Meanwhile, back in Hyrule...

Yeah, I've plunged back in! No, I wasn't ready to be done with that world - and I'm speaking specifically of Echoes of Wisdom here, but once you've completed that to 100%, there is nothing more to be done. And the itch hasn't been scratched yet, the one that cries out for attention, the little me who didn't get to have certain video games and systems, the teen me who would have reveled in playing them, the adult me who forsook all games for World of Warcraft, and finally the crone me, present day me, reclaiming all of that time for all of my old selves. So it's Breath of the Wild now!

It's healing, you should try it, whether video games are your medicine or other forms of entertainment and diversion are.

But before I return to Hyrule, I wanted to touch base with all of you and invite you to examine just how you are feeling at this time in your lives. Do a sort of emotional scan of yourself. We are a little less than two weeks out from the Presidential election in the so-called United States, and as you can imagine, election anxiety is up by 1000% and we're all feeling very much in a Five of Wands state, lashing out unexpectedly because our nerves are frayed. At least mine are! But really get in tune with yourself, accept that what you are feeling is real, allowed, and important. If you feel you have to take a step back from the news for your mental, physical, or spiritual health, this is your permission slip. And vote if your conscience calls you to it. (This is a fraught and complicated issue right now in the states and my aim is not to stir up THAT pot.)

Otherwise, for me, work has been work, and little has changed. I'm definitely in "want-to-game" mode all the time and have been for the past two weeks, but I desperately needed the break. It has been hard to balance getting in true touch with the tarot against the rest of the shit going on in my life. So when I am scarce, you may be assured that I am fighting to purge a kingdom of a toxic abusive pig demon who won't go away - and I'm doing that in real life, too.

Through it all, Aphrodite has been gentle with me. She has not pushed me to do anything except what I must do (like my job), instead guiding me to pleasurable things and foods. She has also asked that I get up early on one Saturday a month as I attend this beautiful Aphrodisian Priest experience with my mentor, Irisanya Moon. You may have heard of them. They have published a ton of books on the Greek Pantheon, but my favorite, of course, is Pagan Portals: Aphrodite.

Aphrodite says fed is best, and all that matters is to get something in your body to keep it going, even if it is only a little bit of ice cream. (I have trouble sometimes eating meals, so I have gotten into the habit of having little gremlin snacks for myself, pistachios, peanut butter m&ms, beef jerky, that sort of thing.)

Aphrodite says distraction is better than drinking myself into oblivion, which I really want to do to alleviate my awareness of the present electoral situation. Did you know that throughout the pandemic I was drinking a 1.7L bottle of vodka about every four days? That's a lot! So she guides me away from this sort of libation and toward my medical weed, which opens me up for the oracle experience. Whatever works for you in these situations.

Aphrodite says that relaxation is prime, so seek it out. If that means you hustle to finish the day's work before noon, and all there is left to do is minor pet-related chores, well, get those done and have the rest of the day to beat ass in Breath of the Wild. (Or your version of what is working for me right now!)

Aphrodite says that beauty is found everywhere, even in made-up worlds. I am not seeing much of the leaf-changing this fall due to not wanting to leave my house in a hostile area, but I am finding astonishing beauty in the ruins of Hyrule, and when I must go out to retrieve meds or groceries.

Aphrodite says it is time to draw a card. I have asked: how do we keep balance in tumultuous times such as these? How can we fill our cups so we can be effective and present and aligned?

So here we are given a wealth of choice and we may not know what each choice entails or what they will lead to, but that is part of the fun. Aphrodite wants us each to have a smorgasbord of delights, but it is up to us to make that choice, to accept the consequences that may come from them.

That sounds dire and I do not mean it to be. But it's true that choosing, say, a pile of jewels may have the unintended consequences of people trying to steal them from you, or covet them and hate you for having them, plotting against you, maybe to kill you. Taxes. Where to keep them, where to spend them, where to invest? Do I exchange them for cash money or do I keep them for their variegated beauty? Choices always come with little side-effects we don't expect, or think of when we're making them.

Aphrodite says choose but choose with care. She knows that the freedom to choose is most sacred among us, that as humans we are to be free to do as we will, within mortal boundaries. The castle on the remote mountain may well be a magickal place, but will it not also isolate us from the people who need us the most?

The Goddess of Love and Beauty and Pleasure wants us to have a wide field of choices for our enjoyment, She sends them to us in all sorts of forms and in all sorts of guises. Be on the lookout, but She is not really subtle about it.

It is appropriate to make a choice knowing what we know now, even in the instability of the times. We are being given a respite, a chance to choose something powerful and positive to do in the face of all the nasty and negative shit we see, whether it's phone banking, giving out chocolate to the neighborhood children for Samhain, going door to door ourselves for local or state or national candidates... now is ripe to choose our way of helping out the collective and raising spirits where they need it the most.

We are all we have, and the Gods are with us, if we are but quiet and listen for their voices in the song of nature, racing with the pulse of the earth.

I love you deeply and wish all the best things for you.

In Aphrodite's Golden Name,

J