https://www.roloughran.com

Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained intuition, emotional warmth, and technical proficiency in horoscope interpretation. She is skilled at exploring the mysteries of your life's purpose and nurturing your connection with your inner wisdom.

In addition to over 30 years of astrological experience, Ro has been a licensed psychotherapist for 25 years. This enables her to integrate psychological insight with the cosmological perspective that astrology offers.

Ro can do phone consultations and work with you regardless of geographic boundaries. Her website at https://www.roloughran.com

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

For the Week of February 20

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Have you been struggling to summon the motivation to start anew in some area of your life? I predict that sometime in the coming weeks, you will find all the motivation you need. Have you been wishing you could shed the weight of the past and glide into a fresh project with unburdened mind and heart? I believe that destiny will soon conspire to assist you in this noble hope. Are you finally ready to exorcise a pesky ghost and dash jubilantly toward the horizon, eager to embrace your future? I think you are.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Hindu holiday of Maha Shivaratri is dedicated to overcoming ignorance and darkness in celebrants’ own lives and in the world. This year it falls on February 26. Even if you’re not Hindu, I recommend you observe your own personal version of it. To do so would be in accordance with astrological omens. They suggest that the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to be introspective, study your life and history, and initiate changes that will dispel any emotional or spiritual blindness you might be suffering from. PS: Remember that not all darkness is bad! But some is unhealthy and demoralizing, and that’s the kind you should banish and transmute.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The blue whale is the most massive animal that has ever lived. You could swim through its arteries. Its heart is five feet high and weighs 400 pounds. And yet, when diving, its pulse slows to four to eight times per minute. I propose we choose the blue whale to be your spirit creature in the coming weeks. May this magnificent beast inspire you to cultivate slow, potent rhythms that serve you better than hyperactivity. Let’s assume you will accomplish all you need by maintaining a steady, measured pace—by focusing on projects that require depth and diligence rather than speed. Your natural persistence will enable you to tackle tasks that might overwhelm those who lack your patience.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Over 10,000 years ago, someone walked for a mile through what’s now White Sands National Park in New Mexico. We know they did because they left footprints that were fossilized. Scientists believe it was probably a woman who mostly carried a child and sometimes let the child walk under its own power. Like those ancient footprints, your actions in the coming weeks may carry lasting significance—more than may be immediately apparent. I encourage you to proceed as if you are making a more substantial impact and having a bigger influence than you imagine.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): What’s the oldest known recipe? What ancient food product did our ancestors write down instructions about how to make? It was beer! The 4,000-year-old Sumerian text included a hymn to Ninkasi, the goddess of beer. It tells how to use the right ingredients and employ careful fermentation to concoct a beverage that lowers inhibitions and brings people together in convivial celebration. In that spirit, Cancerian, I encourage you to meditate on the elements you can call on to create merrymaking and connection. Now is a good time to approach this holy task with extra focus and purposefulness.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In November 1963, the captain of a sardine boat sailing near Iceland noticed a column of dark smoke rising out of the water. Was it another boat on fire? No, it was the beginning of a volcanic eruption. A few days later, steady explosions had created a new island, Surtsey, which still exists today. I suspect you will have a metaphorically comparable power in the coming weeks, Leo: an ability to generate a new creation out of fervent energies rising out of the hot depths. Be alert! And be ready to harness and make constructive use of the primal force.

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WHAT STORY WILL YOU CREATE FOR YOURSELF IN THE COMING MONTHS?

Get inspired by listening to my 3-part EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES about your LONG-RANGE FUTURE.

These forecasts are still available, but not for much longer.

Who do you want to become between now and January 2026? Where do you want to go and what do you want to do?

To listen to my three-part, in-depth reports, go here:

https://RealAstrology.com

Register and/or log in through the main page, click "Play Readings", and then select "Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3" of the "Long Term Prediction for 2025."

Each of the three parts is a separate report, though related to the other two.

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Each of the three-part reports is seven to 11 minutes long. The cost is $7 per report. There are discounts for the purchase of multiple reports.

P.S. You can also listen to a short-term Expanded Audio Horoscope for the coming week.

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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson was a 10^th-century Danish king. He united the tribes of Denmark into a single kingdom. His nickname originated in the fact that he had a prominent dead tooth that turned bluish-gray. More than 10 centuries later, engineers who created a new short-range wireless technology decided to call their invention “bluetooth.” Why? Because they imagined it would serve a variety of electronic devices, just as the king once blended the many tribes. In the spirit of these bluetooth phenomena, I’m urging you Virgos to be a uniter in the coming weeks and months. You will have an enhanced capacity to bridge different worlds and link disparate groups. PS: An aspect that could be construed as an imperfection, like Harald’s tooth, could conceal or signify a strength.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran author Ursula K. Le Guin wrote, "Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake." I know from experience there’s truth in that idea. But I’m happy to tell you that in 2025, freedom will be less heavy and less burdensome than maybe ever before in your life. In fact, I suspect liberation will be relatively smooth and straightforward for you. It won’t be rife with complications and demands, but will be mostly fun and pleasurable. Having said that, I do foresee a brief phase when working on freedom will be a bit more arduous: the next few weeks. The good news is that your emancipatory efforts will set the stage for more ease during the rest of 2025.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Always and forever, the world is a delicate balance of seemingly opposing forces that are in fact interwoven and complementary: light and shadow, determination and surrender, ascent and descent, fullness and emptiness, progress and integration, yes and no. The apparent polarities need and feed each other. In the coming weeks, I invite you to meditate on these themes. Are there areas of your life where you have been overly focused on one side of the scale while neglecting the other? If so, consider the possibility of recalibrating. Whether you are balancing emotion with logic, rest with work, or connection with independence, take time to adjust. If you honor both halves of each whole, you will generate fertile harmonies.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The ancient stands of cedar trees on Japan’s Yakushima Island have a special power. They create weather patterns for themselves, generating rain clouds from the water vapor they release through their leaves. This ingenious stroke of self-nurturing provides them with the exact rainfall they require. I propose that we make these cedar trees your power symbol in the coming weeks. It’s an excellent time for you to dream up and implement more of the conditions you need to flourish.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Tardigrades are tiny, eight-legged animals colloquially known as water bears or moss piglets. Their resilience is legendary. They can thrive anywhere, from mountaintops to the deep sea, from Antarctica to tropical rainforests. They can withstand extreme temperatures, live a long time without water, and even survive in outer space. I propose we make the tardigrade your power creature for the coming weeks, dear Capricorn. Your flexibility and fluidity will be at a peak. You will be hardy, supple, and durable. It will be a favorable time to leave your comfort zone and test your mettle in new environments. Seemingly improbable challenges may be well within your range of adaptability.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the coming days, playing games could be good practice for life. Breezy exchanges and fun activities could stimulate clues and insights that will be useful in making important decisions. What appears to be ordinary entertainment or social engagement may provide you with profound lessons about strategy and timing. How you manage cooperation and competition in those lighter moments could yield useful guidance about more serious matters.

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