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<\/a><\/p>\nKnow what\u2019s coming<\/h2>\n
January 20 is going to be a very bad day, not just because Trump will be President again and because he\u2019s going to talk about how things are terrible and only he can fix it<\/a>, but because he\u2019s going to issue dozens of executive orders and all of them will be bad. Some will be the kind of business-as-usual change-of-party control, but others will attempt to fundamentally change the structures of the country. Some will be overturned in court, but many will stand.<\/p>\n In his first term much of the federal bureaucracy simply did their jobs<\/a>, taking pride in serving the people and supporting the Constitution and not catering to the whims of a wannabe dictator. He has plans to change that this time, either legally or by making people so miserable they quit on their own. If you\u2019re a federal employee you have to decide how much you can tolerate and how hard you\u2019re willing and able to fight. You owe the country your service, not your life.<\/p>\n Some Republicans are talking about \u201cshock and awe\u201d in the first hundred days. The first time I heard that phrase was in the Iraq War, when the US and coalition armed forces completely demolished what had been billed as \u201cthe fourth largest army in the world\u201d (and then went on to demonstrate that while conquest is easy, control is not \u2013 but that\u2019s another topic for another time).<\/p>\n The purpose of shock and awe is to hit an enemy from so many different sides they don\u2019t know how to respond, and ultimately, to break their will to fight. That makes conquering them easy.<\/p>\n Knowing all this is coming doesn\u2019t make it any nicer or less harmful. It does prepare us so we aren\u2019t overwhelmed when it happens.<\/p>\n If you pitch, bat, or field for a political party or movement \u2013 or if you wash their uniforms \u2013 you\u2019re directly involved in the fight and this post isn\u2019t for you. It\u2019s for the rest of us, who watch the box scores and have to deal with the results.<\/p>\n We are not apathetic. We do not have the wealth and privilege required to \u201cjust don\u2019t worry about politics.\u201d We are engaged citizens. But we understand that we aren\u2019t office holders, staff, candidates, or consultants. We have lives outside of politics.<\/p>\n If our baseball team goes on a losing streak, we don\u2019t like it. We feel bad about it. But then we get back to doing what\u2019s important to us.<\/p>\n Things like building a solid life in the ordinary world. Supporting our families and communities. Staying connected to our Gods, ancestors, and spiritual traditions. Enjoying good food, good drink, and good art.<\/p>\n Making good art.<\/a><\/p>\n And most importantly, doing the work of our Gods here and now.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not a politician any more than I\u2019m the second baseman for the Texas Rangers. I\u2019m a Druid and a priest. And a witch<\/a>. I have priestly and witchy work to do, and I cannot allow my very legitimate, very understandable sadness and anger over the current state of American politics (and world politics \u2013 the right wing is surging in Europe and other places too) to keep me from doing it.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been saying this since before he secured the first nomination in 2016: Donald Trump is the symptom, not the disease.<\/p>\n The disease is xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia.<\/p>\n The disease is misogyny.<\/p>\n The disease is fundamentalism and nationalism.<\/p>\n The disease is the lust for money and the lust for power.<\/p>\n The disease cannot be cured with education. That\u2019s the classic liberal error. We think that if everyone could just see the facts, they\u2019d come to the same conclusions as we do. They don\u2019t and they won\u2019t. The MAGA refusal to acknowledge facts is a problem, but the core problem is one of culture and of values.<\/p>\n Laws and regulations can moderate the worst of this. As Martin Luther King Jr. said \u201cthe law can\u2019t make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that\u2019s pretty important.\u201d Again, we cannot simply give up on politics and the political process.<\/p>\n But the only permanent solution is to change the culture, and that\u2019s a process that requires many people living their values openly over many years. It\u2019s not something that can be fixed with a Blue Wave.<\/p>\n But also, it\u2019s not something that can be stopped by MAGA.<\/p>\n You\u2019re no good to anyone if you\u2019re dead, or burned out, or so anxious or depressed you can\u2019t get off the couch.<\/p>\n Limit your news intake, and do your best to stick to actual news, not the outrage-driven clickbait that passes for news.<\/p>\n Avoid prophets of doom. Yes, there will be a midterm election in 2026. Yes, there will be a Presidential election in 2028. The 22nd<\/sup> Amendment isn\u2019t going to be repealed and Democrats will be favored in both elections. They won\u2019t fix everything either, but they can make things less worse.<\/p>\n Maintain your spiritual practice. Pray, meditate, and make offerings. Spend time in Nature. Work magic \u2013 and not just political magic. Never forget who you are and what\u2019s most important to you.<\/p>\n Maintain your health. I had a bad year in 2024 and I learned (the hard way, of course) that there is no substitute for adequate sleep. Eat good food, drink plenty of water, and get good exercise.<\/p>\n I mean this metaphorically, but if some of you take it literally that would be just fine.<\/p>\n No one plants a tree expecting to get fruit the same year. Apple trees take 2 to 5 years to start producing fruit, and they may not fully mature for 10 years. Plant trees and care for them now, knowing they\u2019ll bear fruit in the future.<\/p>\n Nobody likes to hear it, but it\u2019s still true: political progress takes time. Cultural progress takes time. That\u2019s not an excuse for standing around doing nothing. It is reason to not abandon the process and give up because some people are trying to take us backwards.<\/p>\n I was planning The Call of Cernunnos<\/a> months ago and thinking about it years ago. I would be doing it now even if the election had gone the other way. But honestly, this couldn\u2019t be coming at a better time.<\/p>\n What better way to move the culture in the right direction than to help people learn about one of the many Gods, who is a God of Nature, and to help spread his values and his virtues?<\/p>\n Or perhaps, to remind people that the Morrigan<\/a> is still active in our world. She calls us to reclaim our sovereignty and to live our lives our way, not as the politicians and advertisers and preachers of hate tell us we should live them.<\/p>\nKnow who you are<\/h2>\n
The problems of America are deeper than Donald Trump<\/h2>\n
Make taking care of yourself your top priority<\/h2>\n
Plant trees<\/h2>\n
Do the work of your Gods<\/h2>\n