October 2025 Open Post

464 Comments

1. John–

   In magical/psychic work, where one employs symbols heavily and also interacts with divinity, how does one effectively develop, for example, active imagination and the symbology involved therein while interacting with one’s deity and yet not reduce that deity to the status of an abstract symbol (that is, respect the personhood of said deity)?

2. Could you fairly say, that Elitism is a kind of Marxism in reverse? That the revolution lead by the elite, will save us all (except for those they kill, accidentally or not, as they wade through slaughter and mayhem to the throne), and is thoroughly justified, indeed long overdue? Wouldn’t this be the de facto justification for most of the regimes in American history, whether the Plantation aristos, the Gilded Age plutocrats, the New Deal progressive managers, or the up and coming Elon Musk innovators? I wonder if Elitism-Marxism are kind of a binary tidal lock between two bad ideas. If that’s true, the “Elite” are basically Lumpen-Proletariat, who don’t know it. And the lumpen proletariat would then, a species of aristos. Entitlement would be the common spiritual denominator, joining the two groups. Not that they have a monopoly, of course. But it would certainly explain the Victim Special Olympics we find everywhere today.

3. When someone is inhabited by the shadow archetype are their factors other than cognitive dissonance that make it difficult to shake it off? Does the archetype actively resist being cast off? I’m wondering if that’s why so many people seem to double down on their perceptions even in the face of significant evidence that ‘we are the baddies,’ i.e., the horrid reactions from some quarters regarding the Kirk assassination.

   Also, it seems like some of the most bloodthirsty reactions are coming from women. is their unfamiliarity with violence on a personal level contributing to this? Or is it just LARPing that would quickly disappear if violence started to touch them or their extended circle if acquaintances?

4. Dear JMG,
   In the 2020 Grand Mutation chart reading, you mentioned countries (Russia, Arabia Saudi, Germany,…) that have Aquarius as their sign would experience strong turmoils, especially in the 20 following years. Could you explain how a sign is attributed to a given country? And can you recommend a list including every country’s signs.

   Might I also ask which subject would be discussed next week ?

   Thank you,

5. Hello JMG!
   I am a man born and raised in Rhode Island. About 2014, I had an experience with a friend of mine. We were in his back yard debating the existence of God/Gods and UFO’s/Non Human Intelligence. It just so happened, that right on the middle our debate, two bright orbs of light passed by each other in front of the moon. Promptly after, two more (or the same ones) did the same. Shortly after 5 or 7 (I don’t recall directly) then just appeared around the moon in full circle. They didn’t move to that location, they just appeared there suddenly. They did somewhat of a dance, just a slight circle or a shimmer around the moon, then simply vanished. We were both stunned. We were sober, clear minded, and in disbelief. Me, being an atheist at the time, instantly thought we just witnessed the elusive UFO. My point of past sightings of angels really being misinterpreted UFOs seemed to be proven right in front of our very eyes. My friend stated “well I guess you were right”. After years of research into the vast phenomena that is UFO/UAP, it has become apparent that there is a connection with consciousness/spiritualism/symbolism. It lead me down a road to hermetic philosophy, alchemical studies, various dabbling in religious studies and eventually making me open my eyes to God, or the Great Craftsman or whatever else people want to call it. Whatever that is, I’m on the search for it. I would have never discovered my spirituality if i never had my UFO sighting which created a context for spiritual/hermetic/and alchemical languages to take root; allowing my strictly secular mind to comprehend the non secular reality we truly live in. Almost as if my sighting was more of symbolism than anything, a wake up call to find my true self. Now I am looking for a place to learn more and with others. I understand the importance of the symbolic nature of magic and what imprinting images into the unconscious does. Therefore I would like to take place in symbolic rituals with people I can genuinely learn from and that can guide me through initiation to further transmute my soul to a higher understanding of consciousness. If there is anywhere you can refer me to, or any form of guidance or words of wisdom for my journey. It would be greatly appreciated to receive such generosity from a learned one like yourself. Thank you for all that you do!

6. Howdy all,

   First off, to share: What was meant to be a short, quick supplement to the “how to learn” material I’ve posted on my site Rhetoric for the Renaissance Man turned out to be a tale that grew in the telling, so if you want to check out a monster post on how to start using the quirky analog note-taking method known as Zettelkasten, you can find that here: https://rhetoricfortherenaissanceman.com/2025/10/22/learning-add-on-the-zettelkasten/

   Secondly, to ask: Whew, this is a big one for me. Here and over on the dreamwidth, I’ve alluded to the last year or two being tough, but I’ve been cagey about why. Well, the short version is that my now ex-wife filed for divorce in the spring of last year, and due to various circumstances, that wasn’t finalized until the spring of this year. My spiritual work has done a lot to get me through that, but in terms of bringing some aspects of that into the material plane, I could use some advice.

   I’m getting to the point where I’m ready to start thinking about dating, but as a 40-year-old with kids who hasn’t been on the market for over 15 years, I’m facing a very unfamiliar world compared to what I knew last time I gave that a shot. Divination, prayer, and my own sentiments are pretty strongly against dating apps for all the usual “digital technology is bad for human relationships” reasons discussed around here. As such, I’d like to ask our host and anyone else willing to comment: what advice do you have for meeting people with a goal of a romantic relationship (in my case, women)? Most of my friends are married and most of their friends are married, there aren’t really options at my workplace, and it’s been hard to find groups or activities at all, much less ones likely to have women who might be interested, so I’m not exactly sure where or how to look.

   I’m doing what I can to follow our host’s advice to focus on “being more lovable if I want to find love,” and I’m certainly praying for help and considering a magical working to open my eyes and heart to opportunities and to make myself as ready to take advantage of them as possible, but as I said, when it comes to the hands-on steps to take to supplement all that, I’m coming up somewhat short.

   Any thoughts are most welcome, and my blessings to all who welcome them,
   Jeff

7. I find it fascinating and also horrifying that state and local governments in blue states that are ready and willing to mandate battery cars place of petroleum cars, or phase out natural gas in homes or any dozens of schemes to pretend that they are solving climate change are jumping in with both feet to approve and encourage power sucking data centers.
   Changing from fossil fuels to cars that are charged with electricity, mostly generated by fossil fuels, is of dubious climate change benefit. But building huge empty warehouses filled with servers that gobble and water and power for little or no societal benefit seems insane if you buy in to the Climate Change Story. It seems that the cognitive dissonance in this would drive most people insane if they were not already insane.

8. Hello Mr. Greer,

   I remember in the comments sections on your blog in early September that you had mentioned certain fears about civil war in the U.S. You even mentioned a plan to leave should that unfortunate possibility manifest. Well, a lot has changed since then from Charlie Kirk’s assignation, the shutdown, the no kings rally going the way it did, and we made it through stock market crash season without a glitch. So, where do you think things stand now? Is the possibility of civil war in America mostly behind us?

9. Hi JMG,
   What’s your take on Trump’s recent video where he flies a fighter jet over a No Kings protest and dumps a load of poo on them? I know you don’t do videos, but suspect you’ve heard of it. It made me recall your numerous comments on how people, especially on the progressive end of things, desperately want to express all the negative emotions not associated with “nice”, while still identifying as nice. My take is Trump is rubbing their faces in it, in a manner of speaking. I wonder if this may be a new escalation in the crisis that is the time we live in. The veneer of civility is wearing dangerously thin. Although, I will confess I found that video hilarious.
   OtterGirl

10. Hi JMG, wanted to share the below with you and the commentariat.

    https://www.patreon.com/cw/JeffVelazquez

    I had only used Patreon to follow your astrological readings but when I found myself in the ranks of the newly unemployed, I thought it could be a useful place to showcase work/ideas. I was content to keep my art in obscurity but events are compelling me to put it, and my name, out in the world. I’m quite found of the animated gif, and applying it to journals has been a pleasant diversion in otherwise stressful times. This leads me to my only question for you [and everyone else], what are your thoughts on selling old journals? I saw a similar question, I can’t remember if here or on Dreamwidth, about what to do with old journals, especially when they pile up after years of daily entries. Monetize seemed more appealing than recycle, but they are very personal artifacts.

11. I have been re-reading your previous posts about alchemy. In them, you’ve mentioned an alchemical method. What exactly is this method and how does it differ from the scientific method?

12. Greetings John, last week you commented on some of the methods that you used to reorder your thinking and habits, such as affirmations, meditation etc. Do you have opinions or any experiences with Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and its usefulness, or any dangers? It seems to have been assigned the snarlword of being a “psuedoscience”, as I’m sure many of the things you find useful have been. Your perspective on the potential usefulness of it would be appreciated.

13. I probably have an inaccurate idea of the spirit in the afterlife, but I was wondering why spirits/ghosts of someone who was murdered couldn’t/wouldn’t lead investigators and authorities to the killer.
    Thanks.

14. You’ve introduced me to the concept of deindustrialization. I am personally interested in the steam punk future when the energy cost of extracting natural gas exceeds the energy produced and the end of coal as a viable resource. An estimated 80 year period. I am also interested in the long term effects of what Bruce H. Lipton called pseudo-hormones in his “Biology of Belief”. Do you know of any stories that address the interaction of these two?

15. Good afternoon. Do not attempt to adjust your internet setting, there is nothing wrong with your beloved internet. We have taken control of the internet to bring you this special message from our grooving sponsors, Republica Services Waste Collection.

    In the interest of culture spamming, I’d like to alert dedicated readers to a new proposal for the beautification of America: garbage processing facilities in place of parks. If we get the garbage processed after all, if can transform it into alchemical gold, then we will be able to park ourselves in the park. It is only because everything is so ugly that we need the respite of the park in the first place. Remember, pollution, on all levels, psychic, etheric, astral, material, is in fashion today. This pollution will dominate us until we all become garbage men.

    Perhaps we see it the most online. Some things its just being OCD, but really it is culture spamming on the highest level. The fact that you can walk outside and see litter on the street just confirms the very nature of the spectacle itself. It also heralds a time when capitalism will, like the Mona Lisa, cease to function as a work of art.

    In this moment when the AI bubble will surely be unplugged from the butt sore techbros of silicon valley, we should all be able to predict, with mathematical certainty, just how much we stand to gain by processing the garbage produced by their processors now. This is where the automatic degrowth of alienated labor is taking us: we will have to sort the shale together one way or another, because the the rapid degradation of the very conditions of survival, in both the most general and the most trivial senses of the term, insure that there will be a lot of garbage to deal with.

    Backward-looking gas-bags continue to waffle about (against) the culture spamming of garbage all day every day. They think that the suburbs are somehow safe and beautiful, when they too will become heaps of wasted plastic amidst the wreckage of everyday life once the fourth removed simulation is turned for good. These ‘realists’ solemnly observe that their place within the waning middle class, holding the have nots from the have alls.
    In point of fact, the rapid increase in the chemical pollution of the breathable atmosphere, as of rivers, streams and, already, oceans; the irreversible accumulation of radioactive waste attending the development of nuclear power for so-called peaceful purposes; the effects of noise; the pervasion of space by plastic junk that threatens to tum it into an everlasting refuse dump; birth rates wildly falling because people aren’t fracking; the demented vitiation of foodstuffs; the urban sprawl everywhere overrunning what was once town and countryside; and, likewise, the spread of mental illness-including the neurotic fears and hallucinations that are bound to proliferate in response to pollution itself, the alarming features of which are placarded everywhere-and of suicide, whose rate of increase precisely parallels the accelerating construction of this environment (not to mention the effects of nuclear or bacteriological warfare, the wherewithal for which is already to hand, hanging over us like the sword of Damocles, even though it is, of course, avoidable).

    In short, life in the suburban hellscape of the long now.

    The only way to get better is to go through it. We cannot escape the garbage. So must embrace this pollution on all levels and become culture spammers. The highly inebriated suburban mammal has at last demonstrated, by virtue of its own cluelessness, that it can no longer sit on its rear rumpkin and do nothing. The so called leisure society has only produced a landfill full of action figures who take no action.

    For the true suburbanite however, garbage has not really yet been thought of as an actual resource to use. We have not thought of how we ourselves could become plastivores. Our thoughts are already plastic, molded into the shape of advertising patterns.

    The masters of suburbia are now obliged to speak of the fact that their own excremental development is encroaching on the place where they themselves eat and drink. A sense of new reformism is in the air. Along with ozempic and elective surgeries designed to make diabetes tolerable, there are new surgeries and biomedical implant chips coming online that will make a big juicy bowl of garbage seem tasty. And you’ll want to eat it too!

    In times such as these, the old fuddy duds harping on about beauty and form, and the soul of aesthetics can best be ignored. The rate of production of garbage has risen continually on its linear and cumulative course; a final threshold having just been passed in this progression, peak-garbage, has now been reached, and it is time we wade through the sewers of our minds to find out just what we must do!

    Throughout a world professional managerial cheesemongers continually bloat and pass gas over their turgid technnology, real needs are able to be satisfied by going underground, sinking below the radar, becoming part of the garbage eating counter-culture.

    When the pitiful masters of a society whose wretched destiny is now discernible are obliged to admit that our social issues have become an environment, that the management of everything has become mired in misery, it is obvious that the old specialized politics must perforce declare itself utterly bankrupt. Along with the rest of the destitute country.

    Bankrupt, indeed. But we will be buttressed by the plastic soup of the past.

    As for the suburbanite, the choice will not be between gladiator-at-law colleseums or retrosuburban utopias, but between garbage man, or park manager. For as those who have misgivings about betas, alphas and sigmas of every stripe, and their ability to influence herd behavior (or not) they might as well pick themselves a tombstone, for, as Joseph Dejacque put it, ‘We have seen Authority at work, and its work condemns it utterly.’

    The slogan ‘Garbage or Death!’ is no longer the lyrical expression of suburbanites in therapy. Rather, it applies to the perils facing the entire suburbanite species and their inability to belong in any meaningful sense of the word.

    The spring of tomorrow has vouchsafed us a clear sky, albeit when twirling with climate change induced tornadoes and hurricanes, but clear never the less, because the oil will have run out. When it rains, when there are clouds of smog over no-longer-fly-over country, let us never forget we have made the garbage ourselves and it is ours alone to process. Alienated suburban living makes the rain. Being a garbage man makes the sunshine.

    MORE GARBAGE, FEWER SUBURBAN YUPPIES!

16. Thirty feet in a thousand years, or 9 mm per year, and the corals failed to go extinct.

    Between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago, retreating North American ice sheets alone caused more than 30 feet (about 10 meters) of global sea-level rise. For years, scientists assumed Antarctica was a more important contributor during this period, but the new study shows the opposite: Antarctica’s role was comparatively small, while North America’s ice masses were the dominant driver.

    https://phys.org/news/2025-10-north-american-ice-sheets-drove.html

    The corals are much tougher than a LLM,

    “Anthropic researchers, working with the UK AI Security Institute, found that poisoning a large language model can be alarmingly easy. All it takes is just 250 malicious training documents (a mere 0.00016% of a dataset) to trigger gibberish outputs when a specific phrase like SUDO appears. The study shows even massive models like GPT-3.5 and Llama 3.1 are vulnerable.”

    Prince Andrew has been de-duked, or is it un-duked? That also un-dutchessed Fergie who apparently wrote Epstein a letter once.

    My first experiment in hard cider is almost ready for bottling. I used champaign yeast so it might have quite the kick. Or it might be apple cider vinegar. I’ll have to see.

17. Hello JMG and commentariat:
    A new (open) post is here now, but by now I won’t comment nothing new for you’ll, because in this moment I don’t have any doubt or hot question for you.
    However, I’d like to comment two things. First, I want to ask John if he’s keeping on having problems with the “abject german moron” who has been bombing him with spam messages in this blog. I hope this cybernetic nightmare had finished today for you, John…
    Second, congratulations to JMG for your book publication, which you’ve written about ancient temples secrets. I think it’s a very suggestive topic to read it, maybe I’d buy it from the Old World here.

18. JMG,

    I am wondering about your current views on decline. I am living in he arctic in a quite remote area on the outskirts of the American empire, the desperation of the rulers and the hopeless attempts at countering the effects of dwindling fosdil fuels are very visible here. I am, of course, talking about the green industries that are anything but green. Here it seems as though there cant be too many mines, wind mill parks or other hugely destructive projects painted in bright green colors. The area I am born and raised in, is often referred to as Europe’s last wilderness, and for good reason. There are many areas here on the UN’s world heritage list, but this does not seem to matter one iota as long as there is some reckless foreign company with an insane “green” project that they want to launch and squander untold millions of government subsidies on. If you have never seen an open pit mine or an endless wind mill park up close, its hard to even begin to describe the utter desolation and environmental mayhem that it brings. It is quite shocking to see how pristine untouched wilderness is turned into a wasteland in front of your eyes, and all for profit. It is greenwashed of course, and anyone raising concerns “doesnt care about the climate”. I am not a big believer in man made climate change, but I am an environmentalist and a huge believer in conservation and living within your means. I basically think the whole climate business is a huge financial bubble and a way to justify gigantic environmental destruction. It is quite disgusting and deeply concerning. Of course it goes without saying that all of these green projects are carried out with diesel and gas powered vehicles… So, I find myself almost longing for at least a partial collapse that would make projects like these not just unsustainable (as they already are) but impossible. So what do you think, when will insane projects like these start to seriously wind down? Do we have any hope of that in the near to midterm future?And, would you rewrite anything in The Long Descent or does it still holf mostly true?

19. Public Service Announcement – Easy Mead Recipe
    BASIC MEAD RECIPE
    Materials
    1 gallon glass fermenting jug
    Fermenting lock
    The above is available as a kit on Amazon
    Thermometer
    Tubing to siphon out mead
    Funnel
    Bowl or pot big enough to mix up initial mixture in
    8 16 oz amber bottles with resealable caps, also found on Amazon, though I bet you could make do with mason jars with classic canning lids
    Ingredients
    3 pounds of raw honey, Water, dechlorinated
    12 raisins
    French champagne yeast, the Lalvin EC-1118 one commonly used for mead (again Amazon, Bezos rules!, unfortunately), it is a tough one that can outcompete wild yeasts, can go up to 18% alcohol and has a wide temperature range from 65-95 degrees Fahrenheit Was the best yeast in a contest among three different yeasts
    Juice from one lemon or orange for acidity
    One black tea bag to make 8 ounces of steeped tea for tannins
    Procedure
    Heat around a half gallon of water up to 110 degrees to dissolve the honey easier, not too hot to preserve the rawness. Pour honey into water, put some warm water into honey container and shake it to get the leftovers out into bowl, add citrus juice and tea, when 80 degrees or below, add yeast packet, stir .Using funnel pour into fermenting jug, add raisins and enough water to fill, leaving about an inch space at the top. Cap jug (cap came with my kit), turn over a few times to mix. Take cap off, put fermenting lock on, should start bubbling quite nicely within 24 hours. Lower temperature fermenting is supposed to be the best, but the yeast is supposed to handle up to 95 degrees, so regular household temperatures are fine. I just kept mine on the kitchen counter.
    The Wait
    Over two months. The bubbling slows then stops. Be sure it stops as continued fermentation can blow up glass bottles and jars. Time to bottle. You can also stop fermentation after a couple of months by adding a good quality vodka or rum.
    Bottling
    Siphon out mead into another container. Using funnel pour into bottles. An inch layer of mead will be left on top of the yeast. If well sealed it can age in a closet. It is immediately drinkable, but I have read it improves with age. As regards the half inch on the yeast dregs, pour into a jar, not minding the inevitable minor admixture of yeast, chill let the yeast settle,drink! Toss the yeast. If you chill the siphoned off mead in the fridge before bottling it’s supposed to clarify it.
    Variations
    The above is the lazy man basics. You can be a clean freak and use sterilizing methods to minimize wild yeast contamination. There are tools and methods to measure chemical characteristics and concentrations. All this info is on the internet for your edification. You can also use more or less than 3 lbs of honey for a sweeter or dryer result. Plus variations in what yeast you use.
    Actually I went creative with my first batch. I added about ¾ cup of a clear spirit in which I had soaked a couple of tablespoons of angelica root and about the same amount of Drambuie a 80 proof liqueur made from scotch, honey and various herbs. I siphoned off some mead at about the six week mark to make room for this. So I guess it became a fortified honey wine.
    There is a whole world of additives, fruit juices, spice, herbs, even flowers. Again, the internet. I did get a fun book entitled Make Mead Like a Viking, which discusses a plethora of variations. As you can see you can geek out with mead.
    Have fun!

20. @ Jeff #6

    My condolences for the situation. I, too, recently went through a divorce (my second, unfortunately). In my case, having suffered two failed marriages (of ~15 years each), I decided that I was just done with it all and was trying to work out exactly how I would be finishing out my days (I’m in my early fifties) as a celibate. The hut-in-woods options was looking pretty good, quite frankly. God, on the other hand, had other ideas and placed a wonderful woman in my path. (I quite literally raised my face to the heavens and asked, “Really?”) My advice, for what it is worth, would be to focus on your inner work but be open to possibilities that arise.

21. Gollios #3 says: “it seems like some of the most bloodthirsty reactions are coming from women.”
    Kipling had something to say about that: https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poem/poems_female.htm. This poem could be criticized as sexist and sweeping, and it is, but there’s a kernel of truth in it (and I say this as a female)! I will say that I’ve known several excellent female bosses and leaders, but I think they had made a conscious effort to tone down the traits that Kipling describes in the poem.

22. Jeff,

    I’m in a similar situation, as a 40-year old whose wife left just over a year ago and who has no idea how to get back into dating. I share your aversion to apps, and don’t own a smartphone anyway so there’s no temptation. I wish I could offer you help rather than commiseration, but maybe that helps to a degree. The way I used to meet women in my 20’s, the last time I was single, was usually through friends, at parties, bars, etc. I don’t drink very much anymore and hate the idea of cruising bars, and like your friends, mine have settled down or flown away, so this is a question I’ve often asked myself.

    My choice for now has been to leave it to serendipity. My marriage certainly felt like a karmically-determined relationship, with an unlikely meeting and a strange persistence that would not let us ignore one another despite an initial mutual effort. So if there’s another round in the chamber, I guess it will happen. If nothing is fated for me, then I can learn to accept that whether I find a relationship is basically my choice and it won’t be tremendously important either way.

    That said, even serendipity requires action. I have been working hard on what you mentioned, improving those aspects of myself that require it. I have also made it a project to learn to be equally happy without a partner, so that if someone comes along, I can make a choice instead of feeling like this is the only option. The choice is between the very attractive prospect of continuing to be with myself, independent and happy, or with this person. Part of treating myself right is that I’ve identified places, events, etc. that I would enjoy, then I make myself go. A music show is an example, but it could be any quirky thing, not necessarily a place for meeting people. So far I haven’t met anyone, but I have had some good times on my own.

    Being the type who tends to please others and neglect myself, this has been a rewarding experience. I think of “taking myself on a date” as lame as that sounds. Even just going to a food truck for a meal, or a brewery for a drink, or ice cream, or a walk on the beach. The more I do it, the easier it becomes to enjoy my own company without feeling that someone is missing.

    Another notion I’ve settled on is that the big problem for me is periodic loneliness. I do fine with lots of me-time, but I don’t want it to be ALL of my time. I’ve considered the possibility that, given what I know about the realities of marriage (not the Disney version I was fed growing up), maybe I can satisfy that need in other ways. I might share out my time between several friends, for example, instead of one partner filling the bulk of the role.

    I’m shotgunning here, but another useful exercise for me was to spend a lot of time thinking about what love actually is. My conclusions would take a long essay for me to explain, but they put a lot of things into perspective, and make me less eager to dive back in. If I do, it will be with a much clearer idea of what I’m doing, what I’ll put up with, and critically to my conclusions about love, what my obligations are in the strict sense of the word.

    An affirmation I have been telling myself when I think self-defeating thoughts is: “I have love to give. Let me see who needs it. ”

    That means it may be a woman, my parents, a friend, a teammate at my gym, a stranger, an enemy, a child, or no one at all. What I have to offer doesn’t fit everyone, or even many people. My intention has been to find who it does fit, or accept with equanimity that no one needs my exact brand and enjoy living my life how I choose without the difficult obligations that come with a love well-lived.

23. David, if there’s a neatly defined way to do that I don’t know of it. In my experience it’s a learning process of constantly renewed adjustment and readjustment, in which the deity takes as much of an active role as the worshipper.

    Celadon, Marxism is itself just another kind of elitism. Marxists love to talk about the proletariat, but there has never been a Marxist revolution led by the proletariat, nor has the proletariat ever benefited much from a Marxist regime. It’s a scheme by which one elite group supplants another. Each of the American regimes you name, in exactly the same way, took power from a previous elite regime, using a barrage of slogans to camouflage the simple reality of lust for power and wealth. The Oppression Olympics, though, and the pursuit of moral superiority through victimhood, is something rather different. If you want to manipulate a group of people, convincing them that (a) they’re victims, (b) they’re entitled because they’re victims, and (c) they’re dependent on you to get the goodies to which they’re entitled, is a very efficient way to do it.

    Gollios, remember that archetypes distort perception. To a person who’s caught up in a serious case of shadow projection, it’s absurd to suggest that they themselves are the source of the evil that obsesses them — it’s so obviously true that it’s those bad people doing bad things over there! It’s not something you can just shrug off; it requires a sustained and painful effort of self-inquiry, and usually results in a shattering crisis of faith in oneself. As for women, there’s nothing new about that. Many Native American tribes used to have the women take the job of torturing enemies, because they were so much more cruel than the men.

    Foxhands, there are traditional tables which you can find in most books on mundane astrology. I don’t use them at this point — I haven’t found them to be accurate, which is why my recent predictions don’t mention them. As for next week’s post, tsk tsk tsk! You’ll have to wait and see with everyone else. 😉

    T401, that’s a very challenging question. Rhode Island has very little in the way of an esoteric scene these days. There are correspondence schools, but those won’t give you the kind of personal guidance you’re looking for — and of course there’s a vast supply of scam artists out there preying on people like you. My usual advice is to encourage you to look over the many books available on esoteric spiritual training, choose one that suits you, and work your way through the training course on your own; that’ll take you a certain part of the distance, and it will also give you a foundation in practical work that will help you differentiate between bogus schools and the few genuine ones.

    Jeff R, please accept my condolences! That’s always a miserable thing to go through. I wish I had any advice for you; unfortunately I’m only just getting back into the dating scene myself after more than 40 years away from it, and so my knowledge base on the subject is far more outdated than yours! (At least you don’t live in Rhode Island; I’ve been told that it’s legendarily hard for guys to find dates in this state.) Thus I’ll be listening to the advice you get at least as keenly as you will.

    Clay, it’s some consolation to me to remember that after all, humans just plain aren’t very smart.

    Stephen, the short term risk has dropped sharply. The fact that the No Kings rallies turned out to be not much more than a collection of spoiled and pouting princesses strikes me as a very good sign. I’m still very concerned about the market — the LLM (“AI”) bubble has inflated to absurd heights, and there’s only one way that so giddily delusional a speculative bubble can end — but at least for now, civil war seems to be one of the less likely outcomes.

    OtterGirl, yes, I’ve heard of it. Trump has realized that it’s far more effective to mock his enemies than to argue with them, and has teams of meme artists going at it hammer and tongs. His goal, I think, is to crack the facade of mandatory niceness that so many people on the left cultivate so assiduously, knowing that once it breaks and everything they’ve been repressing comes spilling out, they’ll alienate voters the way Biden did with his famous Reichstag speech:
    
    The reaction to Kirk’s murder is a good example of what he’s trying to goad them to do, and they’re falling into his trap with embarrassing ease.

    Jeff B, thanks for this. As for old journals, the question is whether anyone else would want to read them. If so, you can always edit out anything too personal.

    Nephite, er, that would be a good topic for a series of posts! The very short form is that the alchemical method is solve et coagula — separate the materia into its components, refine them individually, and then recombine them to make a more perfect whole.

    Selkirk, I’ve avoided NLP, because it has a weird habit of turning people into arrogant jerks. That’s been my experience, at least! Your mileage may of course vary.

    James, most souls in the afterlife are in something very much like a dream state and have very little capacity to take conscious action. It does sometimes happen that a soul retains more consciousness — and if you look into it, you’ll find that there are cases on record where an apparent ghost has helped bring clues to light that have solved his own murder.

    Moonwolf8, I’m sorry to say I don’t — but then I mostly read books by dead people.

    Cato, you need to record that as a rap number over a fast drumbeat and some random electric guitar chords.

    Siliconguy, as I’ve noted before, climate change is real but climate apocalypticism is manipulative garbage.

24. Here’s an easy one: what has your experience of Amtrak’s northeast corridor routes been like? On time? Safe and comfy? How are the stations? Have you ridden Acela?

25. I’ve heard that before. If it comes out on an album, I might call the whole thing “A Situationist Eisteddfod” ; )

26. (I hope this isn’t too rambling. This is just how it came out of my head.)

    I’ve been thinking about the Bureaucrat as an archetype and what it’s related archetypes would be. Its Anima/Animus is pretty simple: the Celebrity. The Bureaucrat doesn’t get to be a real person with an identity that matters, so he or she is endlessly fascinated by those whose whole life and career is wrapped up in their own individuality. Think of how many works of fiction are about the dull office-worker who ends up with the attractive pop-star. In a darker form, this explains the PMC’s decades-long fascination with serial killers.

    The Shadow is more interesting, because on the one one they’ve been screaming about it for the past decade and on the other hand they still haven’t come to terms with what it really is. The bureaucracy might see itself as existing to prevent another Man in the Mustache, but a much better exemplar of bureaucracy’s eternal enemy is the Man Who Makes the Trains Run on Time: the guy who does what it takes to get results instead of being satisfied with the dysfunctional proceduralism of the bureaucracy.

    But now we have to dig deeper to see what it is in the Bureacrat itself that they’re projecting as the Shadow, and here it’s helpful to remember that the modern bureaucracy is in a lot of ways the creation of FDR, and the ideological difference between FDR and Mussolini is much thinner than most Americans are comfortable thinking about. The Bureaucrat wants nothing more than to follow procedure and so render themselves blameless for the results, but who sets what the procedure is? And here we connect with ancient China, because the Bureaucrat’s Shadow is the Bureaucrat’s boss: the Emperor, the hated enforcer of consequences and dictator of rules, who alone can subject the bureaucracy to the sort of pitiless treatment it metes out to the common folk every day.

    So no wonder they’re having a melt down about the King in Orange. The bureaucracy has been allowed to govern itself for generations, and now someone is saying, “I’m the boss around here, and I expect actual results or else.”

27. The phrase “solve et coagula” sounds like a good topic for meditation. Thanks John. I’ll be happy to read a series of posts on the alchemical method if you ever get around to it.

28. Hi JMG-
    One of the things that I’ve realized is that excessive and unreasonable amount of fear is the primary motivator behind many negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and anger. What would be the appropriate virtue to cultivate as an antidote to Fear?
    Thanks!

29. Hi Jeff @ #6,

    I’ve been there. Turns out that the secret might be giving up the quest. After my wife ended our 20 year marriage in 2019, my life fell apart in a way that presaged the entirety of American society falling apart in 2020. Interestingly, though, and per the many lessons learned on this block about thrustblocks and resistance, it also toughened me up for the plandemic.

    I tried dating apps, dating coworkers, and eventually gave up on dating altogether, and decided to focus on myself, my spiritual life, my local Masonic lodge, gardens, pets, and my widowed mother. I journaled a LOT.

    For Lent this year, I decided to give up alcohol, and on Ash Wednesday, as I was getting ashes applied to my forehead for the first time in my life, I asked God if he would send me a companion. As I took a break from lawn work one Saturday in early April, my phone had this big message on it: “Facebook Dating has found a PERFECT MATCH for you.” So I looked at it, decided to respond, and fell into what has turned out to be the love of my life. Our first date was on Good Friday, and I broke my fast with her on Easter Sunday.

    It has also turned out to be an amazing challenge, overturning all of my assumptions about what romantic relationships can and should be. I will warn you that the algorithm giveth and it also taketh away; if it helps connect you to someone, you can expect it will then begin sharing you details about that person that might challenge you to your core. But maybe that’s really what a relationship is about too — loving challenge, complementarity and resistance.

    Giving up seems to have power. And you can’t trick yourself or the universe into believing you’ve given up. You really have to give up.

    Best of luck friend!

30. Golios–re women and violence. I have noticed a suddenly popular video genre is of women initiating a physical encounter by hitting or slapping a man (occasionally another woman) and then being quickly punched or otherwise knocked down. Sometimes the comments run along the lines of “My dad told me never to hit a lady, but this woman is not a lady.” It seems possible that this genre is a response to the last five or more years of videos of “Karens”–usually mid 30s to older white, middle class appearing women–being aggressively rude and entitled in interactions with service workers, younger people, police, neighbors, or persons of other races. Is this the public subconscious saying, “Enough of a certain type of women acting as though they are untouchable because they are women.”

    In a similar vein there is, at least in my news feed, an increase in conservative blacks berating members of their own race for uncivilized behavior usually in a stich of a video displaying such behavior as gangs robbing stores or people being loud and obnoxious in a restaurant or mall. Also, an increase in conservative gay people renouncing gender ideology and “grooming” of children.

    Otter Girl–have you seen the video JD Vance posted of Trump being crowned, robed and given a sword while a group bows down to him?

31. To Kyle @ #22

    Spot on, my friend. Self-dating seems lame and yet is absolutely necessary. I have enjoyed a lot of local stuff I would have missed had I not decided to take myself out for a treat.

32. Hello JMG,

    I’ve been healing from my childhood for a long long time – over 7 years of intensive work. I recently processed a lot of rage and now I seem to have stumbled across the grief under the rage. Am I almost there? Is grief usually the core enotion or can I expect to find something under that?

33. @JMG: When can we expect the 4th Ariel Moravec novel to come out?

    Language: I ran across an interesting cognate in my casual reading the other day: A Cantonese speaker used the term “Gangin” and translated it as “Foreign Devils.” Which went into the Japanese vocabulary as Gaijin? Of course, not only is China very close to Japan, wasn’t it under Chinese rule for a while?

    About the “No Kings” march – USA Today reported attendance at, again IIRC, “7 Million” altogether. .

34. T 401 # 5:

    You’ve told us a good example of serendipity or “causality”, and indeed it’s very impressive how this providential event has influenced in your life, like yourself have said. Thank you for telling here what you witnessed.
    ————————————————
    Jeff Russell # 6:

    Your comment has reached to my heart. Well, I shouldn’t give you advices about how dating nowadays, because I’ve never been married, I have no children, and until
    my last relationship I’ve only met awful
    women in my life. However, I could tell you internet dating works…sometimes. My personal experiences in internet dating have been cough cough…sad and frustrants. Internet dating is overrated IMHO, because you can date in a lot of real places yet nowadays. I date my actual girlfriend, for example, in a group of people in my town who started going for walks across my town surroundings. I din’t seek that relationship, it appeared friendship first and then we have been starting to be in love each other.
    I suggest you (if you don’t mind it) to go to collective hobbies which you like, you’ll feel there confortable since the first moments and maybe you’ll be lucky and will find some woman in these groups of common hobbies. I see you’re interested in occultism, the spiriritual world or whatever we want to name it. Well, you could engage in social activities like yoga, tai chi or simillar ones. It’s not rare they’re women in those activities, I’ve seen it at least in my personal experience. Good luck and don’t be obssessed with this topic! I bet you’ll have more opportunities to find love again…
    ————————————
    Cato P-Funk # 15:

    It’s OK your comment about garbage. In spite of seeming to me too long (I’m reading John blog from a crappy smartphone again these days!), I feel your extended comment is smart. Maybe the black gold in near future is garbage! Thank you for your writing.
    —————————————————-
    Fredrik # 18:

    It’s very sad and upsetting seeing the greenwashing of pharaonic projects like you’ve described in your comment. It’s the same s**t in my country now, and everywhere in the world. Huge projects to boost “green” energies are the poster children of fake ecologism. There have been made some demonstrations in
    my town against these kind of Big Projects, lead by ecologists and rural people alike, but there isn’t unfortunately a big contestation against them.
    The last elephant in the room is the data center madness (shared by both wings politicians at national and regional levels in my country). They seem the new miracle related with internet and of course AI, but its (a)social and anti-ecological effects are very clear for…a few people. For example its energy hunger it’s going to be very high…And where to find more and more energy? In “green” energies and nukes… There’s going to be a demonstration against data centers in my town, I’d like it would be crowded, but I’m afraid most people is slept yet.
    —————————————-
    JMG # 23:

    I wish you good luck in dating, so you can find a good woman to love. OK, I’ve written some ideas for dating (outside the ominous virtual world), so I hope you can profit them in your life. Please John, take note of my advices and the other people advices like I hope Jeff R. is going to do.

35. Has anyone had any experience with the “Institute for Local Self-Reliance” ? They encourage local actions to support better local food, small business and more. They describe ways to adapt to our interesting times, and also meet others interested. Nate Hagans recently interviewed Stacy Mitchell about it, with constructive suggestions. It is nice to hear bipartisan involvement with action more than finger pointing.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohwaf1N94sM

36. Patricia Matthews # 33:

    For your information, 7 millions is the number of people in the “No Kings” demonstrations across the US, according my country MSM, which they’re usually very eager to dismiss Trump and praise the “Democrats”, like other propaganda…ahem, media in EU. So I could say this crowd of 7 millions could be right in general terms.
    I think 7 millions of demonstrators it’s a heck of people but…oh wait! How many potential voters are in the USA? and how many real votes have been tabulated in last elections for Trump?(Cough cough…)

37. JMG,
    In the past I seem to remember when you were discussing publishing of an authors book that you remarked that the self publishing route via Amazon was not advised but I don’t remember why. I know you are an advocate ( from long experience) of small content specific publishing houses, but I don’t remember what your experience and advise on self publishing was?
    I am working on a non- fiction book , but like all new authors I am struggling with the publishing route.

38. Hey JMG

    Have you heard that the Louvre has just had a heist committed in it, the latest since that painting was stolen in 1998? It appears that some professional thieves stole jewellery owned by Napoleon’s wife, and accidentally broke a crown on the way out.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/19/louvre-closed-after-robbery-french-culture-minister-says

39. Chuaquin, yes, der deutsche Volltrottel is still spamming away, trying to sell SEO services. I’ve had about seventy things from him in my spam filter so far today.

    Fredrik, my condolences! What a ghastly thing to have to go through. Yes, I’ve seen open pit mines and wind farms up close, and I also know just how ecologically harmful and generally ghastly all these fake green projects are — like the rest of the corporate faux-green agenda. I’m sorry to say that it’ll continue until enough governments stop forking over the money, and that won’t happen until people force it to stop.

    BeardTree, thanks for this.

    Phutatorius, it’s gone downhill over the two decades since I first started taking trains on that corridor, but it’s still the only civilized method of transport we’ve got left. My recent trips were all pleasant — quiet (I always get a seat in the quiet car), relaxing, and within a few minutes of the scheduled time. The stations are entirely functional — comparable to the better grade of airport. As for Acela, yes, but I don’t usually take it. It’s not that much faster, and much more expensive.

    Cato, I’d buy a copy!

    Slithy, that’s not rambling at all — it’s cogent and fascinating. Hmm!

    Nephite, so noted.

    Waffles, you can’t counter fear by cultivating a virtue. Most of the time, excessive fear is a matter of unresolved childhood trauma, and that has to be brought back into consciousness and dealt with before it can be resolved. The exercises of the Order of Spiritual Alchemy are one way to begin that process.

    Sam, grief is a primary emotion, so it’s quite likely that you’re close to the end of the tunnel.

    Patricia M, I wish I knew. My fiction is with a new label, a joint venture in which Aeon is only one part of the picture, and things are coming together but it’s a bit slow. I’m hoping to see it out before the end of the year. The fifth novel in the series is finished in draft, btw. As for gaijin, that’s a slang contraction of gaikokujin, “person from a foreign country;” there’s no “devil” in there. (“Devil” in Japanese is oni.)

    Chuaquin, thanks for this. The main challenge I face is simply that being a geek myself, I’m looking for a woman roughly as geeky as I am — geeks should always pair up with geeks; that way lies happiness — and most female geeks (geekesses? geekettes?) have faced so much shunning and misery in the dating scene that they aren’t looking. Doubtless I’ll work a way past that, via synchronicity or the like.

    Gardener, no, I don’t think I’ve heard of them before. Glad to hear there’s such an organization, though.

    Clay, self-publishing via Amazon is a great way to sell six copies. They do no marketing, and there are so many books being churned out there that it’s almost impossible to become visibile. I’m delighted to hear that you’ve got a manuscript under way; as you write it, look for books on similar subjects and see which publishers release them. Look up those publishers online, and once you have your manuscript finished, contact them one at a time, following the submissions requirements on their website to the letter. (Most publishers automatically reject manuscripts that don’t follow their requirements, as that’s a good way to filter out problem authors.) You’ll very likely be able to place your book that way; it’s certainly what has always worked for me.

    J.L.Mc12, yes, I heard about that. It’s an odd case, as the items can’t be sold — they’re far too identifiable.

40. #29 Just Another Green Rage Monster

    I’ve suspected that giving up might be where the power lies. Like you said, you can’t just pretend you’ve done it, and I’m a very stubborn person who has a hard time giving up on anything. But taking care of myself is a start that I hope will end up becomin a genuine decommitment from caring what my relationship status is. That word “status,” I think, has more to do with why we seek relationships than we care to admit.

41. “separate the materia into its components, refine them individually, and then recombine them to make a more perfect whole”

    Can we separate the ego into its components, refine them individually, and then recombine them to make a more perfect ego?

42. Just in case anybody else is interested, I have been re-reading Boëthius’ Consolation of Philosophy. For the prose sections, and for a free interpretation of the poems, I bought David Slavitt’s translation, which sparkles with wit and freshness. Reading the philosophical discussions in crisp and modern English makes it much easier to follow the overall argument.

    For appreciating the poems, I found the absolutely astounding Master’s Dissertation BOETHIUS THE DEMIURGE:
    TIMAEAN DOUBLE-CIRCLE SPIRAL STRUCTURE IN THE CONSOLATIOby Cristalle N. Watson extremely helpful. She studied music before moving to Classical studies, and it shows. I have shaken off a bit more of my prejudice against a 6th century author and have started to appreciate and learn by heart some of the poems.

    Her greatest insight, as far as I am concerned, is that the reader is not meant to take the poem’s condemnation of Orpheus turning back to Eurydice (book III, poem 12) at face value. Books IV and V go on to show that turning back to the human condition is both possible and necessary for redemption.

43. Hey JMG

    Apparently, according to this article, it’s likely that the thieves will dismantle and melt down the jewellery to sell the gems and gold or silver for its material value. Another odd thing this article says, is that it is likely that the Louvre was targeted because its security is inferior to most standard jewellery stores due to budget cuts. Very interesting if true. But I wonder if the thieves will try to ransom the jewellery instead, as that seems more appropriate than stealing something so valuable, just to melt it down and sell the components to a scrap dealer.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/20/louvre-heist-puts-spotlight-on-museum-security

44. Re: dating.
    I strongly recommend getting into female-dominated hobbies and groups. Crafting, music, dance, church – most of these groups skew heavily female. Even if they’re older women, they’ll know younger women who are looking, and may recommend you. However, they are generally opinionated and have a low tolerance for male bullying. You may be permitted to swagger and show off, if you’re polite about it. 🙂

45. JMG #39:

    Oops! It’s a pity the german spam nightmare goes and goes on sending tirelessly more and more spam to your blog. Well, I’d reccommend you patience, but I know by the writings of you which I’ve read, you’re indeed a patient man. May the german spammer will be fed up in a time…
    *************************************
    You’re right, if you’re a geek, you’d need a date with a female geek…OK, then you should seek obviously geek hobbies, but I also know “group hobbies” and “geeks” don’t rhyme. In addition to this, you’re also right: geek woman often have suffered too much in date scene to dare trying it again. I’m not exactly a geek, but I understand your circunstances. Well, I only can write I wish you good luck again, John.

46. @Green Rage Monster #31

    “Self-dating”? I’ve always just called that “doing things.”

    Admittedly this might be a generational thing. My Boomer uncle is also extremely hesitant to do things without someone by his side.

47. Jeff Russell #6

    Three things. Do you live rurally, are interested in farming, and live in the USA?

    I would suggest find your local or regional Future Farmers of America (also National FFA). I think the organization is for teens but I would make an educated guess that there are roles for adults, like chauffeuring tweens and teens to meetings.

    https://www.ffa.org

    Many people with a Druidic bent are interested in agriculture, past, present, future, in different parts of the world. Food is one of the musts in life, so the subject is popular. Another educated guess, it is a great way to meet couples (family-oriented) who in some way are involved with farming — and, I read, often act as matchmakers. Couples are key: they know somebody who knows somebody. Get to know couples. “A couple” is your goal, so be near couples. Couples won’t let you be single for long. Learn to feel comfortable as a threesome with many different couples. It feels awkward to be a threesome in the beginning but, believe me, it is worth being a threesome for a limited, umpteen months.

    Best wishes,

    💨🤼‍♀️Northwind Grandma💨
    Dane County, Wisconsin, USA

48. I have to say that I’m surprised that the answer to the question I posed a few weeks ago — “Why do progressives not allow their ideology to be labeled and identified?” — turns out to be “Because they’re uncomfortable with the fact that they’re individuals.”

    It does, however, explain the burst of popularity of Eastern religions in the US in the 1960’s and 1970’s: Buddhism famously says you have no self, and some schools of thought in Hinduism can be twisted to say you are both God and nothing. (Consider the title of the officially-endorsed 2019 documentary on psychologist-turned-“psychonaut”-turned-Hindu-guru Richard Alpert aka Ram Dass: Becoming Nobody.)

    I think the attraction here is as simple as this: if you are nobody, then you can’t be held responsible for anything you do. As much as we might officially denounce “Just following orders” as an excuse, it’s the modus operandi for much of the bureaucracy. No matter how unreasonable their actions seem from the outside, they can always reassure themselves that they had no choice, they didn’t make the rules, they were just doing their job, and if they didn’t do it, someone else would.

49. @Jeff Russel (#6),
    Sorry to hear about your situation. You are already doing one thing right – focusing on being lovable. Go into the details. What does “being lovable” mean to you? Make a list that includes inside and out. Work on it, item by item.
    You are “a 40-year-old with kids”, so you will have a balancing act to perform. What time will you have available? What money will you have for dates? Where will the two of you live if it comes to that? Is there a place that accommodates your kids and your woman, perhaps at the same time? Budget for her as if she is already in your life. Building those structures is not easy and takes time. It gives you something to do and allows you to shift your focus from worrying and longing to doing practical things.
    Moving along… “Most of my friends are married and most of their friends are married”. The keyword here is “most”. Most is not all. What you need is just one woman. Survey all these people with fresh eyes. Maybe?
    “There aren’t really options at my workplace”. Are you sure? Is a business trip a possibility? What about attending a conference? Even if you don’t meet a woman of your dreams, you may learn something useful.
    “It’s been hard to find groups or activities”. Here again, the keyword is “hard”. Hard is not impossible. How far are you from the nearest city? Can you get there? What activities do you like? Dancing? Fencing? Hiking? Are there any events in the nearest library? What about your local bookstore? Do you attend a church?
    Becoming single opened a path for you. Walk! Just put one foot ahead of the other and move your body. It’s cold out there, and the only way to warm up is by moving. Best of luck!

50. Dear Jeff #6 (and all who have chimed in on the subject of dating).

    I am so sorry to hear about what you’ve been going through, and clearly you have touched a chord! If you will have them, my blessings on your way forward.

    I have real sorrow at realising the dire state of things generally in the relationship department. For myself, I am blessed to have known dozens, scores of really lovely men (even though one of them is companion enough for me)… and for certain, when some of us met up in person in Glastonbury in June, I truly enjoyed finding myself in the delightful company of yet more of such thoughtful, interesting, relatable (dare I say cuddly?) men.

    May I offer my blessings also to any of the men here, who are finding themselves in this situation, and who will have them? May all of your lights shine out to far enough to reach someone with eyes to see it. 🙂

51. Since the second religiosity seems well-underway with the people who would like to be the ruling elite running to Turning Point USA’s brand, perhaps a discussion of what happens to the religious views and practices of everyone not okay with the doctrine of it’s-okay-to-be-rich is about due?
    Also – since Druids don’t advertise or proselytize, or haven’t much, and a need for new religious and spiritual practices for everybody in the not-elite demographic, might you say a few words about the possibilities and practicalities of… well… proselytizing by Druids to the downtrodden? Or, at least putting out a welcome mat while the course of empire sits for yet another portrait?
    Full disclosure – I work for a big box company in the Rust Belt and find being out as a Druid a convenient freak flag. My haphazard market research suggests that Druids are generally favorably viewed and that a niche exists for the needs filled by Druidry, thus my questions.

52. Jeff Velazquez your work is mad gorgeous. Don’t sell your original sketchbooks so soon (wait til you get known) but consider doing reproductions or riffs as art books. Look up Esther K. Smith as well as Keith Smith regarding art book design ideas. If you show up at Adocentyn bring some to show or sell us.

    Congratulations and thank you very much.

    X

53. Dear Jeff Russell,
    I’m so very sorry about your divorce. And all this time you’ve been so helpful and engaged. Wow. It’s so big I’ve got nothing to say except that this here is a good place to keep you from slithering into complete isolated despair as you cry and snot up your own pillows. I know this to be true myself.
    X

54. “Group hobbies” and “geeks” don’t rhyme. Verrry funny, Chuaquin.

55. @Kfish #44

    Would a man actually be welcome in those circles, or would it be seen as an intrusion into womens’ spaces? Especially if the man is a little too obvious about his romantic intentions. (As a practicing autist, I know I’m never anywhere near as subtle as I think.)

    Beyond that, a lot of geeky men (hi!) end up in a weird trap: we know several women, none of whom are single; each of those women knows other women, many of whom are single; but the women we know have decided we’re too soft and precious to be allowed anywhere near those nasty single women who in their judgment will only hurt us.

    (This is closely related to the common refrain of “Well, but you don’t want women like that,” when you point out that the polite dating advice you’ve been given all your life seems to have an even lower success rate in practice than, say, being an abusive alcoholic. OK, fair enough, but how does this help me?)

    I have no idea how to get out of this trap, or how making acquaintances of even more women would help unless they are specifically the ones interested in me.

56. If I may thank Myriam for something she said on Magic Monday – https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/346539.html?thread=57819563#cmt57819563

    “Stillness, which is Being, just pure Eternal Being.
    Movement, which is Will, though not focused on anything yet. Just eternal pure Movement, which is paradoxically happening at the same time as Stillness.
    Awareness, which is Consciousness, and which then gives a focus to Movement, and a direction to Will.”

    Myriam, this is an actually extremely helpful lens for getting into the nuts and bolts of my Tai Chi practice at the moment. So, thank you!

57. Dear JMG,

    I know you’re interested in new cultural trends and artistic creativity, especially in music, such as the “Rich Men North of Richmond” song. So, I wanted to bring to your attention a song I recently discovered.

    The song “We’ll Have Our Home Again” (often stylized as “By God We’ll Have Our Home Again”) was written and performed by a group known as Pine Tree Riots. We know very little about the group. The name is most probably a reference to the historical Pine Tree Riot of 1772 in New Hampshire.

    “We’ll Have Our Home Again” was uploaded to YouTube in October 2020 and later to Spotify. The song portrays a narrator feeling like a foreigner in his own land, with headlines of attacks and his name being cursed, while forefathers watch in disappointment as their descendants are subjugated. The lyrics are original, but the melody is adapted from the traditional sea shanty “Rolling Down to Old Maui,” a great song about whalers. I recommend listening to the version linked below.

    “We’ll Have Our Home Again” has gained considerable popularity (the total views of various versions uploaded to YouTube amount to several million) and has since been adopted as an anthem by various nationalist groups in the United States and Europe. I think this ditty might become a funeral march for globalism.

    Links

    Pine Tree Riots – We’ll Have Our Home Again:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctpfRxvC0JQ

    Rolling Down To Old Maui:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPYAZUcohmw

    With best regards,
    Yury a.k.a. Ecosophian

58. @ Jeff

    I think second time around with children you have to consider if you want a blended family or not. It’s a little trickier because you’re introducing someone to your children aswell, but you’re possibly more likely to meet someone appropriate going to kids things than anywhere else.

    I’m in a similar situation myself but with my three children, one disabled who I’m completely dedicated to.. and with health issues myself, I will likely hang out in the singles aisle sipping tea for the foreseeable future haha.

59. @Slithy Toves: I am always surprised by the deep-seated animosity many Americans display towards any kind of government bureaucracy. I suppose it is based on personal experience, and since I have never lived in the USA, I can’t contribute much to that discussion.

    In my personal experience, government bureaucracy can be maddening, but so can bureaucracies in private companies of even moderate size. I have seen enough examples of effective government bureaucracy that Reagan’s slogan about “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” simply doesn’t ring true. My experience with German health care providers or Brazilian income tax declaration was rather positive. Things may have worsened over the last years though.

    What I find interesting is your Man Who Makes The Trains Run on Time. In the 1930s, bureaucracies in many countries were very efficient, and of course it is bureaucracies (whether obeying a dictator or a democratic leader) that make trains run on time. No pop-star CEO or dictator could make trains run on time by sheer force of personality.

    I think the Shadow of bureaucracy might rather be a charismatic leader, a prophet or revolutionary, or even “worse”, a leaderless, informal movement for change.

60. @JMG – thanks for the linguistic clarification. And good luck with your publisher.

61. JMG,

    As I’ve posted here before I had a morbid kundalini awakening at a young age, managed to survive it via a series of miraculous synchronicities and seriously existential desperation on my part …though it did render me an invalid in many ways.

    I’m curious: have you personally known people who’ve experienced such, and if so, how did they, are they faring? I’ve encountered a few, fortunate for me – karmically fortunate, likely because we did form a mutually supportive circle without which I’m not sure I could have gotten through it.

    In any event, I often wonder about those out there who might be suffering a devastating kundalini awakening and who have no one with any comparable experience with whom they can talk and compare notes, who might not even have a clue as to what’s happening to them, and who in their desperation might end up in institutions and the hands of ignorant mood alternating-drug advocating shrinks. Thing is, morbid kundalini awakenings are relatively rare and very few psychologists who take it seriously, so there’s obviously a lack of any prominent support groups. Still, there’s got to be people out there undergoing a really rough kundalini process, and I gotta say I really feel for them. Not easy to have your sense of reality, your life suddenly uprooted in exchange for a literal 24/7 nightmare, particularly at a young age.

    I should add that I’ve encountered quite a few people who claim to be suffering from a kundalini awakening, but who after a short time reveal themselves as being neurologically and/or psychologically impaired in some way. Very sad cases, but not kundalini.

    Thanks,
    Will

62. Greetings JMG, I have been offline for about the last month or so and have been slowly catching up. But there was one thing for last week you mentioned.

    “I realized partway through writing this, for example, that I’d actually figured out the answer to one of the great enigmas of our time — why can’t the left meme?”

    Funnily enough on the left side they have the question of “Why can’t the right meme?”. In looking for an example I just found the silliest thing, competing sub-reddits! But for a site that has competing ‘Onion Lovers’ and ‘Onion Haters’ subs, don’t take ti too seriously. 😉

    https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLeftCantMeme/
    https://www.reddit.com/r/TheRightCantMeme/

63. @Rita Rippetoe,
    Re: videos of violence involving women.

    For whatever it’s worth, every girl I ever went on so much as a single date with behaved in ways that would be called physical abuse coming from men. They hit, as hard as they liked and as often as they liked. The only girl I ever hit back is the woman I have been with these past 20 years. (for the record, there is no violence in our relationship now. That ended right quick, even though I pulled my punches to match her strength.)

    I guess my take is that you should not dish it out if you cannot take it, and that equal rights means equal lefts. For her partz my now-wife confessed (much later) that she needed me to stand up to her like that to earn her respect, and if I had not she would not have stuck around. (Yeah, I know how crazy that sounds, especially to the older generation, but it is what it is.)

    So maybe those ladies getting slapped on video are at the start of a beautiful friendship. Who knows?

64. I’ve been exploring tarot recently, and have found it highly interesting, both the philosophy and the interpretation of answers.

    I have an unexpected problem, though: I have run out of things to ask questions about. I want to make it a regular part of my life, but there are only so many meaningful or significant issues I think are warranted for bringing to the tarot.

    I don’t want to repeat issues/questions, and I also don’t want to ask it whether I should make pasta or rice. So I find myself going long periods without it.

    How do others approach this?

65. About the possibility of civil war, I’ve had recent thoughts about a possible scenario. It started when I was considering how I had thought that more violence might come from the right during the Biden presidency, but that never happened. It occured to me that there are a lot of parallels with the actions of the American right in recent years and those of Vladimir Putin, in that both have been very cautious despite the rhetoric from the establishment suggesting otherwise, and also some of their supporters wishing they were more bold.

    Following that train of thought, the American Right today is really more like Putin before the Ukranian invasion in 2022. The actual changes that have been put into motion are really pretty small, despite the left’s rhetoric of an imminent Fascist takeover. Immigration laws already on the books are being enforced, small changes to vaccine reccomendations have take place. DOGE has really only cut a small portion of the bureaucracy. The same can be said about the left. Despite the screeching, few people on the left actually seem to be acting like fascist policies are imminent. Most are living their lives as if business as usual will continue indefinately for them.

    My concern is that some event will shift the narrative like Putin’s Ukraine invasion shifted the narrative about Russia, and the left will start believing and acting as if they are fighting an actual fascist takeover. Putin didn’t expect the west to escalate as much as it did. His initial Ukraine invasion force was not sufficient to fight the kind of war that it has turned into. I’m pretty convinced that he thought the west wouldn’t dig in their heels as much as it has. The goal was to force a settlement and deter the west from further provocations.

    A scenario I could see in America is Trump (or his successor) doing some action that the right perceives as only a moderate escalation to assert itself against onslaught from the left, and this marks a turning point where the left decides the fascist takeover has begun, and needs to be fought directly. I don’t think a civil war would start from a popular uprising, but if the Democratic politicians instigate it, pick a fight with the Right and put the propaganda machine into overdrive, that could lead to civil war.

    In this scenario, much of the propaganda pushed by the left could actually have a foreign origin. Plenty of other countries could have an interest in doing such. Europe and the Anglosphere have an interest in bringing America back in line with the establishment. The BRICS and plenty of other countries that feel wronged by the American Empire could jump at the chance to see America fall apart. Foreign influence could make it far worse. If the struggle was purely internal to the USA, I don’t see the leftist faction holding out very long in this scenario, but foreign influence could tip the balance enough to make things get very ugly.

    I really hope this scenario doesn’t happen, but it’s been in my head for the last couple of weeks since I thought about the parallels between the American Right and Putin.

66. @ all the folks posting about the “No Kings” rallies
    I live in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. The day after the rally I was at my local craft guild meeting and happened to sit next to a woman who had attended the rally. I don’t think the topic would have come up at all except that she mentioned she missed a craft supply sale because she attended the rally. The brief discussion about the rally was that the subways were more busy than usual for a Saturday and the protest signs were entertaining. It was kind of a joke. The woman who attended was the only one who did out of a dozen or so people at the table. I have known this woman superficially for about 18 months. My experience with her in that time is that she is an excellent crafter, but also an old, white, wealthy, semi-hysterical dingbat.
    On Sunday, I saw about 10 or 12 people standing by the road in my local suburban downtown with No Kings signs. They were all old, dressed casually wealthy, and white. These seem to me to be old people with way too much money and way too much time on their hands.
    I contrast the rally attendees with my 22 year old daughter and her boyfriend. They won’t be going to any No Kings rallies. They are looking for ways to tear down the entire system that has sold them down the river — Democrats and Republicans, but most of all, our corporate overloads. The 22 year old’s who are drowning in debt and can’t get a job absolutely understand that joining a bunch of old, rich, white posers will get them nowhere.
    I don’t agree with my daughter’s politics anymore than I do with the No Kings attendees, just reporting my local environment. They are all entitled to their opinions. And… 7 million attendees? That seems like an exaggeration. Maybe if you include a couple of million media folks and other people making money on the protests? It wasn’t even a blip in Washington, D.C.

67. Totally random, but does anyone remember the whole “we resurrected the dire wolf species” thing from a few months ago? For about a week everyone was debating whether or not the pups were really dire wolves, the ethics of it, and stuff. My estimation is that all the “controversy” was mostly noise, and the whole thing was mostly a marketing fundraiser exercise for this biotech company. I’ve not seen anyone comment about it much after all the initial hype. Just curious what your thoughts are.

68. Jeff #6 & JMG#23 and all the single 40something+ men put there who don’t want to be.

    Hi I am a 40 something year old woman who is seriously considering the future of my relationship right now, so I kinda have the opposite perspective on this!

    Firstlt, mundanely, unless you are somewhat exceptional ( if so whats your number haha!), or you have a mutual agreement to have a trad set up where you earn and she keeps house, work on OWNING the chores. Yes its boring, noone wants to do it alongside a demanding job, but believe me this is the number one thing women get so annoyed about by their men ( I’m talking all my friends too!). Put things where they go, clean your own s*** of the toilet, pick up your pants off the floor, occasionally use the hoover and a duster. Its not just doing it its learning to SEE when it needs and making regular time in your day to do a few small things about the place without ANY prompting ( guys you maybe referring to this prompting as ‘nagging’, we hate nagging, but we also hate having 2 jobs, one unpaid and unvalued). Also learn to recognise the mental load of running a house and take some of that s*** on, when is the kids school play? Have you diarised the holidays? What groceries are running low? Meet her in the middle. Feeling like your partner’s mother is not sexy and builds resentment. Oh you do half already? Do you? Take a good look at that one!

    Also, on a less humdrum note, I have been reflecting and journaling on what is important for me in my relationship and ‘shared vision’ was one of the key things I came up with. I mentioned this to a similarly frustrated colleague and she was like “yes l, thats it!”, so there you go its a sample size of 2 rather than 1! What I mean for me is exploring the world, having adventure and maintaining interests ( not necessarily always together – so we have something to talk about). Its easy to let the humdrum takeover your relationship when youre both working and have a family. And importantly both working on helping each other to help ourselves be better people. I think all the stuff previously mentioned, about working on yourself will help maintain this in future relationships, and I aim to do the same (whether or not we can rescue this one!)

    Good luck!

69. Sorry Fredrik, mining will continue as long as it makes money. New copper deposits have been found in South America as well.

    https://www.bnamericas.com/en/features/chile-argentina-eye-us21bn-copper-corridor-by-2030

    If you take all the copper mined from the start of the Bronze Age until now, then double it, that is how much copper needs to be mined by 2050.

    Never fear though, besides the new Guyana oilfield Maduro wants there is one off of Africa as well.

    https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/BP-Confirms-Oil-and-Gas-Discovery-in-Namibias-Hottest-Offshore-Basin.html

    There will be plenty of diesel for mining and jet fuel for the elite to fly to meetings to complain about the prole’s gardens emitting excess CO2.

    Speaking of food, Beyond Meat seems to be having difficulties. Advanced Meat Substitute ran into the current disfavor of highly processed foods.

70. On dating: The paradox of dating advice is that someone who found an easy route into a satisfying long-term relationship has only that one experience to describe, and it may be a singular circumstance, while someone who has lots of experience with dating (and so, statistically-significant results) has inherently NOT succeeded at developing a long-term relationship. So: be skeptical of advice!
    (I’m over 30 years into my second marriage, and have learned a few things along the way, but the world is always changing.)
    That said, I once gave a young man some advice which made sense to me, and which he said turned out very well for him. Let as many people as possible know what you’re looking for. They may have a friend or relative with similar desires, but you would never know that if you limit yourself to the people you see.

71. Windows 10 is officially end of life now though there are exceptions. Not coincidently Zorin OS released a new version specifically targeted at Windows refugees.

    https://zorin.com/os/

    More coincidently Apple just shipped a new processor too. Small improvement in the CPU, much larger improvement in the graphics unit.

72. Jeff,

    Thanks for the website link, I’ve bookmarked it and will check it out further when I have time. It sounds interesting!

    Sorry to hear about the divorce. I’m out of the game and have been for a while, but I’ll echo doing things that interest you, going to group events, hosting your own events, being open to opportunities when they arise around you, getting yourself out of your comfort zone, finding a learning opportunity for you that single women might also enjoy, finding a woman you know that would recommend you to other women (there are online women groups that do this often for men they know and it’s always met well), finding single parent events, join a Meetup group near you, etc. I hope the universe brings a connection your way. Thanks for being vulnerable.

    – RMS

73. JMG,

    Adding to the comment about women and cruelty and the use of women as torturers by Native Americans, this is also the reason why modern corporations employ women in HR. They are much more callous than men when it comes to firing people, and many of them will tease men on their team for saying things like “But they have families.” I’ve seen it.

74. Anyone interested in runes/rune magic:

    I’ve been reading/utilizing the book “Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic” for some meditative practices lately, but I keep coming back to a passage that I’d be interested in some input on:

    “This book deals more or less exclusively with the
    system of the Elder Futhark, which was the rule between ca. 200
    B.CE. and 800 CE. However, the other two systems are also magically valid.
    The Younger Futhark began to be developed in the seventh century
    CE., and this development was complete by about 800 CE., while the
    Anglo-Saxon Futhork was able to survive the Christianization
    process until the tenth century CE. Among all the various systems,
    the shapes of individual runes and in many cases their names often
    would be altered. This sometimes offers us valuable clues and
    correspondences to their inner nature. Much of this lore will be
    revealed in the sections on the individual runes. It is hoped that
    talented vitkar will be inspired by these other systems and develop
    them further for modern magical practice.”

    What interests me is this last sentence. What might it look like to develop runes further for modern magical practice? Does anyone know of someone working on something like modern runes?

    Thank you,
    – RMS

75. @ Clay “I find it fascinating and also horrifying that state and local governments in blue states that are ready and willing to mandate battery cars place of petroleum cars, or phase out natural gas in homes or any dozens of schemes to pretend that they are solving climate change are jumping in with both feet to approve and encourage power sucking data centers.”

    When drowning, people will try to grab onto anything. Most of the narrative behind “green tech will save us” is that they cannot think of any alternative.

    Also again @Clay regarding self publishing. Not just the no marketing issue but nowadays you are fighting against of tsunami of LLM generated crap. You are lucky if the folks generation that slop have even proof read it before hitting publish.

76. Jeff and Kyle, I don’t have any advice as I’m in the same boat. I’m 48 and my 20 year marriage abruptly ended a year ago. I’m nearing the end of the divorce process now. I’m in a similar emotional state as y’all. I would like to find love again although I will NEVER remarry-a man stands nothing to gain and everything to lose in the current environment. I haven’t dated since my marriage ended and I’m currently on the road to accepting I may grow old alone. I get lonely at times but I’ve also learned to appreciate solitude. Anyhow, you’re not alone. – Croatoan

77. This is responding to Patrick @ 269 from last week. It is clear that there is a new culture and civilization aborning on North America. We are living in the embryo stages of a process which will doubtless last a few hundred years. We can neither predict nor determine the forms that civilization will take. What we can do is what the Christians in late Antiquity did. We can lay down some markers. Think of some of the basic principles established during those centuries. Monotheism. No more blood sacrifices. Marriage is one man and one woman; the Church will not countenance the keeping of concubines and harems. (Granted that was often honored in the breach, but the principle remains part of our fundamental belief to this day.) The ruler rules with God’s favor; think how different that is from Alexander’s “spear-won” territory. I believe it was the first Capet who had to be escorted through hostile territory to be consecrated at Rheims; he was no king until that ceremony had taken place. About 5 or 600 years later, Joan of Arc made the same journey with Charles VII to see him made king by the same ceremony.

    Just as Christendom picked and chose from the legacy of antiquity, we also can choose what we do and do not want to preserve. I have read a lot of history, granted not in an organized or systematic enough way to be able to claim expertise. But so far as I can discover, the practice of buying and selling human beings is unique to the dying civilization.

78. When the wealth pump of an empire crumbles apart, how does it’s workforce change?

    I recall you saying years ago that pursuing a career in the PMC or in the academic or corporate ‘elite’ would end up being like playing a game of musical chairs. Lots of extra spots for essentially fake jobs when the wealth pump is working, a diminishing number as it comes apart. The last few years has looked like this scenario in a lot of ways.

    If the empire losing its wealth pump was doing so in a relatively slow and controlled manner, but with plenty of inflation say, would the wages/compensation of the ‘musical chairs’ jobs be falling relative to the wages/compensation of critical skilled trades*? Even if both groups were getting ‘raises’?
    *by ‘critical skilled trades’ I mean the industrial and commercial side for electricians/plumbers & pipefitters/operating engineers/etc, the ‘college vs trades’ debates on twitter and elsewhere consistently avoids talking about that angle, instead referencing things like changing ceiling fans and toilets in someone’s house as if that’s all those trades do.

79. Despite being a long-time reader of JHK, I only just recently have read his Long Emergency. I felt like I was looking into a time capsule, and many of his geopolitical concerns from the mid aughts seemed really out-dated already. The main argument about resource peak and scarcity is still true as ever, but yet the last twenty years of our culture and lifestyle has largely been more of the same, but now served with a large side of greenwashing. Its probably not a book you’ve read recently, but do you remember having any criticisms of his arguments or predictions?

    One thing I’ve been wondering is if fracking has enabled us to keep energy prices relatively low and stable for the past couple decades, when can we expect that to peak and the energy crunch to really begin? Or, are there other nations that havent even begun fracking yet but have have the potential to do so and will keep the oil supply propped up even longer?

80. The two book links, for Old World and New World, are the same URL. Is that correct?

    Thanks,

81. Anon, an excellent question. Can you? More to the point, will you?

    Aldarion, thank you for this!

    J.L.Mc12, another possibility is that the theft was a contract job, paid for by a rich collector obsessed with the Bonapartes.

    Kfish, the last thing on earth I want to do is become a male punching bag for a group of bullying women — which is usually what the kind of arrangement you’ve discussed works out to.

    Chuaquin, thank you. I’m sure it will work out; the question is purely how.

    Slithy, thanks for this. I think you’re on to something very important here.

    Rhydlyd, the Second Religiosity is indeed under way, but as it develops, it will lose more and more people from the working classes, since it’s primarily a phenomenon of the intellectual classes. Alternative views will get a hearing, and far and away the best way to handle that is simply be out about what you are and let yourself teach by example.

    Ecosophian, thanks for the heads up. Here we go…

    Will, I’ve never been in personal contact — as in anything closer than the internet — with anyone who had that experience. I think you’re right to be concerned; it wouldn’t surprise me if some people in that situation ended up drugged into permanent dysfunction.

    Michael, I don’t take Reddit seriously at all, even though (or especially because!) I lurk there quite often and post sometimes. Yeah, I’ve seen both subs.

    Mark, I ask “What will I encounter this day?”

    Kashtan, interesting. I hope it doesn’t come to that.

    Jean, many thanks for the data points. That fits well with everything else I’ve seen.

    Carlos, I think you’re right that it was just hype.

    Free Rain, I find it rather odd that the word “love” and its synonyms appear nowhere in this comment of yours. For what it’s worth, I did the majority of the housework in my marriage for its last fifteen years and all of it for the last five, along with earning our income. That was because my late wife’s health was failing, of course, but I dealt with it and did it because we loved each other. Years earlier, before Sara’s health began to give way, she earned our income so that I could focus on building my writing career — again, love was the reason. I’m not saying you should be a doormat, but if the main reason you’re looking at breaking off a long term relationship is that your partner isn’t doing as many of the chores as you think he should, that really makes me wonder about the relationship.

    Lathechuck, there’s that!

    Siliconguy, interesting. I may look into this.

    Dennis, that makes perfect sense to me.

    Jason, as the wealth pump collapses, skilled trades and unskilled labor alike become more valuable while bureaucratic jobs and their various hangers on become less valuable. It’s not just critical skilled trades; once it’s no longer profitable to import foreign laborers, working class jobs generally will become more common and better paid, while most of today’s cubicle workers will have to find something else to do.

    Ralph, I haven’t read it in close to twenty years, but even at the time I wondered if he was giving the time factor enough attention. As for fracking, we’re due for another crisis soon, but doubtless there will be some panicked gimmick or other to prop things up afterwards.

    Cicada, nope — one’s .com and the other’s .co.uk.

82. @Aldarion

    Oh, trust me, we hate corporate bureaucracies, too! It’s just that, as you suggest, our government bureaucracies are for whatever reason highly dysfunctional, and gotten ever more so as time has gone on. On the subject of healthcare in particular, I’m of a similar mind to what Dmitry Orlov once said (about the US specifically): “I believe in government provided healthcare. I just don’t believe in this government.”

    I think maybe I similar situation existed in Italy in the 1930s: if the trains really were running on time, why would he have said it, or become so famous for saying it? Of course he didn’t make the trains run on time by himself, but I’m pretty sure he also didn’t concern himself with submitting his request in triplicate on the proper forms and resign himself to filing complaints in the complaint box if they didn’t get results.

83. RMS #74: the Armanen runes were ‘received’ by Guido von List in 1902 and are still in use for esoteric purposes, mostly in German-speaking areas. More recently an American has developed a futhark based on American pronunciation – see https://theskaldiceagle.com/american-futharch/

84. Free Rain: Regarding chores, are you including mowing lawns, repairing things around the house, clearing the gutters, etc?

85. An interesting article on the Golem at https://going-medieval.com/2025/10/21/on-ai-and-the-golem/

    “Whatever the theoretical meaning of golem stories, the underlying message is the same. Just because one can do something, doesn’t mean one should. This is something that we have been pretty clear on for two hundred years. A soul is required for work to be safe and meaningful. Any attempt to convince you otherwise is hubris at best, and just a straight up scam at worst.”

86. I’ve forgotten the comment number, but I can remember (if I’m not wrong) Aldarion commented some comments ago about Boetius “Consolation of Philosophy”. I’ve read that book and I think it’s worth to read it, because it was written in bad times for its author, so always it’s interesting to read about coping with bad times for the troubled present and near future of possible economic contraction and social unrest. Of course I recommend it.

87. Dear John,
    I am sorry for intruding this circle – I try to contact you concerning © of your book The King In Orange…
    Would you reply, please?
    Martin Mrskos, Czech Rep.

88. @Jmg

    You are totally right, I didn’t because I wasnt trying to go into the details of my relationship, I was trying to repond firstly to Jeff’s question about practical things he could do to attract women, and then I kinda rambled into other bits and pieces I admit cos I didnt want to just go in with the housework stuff, but I didnt want to deep dive into a ‘whats going on for my relationship’ on a public forum either!

    Love… I have been thinking about what it means though. In the west we ‘fall in love’and then try to build a relationship out of it. I spent some time in India and my Indian friends used to laugh about this idea, they thought it fanciful. An arranged marriage when done for the right reasons is about finding a ‘good match’, families, background, interests, hopes for the future, and then they say love comes after, you have to work at it. Not saying I’d want an arranged marriage! But food for thought certainly.

89. Morning John,
    I was going to wait for magic Monday, but as it’s an open post I thought I’d post it here. I recall your recent post about your strange dream about another world coming into close proximity with the earth on the next plane up from ours and its associated death rate. In the last two weeks three people I know have died suddenly; one from a stroke (71), one from kidney failure (65), and another from heart failure (56). None of them should any symptoms in the lead up to their death. They were all males as well. I thought you’d be interested to know. In the last 5 years I have seen more people I know die, than I the last 20 years. Age may be a factor but none of them were older than 75, and many were around 60.
    Regards Averagejoe

90. Remember newspapers? Remember I.F. Stone’s newsletter that he sent by postal mail to your house? Me neither. But I heard him talk about it on the Dick Cavett show.

    Where are you getting your news? Don’t answer if you have had your brains sucked out by a mobile cell phone connected to the internet.

    I go to Substack and poke around, but they might be jivin’ too. re: B.B. King

    I don’t care if it is liberal or conservative. As the John Reed character said in the movie “Reds”, “Go as a turkey”.

91. Apparently Mark Rutte, the current spokesperson of nato (and our previous prime minister) has been trained in NLP. Make of that what you will…

    –bk

92. I have some topics to write now:
    Some of you have written about dating like I have done before this current comment. I’d like to add to the discussion another comment: you can’t love someone else if you don’t respect and love yourself before. This is a very important lesson to learn, if you don’t have learnt before in your life
    —————————-
    I went this morning (local time) to my next public library in mu neighbourhood, and between the new books I saw one whose title puzzled me. Translated to English from the original in Spanish: “Nuclear energy will save the world”. I can’t and don’t want to remember its author name, maybe he was an engineer, but I won’t waste my time reading it. Nuke debate IMHO has been argued until today and it seems to me for his supporters it’s a kind of surrogate of religion…However, it’s interesting how some of the Faustian western culture followers are so desperated to recognize this world must be saved…intersesting “lapsus linguae”.
    ————————
    Finally, I’ve seen during my long experience with JMG blog and even narrated briefly in John novel “Stars Reach”, you and a lot of the commentariat think there will be in historical terms, a full Islamisation in Western Europe. Well, I’ve met quite “2nd generation migrants” from muslim origin countries and to me they seem less religious than their fathers. In addition to this subjective fact, I read sonewhere in internet in France, according surveys and statistics, the double of people quitted islamic religion than people who were islamised indeed. This data look like to me secularisation is hitting hard yet even for moslim origin new generation. Of course, this tendence is going to reverse as soon as Faustian mythllogy (Progress, secular states and so on) starts to decay in future. However, I think the islamic bogeyman who far right wing parties like to speak about so much, isn’t going to come very soon to EU western countries. What do you think about this topic now?

93. Hello all, medium time reader and first time commenter. JMG, I just wanted to convey my thanks for a lot of your writings over the last few years. I stumbled into this blog through your essays on the collapse of industrial systems at the tail end of the covid years. As a college student at the time, those essays and ‘The Ecotechnic Future’ were super influential to my getting involved with the agricultural world professionally, which I am very grateful for (even if I am now considering a career swap out of it.)

    As a second point, I was raised to the degree of Master Mason last week and I was curious your thoughts on American Masonry and its relationship to magic. Despite how many occult traditions sprung out of it, it doesn’t feel like a very ‘magically interested’ system, although there are certainly many masons who have esoteric interests. In fact I would go so far as saying that even at very esoterically inclined lodges, such as my own, ‘occultism’ is pretty frowned upon. Alchemy gets mentioned a lot and sacred geometry features very prominently, but it feels different than the way you have described magical traditions in other posts of yours. I am having trouble expressing why, especially without violating my obligations, so I will leave that to you as a more open ended prompt. I’ll definitely give your book on sacred geometry an order! Apologies on the long, rambly comment.

94. Hi John Michael,

    It’s been an interesting old week on the rare Earth minerals front, and also for meetings between the US elites and the Australian elites (let’s not talk about Mr Rudd, who I believe should have fallen on his sword, but moving on). Anywhoo, seems like suddenly some mines are opening up in this state, probably an hour and half’s drive north (and further inland) of here. Donald rare earth mine given major project status by Australian government. I’m guessing it will go ahead.

    Dunno about you, but because I’ve got an inquisitive mind, long ago I may have mentioned to you that there are allegedly low grade uranium ores in that part of the world, and went up to look around, as you do. We Found A Uranium Mine in the Victorian Goldfields!. It’s not far at all from the proposed mine, and apparently was never economical to extract and concentrate the low grade ores. Clearly the winds have shifted? And what does that suggest to you? The history in the link is very interesting, and by the way, the website itself is simply awesome and provided fodder for many an outing – total respect to the lady who put it all together. The ruined industrial relics in this part of the world are truly fascinating places to visit.

    The local media put together a very interesting brief article on rare Earth mining, and thought you might appreciate the info: Mapping rare earth supplies and the challenges of turning these minerals into magnets. How the exotic has become common place, and nobody seems to notice, is all a bit beyond my comprehension. Oh well. The minerals are super exotic.

    Cheers

    Chris

95. Does anyone besides myself find it odd / remarkable / weird that in recent years so many people who aren’t louts or oafs are nevertheless using the f-word in public? Even someone as dignified as Barack Obama has used it. What the flibble is going on?

96. JMG and my fellow commentators.

    As readers have no doubt heard Japan has gotten (yet another) PM. PM Takaichi is a woman who is an alleged ‘staunch conservative’. Given that she is a woman in politics in a male dominated country and likes libertine western cultural imports (she played in a metal band in college, still enjoys the musical genre and likes American motorcycles) and seems to be a firm believer in soft New Deal style “cut taxes and spend” economics, what exactly does being a conservative mean?
    You can apply this to other countries, including the US over the past century or so. Nixon shook Mao’s hand, Reagan said ‘deficits don’t matter’, Thatcher helped set the stage for mass migration to the UK and so on.
    My question is, what even is a conservative post 1918? Does it simply mean a semi-socially conservative liberal?
    I wonder, that with the death of European (and East Asian) monarchy over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, does conservatism even exist in any meaningful way anymore? Moldbug claims to be a Jacobite and then turns around to bemoan a lack of religious tolerance and the central importance of the mercantile/capitalist class, both rock ribbed enlightenment ideals.

    Was industrialism’s period of dominance so total that it did, for a time, create a sort of universal liberal ideology?

    Cheers,
    JZ

97. @Patricia M and JMG, a quick note on Japanese. “Oni” is more akin to “ogre,” and to judge from children’s story books, appears to be a rebounding echo of times when we existed side-by-side with Neanderthals: animal skins, body paint, barrel-chested ravenous hunters with spears. Horns too, but some of them had just one. The most usual word for “devil” is “akuma.” There are a few other words, “satan” among them. A while back one family had trouble with their city hall over trying to name their boy “Akuma.”

98. John, are you familiar with the work of Todd Murphy? His working hypothesis is that human reincarnation is an evolutionary adaptation utilizing brain states and the earths magnetic field.

99. @Slithy Toves: I think that any group not explicitly labelled “Women’s Group for X” should be worth at least one visit. I think the key is to approach as a fellow enthusiast of the group interest, and then casually mention when asked about relationship status, that you’re single and looking. Group interest first, romantic interest second. (Pick a hobby you actually like.)

    I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a man get bullied in one of these groups, although there’s the usual status jockeying. I’m also not in the US so there may be cultural differences.

100. I thought I’d share a few observations on Japan’s prime ministers now that they’ve gotten a lady there. Japan is still very sexist, and she had to overcome that this week, but succeeded. I truly congratulate her.
     The recent Prime Minister Kishida looked very nervous for most of his term. He had taken over from the late Prime Minister Abe, who was probably assassinated because he was on too good of terms with Russia (his security detail abandoned him just before the lone crazed gunboy opened fire, probably because they didn’t trust his aim). When the confident, capable, experienced Shigeru Ishiba learned he’d won the booby prize, I swear he looked diminished, fumbling, nervous, and that continued until they could hold a new election.
     To see the TV last week, from an American perspective, I would have sworn the young and popular son of former Prime Minister Koizumi the Lion-hearted had won, because he looked so happy, and Sanae Takaichi had lost, because she looked downcast, her shoulders slumping. Nope, quite the opposite.
     From her childhood, she had wanted to be prime minister, but the responsibilities weigh very heavily on Japan’s leaders.
     I’ve served a few times in leadership positions in Japan. The perqs are nonexistent, and you are expected constantly to put your people first. It is an honor, however, and I think there is a lot less negativity toward politicians in Japan on account of this kind of social contract. All of the candidates in last week’s election came across as capable. There was no mud-slinging.
     I have forgotten how long ago it was, but Nissan Corp. was having financial troubles, so they hired a CEO from overseas, Carlos Ghosn, to come in and reform the company according to Western ways. I think they failed to realize just how corrupt Western business had become by then. I really do not know the details of his behavior that got him into trouble, but he expected to be treated like a king no matter what, and instead he wound up treated as any other criminal in Japan. He made a very very undignified exit.
     I’ve seen the Western press call Sanae Takaichi “Japan’s Trump.” The only similarity I can see to Trump is that she is taking the citizens’ widespread desire to limit immigration seriously (anybody can see what it has led to in Europe and the US, and Japan is an island nation). Other than that, she is really the opposite of Trump. I don’t know whether she counts as a “mean girl” who succeeds or not. If I had had a TV back when she was a newscaster, I might have an opinion on her background, but at this time, no, she is not a mean girl. She is conservative, and she was allied with the late Prime Minister Abe, but in the past, she was working for Pat Schroeder in Colorado prior to her run for the Presidency. I liked Schroeder a lot, but she lacked the ability to stand up to the mudslinging. In the US, it seems it takes someone as objectionable as Trump or Hillary to make it through all of that intact.

101. The dating discussion hits close to home, and I’ve arrived at many of the same conclusions independently. (Only to forget them a couple days later 😉) I wrote to a friend earlier this year that I will only be ready for a new relationship once I’m perfectly happy spending the rest of my life alone.

     Online dating is often cruel. And so far my experience with it has been:
     –“An expectation is a disappointment waiting to happen”
     –“Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it ”

     But, what can I say? I’m a slow learner, and have still been looking occasionally at a site called unjabbed.net that is very small and devoted to people who didn’t get the COVID jab. I wish all in similar situations the best of luck.

     *Ochre Harebrained Curmudgeon*

102. Hi Archdruid and friends,

     I am going through a strangely dark phase suddenly, for some reason that I do not fully understand. It started a couple of days ago when I awoke very tired after a full and healthy night of rest. Then things began to go South in steps.

     First, I felt a drain on my restraint and self-discipline. I was popping snacks into my mouth when I should have been maintaining a diet plan – one that I have already maintained for quite some time. And then I broke an office cup one day at work. I placed the cup a little carelessly on the office cafeteria counter, and it tipped over and fell on the floor and shattered. I had realized that the glass was going to tip over right after my fingers let go of the handle, but my reaction was a tad too slow and I had to watch it fall and break.

     And then I broke a glass mug at home yesterday. I broke it in exactly the same way – I placed it on the table after finishing my drink (green tea, which accompanies my morning reading) and then it tipped over. It happened in a scarily similar way – I had realized that it was going to tip over and fall right after I had let go, but I hadn’t reacted in time. Once again, I literally watched it fall over and shatter.

     Then I tried to make popcorn in the microwave oven and damaged one of my wife’s favorite bowls – the cheap plastic coating with the patterns on it came clean off, snapping out with explosive pop sounds. Not a regular occurrence in my household, and I am not normally a careless person – I make sure not to place cheap containers inside the microwave for too long, but I did yesterday evening and that’s how that went.

     And then, last night, when I was pulling the mosquito net out of the cupboard, I tore it.

     Mosquito nets are used in India because we have a profusion these six-legged friends here that don’t let us sleep otherwise, and it is a habit that every night I pull it out of the cupboard and set it up around our bed (the ‘r’ in “six-legged friends” is optional). Each morning, I take it down and put it back into the cupboard. I have been doing this for over a year without a hitch. Then last night, when I was pulling it out, it got stuck to a tiny protrusion on the hinge mechanism of the cupboard door – a screwhead or some such. Normally, I am responsive to such hitches, because mosquito nets are very thin and porous and flimsy. But last night, my tug on it even persisted a little longer after it got stuck, and then I heard it rip. My wife had to sit and sew the gaping tear I had made it in.

     And this morning, I smacked my wife quite hard in the nose with my head while reaching in for a kiss. Again, it’s not exactly the first time I have kissed her. Its like a whole train of individual incidents, but when they happen together, they feel quite ominous to me.

     I tend to not be very careful, but I am certainly no butterfingers. Disasters don’t happen this frequently around me, and now they are happening multiple times a day. It’s almost like the Gods are warning me that I am being careless with something that is very delicate, and I may well cause damage that is irreversible.

     There was a time in my life when I would have paid little attention to such things, but those times are past. I have experienced synchronicities that have guided my decisions over the last two years, and some of them have been very helpful. So now this train of ominous disasters is leaving me quite spooked. I suppose I really need to get my act together and start being twice as careful about everything.

     Is this how omens typically work?

103. I lived on a farm as a youth and have returned to it lately in middle age. I’ve cleared trees to make fields, then left those fields fallow for decades. Those fields grew over and now they are young forests. This is just a little bit of hope for those that think the world is going to be “used up” or “ruined” by industrial civilization, just know that nature always grows back and it finds a way to do what it wants.
     @Jeff Russell #6. I also am a 40 something coming in and out of the dating scene. The things that seemed to bring some success were to ask your friends or coworkers if they could set you up with someone (gay male friends especially seem to like to play matchmaker). An observation I have made on women who would be “age appropriate” for 40 year olds to date: many middle aged women have also gone through divorces, baby daddies, or just the jarring stuff of life. Often these women like to have a man available, but not necessarily living with them or for a serious relationship. I’ve found women close to our age welcome companionship and a physical relationship, but are not rushing to get married. Just something to consider.

104. Dear JMG and community,

     I have tried and failed to start a simple daily religious practice. I was raised Catholic, tried Buddhism in college, but nothing felt right so just have been irreligious most of my life. Neo-paganism appeals to me because I feel most spiritual in nature and when reading about European mythology, my ancestry, and ancient history. I tried to get into Roman religion, but then when I get into the actual ritual my analytical mind takes over and says “This is fake. This is goofy.”. Any tips for the lay person?

105. Rajarshi # 102:

     You’ve lived some strange days lately, to say it softly…I think everybody lives bad days, but sometimes bad days go on too much time.
     —————————
     John and someone whose name I can’t remember now (I’m sorry) have commented about people who write books and want to publish them. The Amazon system of self-publishing has come into the discussion: John said it wasn’t interesting because (if I remember well his words) Amazon hasn’t advices and you probably won’t sell more than six copies of your book.
     This statement has made me remember what happened to a friend of mine. He had written some poetry and a couple of novels, so he wanted to publish at least a novel. He decided to publish it by Amazon because it sounded to him cool, with no intermediaries and so on. Well, he managed to publish his book several years ago, but I think he has sold cough cough…maybe ten or twelve copies until nowaday? OK my friend sold more than 6 copies, but not many more thanks to marvelous Amazon.

106. @Patricia Mathews, #33
     It is possible that “ganjin” turned into “gaijin” in Japanese. Japan has never been under foreign occupation in it’s history except for the US occupation after WWII. But, Japan borrowed the writing system from Chinese and brought some of the sounds of Chinese along with it. So, there are usually two sets of sound for each character in Japanese, one called the Onyomi, one the Kunyomi, each representing the Japanese sound or the “Chinese sound” of the character. “Gaijin” in Japanese literally means “outside person” (if you just look at the characters that make up the word), but of course it’s use has changed into a slightly rude form of “foreigner.” I would have to look up the onyomi and kunyomi of the characters to know if they are the “Chinese” reading but I’m pretty sure that they are.

107. Hello Mr Greer and the commentariat,

     I would like to contribute to the topic of dating in mid-life initiated by Jeff, based on my own experience. But first a generalisation: it appears to me that people fall into roughly two groups when it comes to romantic and sexual behaviour. For the one group, romantic/sexual urges are akin to need for sleep or food. People from this group are never single for long, and they seem to not put any particular effort towards finding a mate which comes easily to them. For the other group, getting into a relationship is almost a miraculous feat, occuring through extraordinary events, synchronicities and the like. People from the latter group tend to stick to even very unsatisfactory relationships, being aware that it is possible there would not be a new one in future were that relationship to end. I belong firmly to the group where being in a relationship is highly unusual, so please bear that in mind when reading my comment.

     I had been in a very shaky marriage, working in a job I hated just to satisfy my then-wife’s status ambition. The stress of that time had started taking its toll on me, and luckily I got some free psychotherapy to deal with its consequences. After a few months of therapy, I slowly started waking up from the daze I had been living in, thinking about what my real priorities are and finding my own agency. My ex then committed such an egregious betrayal that the relationship could not possibly have survived. The marriage ended, and I quit the awful job I had been doing for the previous several years. Amazingly, only weeks later I received an offer for a dream job that had eluded me since then. Working on something I liked, having more free time and money also led to more and varied encounters with women, some of whom found me interesting.

     The second big change for me at the time was going to a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor, who found huge imbalances in my body. When he lightly poked a point close to my ankle, I just started crying, he explained that this indicated a severe blockage in my male energy. After a couple of sessions of massage and moxibustion, I had not noticed any particular changes in myself, but the world started reacting to me differently. Women who were complete strangers started smiling to me in the street, approaching me in bars and coffee shops, asking me for my phone number… I am still flabbergasted when I look back to that time. Very quickly I found a girlfriend, with whom I was in a volatile but extremely exciting relationship until the company I was working for shut down, and I had to relocate back to my home country.

     I have been single and in crappy jobs since (two facts perhaps not quite uncorrelated). But these events have initiated a strong shift in how I see the world, and this blog has helped a lot in making sense of these experiences. I would consider working with a good psychotherapist or/and with a non-quack TCM doctor. Not being in a position to find either at the moment, instead of undergoing psychotherapy I am following Mr Greer’s kind advice to do the exercises of the Order of Spiritual Alchemy. I am also learning qigong, which is supposed to confer similar benefits as TCM. I would like to be in a loving relationship again (and possibly professionally successful too!), I believe the best way to accomplish this is through working on myself. A person for whom relationships come naturally (belonging to the first group in the generalisation from the beginning of my post) might benefit more from practical advice and from updating their skills to the current dating scene. Anyway, good luck to Jeff and anyone else in the same predicament!

108. Clay Dennis
     Re: Battery car mandates.
     My mind flips back and forth between stupidity being the reason for nonsensical things happening and there being some kind of cabal working on wrecking the world, or just that money has its own ways of distorting the economy. In any case, the bankers usually do quite well.

109. Re different ways to keep a marriage alive… a data point…

     My parents (silent generation), who will both turn 90 next year, celebrated 66 years of marriage this year.

     Since I can remember, they made it a priority to go out on a “date” every week, the rules they set for themselves were as follows:
     [Get a babysitter, in the early years], go somewhere as nice as they could afford and spend at least three hours talking to each other about anything EXCEPT (and the EXCEPT was important to them) anything to do with us kids, anything to do with finance, anything to do with household day to day concerns. The point was to maintain the relationship between THEM, and not get bogged down by day to day concerns.

     I remember having an argument with my mother once (can’t remember what else it was about) in which I accused her of loving my father more than me. And she got very quiet and calmly laid it out for me. “I am committed to living with your father for a lifetime, whereas I am committed to raising you to become an adult who will one day be independent enough to leave us and go live your life as you yourself choose. Of course this shapes my priorities.” I never forgot this.

     Also, I have found it to be true. My husband IS for a lifetime of us being together, my kids has changed over the years in tandem with the job of getting them the start to living their lifetimes with other partners, and raising other families. As babies and toddlers, I could feel being separated from them as a physical ache, but this certainly changed as they grew up, grew more independent, and ultimately grew into their adult selves and adult differently connected lives.

     My husband and myself did not do the dating thing that my parents did, and still do. But we, too, have our ways to stay connected, without getting bogged down by the day to day… although, perhaps, it might be said that we’ve chosen the route of immanentising our relationship THROUGH day to day chores, rather than transcending them… 😉

     None of this is meant to preach, everyone has different conditions to deal with. I hope it gives a data point worthy of throwing into the ring, that is all.

110. @ KAN 84

     You said: Free Rain: Regarding chores, are you including mowing lawns, repairing things around the house, clearing the gutters, etc?

     Yes of course….! Pink jobs, blue jobs? If that’s the way it works for you and both people are happy then sure thing! What I mean is making sure that you don’t side step responsibilty for chores by assuming a job is someone else’s responsibility because it isn’t thought of as the same ‘colour’ as the jumpsuit you wore as a baby (social conditioning starts right back there for good or bad, don’t you think?).

111. The Bezzel: Is It 1925 All Over Again: https://dailyreckoning.com/the-bezzel-is-it-1925-all-over-again/

     There are a growing number of examples of malinvestment in the US economy, but much of it springs from excessive liquidity supplied by the Federal Open Market Committee. Since 2008 and particularly since COVID in 2020, the Fed did too much. While classical economic theory states that reserves at the central bank do not impact prices, in fact we can see that the “ample reserve” policy first adopted by the Fed under Chairman Ben Bernanke fueled a massive increase in fraudulent activity and inflation…

     … But beyond the housing market, the low-interest rate environment created by the FOMC has spawned an epidemic of fraud throughout the public and private credit markets. When we say private credit, we don’t refer only to the subprime assets being peddled to retail investors by the major Wall Street firms, but Main Street kind of fraud. The vast waves of liquidity provided by the Fed provided a ready environment for all types of commonplace swindles to proliferate.

     …or is it 2008 all over again?

     The year is 2006. Martin Hench is at the top of his game as a self-employed forensic accountant, a veteran of the long guerrilla war between people who want to hide money, and people who want to find it. He spends his downtime on Catalina Island, where scenic, imported bison wander the bluffs and frozen, reheated fast food burgers cost twenty-five dollars. Wait, what? When Marty disrupts a seemingly innocuous scheme during a vacation on Catalina Island, he has no idea he’s kicked off a chain of events that will overtake the next decade of his life. Martin has made his most dangerous mistake yet: trespassed into the playgrounds of the ultra-wealthy and spoiled their fun. To them, money is a tool, a game, and a way to keep score, and they’ve found their newest mark–California’s Department of Corrections. Secure in the knowledge that they’re living behind far too many firewalls of shell companies and investors ever to be identified, they are interested not in the lives they ruin, but only in how much money they can extract from the government and the hundreds of thousands of prisoners they have at their mercy. A seething rebuke of the privatized prison system that delves deeply into the arcane and baroque financial chicanery involved in the 2008 financial crash… The Bezzle, by Cory Doctorow.

     Just seeing these domino pieces in the world of the bezzle..

     “The society whose modernisation has reached the stage of integrated spectacle is characterised by the combined effect of five principal factors: incessant technological renewal, integration of state and economy, generalised secrecy, unanswerable lies, and eternal present . . . — The Society of the Embezzled Bespectacled Spectacle

     –integration of state and economy
     –unanswerable lies
     –hyperpresent

112. >Online dating is often cruel. And so far my experience with it has been

     It depends on your rating. If you’re 5 and under, it’s like shouting into a black hole. Nothing there. Your response makes me think you’re in that 6-7 range, which means you can play but it isn’t much fun and is a lot of work and disappointment. If you’re 8-10, it’s supposedly an endless party, but only 10% of the population will ever see that part of the market.

     Yeah my heart goes out to the 6s and 7s (6s and 7s), you guys have it worst of all. All the 5s are at home playing video games, the 8s are out with a new girl every night, but those poor 6s…

113. @Scotlyn #56
     “Myriam, this is an actually extremely helpful lens for getting into the nuts and bolts of my Tai Chi practice at the moment. So, thank you!”

     I am filled with delight! Thank you for taking the time to send me a message regarding your practice. 🙂

     -Myriam

114. Soko # 107:

     Thank you for telling us your life story. Each one of us we have a different story; your experience has made me think about my own life. Some time ago, I was near every day complaining because I’ve never been married and I hadn’t had any children. When more or less reached the 50 years old, I stopped complaining about it. I understood I had been in certain level a lucky man: I had been looking a true divorce epidemy in my town and country during a heck of time, even in my nearest family. So I see the personal misery of too many broken marriages. And for lack of children, well, with the mental problems to say softly, which I’ve suffered since my teen years, I thank God for not having children nowadays.
     Returning to your comment, I see you’ve divided roughly people in two groups when they (we) date each other. I’ve thought for a short time which one of the groups I belong, but finally I can say to you (all) I’m really between the two groups. I’m not especially handsome, I’m not tall but not short in my body; some people say I’m smart but not enough to have avoided some toxic relationships in my past. I’ve living isolated in my worst times, but I love now social interaction. And about dating, I don’t seek especially dating with women, but I don’t miss relationships in my life if I don’t have them. I like sometimes a bit of loneliness…

115. >Jason, as the wealth pump collapses, skilled trades and unskilled labor alike become more valuable

     The multi-decade bear market in labor is ending. Not sure it has ended yet but am looking for it to turn. There will be a “pet rock” moment where some pinhead journalist will trite out a tired article that will say something like “You working losers, we will dominate you now and forever, mwahahaha. Look upon our h1bs and despair.” That, will be the signal of the bottom being very very close by. Just like it was in 2015.

116. I’ve been very busy the past months, so I haven’t posted much. It’s time to get serious with Adocentyn Providence.
     Inspired by the 2025 Glastonbury Ecosophia conference, and with the prodding of Erika Kitten Lopez, I’m going to try to organize something similar for the summer solstice 2026: Adocentyn Providence!
     Tentatively 3 days, Friday 6/19 to Sunday 6/21.
     Ideas, offers to present, and offers to help organize are all welcome. Otherwise it’ll be me and Erika dancing in the street.
     I have a post on Dreamwidth for any and all of your thoughts.

117. If my compatriot is such a nuisance, I wonder why you’re not taking magical action. It seems to me that the raspberry jam of binding someone from spamming adverts would be fairly tolerable. Presumably, though, you’ve given this matter much more thought than I have and thus I’m asking in the interest of learning from you, rather than trying to make a suggestion

     —David P.

118. An old woman’s thoughts on finding a partner.
     End of a marriage is painful to all concerned. My condolences and sympathy to all who have shared their stories here. I do urge anyone in this predicament to try to remember that the breakup is/was even more painful and traumatic for any children involved. You might recall the scene from Pretty in Pink in which Andy tells her grieving Dad that I loved her too, you know. She just didn’t love us back.

     I respectfully but strongly urge any man whose wife has left him with children at home with him to please try to remember that loss of a parent, mother or father, is emotionally and psychologically devastating to a child. Your first priority must be your children. Be involved in their schools and activities. Do you have the skills and ability to coach little league? What about scouts, boy or girl? 4H if you live on a farm? If you are a religious person, what about helping at youth groups? Attend ball games, take the kids and a friend or two fishing, camping, hiking. Pre-teen kids love to have their own garden spaces, even if it is mostly weeds growing. You will meet women, mostly married to be sure, but, most important, being a good dad will earn you the respect of women. Not the gold-diggers or barflies or sexual adventuresses, nor the self-righteous bullies, but decent, responsible women, and they will in time recommend and introduce you to their single friends.

     JMG, many if not most geekesses spent the early years of adulthood in a world of pain, as they had to cope with economic instability and the men who did not like them but yet would not leave them alone. I remember reading in an early self-help book by one Mr. Seabury, that if people won’t leave you alone it is because you have not learned ways to make them do so. That is when I began to learn how to think strategically and in time became a sigma weirdo as opposed to a woebegone crybaby.

119. KAN, thanks for this. Unfortunately “we can do this, therefore we should do this” has been the guiding principle of technological progress since the end of the Renaissance, so golems — or rather, as I’ve suggested, GoLLuMs — are the order of the day. Hubris? Certainly. A straight up scam? In many cases, yes.

     Martin, I’ve sent you an email and will look forward to your response.

     Free Rain, thanks for your response. I think part of the problem is that the word “love” can mean so many things, from temporary animal passion (among the worst motives for marriage) straight through to a deep and abiding emotional commitment (far and away the best). As it happens, I’d be fine with an arranged marriage if the matchmaker was a competent one — at my age, it’s not hard for me to specify what I’m looking for in a partner; an experienced matchmaker could get past the major obstacle of making that initial contact, and since the woman and I would both go into the situation knowing that we had to work to make a happy marriage, I think the results would likely be good: “It’s your job to make me happy and I shouldn’t have to make any effort at all” is both a very common attitude and an even more common cause of relationship failure.

     Averagejoe, thanks for the data point. Because I’ve heard the same thing quite often in another context, I’m going to ask a potentially loaded question: do you happen to know if the people who died received one or more of the Covid vaccines?

     Jack, I don’t own a cell phone, so that’s an easy question to answer. I don’t take a daily paper because the local paper is (as usual for US media) wildly biased and leaves out too many stories that matter. I get my news from overseas news sites, and I make a point of using news sites with competing agendas — for example, if you want to know what’s happening in Ukraine, check the BBC (for the pro-Ukrainian spin) and RT (for the pro-Russian spin), then go to a news site in south Asia (for the neutral spin), and triangulate from there. It’s a little laborious, but I’m rarely surprised.

     BK, that makes far too much sense!

     Chuaquin, oh, the Faustian types are always trying to save the world. There’s a huge messiah complex built into Faustian culture. As for the Islamization of Europe, the factor that matters most is demographics. Since Muslim immigrants are having far more children per capita than the natives, and continuing immigration brings in further waves of religiously conservative Muslims every year, the midpoint is shifting steadily towards Islam. Full-blown Islamic states in Europe are still maybe a century out, but that’s where things are headed.

     Bill, delighted to hear this — going into agriculture seems like a smart career choice to me. As for Freemasonry, it’s the shell of an old esoteric system of initiation which was turned into a men’s social club three centuries ago. The initiations are still valid, but very few Masons ever make use of the spiritual possibilities those open up. Very often, there’s a lodge or one of the appendant bodies where the occultists hang out, but that can be difficult to find; in the meantime, yeah, it’s a bit of a lonely experience.

     Chris, thanks for this. I’m not at all surprised — breaking China’s stranglehold on exotic minerals has become a crucial bit of economic strategy just now for the US and its allies/satrapies. As the fragmentation of the global economy accelerates, I expect many more commodities to undergo the same sort of shift.

     Robert G, frack if I know.

     John, Japan is, well, very Japanese. It’s entirely typical that the conservative Republican party there calls itself the Liberal Democratic Party. That is to say, what counts as a staunch conservative in Japanese terms has only a very distant nodding acquaintance to what that term means elsewhere. Yet there’s another factor which you may be missing. Conservatism has two basic and very different streams — the reactionary stream set in motion by Joseph de Maistre and the progressive stream set in motion by Edmund Burke. The reactionary stream — continental European, monarchist, usually Catholic — died in the trenches of the First World War, though various attempts to prop up its mummified corpse have occurred since then. The Burkean stream remains very much alive, by contrast, and it’s an Enlightenment viewpoint through and through — it’s simply Enlightenment thought with the brakes on, a solid grasp of the precautionary principle, and a great deal of skepticism toward the delusions of would-be world-reformers. Yet there’s another, more recent change afoot of even greater impact: liberalism in its historic sense fell over stone cold dead around the beginning of this century, and a lot of what’s going on in the world right now is a battle led by the ghosts of Edmund Burke and Karl Marx respectively, to fill the resulting void.

     Patricia O, interesting — thanks for the correction.

     Jfisher, no, I hadn’t encountered that claim. At first hearing, it seems a little goofy, but I’ll look into it.

     Patricia O, she sounds like an interesting person and I wish her well.

     Ohc, and likewise.

     Rajarshi, it might be omen-related, but I would tend to look at two other options before then. The first is to use journaling to look for unnoticed sources of stress — including intuitions of trouble on the way. The second would be to see if there’s any reason to think you might have offended someone who would turn to evil magic for revenge. Just a thought…

     Watchflinger, here in New England you routinely find old fieldstone walls running through dense forest, the last trace of old farms abandoned a century or more ago. Nature’s resilience is impressive.

     David, that reaction — “this is fake, this is goofy” — was programmed into you by society, as part of the defensive mechanisms of modern materialist culture. Ignore it, mock it, or even have fun with it, but go ahead and keep on doing the ritual. You’ll get past that internalized tyrant in a surprisingly short time. Mind you, once you notice that there’s really, genuinely something listening to you, you’ll probably have a panic attack and have to fight through that, too — that’s another part of the defensive programming.

     Chuaquin, I’ve heard stories like that far too often. Some of the novels lingering in six-copy hell are actually quite good, but unless their authors figure out a way to market them, they’ll sit there until Amazon goes broke and the servers are sold off for scrap.

     Soko, thanks for this!

     Bradley (if I may), it occurs to me that these explanations aren’t mutually exclusive. It would make so much sense if the world was being run by a conspiracy of morons…

     Cato, yep. If you or anyone else reading this hasn’t yet picked up a copy of Galbraith’s The Great Crash 1929, run, don’t walk, to the nearest used bookstore and get one. Galbraith coined the term “the bezzle” for the sum total of embezzled money in society, the amount of wealth that’s theoretically in banks and what we laughingly call “securities” but has been stolen surreptitiously and won’t be there when called for, and discussed how it rises and falls with the economic cycle. Right now, I suspect that the bezzle has reached historically unprecedented levels.

     David P, he’s a minor nuisance at this point and I have a lot of magical projects in process right now. I figured that there was at least a chance that if I mock him publicly, and he discovers that in fact his spam is going nowhere, he’ll find some new target.

     Mary, thanks for this. I went through my parents’ divorce at the age of 10 and it was an utterly miserable experience, so I applaud every single word of your comment here. As for geekesses, trust me, I know this. I just wish there was some way for me to send out a bat-signal or something to the lonely middle-aged geekesses out there saying, “I kept one plump and bookish geekess mostly happy through a forty-year marriage, maybe you should come by for tea sometime.”

120. Bearded @ 19, I’ve tended towards brewing mead utilizing various fruit types (technically referred to as a ‘melomel’..). Cherry/Raisin, Medlar, and Loganberry are the one’s that have been a success, with grated ginger added for extra character. Ditto on the champagne yeast! Last batch of Loganberry was simply divine. The Medlar batch, of which I produced back in 2019, has finally mellowed out: tis a truly ‘limited edition’.. as I no longer have access to medlar fruit. Sigh’..
     Keeping the wort @ below 120°, as per your recipe, is essential, so as not to destroy all of the honey’s beneficial qualities – who cares if there’s wild yeast in the wort, right?

     Anyway, here’s to the Nectar – and by extension the humble nectar makers – of the Gods! ‘;]

121. @JMG

     > liberalism in its historic sense fell over stone cold dead around the beginning of this century

     I think you’ve addressed this somewhat in the past, but do you mind briefly mentioning why this happened? I’m assuming it’s more than the simple fact that all the major liberal parties, movements, and demagogues sold out — that’s usually a symptom of an ideology’s failure instead of the cause.

122. @JMG

     This morning I heard a headline on the radio news along the lines that “several economists we’ve talked to say there’s no [LLM] bubble”, which made me smile, shake my head and think of you. Time to hang on to our hats? And yes, I’ve read Galbraith’s book about the 1929 crash, which made it even more comical.

     @Jeff Russel #6

     Unfortunately I don’t have much in the way of specific advice to offer, but just wanted to say I’m sorry to hear that. I wish you all possible success in finding a new relationship that’s right for you!

     @RMS #74

     Someone upthread already mentioned the American Futhark project, which looks very interesting (and makes me wish we had a modern Norwegian Futhark, but I guess we’ll have to make do with the Younger). Your quote can also be read as developing ways to use the Runes in modern magic, and the Heathen Golden Dawn system I currently work with has a lot of ideas and examples for that in a ceremonial magic setting if you’re interested. I assume you’re already familiar with Edred Thorsson/Stephen Flowers’ books as well?

123. On the subject of dating, especially once you’re in your 30s and up, there’s an economics joke that seems applicable:

     Two economists are walking down the street. One notices a hundred-dollar bill laying on the ground, and tries to point it out to the other. The other, not even bothering to look say, “Can’t be. Someone would have picked it up already.” (The first then picks up the $100 bill and says, “Yes, you’re right.”)

     While it’s a joke about the absurdity of the efficient market hypothesis, the second economist has a point: you don’t expect to see large amounts of money laying on the ground randomly for long without being picked up.

     Applied to dating, this is why I’m so frustrated by the people I mentioned in my comment to Kfish who are trying so hard to protect me or who tell me, “Well, you don’t want someone like that“: the kind of dream partner they have in mind for me — or that I want for myself, let’s be ruthlessly honest here — is in all likelihood already married to someone else and absent a very unfortunate turn of events, will remain that way. And the reality is, if I were as much of a catch as my well-wishers thought, I would be, too.

     I don’t mean to make this a pity party for myself. I just think I need to be honest and realistic in my expectations. Work on myself, make myself someone I can see others wanting, and also put aside overly-romantic (or overly-sexy) expectations, and pursue unconventional avenues (matchmakers, dating outside my social class, etc.).

     The matchmaker option in particular strikes me as promising; I know a guy who’s using one. Once I’ve gotten myself to a place where I feel like I’m really open to the idea, I intend to do a divination to see if it will really be worth pursuing.

124. While I’m thinking about it: I ran across an alternative geomancy techniquie called the “Novenary chart” that uses six figures in a triangle: you cast the first three directly, generate a fourth and fifth figures from those to get the second line of the triangle, then combine those two to get the sixth at the triangle’s tip. Here’s where I found it:

     https://minorfracture.blog/2024/01/23/foundations-of-nonastrological-geomancy/

     It looks interesting. I’ll have to experiment with it.

125. I’ve been painting and drawing a lot recently, and related to that I’ve been hanging out watching art-related youtube videos. I’m not especially well-versed on art history… or so I thought. I ran into a couple of artist commentator types with some rather mindboggling to me blind spots. One person decided to do a tier list of art styles. She went into extreme detail on 21st century anime and manga-related styles, and while lumping Impressionism in with abstraction. As for anything solidly pre 20th century, the only thing mentioned was renaissance art. No non-western, non modern japanese, either. Does she really know nothing beyond that? And a christian art (sounds like mostly music) person asking why Christian art is poor quality, with no apparent awareness of the 19th century and prior christian art and music made for the church. He’s missing a millenium of great art. Seriously, the question that actually needed asking is ‘Why is modern Christian art and music so bad compared to earlier Christian art and music’?

     I also looked at a long series about art history, again on youtube, only to find that they spent so long talking about imperialism, colonialism and the elgin marbles that I got bored and went looking elsewhere because I wanted to actually learn about things like the history of chinese and japanese watercolors, brush painting, and block printing, plus renaissance and later western oil painting and western watercolor painting.

     Something is rotten in the state of art history.

126. Hi John Michael,
     I hope all is well with you.
     First I want to thank you for the recent series of post. I knew, from from past experience, that you would turn a boring and obscure subject into a fascinating and relevant exploration of ideas, but I never expected an obscure Marxist theory to turn into Marxist Theology😃
     Recently we visited with some friends and acquaintances; an eclectic international group of academics, researchers, journalists and entrepreneurs and got some data points.
     I think one of them will surprise you.
     1/ Friends living in Maryland working hard to get off grid due to expected brown-outs as the data centres gobble up energy.
     2/ Larry Ellison of Oracle, one of the world’s richest men, is investing in (buying up) big chunks of Oxford city and funding (buying up) Oxford University. The overt aim is AI development and Medical research; the covert, but well known, aim is Immortality!
     3/ One of the biggest and most lucrative trafficking operations worldwide is in ……… Eels !!!
     cheers
     Lurksalong

127. Hello!

     Peter, #116, I tried to comment on Dreamwidth but it wouldn’t let me, I don’t have an account.

     Anyway, my husband and I would like to attend the gathering next year with our 9 year old son in tow this time. We’d love to see workshops/talks for families and the younger set of budding Ecosophians. My son and I could possibly do a demo of making acorn ink.

     And, I am pondering lodging, ideas of places for groups of us to stay and share the expense, making a multi-day visit possible.

     For those who’ve never attended a potluck, it’s a lot of fun, definitely come if you can make it. Perhaps families could do some outings; we’d like to go to the whaling museum in New Bedford, MA, for example. And bring your kids!

     Ellen

128. @KAN Interesting, thanks for that!

     – RMS

129. @Slithy Toves: just check the dates when the organizations etc that you used to respect, such as the ACLU, jumped the shark.

     @everybody looking for a mate in midlife – I wish you all the best of luck.

     My own experience of marriage inclines me to Samuel Johnson’s “Triumph of Hope Over Experience,” but the problem was – and beware of this – that mine had two separate codes of behavior: the dividing line was, when I called him on a formerly unheard of rudeness that shocked me and asked what was different,he said “You didn’t belong to me then.” So I do suggest you keep an eye out for that sort of trap. OF course, his ability to read people and mine were/are abysmally low.

130. Scotlyn,

     Thank you for the kind blessing.

     Soko,

     I enjoyed your point about those who need love/sex and tend to fall into new relationships, vs. those who are able to be alone somewhat and tend to struggle to find new relationships. It’s a different dating world depending on your type. I do think not rushing back into something has had serious advantages for me, but both types will have their pros and cons.

131. “Chuaquin, oh, the Faustian types are always trying to save the world. There’s a huge messiah complex built into Faustian culture. As for the Islamization of Europe, the factor that matters most is demographics. Since Muslim immigrants are having far more children per capita than the natives, and continuing immigration brings in further waves of religiously conservative Muslims every year, the midpoint is shifting steadily towards Islam. Full-blown Islamic states in Europe are still maybe a century out, but that’s where things are headed.”

     Only Sub-Saharan Africa and maybe some parts of Central Asia and closed religious sects (like the Amish) are expected to maintain above replacement birth rates this century. I wonder if there will be replays of when the African Homo Sapiens displaced the Neanderthals and Denisovans. There is a lot of evidence now that the Neanderthals were not the oafish cave men they have often been depicted as but were actually cleverer than modern humans. It’s a great mystery as to why they “lost” but it is believed to be due to either the Homo Sapiens forming larger social groups or just bring more sexy.

132. Re: finding a good woman to date/marry:

     My own marriage was the result of a lot of weird synchronicities, so not particularly helpful as a source of advice, but I have a recommendation once you’ve found a possible candidate. Do something genuinely helpful and ideally a bit “manly” for her that requires non-trivial effort (but not excessive, you don’t want to come off as desperate or creepy), and see how she responds. If she is weird and defensive/combative about it, she probably has some issues to work through before being ready for a solid relationship. If she is entitled or dismissive, well, who wants to date someone entitled and dismissive? If she is warmly grateful and perhaps also does something kind for you, it is probably worth pursuing further. It gives her a sign that you may be interested in her, lets her know that you’re not too damaged to act with generosity and kindness (there are sadly a lot of men out there who refuse to offer anything lest they be taken advantage of, which while perhaps understandable does not exactly deepen the dating pool), and her reaction can rule out some prospects that may end up making you miserable.

133. Hi JMG,
     Remember when you put together the group working for Johnny Appleseed ages ago? Those who wanted to participate simply recited, with feeling, a poem every week. If something like that would help get that geekess bat signal up and running, I would be delighted to participate. And I believe many others in the Commentariat would be as well. Just saying.
     OtterGirl

134. @BorealBear,

     Good point about use rather than development – I did think about that before posting but thought I’d see what the collective interpreted it as. I have a copy of the Heathen Golden Dawn, but haven’t dived into it yet. Sounds like it’s time! Thank you! I’m currently just familiar with this one by Thorsson, but I’m open to other recommendations by him if you had some that stood out to you?

     – RMS

135. Is it just me, or do others here have a feeling that something fairly major is about to blow up somewhere outside the US (something unsustainable will stop being sustained) within the next year or two? Trump’s election and the US policy changes have changed the stresses on all the other countries it interacts with, and a lot of them were in various kinds of trouble already.

     There’s plenty happening in the world right now, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’re in the prelude to something bigger. Not sure what, though.

     Or is this what it feels like to be in the middle of a period of troubles? It’s not like the beginning of this decade was any better, and things haven’t really stopped since. The 2010s seem so quiet and uneventful by comparison, at least where I am. Lots happening, but under the surface or far away. This decade, there’s been a lot of stuff that’s impossible to miss.

136. @JMG

     Re: Second Religiosity

     1. How long will it take for the Second Religiosity in America (which seems to have started just a few years ago) to peak or plateau?

     2. Could the working classes start moving away from Second-Religiousity-Christianity to other paths (including what has been called Low Christianity by elitists) in the second half of this century?

     3. You mentioned elsewhere that the Second Religiosity becomes increasingly tolerant in doctrine over time. Will we see a shift towards more tolerance in just a couple generations, or will it take longer?

137. Fair enough, though I think the chances of him noticing are rather slim. These kind of things tend to be automated.

     —David P.

138. Anonymous, #41, Re: ego alchemy

     I was able to accomplish something like that while working through the Octagon Society material.

     By journaling about my emotions, I was able to gain a better understanding of “what makes me tick”. For example, situations that would cause me to go into fits of rage in the past, I can now navigate though calmly, and this was done by taking my response apart, and dealing with eatch emotion at a time.

     Once I resolved the experiances that let those emotions arise, I found I could choose to just let the situation play out without getting angry.

     If you havn’t already, I encourage you to check the lessons out, they are avaliable freely

139. Robert G @ 95 wrote: “Does anyone besides myself find it odd / remarkable / weird that in recent years so many people who aren’t louts or oafs are nevertheless using the f-word in public? Even someone as dignified as Barack Obama has used it. What the flibble is going on?”

     Speaking of banned words, a local police chief has gotten herself in trouble by using the “M word”: She referred to “minorities.” She later apologized, but apparently she didn’t grovel sufficiently. The calls for her resignation continue.

140. JMG # 119:

     The Faustian messianic complex seems a very spread trend, ironically, between agnostic or atheist scientists or engineers, wich if you think well, it’s a paradox in itself. Some marerialists/rationalits even don’t pretend to hide their messianism, like my pro-nukes activist in his book title…
     **************
     Oh, the future islamisation of nowadays secularised Europe: no argument here. “Alea iacta est”. Demographic winter, disastrous politics and economics and the decline of modern states are the driving forces toward that elephant in the (future) room. What I wanted to say it’s maybe we won’t see in our actual life time the whole process; you’ve written “a century” which is a prudent time lapse. I agree.
     **************

     In addition to the Amazon self-publishing fiasco, of course my friend isn’t very happy with his experience and he won’t repeat it never more. He’s searching another ways to publish his art.
     ——————————-
     BorealBear # 122:

     I’m glad to hear “there’s not a LLM bubble” in public to ensure we can be relaxed about that topic…(ironic mode).

141. @Mary Bennet

     If JMG is right about one of the central ideas of the future American high culture being tamanous*, I imagine that Americans will continue to reject slavery for centuries to come. Remember that you and I oppose slavery not because of being especially virtuous, but because the education system and the media did their jobs in passing on their attitudes to us.

     *JMG being a nonconfprmist from a non-dpgmatic religious tradition might be biased towards the notion of a Spenglerian high culture based on tamanous, and that the American high culture might be based on a different idea. (However, we really do value the rights of the individual in this land, so that will probably be valued by the future high culture.)

142. i read Peter the Khan of Potlucks’ post and smiled because this Adocentyn Providence thing, mixed with all that i ended my last week’s screed on being FIRST to start something no one’s seen before or recently (see also the book ART AND FEAR)… also mixed with what Papa said above:

     ‘David, that reaction — “this is fake, this is goofy” — was programmed into you by society, as part of the defensive mechanisms of modern materialist culture. Ignore it, mock it, or even have fun with it, but go ahead and keep on doing the ritual. You’ll get past that internalized tyrant in a surprisingly short time. Mind you, once you notice that there’s really, genuinely something listening to you, you’ll probably have a panic attack and have to fight through that, too — that’s another part of the defensive programming.’

     —all THIS and all the horrible struggles to find love, ARE WHAT ADOCENTYN IS ABOUT: us starting our own era our own underground meeting place, in the hopes it branches out into people starting OTHER THINGS, and meeting each other.

     to pick up on last week’s terms, it’s excruciatingly beta and demeaning to force a human man to conform to the rigid confines of the internet’s cauldron of hell and screaming demons.

     WE have to “alpha” ourselves out of such an inhuman situation and show up and go past the AGONY. so geekettes will have to step up and not be passive and wait endlessly.

     i want to see open debates eventually because men get hella SEXY when they think fast and are complicated and can listen. it’s a form of showing off to us without the stab wounds. of course women will be open to debating but i’d be surprised if they partook very often. i can perform and love it, but regarding debating and great intense discussions, i think it’s more fun to watch and learn for a change. i love seeing people get all excited, animated.

     but Adocentyn IS for me, a way of starting a school dance, and chaperoning things so everyone doesn’t just end up lining the walls.

     this is what i mean about the creatives, the dead, for we’ve struggled these past few decades in this world, we have to create entire WORLDS in order for us to exist and thrive as we are.

     and that’s what Adocentyn WILL turn into, somehow, some way. it ALREADY is and has been. it’s just going bigger now because it’s TIME.

     x

143. JMG,
     One more book question. I have written the rough draft of my first book and am now going through and rewriting in chapter by chapter. To me, this is much less exciting ( but incredibly necessary) than the kind of stream of consciousness writing that I had when creating the first draft, so it is more of a grind.
     I also have another book at the front of my mind. Do you find it helpful or harmful to work on two books at the same time if the first one is already in its basic form.

144. Hello MR Greer a blast from the past question.
     When talking about decline you have talked about how catabolic episodes involve cannibalizing large chunks of infrastructure to reduce costs to a sustainable level. Now for the last 50 years the USA has been ejecting manufacturing and leaving transport to degrade at the fringes. This seems an awful lot like cannibalizing infrastructure in preparation for a big drop. What that drop will look like is definitely uncertain probably the USA loosing a war or another oil spike.

     In contrast to the destruction of factories and transportation we have seen a huge investment in communications infrastructure which could be argued as evidence against a catabolic episode occurring. However, it’s seems to me that this is capital that has very little utility outside of an imperial core. It seems to me that when the economy does its next nosedive a lot of those server farms and fiber optic networks are going to be left to rot or ripped out for salvage with incredible speed. The farms especially would be almost inoperable after just a year of neglect and I don’t see them bouncing back after a depression.

     Am I reading the signs right or am I completely off the horribly neglected rails?

145. Evening John,
     In response to your question regarding Covid vaccines, I can’t confirm. However they were well educated middle class folks likely to have been vaccinated. I’m of the view that the vaccines are a key factor in the increased death rate in the UK. Particularly the rise in turbo cancers and heart failure. However, I’m interested in whether this is being used as a means to allow those trapped on the earth to “go home”.
     Kind regards Average Joe

146. Pygmycory # 135:

     Yeah, sometimes I feel “something big’s going to happen soon in the world”, but then I remember someone said a long time ago sonething like: everyday we’re at the brink of the end of the world, but finally somebody saves the day…I have no idea who said/wrote this phrase, but it keeps me away from apocalyptical temptations. In addition to this, I can remember every failed predictions of imminent doom from the recent and not so recent past…

147. Jeff, my deepest condolences! I’m very saddened to hear this, though I suspected from some of your earlier posts that something might be up with your marriage situation. I can’t even begin to imagine how much this must suck for you and I hope you pull through it and manage to make the best of a lousy deal.

     On dating in the “currentyear” in general,

     I don’t know anything about your particular situation, but to put this in the most polite terms I’m capable of, I have to say that modern women are tough customers. I’m in roughly the same age bracket as you and some of the other men here commenting with similar situations. Though never married myself, I used to date around quite a lot in my younger years, by virtue of having friends and a lively in-person social life. I did have a long-term relationship that was essentially a marriage in everything but name (and legal status), so I know a few things about how protracted cohabitation arrangements tend to pan out.

     I’m hearing nothing but grief and horror stories from those younger men who have known nothing but dating apps (yuck!) as their main dating option. Now people our age are forced into this situation too. I stopped dating around 2015 (just as the app craze was kicking into high gear) and have pretty much been “monk mode” since then. I don’t have much useful advice to give on navigating those apps or dealing in general with today’s crop of tough customers, but from what friends have told me, it seems like the dating scene as a whole is simply terrible. The reality now is that women (those who aren’t dead-set on starting a stable family in their early 20s) don’t really “need” men for anything besides short-term sexual excitement and gratification, since they earn their own incomes. So if you are an average or normal guy, i.e.. one who doesn’t measure up to what Disney, RomComs, Instagram, Monster Romance smut books, ect. tells them they absolutely deserve, you are probably going to be relentlessly swiped left on those apps. And the great sham/grift known as modern marriage is something I won’t even touch on here 😉

     I do think this situation will eventually come to pass, however. Once the next major economic contraction hits, the bulk of those cushy PMC email jobs that have given legions of “empowered” girlbosses the illusion of independence will dry up. And predictably, they’ll come crawling back to us normal guys like nothing ever happened.

     I think until then though, the best we can do is Ride the Tiger. And if a great relationship falls into one of our laps, then awesome, but otherwise actively seeking that out in any sort of hurried or desperate manner will just likely end in a world of hurt and disappointment.

     Anyway, best wishes moving forward!
     -Corax, aka Causticus on DW

     (Disclaimer: My natal Venus and Saturn are in a SQUARE relationship, so please no one take anything I rambled about above as serious lovelife advice!)

148. Jeff #6
     Jeff, I am sorry to hear of your divorce. That is a sad thing to go through.

     In terms, of dating, it seems like you are taking good, solid steps forward. That’s terrific. Prayer is my go-to and it sounds like you’ve got that covered.

     I do have some practical suggestions for you.

     First, if you haven’t already done so, let the wives of your male friends know you are interested in dating again. Even if all their friends are married, they probably have co-workers and acquaintances and sisters of friends who are not. There is a good chance they will be happy to keep an eye out for you.

     Second, while working on being more loveable is terrific, I suggest also working on being friendlier in general. Chat with the senior citizen in line at the grocery store, call out good morning to a jogger passing by. This served me very well when I was single. My friendliness made it much easier for potential dates to converse with me.

     Third, do as much as you can in the real world. Go to the bookstore, the grocery store, the gym, the park. Don’t just stay home and do things online. Live your life and try to enjoy the world. Do not do this with the intention of meeting women. Women will sense this. It will seem needy and desperate and women hate that. But seeing a friendly person out and about is pleasent and attractive. This will create more opportunities to meet women naturally.
     Good luck!
     Heloise

149. @Chuaquin,
     I’m not talking apocalypse.

     I’m just talking more normal historical discontinuities along the lines of giant stock market crashes leading to a great depression, or a large war with a death toll in the millions somewhere that can’t be easily ignored. Or a global pandemic with a death toll >1% of the world’s population in <5 years. Or a famine with a death toll of 500,000+, or a series of revolutions in the western world that result in really dramatic policy changes and the end of the neoliberals/globalists as a going concern across most of europe and north america and reverse a lot of trends. Something we haven't seen in the 21st century, but that does happen plenty of times in the historical record.

150. Slithy, I’m still in the process of figuring out the cause of death. Once I sort things out, I’ll devote at least one post here to a detailed autopsy.

     BorealBear, excellent. Yeah, LLM stocks have reached a permanently high plateau. 😉

     Slithy, this seems very sensible. The novenary chart is a new one for me — a nice crisp quick reading. Thank you!

     Pygmycory, that’s fascinating in a horrible sort of way. Thanks for the heads up.

     Lurksalong, thanks for this. No, the lucrative nature of eel smuggling doesn’t surprise me at all. Eels are tasty.

     Jennifer, thanks for the suggestion.

     Ottergirl, thank you, but I think that would be a bit over the top! I’d be grateful for private prayers from anyone who feels the inspiration — and of course I have some other things in process.

     Pygmycory, it feels to me as though we’re in the midst of a period of crisis, and there will be some sudden shocks ahead.

     Patrick, (1) a couple of centuries; (2) yes, that could certainly happen; (3) I expect to see the shift toward tolerance as soon as the Second Religiosity triumphs, but when that happens is a matter of circumstance rather than destiny.

     Chuaquin, it’s the return of the repressed! All these agnostics and atheists are following willy-nilly in the ruts of Christianity, proclaiming their surrogate Christs and secondhand gospels at the top of their lungs, all the while certain that they’ve gotten rid of religion…

     Erika, I certainly intend to do what I can to help that happen.

     Clay, I do this all the time. It’s a good way to keep writing and editing separate — and they should be separate, since they interfere with each other.

     Js, you’re not wrong. I expect to see a frantic attempt to reindustrialize the US in the years immediately ahead, but then that’s quite common — at various stages of catabolic collapse there are attempts to rebuild or repair one set of infrastructure by letting others go to waste.

     Averagejoe, it’s not impossible that that’s what the vaccine business was about.

     Corax (if I may), it seems to me that a great many women in the industrial world’s middle classes have been taught to think that being as loveless as possible makes them powerful. To judge by the angry and miserable comments I read when I lurk on forums where such women post, they’ve become bitterly unhappy and depressed as a result of this profoundly false notion, and are lashing out (in a very human way) at everything but the belief system that holds them trapped. I wonder if it will ever occur to either of them that in a loving relationship, both people are subordinate, because love itself must take precedence over them both.

151. Regarding being your own publisher, Amazon is not the only game in town, though they are the giant when it comes to ebooks. I work with LightningSource (a division of Ingram) for print on demand distribution and find them good as a printer and distributor to bookstores. My experience has been that without marketing you cannot expect to sell much in the way of fiction unless you have an established name with an existing readership. There was a bit of a jump in print sales of newly released works for my translated fiction around the time of lockdowns, but I think that was just Amazon boosting its stock levels at that time. In my experience the sales figures for unmarketed fiction in English are very low (and I have published about 30 works of translated fiction). But unmarketed esoteric works do a lot better, and my translated work on the Etteilla tarot, which I arranged a review of with a tarot blogger (just the one!) but otherwise did no marketing for, has left the fiction in the dust and sold in the 3 figures to-date and is selling steadily each month. But it is actually exceeded in sales by my translations of the early 20C economist Werner Sombart’s magnum opus (I have published the first two volumes with about four more to go). Could I do better with a small publisher? Almost certainly. But that involves its own tradeoffs. Each to their own.

152. man am i slow.

     this week’s main theme of love is WHY you all need us artists lovers and creatives to come back to life and make a new world that will make you feel like you have to learn things all over again. good. because we’re LOVERS. did you see Jeffrey Velazquez’s sketch books ONLINE? they were so beautiful it hurt and i had to look away.

     i felt like i did when the young hooker was on camera all shy while the old man is wearing reading glasses and paging through the video camera instruction manual and he doesn’t even figure he could put down the manual and …be sweet.

     i don’t want Jeffrey Velazquez to even THINK of monetizing his books and selling them. that’s like auctioning off your original baby pictures. it hurt me to even think that. because the textures and the time and thought it takes to go from page to page. you’ve gotta feel that in real life, too.

     it’s beautiful.

     yes. that’s why you want the artists inventors and mad to come back.

     on the radio the DJ said D’Angelo, the musician who died at 51 of “pancreatic cancer,” write the song “Chicken Grease” to get Prince’s attention. D’Angelo did what i’m talking about: going above and beyond what is expected to reach above the existing “system” (connections) to talking on a whole other LEVEL.

     when i need to know something have help or wanna see a friend i’ve lost touch with, whatever whomever i need to see, i bump into.

     i could say synchronicity is part of it but also i think that’s why i wrote a book (“flaming iguanas”). i’ve another life long friend i met when she showed up at a reading and offered to do my thirts.

     James was first then Amy.
     i hardly see her but we keep in touch and she’s true blue solid ace boon coon.

     it’s a LOT of work to attract the magical. yes. first step is acting a fool, then by the time so much magic happens the ones acting uptight seem like a world of tight anuses walking the earth. sphincters everywhere like vonnegut’s asterisks, roaming the earth being shmucks.

     yes. this is why you need us ALPHAS to start new worlds. this asterisk one sucks. see? you can’t even find LOVE. ever since i was young i’ve had to push AWAY love because i’m a loner. but i couldn’t help James find love so I sure as hell know i’m useless here. it’s the OTHERS, as well.

     this is why being nice to cashiers pays off. this is why it seems mad that my landlord would incite 30 years of hell and think it’s not going to make this place the kind of place that makes him cry. absurd.

     so dating is going to be hard. you’d do well to look up on dating as healing. you’re going to need to get YOUR boundaries right, your playbook when emotions go wild. i go blank and get slow and stop. women raging at me go faster than my mind can handle and i just assume they’re right to make it stop. yeah. even me.

     but James helped me …go through the panic attacks of changing my mind about what i thought was the world… he was patient.

     all here are going to likely be the sexual healer in the relationship. so that’s also why YOU HAVE TO GO FIRST.

     again: why you need us alphas. the ones who dare to be LOVED and to LOVE first. because that IS the scariest thing EVER. and yet so simple. oh look… this is Jesus stuff.

     x

153. Hey JMG

     On the subject of dating, I have something to share. I have occasionally been in speed-dating events and so I can tell you of my experiences with them.

     Speed-dating involves getting an even number of men and women, and having them initially sit at an individual and numbered table. They are given 5 minutes to talk about themselves, then the men move over to the next table and repeat the process until either all participants have met each other or the restaurant that is hosting them closes. After this, they are emailed a link to an online survey where you can list whether you want each woman as a friend or potential girlfriend, or nothing at all. The results are sent to you the next morning.
     I have found that very frequently, the people running these events decide to always ensure that the speed-dating event happens in a enclosed space that easily traps and amplifies sound, maybe with the addition of live music being played close by. This makes it hard to hear the women speak, and inevitably leads to me finding it increasingly painful to talk to the next woman as I’ve had to talk louder than usual. This, combined with having to ask the same questions or give the same answers, leads to me becoming more stressed as the event goes on, which I’m sure the women pick up on, but respond with distaste.
     While the conversations I (try) to have with the women are pleasant enough, and they never seem angry or upset, I have had no luck with them, no successful dates have been the result of me going to these events. I may participate in a few more in the future, but I have doubts about how successful speed-dating is more me.

154. JMG, I found your comment to Corax very moving, and it reminded me of Boethius’ great poem about love: Quod mundus stabili fide. I don’t know how many lines of Slavitt’s copyrighted (non-metrical and very free) translation I can cite, but it begins

     The world rings its regular changes
     Its elements reconciled…

     And ends

     Love binds people too,
     In matrimony’s sacred bonds
     Where chaste lovers are met,
     And friends cernent their trust and friendship.
     How happy is mankind
     If the love that orders the stars above
     Rules, too, in your hearts.

155. Edit re. above post in response to BeardTree’s comments on Mead: I ment to state that a mead wort should be heated to 190° or there abouts .. not 120° … my bad!

156. @Slithy Toves #46
     re: “self-dating” vs “doing things”

     I think it’s more situational than generational. My brother and I are absolutely of the same generation– he’s only two years older than I– but he seems to have no trouble going to a movie, restaurant, museum or anywhere he pleases by himself. I credit that to the fact that he had to learn to do that, having lived alone almost his entire adult life. I’m more like the other commentators– since I moved from my parent’s house in with my now-wife (after defeating her in honorable single combat, see #63 upthread), I’ve never learned that trick. If anything happened to my wife, I’d be lost. I’ve spent the last 20 years joined at the hip to a woman who on reflection may-or-may-not be part Klingon*, and so haven’t had to do things by myself. Even before that, I tended to spend my “me time” in quiet pursuits like reading, whereas going out was always part of a social obligation– either with family or high school friends.

     *(I take great comfort in her Klingon heritage, as a matter of fact, because I know I’m more likely to wake up dead than divorced, which is just the way I like it.)

157. Remember that ol’ StarTrek episode where the supposed Federation Shrink used that HiTech Pysch Chair to um .. ‘rehabilitate’ mental patients?? .. only to have that ‘treatment’ turn against him ..??

     Well, I see Trump having been, metaphorically, strapped into the same kind of conveyance .. thereby doing a complete 180° on All • Things• Foreign • Policy … !!!
     What The FN Hell!

158. Will Musham wrote, “I often wonder about those out there who might be suffering a devastating kundalini awakening and who have no one with any comparable experience with whom they can talk and compare notes, who might not even have a clue as to what’s happening to them, and who in their desperation might end up in institutions and the hands of ignorant mood alternating-drug advocating shrinks.”

     I was clueless about what was happening to me during my excruciatingly drawn out kundalini awakening. The endless injuries and health issues and meridians going haywire were enough to make me question everything I thought I understood about life, which I guess is probably their purpose in the whole awakening process. Later, it was delightfully entertaining to stumble across the concept of kundalini rising, well after mine was already completed — “Oh, so that’s why that decade of my life was so terribly sucky! Who knew?”

     As for institutions and mood-altering drugs, my outlet of choice at the time was voluntary surgeries to address the many spiraling injury complexes I was enduring. Ending up in the hands of for-profit surgeons is no longer a fate I would ever wish on anyone, though it is a fate I was once willing to inflict on myself, for some peculiar reason. When one surgeon’s internal sutures came untied two days after my surgery (with him closing his ranks to protect himself from a malpractice suit), I was left with no pain meds until I finally checked myself into a hospital on a suicide watch. Within a day, the hospital’s incompetence had left me catatonic with pain. Once the self-absorbed suicide-watch nurse shifted, the angelic new arrival made them give me pain meds, which brought me immediately out of my catatonia and allowed me to rip the complacent floor staff a new one and demand to see the pain doctor immediately. He arrived at the same time as breakfast, which conveniently allowed me to projectile vomit in front of him, finally convincing someone that I was actually quite allergic to the drug they were giving me. That was when he prescribed a morphine drip, and I finally returned to some semblance of myself. So yes, institutions and mood-altering drugs are a very likely component of a traumatic kundalini rising endured without any worthwhile metaphysical guidance. But, my, oh my, the stories you will come away with when it’s finally over! Well, should you survive, that is.

159. “This morning I heard a headline on the radio news along the lines that “several economists we’ve talked to say there’s no [LLM] bubble”,”

     This decade’s version of “subprime is contained.”

     The bezzle sounded too criminal, so it has a new name with more syllables., rehypothecation. Just a reminder, leverage is great on the way up and terrible on the way down.

     https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rehypothecation.asp

     As for salvaging data centers, most of their hardware is too specialized to be repurposed. The fiberoptic cables have no real other value, though the conduits they are buried in just might. Miracle of materials science, worth nothing, plastic tube in 400 meter sections, very valuable. 😊 Thereare three tubes between each junction box, orange, blue, and black.

     Handy dandy precast concrete fiber-optics junction boxes? 2 X 4 ft concrete box 2 ft tall? I bet you can think of something to do with that.

     Speaking of salvage, office type PCs with Intel CPU numbers starting with 4, 5, 6, or 7 are on the refurbished sites as they are not compatible with Windows 11, but they are all Linux compatible. The ones starting with a 4 have the AVX2 instruction set which is fairly important in video uses. Modern Linux can run on anything Core 2 Duo or newer, it has to be a 64 bit processor. Core Duo (no 2) is 32 bit only, that’s really the only gotcha in repurposing a machine.

     I saw an i5-6xxx for $100. That would make a fine machine with the addition of a $50 SSD. If you want better than the built in graphics favor AMD video cards. Older Nvidia cards can be troublesome in Linux as Nvidia doesn’t update their closed source drivers.

160. Hi John Michael,

     So true about the minerals.

     Ah, we’re back on the subject of dating again. It’s funny but it brings to mind a story I once read about a local band, Regurgitator. Yes, that’s what they called themselves, and they’re really good musicians. Anywhoo, their earlier music was quite thrashy guitar rock, so unsurprisingly they attracted dudes to their gigs. Now I believe they had a moment when they asked the hard question: Where are all the ladies? So they changed their music and produced some really good stuff, and attracted a more balanced fan base. How’s this song: Regurgitator – Black Bugs. The video is a hoot, also proving that 1998 was an intense year! Also, with all that neoliberal stuff kicking off then in support of financial bubbles, we may just get to find out what is at the end of Satan’s rainbow. 😉

     If I may be blunt, if you’re hanging out with dudes, and doing dude stuff, so you’ll meet dudes. That’s what ya gets! 🙂 As a gentle suggestion, how about taking on a new hobby / group which has a more even gender balance?

     This talk of angry ladies does not match my lived experience. Where you alls hangin out (so I can avoid such places)! Sure, people do get angry, but that is usually a response of the ego to fear. Maybe what you want is not to be found in the busy city? Good luck!

     Cheers

     Chris

161. Hi John Michael,

     Just asked Sandra what kind of groups she’d suggest, and bam: Join the local Dog Obedience Club. There are dudes who attend, but predominantly it is a hobby of older, ofttimes single, ladies. Anyway, a small dog will brighten up your life immeasurably.

     Cheers

     Chris

162. ELLEN IN ME!!!

     would you please pretty please head that “committee of one” that handles putting together CLASSES or…????

     you could do a dreamwidth like Peter and see what people would like to offer to teach or lecture on or whatever. we’ve no one to do THAT part.

     and to think i was JUST praying on that over the past 2-3 months!

     please???

     x

163. JMG, would you like to add a prayer to the prayer list, or just leave it to whoever sees it here in the comments? (I’m helping collect prayers for Quin these days, and of course I imagine many here would be happy to pray for your success in finding romantic love again).

164. Rajarshi wrote, “First, I felt a drain on my restraint and self-discipline. I was popping snacks into my mouth when I should have been maintaining a diet plan – one that I have already maintained for quite some time. And then I broke an office cup one day at work….. So now this train of ominous disasters is leaving me quite spooked.”

     A sequence of misalignments in one’s will and one’s actions like you’ve noticed could simply result from someone hurling malicious energy your way, but that unsettled sleep, discipline, and movement you’ve related are more often indicators that imbalances already residing within you are acting out. If the latter is the case, the question to figure out is whether they’re riled up because you’ve left them free reign or because you’re succeeding in resolving their imbalance and purging them from you. Every parasite we habitually carry around with us will do its best tiny little imitation of the watcher on the threshold when credibly threatened with its own extinction. Often, when I experience that kind of run of being slightly off target from my intentions, I find that something within me is acting out its death scene and chewing away on the scenery before it makes its final exit.

     Given the myriad directions you’ve been working in recently, would you guess that you’ve slackened off in some area that kept an internal misalignment in check, or that you’ve heightened your game, putting an internal misalignment into checkmate? Those little buggers can make you accidentally punch your spouse in the face, or piss yourself in public — they really can get nasty on the way out, or whenever left unchecked for too long. Given that it’s supposedly always darkest just before the dawn, you may simply be stumbling around awkwardly into a bright new day (unburdened by what has been, shall we say?) Still, it might be better to keep any sharp objects safely in their drawers until this maladroit moment has passed.

165. Something that hit me about the Novenary Chart: since the 6th figure is the combination of the 4th and 5th figures, each of which involves the 2nd figure, the 2nd figure’s contribution should cancel out, making the 6th figure effectively the result of combining the 1st and 3rd alone.

     This is because combining two figures is equivalent to performing a bitwise XOR operation (conventionally represented as ^ in several programming languages) on two 4-bit binary numbers. The result is then:

     fig6 = fig4 ^ fig5 = (fig1 ^ fig2) ^ (fig2 ^ fig3) = fig1 ^ (fig2 ^ fig2) ^ fig3 = fig1 ^ 0 ^ fig3 = fig1 ^ fig3

     That is, the two copies of the 2nd figure combine in the final figure to effectively become Populus, which contributes nothing to the final figure.

166. Peter the Khan of Potlucks wrote, “Inspired by the 2025 Glastonbury Ecosophia conference, and with the prodding of Erika Kitten Lopez, I’m going to try to organize something similar for the summer solstice 2026: Adocentyn Providence! …. I have a post on Dreamwidth for any and all of your thoughts.”

     I’ll be there, and am happy to help out. I haven’t succeeded in saying so at your Dreamwidth post because anonymous comments are blocked there, and I don’t have a Dreamwidth account. If you send out any help requests to your previous potluck attendees list, I will respond through email.

167. JMG – That, makes a lot of sense! I don’t want my comment to be taken as a complaint, it has been a great experience and I’ve been lucky that the Grand Lodge of Tennessee is very rigorous about detail in both the lecture and degree work. I’m doing the Scottish rite next and it seems like thats where a lot more of the more esoteric crowd hangs out. Frankly, I really appreciate that it tries to be more *outwardly* typical, rather than cultivating a sort of ‘anti-social’ persona. As civil society has been breaking down over the last few years, it seems like people around here are starting to rely on us a lot more – and I’m not sure they would feel as comfortable doing that if we weren’t so well embedded in the community.

168. @ JMG (#119, your comment about Liberalism); are you sure it’s Liberalism that’s the dying force? I would contend it’s actually Marxism. The 20th century could very justly be described as the Marxist Century; it’s not much of an exaggeration to say that all Western political thought from 1917 until around 2010 was either Marxist or directly reacting to Marxism. The left/right political spectrum was essentially a series of answers to the question “How seriously do you take Marx?”

     Likewise, the political chaos we’re seeing in the Western world today happened because Marxism, that great axis around which 20th century politics revolved, has been discredited. It was, after all, supposed to result in the withering away of the state and the monetary economy, to be replaced with the utopia of Pure Communism in which everyone would joyously work according to his ability and receive according to his needs, and nobody-not even a majority of self-described Marxists-believes in Pure Communism anymore, at least not in the way Marx envisioned it (I see the obsession with speech codes, slavery reparations, and transgenderism among modern Marxists as an attempt to fill in this void; Marx himself had nothing to say about these things and it took his ideology a long, circuitous route to get there.)

     In turn, the collapse of Marxism has unleashed a whole set of cascading effects. At first, previously Marxist parties in Europe and the US turned toward economic Liberalism while still keeping a few Marxist-derived (by way of Gramsci and the Frankfurt School) social positions, and this mixture (let’s call it Neoliberalism) came to dominate Western politics in the early 21st century. However, it was an inherently middle class ideology, and its period of hegemony saw the working classes become politically and economically marginalized, and the economies and political systems of Western nations dominated by multinational corporations run by the upper middle class business school graduates the Neoliberal ideology favored.

     Starting from about 2015, in turn, we’ve seen the inevitable backlash, as those the dominant Neoliberal consensus excluded banded together and rose up in rebellion against it. As a result, Western societies have been plunged into a state of nonviolent civil war, and neither the Neoliberals nor the anti-Neoliberals have been able to win a decisive victory, since they both have entrenched bases of support within society. No, I don’t claim to know how this will end. My guess, though it is only a guess, is that Neoliberalism will gradually shed its remaining Marxist influences and return to something like Classical Liberalism (look at the way moderate Democrats in the US are turning against the Woke movement), and that the anti-Neoliberals will evolve into something (ironically) new, but with shades of 19th century Conservatism: socially conservative and pro-family, but supportive of government interventions in the economy (like tariffs and industrial policy) that aim to protect working class jobs from foreign completion and preserve strategic industries from being outsourced. But we have at least another decade, possibly two, before our political system stabilizes along these lines and I may be wrong about where things are going.

169. Hi JMG,

     A while back there was an interesting discussion about future animal predators in North America. I think that in the medium term, quite a few large predators from elsewhere will be introduced. Apparently there are about 5,000 wild tigers in the world. Estimates vary, but there are probably 5,000-7,000 tigers in private hands just in the USA. Less than 10% of these are in actual zoos. I expect as things start to fall apart, folks are going to decide that feeding and housing a 600 pound tiger is really expensive, and many will escape or be released. Of course most won’t survive, but a few will where conditions are right.

     George Stewart explored this a bit in Earth Abides, where feral cattle became a serious danger. I’ve never seen big cats figure into the postapocalypic literature though.

     But wait, escaped tigers could never form a sufficiently genetically diverse population you say? Take a look at this, one of the craziest wikipedia entries ever: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panthera_hybrid#Zoo_animals

170. JMG,

     I pay close attention to this particular blogosphere and have seen no one report in on The Way of the Secret Temple. I just want to say that I’m on circle 5 and getting very, very good results. Something about the inner temple being almost finished really knocked things into a higher gear. I admit I started the work a week before I was done with The Way of the Four Elements but there wasn’t any conflict at that point. After this work, I will most likely pathwork/meditate through your new Tree of Life book. We’ll see. This is a really fun “universe” to be a part of.

171. The link to Boëthius’ poem about love should have been:
     https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0121%3Abook%3D2%3Asectio%3DM8

     A free, metrical, but somewhat plodding translation is this: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14328/14328-h/14328-h.htm#Page_85

172. Hi Jeff,

     At this point you’ve gotten so much advice that I fear that adding anything else would only complicate matters. I do want to express my condolences for your divorce– that’s an awful situation, and I was very sorry to read about it. Others have noted that you’ve continued to contribute to this forum and your other work in a very productive manner, and that speaks very well both to your spiritual life and your character generally. I believe you have my contact info; feel free to get in touch with me privately if there’s anything I can do.

     The last time I was “on the market,” so to speak, was 2017. That’s not really all that long ago, and, honestly, I didn’t find things either very difficult, or very different from 2007, or from 1997 for that matter. I know that that may be bias on my part, since I worked in a heavily female industry in a town in which the population skewed both female and young. Those facts, though, suggests two possible pieces of advice, which I’ve certainly found helpful: First, if you want to catch a fish, go where the fish are; second, try to avoid all the talk about how difficult dating is these days. Even if there’s some truth to it, focusing on the problem will only harm your chances, in the same way that people who always complain about money always have money problems, and people who insist that they always get bad service at restaurants end up always getting bad service at restaurants.

     Good luck with everything, and again feel free to reach out if I can help in any way.

173. JMG,
     What do you think of the near term future of your neighboring city of Boston. It seems that it is at the intersection of the two biggest bubbles/rackets in our current economy. It has been successful, up until now, because it is the poster child for the higher education industrial complex and the medical industrial complex. Those two operations have reached their apex and decline or collapse for both of them is near. It seems this inevitable collapse will hit Boston very hard.

174. Christophe, i just saw YOUR post! do YOU wanna start a committee of one to set up something? we’re going to need to have some form of organization so that too many classes don’t overlap or talks or some …well, we’re setting up a special EVENT… however you envision this take over PLEASE. we’re all the same here.

     Stone SOUP!

     what do YOU see??? let’s make it so.

     xxxxxxxx

175. Erika, true enough — the simple is never easy!

     J.LMc12, thanks for this. I’d already dismissed speed dating as an option, because it’s very well suited to normal people, which I am not, and not at all suited to eccentric geeky people, which I am.

     Aldarion, thank you for this. Boethius really did get it.

     Siliconguy, yep. “Stocks have reached a permanently high plateau” was the 1929 version. It’s an inevitable part of the bubble mentality, and pops up regularly until hours before the crash.

     Chris, it may be a function of specific cities. I was at a party in New York City the weekend just past and had four ladies chatting me up. I freely grant that spending time in activities that are basically sausage fests is not that useful in finding dates, but I have some plans along those lines as well. As for dogs, probably not. I’ve never been much of a dog person, and right now it’s an immense relief not to have anyone or anything I have to take care of 24/7.

     Jennifer, I don’t think it belongs on the prayer list. If individual readers decide they want to send some positive energy my way, that’s welcome.

     Slithy, interesting.

     Bill, glad to hear it. Masonry has immense virtues; it just isn’t the esoteric school it once was. (Though the skills you’re learning in lodge will make you an asset to any esoteric group.)

     Anon, interesting. I’ll consider this.

     Samurai_47, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to one of the great forgotten authors of postapocalyptic SF, Edgar Pangborn. The novels in question (all set in the same future east coast setting) are Davy, The Judgment of Eve, and The Company of Glory; there’s also a fine collection of short stories, Still I Persist in Wondering. The reason I mention these is that feral tigers are a constant presence in Pangborn’s postapocalyptic future. (Well, that’s one reason — the other is that they’re really fine fiction.) I also put a reference to feral tigers into my novel The Hall of Homeless Gods, and if I write a sequel there’ll be a tiger in it.

     Luke Z, delighted to hear it! I had very good results with the work in that book as well.

     Clay, all the big east coast cities are going to do through abrupt downsizing, no question. Boston has an excellent harbor, however, and good access to trade routes going inland, so it won’t be completely abandoned — unlike some cities in less sensible places.

176. when i said however you envision, Christophe, i didn’t mean to overwhelm. i mean a THING. what thing do you wanna ADD, run, instigate, seed, what is necessary or …??? mead making classes too? music? arts??? skits??? what terrifies and excites if it succeeds. you’ve got support.

     Ellen i say this to you, too. I LOVE THE CLASS IDEA and things thought out for the young. we MUST make place for the young to watch learn try whatever.

     yes. this is good. very very good.

     i just talked to Amy in Santa Rosa. her mom’s 1 year anniversary of her death just passed on Oct 4. so she bought 36 sunflowers and drove around, jumping out of her car giving one out at a time. some people were suspicious, but she’d simply say, “it’s just for you. my mom died one year ago today and this is her favorite flower and i think she’d want me to give this to you.”

     and each person CRIED.

     it was BEAUTIFUL. see? it’s happening. a flower.

     she told me that story just now because i’d mentioned the daisy we found on the street as we walked over to the safeway. and i picked it up after some car speeding into the driveway almost hit us and missed the flower. Amy screamed at him and i bent over to pick up the flower.

     as we got to the front door i saw the guy who was in the car almost beating us to the door but i held out the flower and he was so taken aback and said, “…uh… no one’s ever given me a flower before.”

     and i smiled and on our way home, Amy looked at me, smiled and said, “I GET IT….” like it was a trick to turn a bad situation into something that bypasses the expected and deflates the tension, so unnecessary.

     thank you, Christophe and Ellen! this is sooo exciting.
     xxxxxx

177. Looking for some advice.

     Over the past month, I’ve barely been able to write. Sitting down and hammering out words, even on a pen pad, feels insurmountable. I used to average 500 words a day. Now I’m lucky if I get anything. When I do, I can’t help but overanalyze and get discouraged.

     Any advice for recalling the muse? Been reading more, but that hasn’t been working like it usually does.

178. I though some here might find this amusing regarding an indication of the long decent.

     I have seen a lot of talk regarding about how expensive Las Vegas is now. That the mobsters that ran the place in the past have been pushed out in favour of corporate control. The issue is the mob knew that you should keep all the prices of hotels, food and transport etc low as possible a loss leader to get people in the door of the casinos were the real money was made.

     Vegas used to be considered a cheap vacation so long as you avoided the slot machines. But now it is a money extraction machine at all levels.

     I found it amusing that there was many people who are now in favour of pushing out the big corporations in favour of the Mafia because they knew they run the place better. I don’t blame them.

     This is just a minor example of the dynamics of power in the face of decline. Sure the mob can do some unsavoury things but they understand the role of keeping people relatively happy even if it is exploitative.

     Interesting times ahead.

179. First off, if I’ve missed anyone who’s replied so far, my apologies, this question sparked a (very welcome!) large response, and I’ve done my best to catch comments responding to it, but might have lost some in the press.

     @David, By the Lake #20 re: Dating Advice
     Thank you, and my condolences to you as well. So far, I’ve been trying to follow that advice: be open, but not desperately seeking, and as you say, to focus on my inner work. For what it’s worth, that inner work has consistently been giving me the same advice: keep at the spiritual work, be patient, and don’t try to force anything.

     Oh, and also, congratulations on finding someone, and may things work out in whatever way is best for both of you.

     @Kylec #22 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much, and I’m sorry that you’re going through a similar situation: it’s rough. Having visit a few bars lately, you’re not missing much, and it’s clear that’s not going to be a workable path for me. I’ve also been working on being happy by myself, though it’s a bit challenging at times. I’ve tried to get out there and do some things on my own, but being a bit of a homebody by nature has made that tougher. A friend suggested art classes, so that might be a good option when they start up again (the school I’m looking at does them on a semester basis). I like your perspective on having love to give, whether romantic or not, and I likely should try to adopt some of that attitude for myself. Unfortunately, from what I can tell about myself, romantic love is very important to me, and so I’m not sure I’m quite ready to settle for “maybe I’m done with that in this incarnation,” though I’m trying to ready myself for the possibility, if that’s how things shake out for me.

     In any case, good luck finding the right place(s) to give your love, and may it bring you happiness and satisfaction!

     @JMG #23 re: Dating Advice
     Thank you for the condolences, and I’m sorry that you’re also somewhat adrift in this strange new world. If you figure anything out, I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d be glad to hear it!

     @Just Another Green Rage Monster #29 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks for the good luck wishes and for sharing your experience! It sounds like you’ve gotten through the worst of it, but I’m also sorry for what you had to go through, it must have been tough. I know all too well that you can’t trick yourself (or the Universe) that you’ve “given up” – been there, tried that, nothing to show for it. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m anywhere near actually being willing to give up, and also, my own Gods are less the “surrender your will to us” variety, and are more the “we’ll help you help yourself” kind. I am trying to let go of any fixed notion of how or when things should happen, and to avoid trying to make something happen, as opposed to being ready for opportunity when it comes along.

     @Chauquin #34 & #92 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for the perspective and the well wishes! 100% agreed on the importance of loving yourself (that’s a big current focus of my inner work and affirmations). My only issues with the “find hobby groups that might have women in them” is 1. most of my hobbies are pretty “male coded” (board and role-playing games, Historic European Martial Arts, and so forth), and 2. If I join hobbies with greater female representation, I don’t want to be a “creeper” (i.e. the dude who joins a yoga class obviously looking to meet one of the women there). Obviously, these are surmountable obstacles, but ones I’ve given some thought to.
     a
     At any rate, glad to hear things are going well for you, and once again, thanks very much for your thoughts.

     @Kfish #44 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for the advice! I’ve given that some thought, but as I mentioned to Chauquin above, such female-dominated spaces might be less “natural” for me, and I’m worry about being fake just for the sake of meeting women. That said, I’m sure there are some options for me to make that work, so maybe I ought to give that a shot.

     @Northwind Grandma #47 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for this! Unfortunately, I’m not so rural – I live in Houston, Tx, so there are rural folks not too far from me, but the need to be close to where my girls go to school keeps me “in town.” As for the advice to get to know couples, well said, my trouble is that most couples I already know mostly know other couples (we’re all about the same age, me through our spouses, etc), but I shouldn’t lose track of it moving forward. Thank you again!

     @Inna #49 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for your thoughts! On “being lovable,” I’m meditating, praying, and doing divination on that, so hopefully getting where I need to. I’m trying to anticipate the balancing act with kids and where I’ll spend money courting or dating. And fair enough on “most” – maybe I should check more seriously with friends. As for the workplace, I teach at a university, and being near my kids is non-negotiable, so the options from conferences or travel are limited. Luckily, I’m in a big city (Houston), so there should be options for activities, but I haven’t been able to find anything yet – though maybe that’s more on me than on the locale. I don’t attend a church, as I’m not Christian (I’m a Heathen), but I’ve been looking for close alternatives. I’m doing my best to walk the path ahead of me, it’s just tough so far, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Again, thanks very much!

     @Scotlyn #50 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for your kind words, and I welcome your blessings! I’ve also known more women I would have been happy to have a relationship with than those I’ve actually done so with, I just worry that things are different now (but am trying not to let that sap all hope for finding it in these new circumstances). At any rate, thanks again, I’ll keep putting one foot in front of the other, whether that involves a companion or not.

     @Erika Lopez #53 re: Dating Advice
     Thank you! The Ecosophia community has certainly been a helpful way to distract myself from the desire to crawl under my covers and never come out!

     @Katrinka #58 re: Dating Advice
     Thank you, and most definitely. I’m open to a blended family, just about the only non-negotiable I have is that whoever I might end up with has to be good with my girls. I can handle plenty of variation on everything else, but that’s the one area I won’t budge on. So, while I don’t much want to remain single, it’s certainly a price worth paying to keep them happy. Unfortunately (?), single moms aren’t too common in most of the kid-related stuff I’ve encountered around here.

     @Free Rain #68 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks for the perspective, and good points all. Chores were certainly a point of contention between my ex-wife and I (sure, I feel like I was doing better than she thought, but it’s certainly worth taking seriously I might have been wrong). Otherwise, yep, trying to work on myself and make myself a more desirable partner, as you say, but that still leaves the whole “meet someone in the first place” step.

     @Lathechuck #70 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for this! The caution is certainly reasonable, since I’m looking for long-term love, not just dating “success” measured in terms of notches on the bedpost or whatnot. I suppose posting here is my first attempt at “letting a lot of people know what I’m after,” so maybe I’m on the right track!

     @RMS #72 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for the recommendations! I suppose the thing I’m worried about is that the options along the lines you’ve mentioned that I know about don’t seem that promising, and I’m trying to find the ones that are not already obvious to me. That said, I’m sure that I’m looking at overly narrow options, and if I could work out how to open up, it would help.

     @Croatoan #76 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks for the commiseration, and I’m sorry to hear about your situation. Personally, I’m not ready to give up on marriage, but I can’t fault those who feel otherwise, because, yeah, it’s not great for men out there.

     @Ohc #101 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks for the commiseration, and sorry that things haven’t worked out as you might hope so far!

     @Watchflinger #103 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for the perspective. While I’d be happier with companionship than not, I don’t think in the long term I’d be happy with someone not willing to get married. But perhaps that will change as I get a taste of what’s available.

     @Soko #107 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for this! Both empirically (since I was 14, I’ve been in a relationship about 23/26 years), and more theoretically (my Sun is in my VII house in my natal chart, so romantic relationships are likely quite important to me), I think I fit into the former group, and that might be a big part of why I’m feeling so much distress at being out of such a relationship now. I’m lucky enough to have a decent psychotherapist that I’ve been seeing for the past few years, and to do plenty of journaling and meditation. I have not had the good luck to visit a good energetic doctor, though I’m thinking maybe I should. Otherwise, I’m continuing to work on myself through ritual, meditation, and divination, with a supplement of journaling and affirmations.

     At any rate, I wish you luck at your own endeavors, and I hope you get the results you’re looking for sooner rather than later.

     @BorealBear #122 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for the well wishes, and no worries, I’ll manage one way or another!

     @RMS #74 @KAN #83 @BorealBear #122 re: Runes, American Futharch, and Eirik Westcoat
     Very interested in this topic, despite mostly working with the Elder Futhark via Edred Thorsson’s work! I very much endorse the earlier links to Eirik Westcoat’s American Futharch and Isaac Hil’s Heathen Golden Dawn, but I’d also add that Westcoat has done a lot of other good stuff with Runes and Rune Poetry, and Thorsson’s work has been much expanded (check out his Big Book of Runes and Rune Magic for an expanded book that includes the contents of Futhark, Runecaster’s Handbook, and Runelore, plus some further stuff). Some other good modern Rune folks: Galina Krasskova, Sweyn Plowright, Stephen Pollington, Paul Rhys Mountfort, Jan Fries, and others. I have a maybe overly-strong soft spot in my heart for Kveldulf Gundarsson’s Teutonic Way: Magic for it’s guided Rune visualizations, as it was while pursuing one of those I had my first no-shale religious experiences.

     Anyhow, if you’d like to discuss further, let me know, as I’m all about them Runes!

     @Slithy Toves #123 re: Dating Advice
     Hah, yeah, the thought has certainly occurred to me – most of the women I’m interested in that aren’t already snatched up are younger than are likely to be interested in me, and most of those old enough to be interested, are snatched up, so, whomp-whomp. I know that’s not a 100% probability (the absurdity of the perfect efficient market hypothesis), but it’s not entirely wrong either. Maybe I’ll have to give matchmakers a go.

     @Jennifer Kobernik #132 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for this! I’d like to think I’d do that anyway, but having it spelled out explicitly is very likely to be helpful. Sadly, I’d like to think that advice on what to do after meeting is less what I need (but maybe I’m full of myself), but it’s a helpful reminder nonetheless.

     @Corax #147 re: Dating Advice
     And here I thought I was being so careful in what I shared 😉 Unfortunately, my read of the overall “scene” doesn’t differ so much from yours. Not to toot my own horn too much, but I’m a decent-looking guy, in pretty good shape, who makes decent money, and has plenty of experience being a boyfriend/husband. All of which is to say, I’d think I’m a pretty good catch, but the “market” these days seems pretty insane, and I don’t know how much hope to have. I’m trying to ready myself for “monk mode” if needed, but man, I really don’t want that. I doubt I’ll be able to wait out the current situation, but I hold out hope I might catch an early adopter. At any rate, thanks for the commiseration and the straight shooting.

     @Heloise #148 re: Dating Advice
     Thank you for the condolences and for the all of the good advice! I’ll consider letting the wives I know know what I’m looking for, though one wrinkle there is that most of the couples I know were basically “husband is my friend, wife is my ex-wife’s friend” (not 100%, but you know what I mean). As such, the wives of many of my friends might not be entirely on my side. Still, worth exploring! Also, good thoughts on being friendlier. I’ve certainly been trying to work on that, but the trouble is that when what I really want is to find a woman, it’s hard to practice being friendly/sociable in the non-desperate way you mention. I may intellectually understand that wanting nothing but a woman is desperate, and that if I’m only being nice to the old folks in line at the store to try to impress women, it will be counter my goals, if I’m really only being friendly to the old folks to attract chicks, it’s real to convey I’m doing otherwise (even if I wish I had better reasons for it). Lastly, as for finding ways to interact with folks offline, I’m certainly trying, but man, it’s tough these days. Half of what I was hoping by asking on here was for suggestions on where to go, since so far, coffee shops and bookstores don’t seem to be doing it.

     At any rate, thanks very much again for your thoughts!

     @J.L.Mc12 #153 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for the words of caution. I had suspected that “speed dating” might have issues, but it at least seemed better than dating apps. Hearing that they’re generally engineered to fail isn’t exactly encouraging, but at least gives me a good idea of what (not) to look into.

     @Steve T #172 re: Dating Advice
     Thanks very much for the well wishes, and for the advice. I’ve certainly read plenty of the “dating is terrible these days” takes, and I’ve tried not to take them to heart, but maybe you’re right that I ought to distance myself even further. As for “going where the fish are,” fair enough, that’s pretty much the same advice I get from the marketing end of the business stuff I study and teach, but is a bit tougher when I’m stuck with the city I’m in and have limited industries to branch out into. Still, perhaps I should follow the advice of some folks up thread and look for female-dominated hobbies or social activities.

180. @Aldarion,

     Boëthius’ Consolation of Philosophy sounds like a worthy read. Thanks for the dissertation link, too!

     – RMS

181. @Mary Bennet #118 re: Divorce
     Thanks very much for this reminder to focus on what’s actually important. For what it’s worth, my girls are far and away the most important thing in my life, and I’m doing everything I can to be actively engaged in their lives despite seeing them far less than I’d prefer (every Wednesday night and every other weekend, with some longer periods in the summer and over the holidays). I didn’t mention it in my ask about dating because I take it as a given: any way of dating or woman who wouldn’t let me spend the time I am allowed with them would not be worth pursuing. Any woman who couldn’t get along with them in the long term would not be a suitable partner. The damage to the girls is a big part of what I couldn’t accept about my now ex-wife’s case for why she wanted the divorce, and I’m still trying to process that.

     All of which might come across as a bit defensive, and if so, I’m quite sorry. All I mean to say is that yes, what’s good for my girls is top-of-mind for me, and whatever I might get out of dating or re-marriage takes a distant second seat to taking care of them and what they need.

     Cheers,
     Jeff

182. Ah, Regurgitator, my favourite song of theirs is “I like your old stuff better than your new stuff”. Here in NZ they are better know for the single “Polyester girl”

     As someone with Venus conjunct the Sun, I won’t comment on the whole dating thing.

183. Dear Friends,

     I just wanted to plug my website.

     To Open Space and anyone interested, click on the links to view the website.

     My works are on the Liturgy page.
     Some works are on the password protected Special Library.
     The FHR and MOE writings are also hosted on the esoteric writings page.

     All Blessings to everyone
     Felix

184. Pygmycory # 149:

     Oops! I’m sorry, I didn’t understand you well. So you are writing about unexpected events, like the black swans in N. Taleb term. OK, these events could happen (or not) tomorrow in the morning.
     ——————————————-
     Jlmc11 #153:

     I’ve seen speed dates in my town and I’ve quitted them since a long time ago. IMHO, speed dating is more a fine torture than a reliable way to find a man/woman to love. Of course, it’s my personal view from a shy man. By the way, I met my actual girlfriend…casually in a group activity outdoors.
     —————————————-

     JMG #150:

     I agree. The repressed always returns, I’m thinking now in the Junguian shadow, which represents things which we don’t like and we repress from our own personality…

185. Phutatorius @139 wrote: “Speaking of banned words, a local police chief has gotten herself in trouble by using the “M word”: She referred to “minorities.” She later apologized, but apparently she didn’t grovel sufficiently. The calls for her resignation continue.”
     For reasons I don’t dare go into but which ought to be fairly obvious, I have taken to using the S-word (= Saracen).

186. At this page is the full list of all of the requests for prayer that have recently appeared at ecosophia.net and ecosophia.dreamwidth.org, as well as in the comments of the prayer list posts (printable version here, current to 10/20). Please feel free to add any or all of the requests to your own prayers.

     If I missed anybody, or if you would like to add a prayer request for yourself or anyone who has given you consent (or for whom a relevant person holds power of consent) to the list, please feel free to leave a comment below.

     * * *
     This week I would like to bring special attention to the following prayer requests, selected from the fuller list.

     May Mary’s sister have her auto-immune conditions sent into remission, may her eyes remain healthy, and may she heal in body, mind, and spirit.

     May Marko have the awareness and strength to constructively deal with the situation.

     May 5 year old Max be blessed and protected during his parents’ contentious divorce; may events work out in a manner most conducive to Max’s healthy development over the long term.

     May the abcess in JRuss’s left armpit heal quickly.

     May Brother Kornhoer’s son Travis’s left ureter be restored to full function, may his body have the strength to fight off infections, may his kidneys strengthen, and may his empty nose syndrome abate, so that he may have a full and healthy life ahead of him.

     May Corey Benton, whose throat tumor has grown around an artery and won’t be treated surgically, and who is now able to be at home from the hospital, be healed of throat cancer.
     (Healing work is also welcome. Note: Healing Hands should be fine, but if offering energy work which could potentially conflict with another, please first leave a note in comments or write to randomactsofkarmasc to double check that it’s safe)

     May HippieVikings’s baby HV, who was born safely but has had some breathing concerns, be filled with good health and strength.

     May Trubujah’s best friend Pat’s teenage daughter Devin, who has a mysterious condition which doctors are so far baffled by necessitating that she remain in a wheelchair, be healed of her condition; may the underlying cause come to light so that treatment may begin.

     May J Guadalupe Villarruel Zúñiga, father of CRPatiño’s friend Jair, who suffers from terminal kidney and liver damage, continue to respond favorably to treatment; may he also remain in as good health as possible, beat doctors’ prognosis, and enjoy with his wife and children plenty of love, good times and a future full of blessings.

     May DJ’s newborn granddaughter Marishka and daughter Taylor be blessed, healed, and protected from danger, and may their situation work out in the best way possible for both of them.

     May Kevin’s sister Cynthia be cured of the hallucinations and delusions that have afflicted her, and freed from emotional distress. May she be safely healed of the physical condition that has provoked her emotions; and may she be healed of the spiritual condition that brings her to be so unsettled by it. May she come to feel calm and secure in her physical body, regardless of its level of health.

     May Pierre and Julie conceive a healthy baby together. May the conception, pregnancy, birth, and recovery all be healthy and smooth for baby and for Julie.

     May Frank R. Hartman, who lost his house in the Altadena fire, and all who have been affected by the larger conflagration be blessed and healed.

     * * *
     Guidelines for how long prayer requests stay on the list, how to word requests, how to be added to the weekly email list, how to improve the chances of your prayer being answered, and several other common questions and issues, are to be found at the Ecosophia Prayer List FAQ.

     If there are any among you who might wish to join me in a bit of astrological timing, I pray each week for the health of all those with health problems on the list on the astrological hour of the Sun on Sundays, bearing in mind the Sun’s rulerships of heart, brain, and vital energies. If this appeals to you, I invite you to join me.

187. Regarding the Prayer List, here are the entries I have removed this month for falling out of date. As always, I invite anyone who has been taken off the list to ask to be put on again, if they feel it’s appropriate for prayers to continue.
     __________
     •May IS recover fully from his current very complex medical issues. (7/12)

     •May NeptunesDolphins’s husband, who had a toe removed on July 1st, heal quickly and may his physical adjustment go smoothly. (7/10)

     •May Jack H.’s father John continue to heal from his ailments, including alcohol dependency and breathing difficulties, as much as Providence allows, to be able to enjoy more time together with his loved ones. (7/1)

188. Rajarshi # 102:

     I know the phenomenon well. I call it the “little things go wrong” days. They occur once or twice a year for me. Several things which are so routine you could do them in your sleep suddenly for no particular reason give problems — you burn a pot, you break a cup, you stub your toe on an obstacle you’ve walked past a hundred times before, etc etc.

     I recognize the phenomenon, endure it, and carry on. In a day or two things will be back to normal. I don’t think there’s any message or significance in it.

189. @David #104 and (if I may) @JMG #119

     Regarding the feeling of doing something fake and goofy – I had the EXACT SAME feeling back my university days when I was in the process of reverting to the Catholicism of my childhood. I wasn’t really a non-believer but up to that point didn’t care much for religion and spirituality. Some non-denominational Christian friends tried to get me to join their church, but I wasn’t convinced by their approach – and probably was looking for more excuses not to go to church. I ended up getting catechized by the Internet (a common experience nowadays, I was a bit ahead of the curve I suppose) and ended up being very intrigued by the doctrine of the Real Presence – the idea that Jesus is sacramentally bodily present in the consecrated elements of bread and wine.

     I sat in the rear pew at the daily Mass of the university’s Catholic chapel for weeks, torn between my attraction to the idea that Jesus might actually be bodily present there, and the seeming ridiculousness of the doctrine. Finally, one day, I said a prayer before Mass, asking for a sign to confirm if Jesus really was in the Blessed Sacrament. At that point I was kind of feeling really stupid, and was half-expecting some spectacular Eucharistic miracle (the bread and wine physically turning into human flesh) as an answer. Guess what, I did get an answer – it wasn’t a Eucharistic miracle, but it was very clear and unambiguous! Nothing spectacular, more like the still, small voice that spoke to Elijah in the book of Kings.

     It’s extremely personal so I won’t elaborate here. My immediate reaction to it was something a bit stronger than “oh… shizz!”, followed by a quick thought along the lines of “hey, maybe that was just one big coincidence”. I looked up to the sky (or the ceiling, as I was still in the church building) and said “okay, I know you’re listening, thank you, you win!”

190. @ Erika #162 and Peter #116

     Just to say, please don’t feel you need to WAIT until people volunteer off their own bat. In Glastonbury (which came together with about 3 month planning, or so it seems to me), I would never in a million years have volunteered to give a talk or offer sample acupuncture or any of that. Brigid (who did trojan work behind the scenes) straight up ASKED me, and, grudgingly (at first), I (eventually) agreed. In any case I had a blast. But I would never have volunteered. I have no idea if this is how it went for all of the different talks and presentations that happened, but it is certainly my story.

     Don’t be afraid to ask people – especially if you see people referring to some subject a lot (I was just asked to give a talk on acupuncture, which flummoxed me rightly, I can tell you, but… )…

     Obviously, you will ask and people always have the option of refusing. However, asking may draw out of people something THEY never realised would be of interest to others… 🙂 😉

191. Hi JMG and everyone,

     Does anyone have any advice on raising children? My daughter is 3, and I do lots of physical activity with her, model how I appreciate the beauty of the natural world, involve her in growing veggies, and have her help in the kitchen. Language-wise, I read with her regularly, and make my own love of reading obvious. I am also planning on playing Zendo with her when she’s a bit older too, to inculcate inductive thinking.

     In terms of worldview, I answer her simply but honestly when she asks about things such as death (I think she has the vague idea from me of our souls going to a different place when we die).

     Any things you guys think will be good now, and as she grows?

192. @David #104 Jesus went aside in nature to pray to the Father. The New Testament says that through Jesus by the Spirit we also have ready access to the Father. Simply standing before the Father feeling and knowing his personal loving Isness and being refreshed and enlivened,
     works for me. There is also divination in the original sense and receiving counsel and guidance.

193. >Older Nvidia cards can be troublesome in Linux as Nvidia doesn’t update their closed source drivers.

     If you don’t care about games at all, the open source nvidia driver will be adequate. All those graphics card makers do way too much optimizing for specific games anyway. The driver will do its best to detect which game is using its driver and then go into an extra special mode where they built an extra special driver, just for that particular game.

     If you’re not playing games, all of that is just dead code hanging around for no good reason. And the whole point of drivers to begin with was to cut down on people writing the same code over and over again and have it all in one place. So much for that theory. I would say that they should create a mode where the game can just access the hardware directly, but we’ve also seen what a clusterfudge that has turned into as well.

     —

     As far as 32bit chips being too old, the number of linuces out there supporting 32bit is dwindling but it’s not completely gone. If push does come to shove, you can misuse OpenWrt, it’ll happily build a 32 bit x86 target image and then slap X (or god forbid, Wayland) and whatever half-baked desktop environment on top of that and you’ve got – desktop linux. Same chewy dough, same half-baked toppings. Mmm. Or something. And it’ll do all the networking you want and then some.

194. >Well, I see Trump having been, metaphorically, strapped into the same kind of conveyance .. thereby doing a complete 180°

     Perhaps you’re not – noticing – everything. I find it rather interesting that some of those 180s happened shortly after Charlie Kirk got killed. Did you know that Charlie was rather close to the Trump family?

     Perhaps none of this was about Kirk at all but about sending a message to Trump. Vote harder, I guess.

195. >The farms especially would be almost inoperable after just a year of neglect

     Even if they aren’t neglected, I foresee hilarity ensuing anyway. Amazon AWS had a massive outage a few days ago. Youtube couldn’t keep its server farms up for reasons. I don’t know it it’s degraded hardware from china (because nobody wants to pay them for anything) or duhversity hires or h1b software stacks held together with chewing gum and duct tape. But from where I’m sitting, the reliability of it all is going downhill. Heck, you can’t get a straight answer out of google anymore, you get gibberish these days. I actually had to go to reddit and search there. That was a facepalmy moment.

     And then they want to add MOAR to it all. When what they already have barely works. I’m not sure where this is all going but I AM sure it’s not going where they want it to.

196. >Is It 1925 All Over Again

     Perhaps – in Germany.

     https://youtube.com/watch?v=uhNPTzImu08

197. JMG,

     Just came to say “Collapse Now and Avoid the Rush” is the book that pushed me into a more minimal lifestyle which just what I needed in these times. (Yes, other works did push me as well but… the one that solidified the change in my habits was “Collapse now and Avoid the Rush”.)

     So thank you for that particular work.

198. Re meeting people, go to the nearest Barnes and Noble with a coffee shop on a Friday night. Make sure you hang out in the fiction section (to meet females) or the science fiction section (where the males are.) Ask a person that interests you, “Excuse me, do you think my sister/mom (or brother, as appropriate) would like this book I happen to have conveniently in my hand?”

     I found this out accidentally when my husband and I popped in on a Friday night, and I noticed how many customers were there and all dressed up. Once I realized, I found my husband and told him this is a pickup scene, look how many men are lurking in scifi while the women haunt the fiction aisle. His response? “Well, there’s nobody here in bargain books!”

199. Greetings JMG,

     Have you come across material that explains what is the biological requirement for complex consciousness (ie mammals, humans … ) ? What other biological forms could work ?

200. I went there to a beginners salsa course in a small dancing school. They had a dancing partner for me, they said; it turned out to be a woman apparently Ukrainian or Russian. She asked the teacher whether she could join the advanced course. The dancing class started and began OK for me. At some point the woman started becoming not only unsatisfied, but in an inexplicable way toxic and disgusting.

     She said she lived in Colombia for three years with her husband and had the air of a mobster wife.

     In that area where the dancing school is near Vienna in Austria, there are plenty of very expensive luxurious cars with ukrainian license plates.

     The woman had something dark and somewhat demonic about her, we spoke little, but after the class, she was extremely unfriendly towards me. My nervous system steered into overdrive.

     It was the full moon night exactly. Shortly before, I picked up where I had left, after JMGs comment on how prayer alone does not protect sufficiently and the loss of any knowledge about energetic purity and protection in our society shows.

     The next day of the dancing class, I suffered from acute nausea, my nerves trembling. All the colleagues in my offices approaching and wanting to talk, a great burden to keep a straight face.

     It made me doubt many things. The next lesson next week, I skipped, admittetly on purpose to leave that woman without a dancing partner, then thereafter, wrote to the school, how this woman was “one of the most vile personalities I had met in a long time” and that I “suffered from nausea physically” afterwords.

     Friends and my cousins said that was extremely rude, and I should not communicate that way.

     On thursday, I passed the owner of the school on the street and he looked at me angrily. I thought, because of my email, but apparently not so, rather because I skipped without notice – which of course should not be done.

     On Sunday, he answered my email: he thanked me for my notice, and they had a different dancing partner, if I was interested. I agreed and went again. Of course I was nervous after all that.

     The owner of the school was very cordial and friendly. The demonic woman was absent.
     My new dancing partner, a woman maybe in her thirties, probably Slovakian, a social worker.

     This dancing lesson went very well. She was satisfied and I enjoyed the lesson as well.
     The owner smiled afterwards and said, the thought so, this would be a good arrangement.

     My dancing partner asked if I want to go with her to the free dancing nights where you can practice freely on your own. I agreed happily and we exchanged numbers.
     Although there was a confusion about the date of the event as there’s a different event, but my dancing partner offered to go any way. Not the night of practice but something else. Still maybe a good idea- Let’s see how this affair continues.

     If everything goes to the dogs, I’d rather go down singing and dancing. I put great hopes in this.

     I have also been invited to join the church choir. So far I have been once. They said they are happy with my performance and hope for a continued engagement.

     I have never sung, though these incantations we know here may help- for these periods late in my life that I have done that at all.
     I have some experience with controlled breathing since 2017 onwards.

     So far, so good.

     That most likely ukrainian woman was a horrific experience, I think I also felt so bad because I actually touched that person, as you do in Salsa.

     I don’t know what to make of that experience. It wasn’t nice, but it furthered my emotional reflection. In some converse way, it was a fruitful experience.

     I wonder, it seemed so dark, if that woman was beset by evil spirits, and besides, there are indications that this was an actual mobster’s wife.

     A good friend of mine, when he was a waiter and barkeeper, served actual eastern European and Georgian mobsters, and said, their energy was noticeably dark and sleazy.

     Got to be on your guard I guess!

201. Back in July 2018 you said this in the discussion of the Cosmic Doctrine:

     “If you’ve had the experience of leaving one subculture and ending up in another, as so many people do these days, you know what it’s like to drift quickly or slowly out of line with the rest of the subculture, to spiral out to the edge of the Ring-Pass-Not, and then one day to find that you’re on the outside looking in and nothing inside really makes sense to you any more.”

     The feeling in our house is that most of our society has left us, not the other way around – although no doubt we have changed so maybe a combination that makes things more pointed!
     Sometimes the polarisations of society feels like watching ships disappearing over different horizons.

202. Expanding on that last re cosmic doctrine:

     “It helps, by the way, if you make sure that you’re actually moving in the same plane as the Ring-Cosmos of your system. Few things are so common in human life as a person or a group of people who are so sure they’re on the side of the angels that they never bother to check, and it’s quite possible for two parties in bitterest contention with each other—at right angles to each other, in Fortune’s symbolism—to be equally far from the Ring-Cosmos. That’s common in situations when a conflict remains stuck in place for a long time; since they’re equally balanced between the two primary Rings, neither side wins and neither side dissolves. Their opposition remains as solid as concrete.”

     Do you think the societies of the collective west have been in the process of aligning with flow of ring chaos (in the negative evil sense with positive evil following on from that)?

     The last few years have seen some strange shifts – This political cartoon sort of captures the idea but what I’m thinking of goes much wider than the left right illusion:

     https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vv7n!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8189e984-4331-4f80-bd8a-6d3021614db6_860x573.jpeg

     Where Fortune’s words from cosdoc (p16) say:
     “you must meet hate with hate sufficiently to cause a locking up of the force. You must hate the hate, and, having rendered evil inert by opposition, the love can take its stand upon the firm platform and use it as a thrust block.”

     Obviously Fortune was writing ‘from her times’ but since it was referring to cosmic principles (spinning circles of force at right angles) that seems like an unusual choice of words to use for building a platform/thrust block. Why not rejection, renunciation, to turn in a different direction – it is possible to be totally against something without hating it, or was she implying something else?

     Locking oneself up with hate (thinking one is being virtuous by hating the evilly evil) really doesn’t seem like the best way – or maybe I’ve misunderstood.

     To deny the polarities/friction of negative evil and potential for positive evil via humans is stupidity; but modern connotations of ‘hate’ and using that do not seem as though it would be the most useful or fruitful approach. Being kind or meeting positive evil with love seems as foolish as using hate – is not just naive but potentially terminal (as per your Heinlein quote on stupidity the other week).

     Granted it is metaphor, but surely one cannot fight cosmic principles unless one is determined to spin off to ring chaos, but if one’s tendency is to flow with ring cosmos going beyond the simplicities of hate/love might be a plan?

203. Christophe #158

     May I ask how you’re faring with the K process now? That kind of thing can leave a lifelong mark as I’m sure you know. I do hope you’re doing well.

     I’m curious about what you refer to as your “spiraling injury complexes” – you believe these were K awakening manifestations? Did the surgeons determine you had some internal organ dysfunction? Even clodplodding surgeons are reluctant to operate without some clear indication that something has gone organically wrong.

     As for me and my K awakening, yeah, I often felt my organs were on fire, I lost coordination and dexterity, ability to think clearly, became extremely susceptible common colds that left me near-comatose for weeks, suffered continuous room-spinning headaches, lost 30 lbs, looked like terminal meth head, dropped out of school, out of society …… but none of that was the worst. The worst was my fear of encroaching insanity.

     It’s been decades since my initial K awakening, so now I can’t really recall exactly what that was like, but I can tell you that having the contents of your unconscious mind suddenly flood your conscious mind is literally unimaginable to the mundane consciousness. I’m talking 24/7 cold sweat hallucinations while you seem to be hearing the very engines of creation continuously screaming at you. That was the only time I’ve ever considered dying voluntarily, I felt it the final recourse if madness was about to overwhelm me.

     That’s the thing about a morbid K awakening – as blinded by the Light as you are, you do become detached from the mundane world and connected to the Divine. If you can muster up the energy – not easy – you can meet it halfway and through a miracle or two, be saved. I was saved when I met my first Teacher who helped me channel the K force from the base of my spine to my crown chakra. 40 years later, I’m still considerably weakened, but my sanity is intact.

     Ever consider the karmic implications of a really nightmarish K awakening? In my case, after meditating on it for a long time, I believe, that is, I’ve come to understand that in quite a few previous lives I had danced right up to the edge of true spiritual commitment but had ultimately refused to do so, which is quite an ugly blot on one’s soul if you think about it.
     In this life, I had no choice, I was going over the edge, like it or not.

     Anyway, again, I hope you’re doing well and that you’re dealing effectively with whatever pain your K awakening still inflicts on you.

204. @EchoEcho #177: Stop reading all together for awhile. Don’t do jack shale. Go for a long walk instead. Write down your dreams when you remember them. Listen to some jazz or improvised music. Get (de)Bored, and in that boredom you will find the freedom to think some things that your pen will want to scribble.

205. On the death of liberalism:

     While intellectuals like Patrick Deneen like to point out the inherent contradictions within liberalism, this strikes me as a little too in accord with academic fashions: it’s essentially Marx’s critique of the contradictions of capitalism, just turned on the left. Every ideology has its contradictions, but humans are nothing if not stubborn, and as with all ideas that don’t quite fit reality (that is to say: all ideas without exception) we make do and force it to fit well enough in practice.

     A more promising idea popular on the Right these is that the Nameless Ideology simply memetically outcompeted the milquetoast, “nice” liberalism that had become dominant by the 90’s and 00’s. Nice liberals had no defenses against it since it came packaged as an even nicer, more tolerant, more accepting liberalism that as a bonus gave them permission to openly hate their political opponents, which they’d been desperate to do.

     (As a side note: the new social justice movement’s rise almost certainly counts as a case of mass hypnosis, which explains both why its more moderate liberal allies do not even notice what happened to them and why those for whom it didn’t take, or who later broke free of it, have so often reacted with such intense disgust toward it.)

     If this is correct, then liberalism arguably is indeed quite dead. Even with progressivism’s falling out of favor (if by fits and starts), the old liberalism just doesn’t feel like it has the “oomph” to make a comeback to both define itself against MAGA (which has embraced several of the features that used to distinguish it from conservatism) and also fight off the stiff opposition from the lingering remnant of progressivism.

206. @JMG, exactly! This sums up the whole “girlsboss” phenomenon quite well. The funny part is most its captives…errm, I mean participants, aren’t bosses in any meaningful sense; rather they’re corporate cogs who rot in cubicles all day. This mentality seems downwind of Second Wave feminism, which I’m convinced was at least partially astroturfed by corporate interests. The idea was to convince ordinary women that being a loving wife and mother is somehow oppressive, while being submissive to their corporate boss is “empowering.”

     I think it’s this cognitive dissonance (among other things) that has driven so many women mad over the past many decades, and now has reached a breaking point. Meanwhile, since the 1970s, the number of tax-paying SSNs has multiplied many times over. Granted, there are a few women who do thrive in ultra-competitive, high-pressure work environments, but I think this is the slim minority, and that the average women finds this type of work to be very stressful and taxing on the psyche. So the average type woman might come home from a long stressful day at work and proceed to nastily unload on her husband for there being a few dirty dishes in the sink (there’s a comment way above that seems to reflect this reality); nevermind the fact that he too just came home from a long day at work!!

     I also occasionally lurk female discussion spaces and watch video compilations of their unintentionally-comical utterances on TikTok. The rhetoric seems to be getting crazier and crazier. The going mentality right now seems to be, “I’m perfect the way I am. If I’m nice enough to grace a man with my supremely-awesome presence, then he needs to GIVE ME STUFF, because I DESERVE!” When asked, “what do you bring to the table?” the answer so often is, “Huh? Whaaaa? I AM THE TABLE!” Of course this should not at all be seen to represent all or most women; as you said I think this is something mostly concerning middle class women in laptop class jobs and women who are culturally-adjacent to that scene.

     What do you might might happen when these women start losing their email jobs en masse? I think the way that Elon Musk cleaned out Twitter right after buying it (he fired 90% of its workforce after finding out that 90% of the them were totally useless), along with DOGE-type cuts is a prelude for what’s to come. The ascendant entrepreneurial elite seems to have a very low opinion of sinecure employment.

     Finally, to add to the discussion on matchmaking and arranged marriages, I think there is a happy medium between the two crappy extremes of, (1) Unguided mate selection, which is usually based on very superficial sexual attraction and fleeting emotions, and (2) Forced Marriage, which completely disregards the individuality of the marriage partners. I see the happy medium as being an arranged marriage involving a matchmaker who understands what they are doing (they actually understand the differences between the sexes!) and takes the personalities and idiosyncrasies of those seeking the marriage account. On top of this, marriage needs to be defined with a clear purpose, and this will likely reference the faiths of those involved. Marriage today in the modern west has lost all meaning and has become yet another shallow consumer activity. So is anyone surprised that the woman (the vast majority of divorces today are initiated by women) drops her husband like third period French the moment he goes out of fashion? There’s always a shinier, newer, hipper consumer item right around the corner!! At the same time I realize that defaulting back to the Christian version of marriage isn’t going to work for some of us. Being a pagan, I find Christian marriage to be quite flawed. I’ve put a lot of thought into thinking about what pagan marriage might entail and what its purpose might be. That is a whole different topic of discussion, however.

207. Scotlyn, see how camouflage and laying low doesn’t serve where we need to go? I don’t know about Peter but I’m at base survival needs right now—even taking the time to travel and show up makes me nervous but i have to say yes and trust and dare—and haven’t the TIME to beg or cajole regarding a new world.

     IF YOU HERE WANT SOMETHING DOFFERENT YOU JUST GET OVER YOURSELF AND DARE TO BUILD SOMETHING NEW.

     We need you each to alpha up for real no more abstract talking! This is where the fake humility of hiding talents is actually undermining what we need where we need to go.

     We are raising up a barn.

208. Jeff R. # 179:

     You’re welcome. I wrote about group hobbies with female participation because it obviously worked for me, although my goal wasn’t mainly to date, but widening my friendship circle. Well, if your hobbies are more a male club than female, my advice isn’t going to work well with you, of course. I’m so sorry…However I hope at least serendipity or synchronicity can work in your favor in near future. Don’t give up your hope, and good luck!
     —————————————-
     Russell Cook # 191:

     I’m sorry I can’t help you much because I have no children, maybe when I see fathers and mothers surrounding me, I could say: don’t treat like if they’re dull, respect their feelings and avoid over-exposition to screen (at least until teen years). I wouldn’t tell you more on this topic

209. Collapse now and avoid the rush!

     https://surplusenergyeconomics.wordpress.com/2025/10/23/313-building-the-biggest-bang/#comments

     If Tim Morgan at surplus energy economics is correct the AI bubble is near its bursting point.
     It is a big bubble
     “Even at the lower end of these estimates, the bursting of this bubble could destroy value at about seventeen times the scale of the dotcom crash of 2000-02, and exceed the losses of the 2008-09 global financial crisis by a multiple of four.”

     Tim is unsure if this will cause the collapse ( or be replaced by an even bigger bubble that will then cause the collapse when it bursts) But i don’t see how it can be avoided. There is just so much more bad debt in the economy today than in 2008 and the international system is not in a cooperative mood to sacrifice to keep the western financial system intact. The Russians and the Chinese have every incentive to use the coming financial crisis to deal massive blows to the west.

     I am giving this crisis about a 75% chance of initiating the collapse of western hegemony.
     When the crisis starts if the US and Europe try to print money, reduce interest rates, etc. and that will lead to massive inflation in the real economy ( or maybe if one more bubble can be blown the inflation will also show up in inflated valuations for things like stocks and real estate)

     Things really do seem to be very near the breaking point, and if you have some savings in dollars you might want to think about what you could buy now while your money still has most of its value.

210. Jeff Russell,

     As for meeting women in the first place, a few thoughts: Does Houston have some kind of hiking meetup? The weather’s starting to feel like it might start thinking about cooling down one day in the not too distant future, heh (here an hour northwest of you, anyway). Austin had a meetup-type group for local trails and green spaces; Houston seems less great for those than the hill country, but maybe? There’s Sam Houston national forest, at least. In my experience, those groups tend to stratify a bit by people who hike at roughly your pace, and then you end up chatting with your sub-group increasingly more over time and maybe even getting some food or drink together afterward. If you brought your kids, probably you would end up at roughly the same pace as any moms with similarly aged kids and get to know them. If you are a Heathen, you might also try any esoteric shops you can find in Houston. I know there are conjure shops, which often carry eclectic pagan stuff, too. In my experience they often have a lot of repeat clientele and you might end up meeting someone and talking shop or finding out about events that you could attend. Some shops have become very political, but maybe not all. Another thing might be to join a group physical training event. I joined a “get ready to run a marathon” group in Austin that met multiple times per week. There are probably also cycling or triathlon groups. Even if you’re not incredibly psyched about running a marathon, you get to see the same people frequently and get to know them. Houston also has lots of charity 5ks, half-marathons and marathons, etc. and you will see lots of the same people on the running scene. One way to join a more female-friendly hobby without seeming like a creeper is to take an actual class. Then you are being instructed and actively trying to do stuff instead of just sort of awkwardly lurking wondering if you seem fake and weird. Something like a pottery class or stained glass or lampworking or jewelry-making, perhaps. Metalworking and woodworking tend to skew male, but certainly not exclusively so. All of those might also be useful in your Heathenry (I at least am constantly wishing for better statues, ceremonial and altar tools and vessels, devotional jewelry, etc as a Druid), which sort of genuine intention helps counter the “I’m just here to meet women” vibes. If the class meets once a week for several weeks or indefinitely, or includes some kind of use of studio space during/after, you may get to know other attendees. If it’s a one-off class, it can be hard to make a connection. Certain martial arts, usually ones that are more grappling than striking focused, also tend to have more women. When I took BJJ classes, there were a decent number of women there, and there’s certainly a breaking of the social barrier involved in grappling! Instructors usually favor same-sex pairings in early classes, but also deliberately mix it up periodically, and people who like working together will often meet up in the dojo for further practice, either by appointment or just by showing up during the same open hours. As a woman, if you are actually there for self-defense, it can be very helpful to find a male practice partner who will help you develop a realistic idea of your capabilities but will neither treat you like glass nor enjoy smearing you on the floor to support his own ego. Alas, I would probably add to that list “and doesn’t seem like he’s trying to get into your pants,” but surely that differs by person–you just need one! Good luck!

211. JMG,
     I was wondering what you thought about/what your take is on the Gnostic idea that there is a true God beyond creation but that the creator of time and space as we know it is a flawed god and that inherent in creation is some kind of flaw/something messed up. Also, if taken metaphorically, do you believe in Archons as malevolent forces that our somehow enslaving our minds and souls?
     Thanks,
     Jacques

212. This isn’t dating advice, but general advice. What are your strengths and weaknesses? How do you want someone to mesh into your life and you into theirs? I handle finances in our marriage, because my husband doesn’t do well with money. On the other hand, he is amazing when it comes to fixing things. He’s great at preparing simple meals, while I handle Japanese food and more elaborate meals. (He once tried to tell me that potatoes go in fried rice. I lost my mind!) He can listen to a car engine and tell me what’s wrong with it. I can look at our tomato harvest and know how many jars I can process. We aren’t total opposites. We both love gardening, cats and games. We love each other. I guess what I’m trying to say, if you are looking for someone, what do you bring to a relationship and what do you want them to bring to the relationship?

213. Greetings
     Jeff I’m sorry to hear this, I’m also sorry I can’t give any advice to single men.
     I’ve been out of the game for a long time and I honestly don’t even know how I got out.
     To this day it remains a mystery considering that all my previous interactions with women were one-night stands and my strange and neurotic mind was turned off thanks to the gin.
     According to a fellow martial artist, what he did was go to dance classes, salsa and Caribbean dances specifically, it seems that it worked very well for him.
     In any case, I am attentive to the comments of how to become more lovable it`s never bad even in relationship.

     In another order of things, lately I have the feeling that idealism and many ideas that we would consider anathema in our beloved world dominated by scientism are becoming fashionable.
     I certainly have no problem with it (in fact I consider myself a kind of Christian idealist), although there is something that disturbs me in the same way that I consider that the prevailing philosophical materialism was pussed fron the elites can this be a movement to try to control the new narrative once the scientifism is slowly diyng?

     It could also be a hallucination of mine due to the resonance chamber effect.

214. @Jeff Russel #179,
     You’ve created quite a stir on this blog! 😊 Your replies are as thoughtful as the original post, so I’ll continue the conversation. You’ve written quite a few things about yourself, including
     1. “most of my hobbies are pretty “male coded” (board and role-playing games, Historic European Martial Arts”
     2. “I’m a decent-looking guy, in pretty good shape”
     3. “perhaps I should follow the advice of some folks up thread and look for female-dominated hobbies or social activities”
     Perhaps… May I suggest tango? If you are good at martial arts, you WILL be good at tango. Many men who dance tango do martial arts as well. They say that dancing tango is like engaging in martial arts, only with a woman, and to the music. (I myself do both, tango and fencing, and find that in both cases, I exercise the ability to focus intensely on another person; only my symbolic intention is different – to love or to kill.)
     There is your woman somewhere, and you are walking toward her. Good luck!

215. @Chris at Fernglade
     I don’t know anyone who has voted for Richard Nixon, how could that happen?

     Have we found to the broader discussion of dating post 2015 already?

     I hope I don’t get pulled by the ears when I say:
     have you tried becoming a serial killer? They always get plenty of letters from women in prison!

216. Erika L,

     What’s with the alpha/beta stuff? I’ve been seeing it pop up more on the internet lately. I used to see it primarily in PUA/manosphere circles or in certain “buy my perfect push up machine designed by a genuine Navy SEAL” type stuff. But lately, alpha [male] seems to be making a reappearance as just a way to say “not a total milksop”? Like, there’s not one alpha male (or alpha female) in a group, the group leader who gets all the girls/goodies, as used to be the idea (based on ideas about wolf social hierarchy), it’s like “me and all my friends are alpha males, we’re not gonna act like beta males” or something? I always find it super cringe when people refer to themselves as “alphas” and thought the population at large more or less agreed with me (like, the general consensus was that if you are calling yourself an “alpha” you are probably a socially inept dude with several weird chips on his shoulder who likes to LARP as a tough guy), but now I am seeing the term pop up again in new contexts apparently without the cringe factor. Is alpha/beta having a cultural moment or something?

217. A data point from the left coast, my acupuncturist, who previous to the last presidential election basically admitted he was voting Trump as Harris was that bad…. Now is worried that the Government is falling apart no balance of power and we may not have elections any more. Eats out every day but is too broke to want to go back to repayment of his student loans…. This is the problem with temporary relief of payments for student loans and insurance subsidies ( which he also has been getting) it becomes the new normal and then people feel their expenses are unfairly going up when the temporary ends. It is a fine mess the Government did 3 and 4 years ago, subsidies for both that expire now that there is a new presidential term. No one here will see that there has been a continuity of their CA elected congress-critters, who they are not screaming about. But people in jobs like his were hit badly during COVID, severe lack of work when you need to be in a closed room and touch people ! So no eating out every day ( lunch out daily on weekdays is $400/month. Not to mention snacks and some dinners) back then, just needed help to eat at home and pay rent then, but times are better now,

     I kind of think those areas need to get to a crisis point and implode. So , maybe people need to not be able to afford ACA “insurance” payments and go uninsured, so then that is reduced, those plans, and the government has to allow regular options for catastophic health insurance to be sold again ? Or cash payments, certainly too much doctor office time is devoted to trying to get payment out of managed care phone operators. Yes, there would be pain now, but if would eventually settle out. And, of course, California has been playing games for years in regards to health insurance and getting as much as possible out of the Feds to use in ways California likes. One thing California has been doing is “taxing” all health insurance, I dont know if it is just the premiums or also the payments that are “taxed”, this is done at the insurance provider level, not individual level, so people dont see it. This includes taxing Medicare and Medicaid from the Federal Government. It might even be only taxing them, I believe CA somehow credits it back to the private insurers. In anycase, our Federal tax dollars out of the medical budget area pays this extra tax in to CA, and then CA uses this money to fund healthcare in CA, so CA uses it to pay their own share of Medicaid, and CA uses it to pay for Medicaid equivalent coverage for illegal aliens. I do wonder if some of this is being addressed in the Proposed Federal Budget and is adding to the screaming reaction. There is likely both the State of CA in addition to the Corporations running the “insurance” scams who feel their cash influx is being threatened, and the grift what were you guys calling that grift up -thread ? That money that leaves the income stream on the way to paying for “health” and is absorbed by the soil is passes over, and is even siphoned off and little streamlets redirected to private estates.

     So, circling back, is it those entities that are funding the “no kings” and media coverage here that is saturating the very air and scaring the people ( like my accupuncurist and all the old boomers out holding signs) ?

     As for student loans, we need to just stop giving them federal guarantees and let the chips fall, but dont expect that !

218. Train Travel,

     I routinely go up and down the west coast on the train and just took it all the way across the country ( 4 days, 3 nights). I think service has gone down hill a bit compared to many years ago.

     But, I also feel like my body liked the transition across country better by train than by the flight I took back. So, as I went back east, I just got up every morning and set my watch back one hour. Just every day, 3 times. that is a relatively smooth transition. A very human level transition. No jet lag or anything like that. Flying back meant that I had a huge difference in time all at once. And that had an effect on me.

     Taking the train for shorter distances, like when I go up to Oregon I can do coach, since the trip is about 19 hours, so then the cost isnt bad. To be gone 4 days, 3 nights, I need a sleeper car, and that costs alot more than flying. It used to be that coach train was less expensive than flying, for my short runs, but now it is hardly any difference. Trains are best for moving more luggage, I actually moved my eldest up to college on a train, we packed dorm stuff in boxes for our checked luggage, then had carry ons. A roomette sleeper car is alot less expensive for 2 people, I just did the trip as 1 person. Basically, it is a spot for 2 people, and they need that base cost. When you add a second person, you only have a small addon in price for the second set of meals. Trains are much better for sight seeing, and if in a roomette or sleeper car with meals included, it is very relaxing, maybe like a cruise or something ( I have never been on a cruise)

219. The Other Owen #195:

     If I may plug a different search engine, I’ve been rather happy with Kagi¹. Yes, it’s a paid service, but there’s less crap by default, quotation marks still seem to work properly, and you can manually up/downrank pages you want to see more/less of. There’s a free trial if you want to give it a shot.

     —David P.

     1: https://kagi.com

220. Russell Cook @ 191, I send my best wishes for your parenthood. You would appear to be off to a rousing good start.

     At age 4-5, your daughter should be ready to learn to read and figure. I strongly urge you to find a learning to read primer which uses phonetics, or preschool/kindergarten which teaches phonetics. An advantage of early beginning is that your child can learn gradually and without being compared with other children. Fast learning is a great thing, but it does not equate to either wisdom or virtue. Early learning should be enjoyable and give your child happy memories of me and Daddy together.

     It pains me to have to say that contemporary public education is mostly a toxic mess. There are many causes for this state of affairs. I think the turning point was school consolidation, probably pushed by RE and construction interests who wanted to build big schools.
     A few suggestions for navigating the wasteland:
     The secret of academic success is working ahead. Period. That is all it is.
     If your child turns out to be a hands on future craftswoman, she might not need a stellar academic record. In that case, you will want to see to it that she achieves at B level, for the sake of useful credentials and to avoid the “failing” stigma. If OTOH, she has a strong wish for one of the demanding professions, have a serious discussion about what efforts will be needed to accomplish that goal. Study ahead. Master the material in Every Class AND get the top grades. Have a clean record outside of class. Cultivate strength of character without offending the gatekeepers. Be aware that they are EASILY offended.

     Try to keep her out of the chasing popularity game. I told mine you don’t need to be popular; you need a few good friends who have your back like you have theirs. There should be things going on in your lives, church, travel if possible, sports highly recommended, for good experiences outside the classroom. Kids (and people) who are non-competitive, simply don’t like sports, often do enjoy hiking, birding, rockhounding and similar outdoor pursuits.
     Medals and prizes are nice, but the purpose of organized activities is the memories, the experiences and the friendships. That is why sports are good for kids.

     I am also pained to say that monitoring of books, toys, and media will be necessary. You can’t control what is outside your home, but you can gently but firmly enforce standards of decency and good taste within. When examining children’s books, I looked for good text AND illustrations. For preschoolers, next few years, I can strongly recommend the I Spy series, Jamberry, Magic School bus, NOT the execrable PBS version, any and all the Miyazaki videos. I am not and never have been a fan of the Disney oeuvre, despite their excellent animation. School age girls love the Patricia Coombs Dorrie series. If you can find it, there is a wonderful version of nursery rhymes illustrated by Kinuko Craft. Don’t forget a sets of blocks and tinkertoys, for building castles.

     A wise person once told me that it takes about 20 years to raise kids, which is only part of the span of adult life. You have all the other years for whatever dissipation and dubious activities you might like.

221. Earthworm wrote, “Where Fortune’s words from cosdoc (p16) say: ‘you must meet hate with hate sufficiently to cause a locking up of the force.’…. Why not rejection, renunciation, to turn in a different direction – it is possible to be totally against something without hating it, or was she implying something else? Locking oneself up with hate (thinking one is being virtuous by hating the evilly evil) really doesn’t seem like the best way – or maybe I’ve misunderstood.”

     Fortune was talking about getting the hatred hurled at you locked up and entangled with an opposing hatred so that you don’t end up foolishly getting your Self locked up and imprisoned with that festering hatred. Pretending that you’re not pissed about malicious attacks and have somehow managed to love everyone equally simply forces your inevitable feelings of upset underground, where they can fester all unseen deep within the soul — not a good idea.

     When someone tries to smear some of their overwhelming supply of hate onto you, lock up their spewing imbalance by blocking/rejecting/returning/redirecting/undoing/reversing their hateful energy. That blocking, rejecting, etc. gets birthed from disgust, disapproval, hatred, etc. Your healthy hate of the depleting feeling caused by allowing others’ gunk to get on you is what Fortune was encouraging. Rejection and renunciation are exactly the dose of hatred she was talking about. Hurl that hatred right back in the direction you feel any outside hate coming from before it gets the chance to stick to you and imprison you in with it.

     There is no virtue in hating external hatreds back into their lairs, but you’re right that the meaning of hate, as well as virtue, has gotten all muddled up in current usage. Hate is not a sin, nor is it a virtue. Thinking of it as either gets us ensnared in the sin vs. virtue complex, locking that depleting debility in place within us. You are simply human, so you always have reserves of hate within you (More than enough for a lifetime, so you really don’t need anybody else’s contributions!), along with love and magic and malaise and everything else. It’s a gift; use it wisely, so it won’t end up using you instead.

222. Another Day, another Breathless press release about some new small scale nuclear reactor that will save us from a low energy future. This time it is Nano Nuclear and its Kronos micro reactor that is set to break ground in Illinois. No need to go in to dubious economics of these things but the part that really baffles me is that this one like almost all the others is based on HALEU nuclear fuel. They always seem to leave out they they are still trying to produce this stuff in a lab in here in the US, and no one knows when they will able to produce it commercially. For the present time the only place that produces this fuel at scale is Russia. Seems the tech elites need to put in a call to the political elites and straighten things out with Putin if they really believe in this stuff.
     I think it is a subsidy dumpster as well as a convenient talking point when the subject of data centers bringing down the grid comes up.

223. Today, I had the opportunity to watch brief bit TV news. The station tends to be pro establishment, giving the dubious explanations of “experts” the last word, but to their credit, they do attempt investigate and mediate in situations where a citizen feels wronged by the government.

     The first story I caught was about gas heating. Apparently, about 20% of utility companies (I didn’t catch whether local or nationwide) want to cancel their gas networks outright, a similar percentage partially (whatever that means). Prominently featured was an elderly couple who switched to gas heating in 2019, back when the German government still thought Russia would play ball forever. They said that they didn’t want to take on debt to replace the (fully functional) heating but feared that they’d be effectively forced to by prices rising.

     They first interviewed an environmental bureaucrat. He said that no law would force owners of existing gas heating systems to switch to a new one, completely missing the point. Then they got a customer protection bureaucrat who only confirmed that gas heating would get more expensive as the utilities distributed grid costs among fewer customers. They closed out stating that the city of that couple hopes to get every gas customer onto district heating within five years, conveniently leaving out just what that would cost.

     To me, this reinforced two observations. One, the establishment script has become so disconnected from reality it’s equal parts worrying and hilarious (Oh, you fear increasing prices will force you to buy a new heating system? Don’t worry, we won’t pass a law that forces you to do that, though second-order effects of the law we have passed might). Two, it’s gotten incredibly hard to keep up appearances—if those were the best statements they could get, how bad were the rest?

     The second story was a report on a 17 year old girl having been gang-raped by five men. I was pleasantly surprised to hear their nationality in the second or third sentence—the nationality itself wasn’t surprising, mind you. They also rather casually mentioned that when our equivalent of a SWAT team arrested them, it wasn’t actually for the rape but as a “preventative measure in another case.”

     A semblance of sanity seems to be returning when it comes to these kinds of crimes, if they can be reported on so openly without anybody derailing the conversation with how it’s not all immigrants and, actually, the real problem is racism and that kind of crap.

     —David P.

224. re: old computers, and Linux

     Let’s not forget that Linux isn’t the only game in town for open-source operating systems! BSD is still around– which is a more direct descendant from the old UNIX than Linux is. Some say it’s a more elegant system: less bodged together, more unified as an actual operating system rather than the Hodge-podge of parts we call a Linux Distribution. BSD is certainly more niche than Linux, but the important thing for this discussion is that it is usually much more backwards compatible. There’s a reason the motto of NetBSD is “Of Course it Runs NetBSD”.

     You can run NetBSD on a 20-year-old Nintendo Wii, or an iMac from the year 2000 and enjoy a fairly modern desktop experience, as long as you don’t try and run the bloated modern internet. You can use 32-bit PCs from the 90s with no problem, as long as the processor is a 486 or better. You can use a Mac SE/30 from 1989 with the latest version of NetBSD, though you’d have to be very careful about what software you try and load. Or a Commodore Amiga from the late 80s, that’d be fine too. NetBSD still offers a version for VAX minicomputers from the late 1970s, if you want to run new-style UNIX on old-style UNIX hardware for some godforsaken reason. Someone once loaded NetBSD on a toaster, but I think that says more about the absurdity of smart appliances than it does about the versatility of NetBSD.

     (Note that there are multiple flavours of BSD, with different focus: OpenBSD is more restrictive as to what hardware you can use, but and is focused on cybersecurity; NetBSD is focused on supporting the largest possible base of system architectures, as stated above; and FreeBSD just wants to be normal.)

225. @ Jeff Russell Kids and dating

     If your first thought is realy what is best for your daughters, the short answer is dont get a new girlfriend/wife or at least wait until they are quite a bit older. I know that sucks. I have been there. What you should be asking is is there a way to compromise on this ? But be realistic that this is a compromise to your needs and the daughters needs. And their needs have already taken the back seat, and not that long ago. And it is not just your household, their mother may be bringing a new person around.

     All that advice on parents first only applies when the 2 adults are the actual parents. Which any woman you might find and get serious with is not their parent. And a new man with your ex is not their parent. They will be in the position of a parent, but they will not feel that same connection. Some step parents are perfectly fine, some may be great, some will fail. So you will prioritize the children over the new woman. There will be a whole different level of complexities.

     I am not saying not to, just that this is hard on the children. The children eventually are asked to be family with a whole new family, now there is a new parent and more grandparents. Then if/when the stepparent leaves, they leave and dont do visitation, then the whole new family branch cuts off too, they dont have to, but they generally do. The new grandparents send a gift to “their” grandchild but not the “previous” step grandchildren., etc…. This is hurt after hurt.

     Blended families are not new, my great grandmother was married 3 times, but due to death. The children were not left by a parent or left again by a new family by adult choices.

     My aunt remarried a man, made a blended family, his and hers. Her youngest was a toddler at the time, and he was the only father the child knew. He ended the relationship, lets say 7 years. He never once wanted to get together with the youngest child ( the others were adults by then, had been teens when they got together, so wasnt a big deal). That child left school one day and walked 2 towns over to try and see if he was home to see him. Obviously my aunt had tried before that to no success. She, on the other hand, had her step kids over, took one in for while to live with her, etc… but my family is that way, we dont throw people away.

     My step mother was mostly indifferent, sometimes mean. A friend of mine remarried a man I knew( I introduced them) his and hers blended family. She was not mean, but she did not understand his girls like she did hers. How to approach them or how they approached her was always a bit…foreign to her. These 2 cases I site the birth mother was out of the picture, so more important. Since your girls mother has them so much, they will keep that connection, which is good. But a new woman in your household will not understand them the same way and it will make complexities. And, even more so in their mothers house with a new man there. Nothing to be done about it as far as the other household goes.

     A person who has no children (yet) often has trouble understanding the developmental age, needs and capabilites, of the existing children. The parent may see, wow, look how far they have come, I remember when xyz would have caused a meltdown, the new adult may think the child is being bratty and overdiscipline, or expect too much maturity out of them. This step parent has never seen a child day by day go from new born to the age their are at now. On the other hand, a person with children already will have developed a whole different set of patterns on what children need, are given, are disciplined. Not saying these issues are insurmountable, just that they are issues that are there. OF course, there are people who work through this well, but I see alot of second relationships fail and affect the children again.

     So, I would say to not rush anything and give it time for your girls to get older if you can

226. Just a random passage from the translation I am working on at the moment:
     “Anyone who wants to take a great man as a model must indeed know his deeds, but the main thing is to know how he formed himself into a great man.”

227. Do you think as the long descent continues, that “alpha Marxism” will take over the Western left? If so, what do you think it would look like? I particularly dread an “alpha” version of settler colonial/decolonization theory taking hold as it would leave progressive minded white people like myself without any friends at all.

228. @Jeff,

     Dating – What do you hope your new romantic interest will be interested in? Kids, heathen practice, anything else? It’s disconcerting certainly to feel like your current connections and avenues are exhausted. I’m confident you’ll find a way. You’ve made a step.

     Runes – Thank you for the recommendations! I found the Big Book of Runes and Rune Magic, and will look into the other Runes folk as well! Much appreciated! Let me do some reading/work (the magic kind) and I’ll message you with additional thoughts either in the next Open Post or I’ll find another way. Curious to hear more about your experience.

229. A number of things have been on my mind of late. I’ve been working my way through the OPW over the last 6 months or so, and I’ve begun to take notice more of the maelstrom of dark influences in our Western/American culture at large, particularly in the media, and how it is slowly driving people to the edges of madness. Now, I’ve already been aware of these things since I took the first steps into the broader world of mystery, conspiracy, and the occult a few years ago, but I feel that my daily meditation practice has led to a strange increased awareness that I can’t quite put my finger on and I’m all too aware of the numerous ways people are being subtly manipulated. As someone who’s never shied away from the darker side of things I’m not frightened or put off by this, but I do find it concerning. Anyway, I’ve heard all these stories about Klaus Schwab being in a strange “satanic” cult, and similar things about people in silicon valley, and I do sometimes wonder if there isn’t some truth to the stories. My suspicion is that the conspiracy theorists are once again correct, at least to a certain extent, and the dark arts are to a not insignificant extent responsible for much of the civil strife currently going on.

     Along with the increased awareness I spoke about above, an interesting thing happened. Our baby daughter just turned 1 year old and an in-law was staying with us for the week. She knows of my interest in UFOlogy and occult things, and confided that my father-in-law recently confessed to having an abduction experience where aliens who “looked like Elon Musk” took his semen. There are details about the story that have been physically corroborated by things that were done to his body, and I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the story. I recently read The Witch of Criswell, and while later pondering the story that was relayed to me my thoughts went to various stories that I’m aware of in UFOlogy and other high strangeness when I remembered the connection with sexual fluids and the life force. I began to wonder if this is what’s going on in many of the “alien” abduction cases… And if so, what action if any should I take here. My suspicion is I should stay silent as the abductee in question is someone prone to narcissm which the “aliens” were clearly (to me) happily able to take advantage of, stroking his ego with how important and special his semen is. Also, according to the in-law who relayed the story to me, the event seems to have had some positive reforming effects on the abductees life. I’m waiting to talk to him personally for more details, like if he’s had any further experiences, as he’s coming to stay with my family over Thanksgiving week. Do you recommend any protective measures for myself and my family? I do the basic practices of the GSF, and some natural magic: Daily SoP, etc, and sleep with the salt jar near my bed.

     Thank you for your time and consideration.

230. Filed under burn baby burn.

     https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/news-research/latest-news/coal/082525-china-approves-25-gw-of-new-coal-power-projects-in-h1-2025-commissioning-at-a-decade-high

     But rescue is at hand!

     The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP30, is the upcoming 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Belém, Brazil, from 10 to 21 November 2025.

     The attendees should be able find entertainment though.

     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_and_tourism_in_Bel%C3%A9m_(Par%C3%A1)

231. @Robert Mathiesen,

     If you should happen to read this and don’t mind responding, I’d be very interested in your current take on the Venezuela situation, whether anything in your assessment has changed and why, and how you think the whole thing is going to develop. No worries if you’d rather not comment on this topic, though! 🙂

232. Christophe:
     “Rejection and renunciation are exactly the dose of hatred she was talking about.”

     I think I see what you are saying, but the use of words, like grammar, serves a purpose:
     I’m giving up drinking until Christmas VS I’m giving up; drinking until Christmas

     The idea of hatred has always struck me as a sort of animal passion, whereas the recognition of disharmony/imbalance and action in response to that do not have to be driven by low level emotions.

     “That blocking, rejecting, etc. gets birthed from disgust, disapproval, hatred, etc.”

     Can’t remember if it was Lao Tzu or Confucious: “If something disturbs you, first look within”
     For me I’ve wondered if reactions to things are because I’ve done it myself – like an ex-smoker becoming an evangelistic anti-smoker. So these days I try to follow that old advice.
     But in the end, I don’t think it is birthed from disgust, disapproval or hatred – more that it is a recognition of something that is against the ring cosmos flow [so to speak].

     “Hurl that hatred right back in the direction you feel any outside hate coming from before it gets the chance to stick to you and imprison you in with it.”

     In this I think there are other ways.

233. I just started getting a message from my anti-virus software, that I installed after experiencing a lot of problems over the past month, warning me not to access ecosophia.org, because I could get my data stolen. I did not get that message on Wednesday, so I wonder if you’ve been hacked. I bullied my way over anyway, though the software tried mightily to dissuade me.

234. Tarot

     Well, I did do divination, and yes, I should be doing it routinely. The method I have is a Tarot deck, the waite one, and the little booklet that came with the cards and a pen and notebook. This method has been frustrating for me in the past, even though when I was “stuck” in insurance madness, which is when I started daily 3 card pulls, the cards would consistently come up with the same pulls, fitting with the whole groundhog day life I was in, so the readings were good, it is the interpretation and if there are any steps to do as a result is where the difficulties lie.

     My thoughts are to not look at the little book and just see how the cards make me feel, well, I can keep track and see if that gives better interpretive results.

     Anyway, it is a difficult method I think for Yes or No questions — maybe there are hints for that, certainly not the descriptions in the little book ! I havent done one card pulls before, I was only doing 3 card ones, so this is a new thing to try

     There was very thorough shuffling, turning, cutting etc.. between each pull

     So, first yes or no, calibrating question: Should I go to ______ ? Card, page of swords, which for me reads as ” Yes, if you want, but not a MUST or SHOULD go, maybe a bit ambiguous” The page of swords has a purpose, is going somewhere, but not to war or angry. Just purpose and ready — to me

     2nd yes or no question, Should I use the single earring as part of a healing amulet ? Card, 2 of swords reversed. This card for me is a very ambiguous card, more so than the page. I dont think it is a hard answer either way. The card for me would be ( )closed in, not open, dont get close () Do not pass ( ) Although maybe an oracle, cut off from the material, so open and sensitive to the non-material – anyways, not at all what the description of the card is. My overall take is that there is no harm ( would have gotten a stronger card for that) in putting it in, might not do anything to help though

     3rd question, a 3 card pull, so that I am most used to, so another calibrating question. Past/Present/Future over my life, I forget my wording now, but tell me about my health ( what to expect) : Cards were Past: Knight of wands; present:8 of swords; Future: The Sun. I dont need a book for this one.

     I would say given the “calibration” readings, that the middle reading about the earring is a good one, given how I framed the question. Maybe I should have asked who bought it, maybe I will another day.

     If I want to practice with one card pulls, maybe just what will the day bring ? and think about what card is pulled ?

235. Dear Peter and Commentariat:

     In light of last week’s overwhelming “beta” defending response to my riffing off of gato’s chum about alpha and beta. i’ve always talked that among my friends. alpha meant out-cruding the other and telling the truth via humor. Kris Kovick and “Bark Flammers” were two of a triangle, including me. Now I’m alone in Mordor.

     And then Scotlyn and the rest of you really DO invert laying low and doing nothing overt, into alpha. and i realize “even here it’s upside down”. it’s a habit re-twisting these words.

     and Other Owen is as vapid as Gato and this all feels like a GAME because NO you cannot start a counter culture by being coaxed. we’re well beyond that.

     and that’s why i’m bowing out of taking Peter up on his offer to get me to Adocentyn. i’m in the red zone of my situation here and am in the middle of trying to secure my situation so that i don’t die. i don’t trust what will happen if i go away right now AND i’ve no income and need to take care of home and finish ENDCAT or i’ll go insane.

     i need to go back into MY world and secure it.

     the reaction last week to the alpha and beta thing, so few alphas and just starting out yes, but i see no one’s taking this seriously. we’re all still politely dying. you don’t realize how bad it is.

     Other Owen make a snarky joke.

     this is all so… COME ON.

     so i bow out because i don’t believe that it’s smart for me to distract myself from securing things here and

     to be honest, Jennifer Kobernick’s snarky FEMININE (i see it all so clearly now!!!), the snarky belittling “what’s this with…?” and Jennifer i though fxck you.

     no. i see my entire childhood and court case and the WORLD and Jennifer you. broke me. it’s EVERYWHERE.

     that’s why Temporary Reality cut me off. she has a VISION of herself i broke and she’s angry. wants to feel calm. IT’S CALIFORNIA.

     it’s EVERYWHERE.

     so i’m breaking up with all of you. (smile)

     sorry, and thank you, Peter. and Papa. i’m too far away from where i need to be and i haven’t enough wiggle room to help manifest this but i PRAY PRAY you all who CAN show have the finances and time and inclination, please please enjoy yourselves.

     i have to go inward and revise what i think i am capable of and can pull off.

     thank you for indulging me and i’m sorry. i have to go the rest of the way …kind of alone. and insane.

     (smile)

     x

236. Hi John Michael,

     Good for you, and try and remember that dating is meant to be fun. One of those things which is easy, in theory. 🙂 It’s no doubt an equally stressful occasion for your date.

     On a completely unrelated note, a few weeks ago I received the results of a salary survey from the professional body which purports to represent my interests. Anywhoo, The difference in pay between a graduate and a senior professional for those whom deal directly with the public was about $20k to $30k. This is not encouraging news, especially for someone with over three decades of experience, not to forget the educational requirements of the past, and ongoing. And it was at that moment, the little bulb went on. A person can earn more money in traffic management, or driving a forklift, just for a couple of random examples. The middle class has been, or is well on the road to being wiped out, and so we’re all working class now. You read it here first! 😉 Well, at least I haven’t read that opinion elsewhere… What’s your take on that?

     Cheers

     Chris

237. Hey JMG

     On the subject of monochords, I recently discovered an obscure variant known as the “Monocorde du Pousset”, invented by a French man of that name in the 19th century.

     It is odd because it is played by bow, and uses a keyboard. Sometimes it possesses drone strings also. Pretty all information about it is in French, it doesn’t seem well-known to English speakers.

     https://musee-lorrain.nancy.fr/les-collections/les-oeuvres-majeures/oeuvre-majeure/monocorde-a-clavier

238. Earlier in the comments Samurai 47 (#169) pondered on escaped tigers and lions mating. Climate change is already providing the conditions for new species, albeit of a calmer variety than predators (but I’m sure some new predator mixes may be in the works).

     Lovebirds In A Warming World: How Climate Change United Two Jays To Create A First-Ever Hybrid Species
     Scientists discovered the first hybrid between a blue jay and a green jay in Texas. It’s a rare union likely sparked by climate change as shifting habitats bring once-distant species together.

     https://weather.com/news/climate/news/2025-10-07-blue-jay-green-jay-hybrid-bird-discovered-texas-climate-change

     Having lived in the north all my life, I have seen plenty of blue jays, but had not even heard of green jays until now. Maybe the day will come when green jays will move farther north as things heat up, along with the new hybrid “grue jay”.

     Joy Marie

239. @WatchFlinger#106,
     You’re correct that “gaijin” is the Chinese-derived on’yomi pronunciation of the two characters 外人. A kun’yomi (several are possible) would be “sotobito.” It is of much too recent coinage to be from China. It’s simply an abbreviation of the polite term “gaikokujin” (foreign-nation person). It’s like “n*gger” takes less energy to say than “negro” and is easier to spit. But it wasn’t really intended to be derogatory. There is a lot of this sort of abbreviation in Japanese, especially notable for unwieldy foreign words (gairaigo), such as “pasokon” (personal computer) “sekuhara” (sexual harassment) and “domesuchikku” (either the victim, perpetrator or act of domestic violence).

240. John, I just received an email asking me to confirm my subscription to your blog… since I haven’t subscribed, it’s a surprise. Has you spammer been looking to hack the site?

241. @Corax #206

     “So the average type woman might come home from a long stressful day at work and proceed to nastily unload on her husband for there being a few dirty dishes in the sink (there’s a comment way above that seems to reflect this reality);”

     I assume here you are talking about me. If so please don’t be so unkind as to make such assumptions.

     However there is a kernel of truth in what you say. I am certainly no “girlboss”, however I belong to a growing group of women who do work too much in jobs more stressful than we’d like, because there is simply no other choice to pay the bills. I’d love to half my hours and stay at home, grow veg, sew stuff, keep the house better, and feel less stressed, but both my partner and I earn just a quid or 2 more than the minimum wage and work not quite fulltime as there is no childcare (or many alternative jobs) in our rural area. I do think in a loving relationship in this increasingly common situation, the man could support the woman by stepping up, learn how to manage a house, (and certainly to respect what goes into it) and take some stress off her around the home.

     Ps I think the girlbosses can probably afford a cleaner 😉

242. On the death of liberalism,

     I’d date it much earlier. My opinion is that Classical Liberalism died during the 1960s, when advertisers figured out how to channel the extremely liberal counter-culture as a way to sell products (think advertisements like the Pepsi Generation) one. Once this happened, then liberalism collapsed into nothing more than marketing; and when the costs of Consumer Liberalism started to outweigh the benefits, the skin suit of liberalism got dropped.

243. Jeff R, I know a lot of other people have already offered good suggestions regarding the question you asked. I have a somewhat different perspective so I will offer it.

     I got divorced after a brief marriage (less than 3 years) while my ex and I were grad students in the 1980s. The divorce process itself was amicable. We had no children, no property to divide, and no obligations to each other following the divorce.

     I found the following few years extremely difficult. Even though the divorce process was amicable, it was still breaking a commitment I had made. Fortunately my place of employment offered a course for those considering divorce, in the process, or post-divorce, to help us cope with the problems we were likely to face. I was less than a year past my divorce when I took the course. We were told it would take at least a year or two post-divorce to work through most of its effects; it was closer to four years for me before I worked through enough of my personal issues to understand what made the relationships I entered into fail.

     My first bit of advice, because you mentioned that most of the friends you have are couples who are also friends of your ex, is that you make an extra effort to make new friends who are yours alone. I don’t mean dropping your current friendships, but you need some people in your life who see you as who you become, not who you were. Their gender doesn’t matter. You just need some friends of your own with whom you can enjoy occasional social outings. Expanding your social circle with people you genuinely like and enjoy being with is the key. Eventually these new friends may introduce other people to you, some of whom might also become your friends and invite you places and to meet their friends. The more people you know, the bigger your social circle, the more likely you are to eventually meet someone with whom you can enter into a relationship. But focus on the friendships, and be the best friend to them that you can be.

     What do you and the girls like to do together? There are almost certainly organizations that hold activities for you and the girls to enjoy together, where you can meet other parents and children. Again, gender of the parents doesn’t matter; making new friends among them does. Everyone you meet has relatives and friends who you may get to meet later on, the more so as they get to know, like, and trust you.

     Matchmaking has its flaws. A friend of mine tried to fix me up with her ex brother-in-law because she thought we’d be a good match. That led to one of the short, failed relationships I endured between marriages.

     I ended up meeting my husband Mike at her and her husband’s house, when they needed a seventh person for a game of Diplomacy on short notice and I was the only person they knew who was free on that particular Saturday night. Mike and I were married 8 months later, going on 37 years ago. Both she and her husband were friends of both of us, but she told me later she would never have considered matching us. We had to meet and do the matching ourselves – and we met through that mutual friendship.

244. Earlier in the comments their was discussion on how cruel women can be. I can unfortunately attest to that, as I have had some (note: not all) female supervisors (including my present boss, known for dashing about and barking orders) who have out done themselves breathing down workers’ backs. One female coworker told me she preferred to have male bosses because they were easier to work for. Why might women be like this? I never knew if it was the female supervisor’s personality, the desire to prove themselves and move up the ladder, or that they didn’t think they’d get respect unless they were tough. Also, let’s not forget the “mean girls” of middle school. I wasn’t high on the totem pole in school, and suffered accordingly at the hands of the she-pack. There were boy bullies too that bugged me, but they would move in on you, and then onto other things. Easier to avoid. The girls would zero in on you daily, and if you didn’t dress right, act right, talk right, look right…in other words, be just like them….you were in their crosshairs. I often wonder where those girls are now. Maybe someone’s supervisor?

     Joy Marie

245. Jennifer (216), I believe the alpha/beta/etc dominance hierarchy terms have moved from the fringes into the popular lexicon of the Zeitgeist. I’m a millenial and have observed a random sample of gen z’ers using the lingo. I used to use it in my friend group in a joking way in the 20 teens.

246. In the “that word does not mean what you think it means” list we have this wonderful headline.

     “Chemical linked to low sperm count, obesity and cancer found in dummies, tests find”

     Dummy is British for pacifier?

     https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/oct/18/chemical-linked-impaired-sexual-development-found-dummies-tests

     I was thinking of something like a ventriloquist’s dummy, but why would you care what they are made of as long as it’s not radioactive? If it wasn’t for the picture I’d still be confused.

247. EchoEcho, I recommend doing some journaling to find out what’s behind the blockage. That’s always worked for me.

     Michael, that’s increasingly common these days. Mafiosi still understand human relationships — corporate flacks don’t, and so they ignore the fact that people really can walk away.

     Quin, thank you for this as always.

     Russell, I never had the chance, so I’ll leave this to those who have.

     GlassHammer, you’re welcome and thank you. The new edition will be out early next year!

     M Carole, I wonder who hangs out in the occult section…

     Tony, nobody knows. We have too small a sample size to justify even the most tentative speculations.

     Earthworm, I know the feeling! Dealing with ordinary Americans these days feels like encountering the members of a strange and deeply superstitious tribe. I think you’re right, by the way, that the mainstream cultures of the West are swinging into alignment with the Ring-Chaos, and will disintegrate with unusual swiftness as a result. As for hate, well, as I’ve noted in an earlier post, I think hate gets a bad rap these days; it’s a normal, healthy human emotion that we all feel, and repressing it doesn’t work any more than repressing any other emotion. Using it Fortune’s way seems more useful. Note, though, that she’s not hating the evilly evil — she’s hating their hate, which is not at all the same thing.

     Slithy, my sense is that liberalism in the classic sense is inseparable from faith in progress. One of the great transformations of recent times on the left is the abandonment of any positive view of a better future ahead; woke ideology is like a secular Calvinism in which certain groups of people are predestined to moral goodness or evil, and there is no hope of redemption, just a boot slamming into the face of the Bad People forever. My sense, therefore, is that the collapse of genuine faith in progress has driven the death of liberalism.

     Corax, exactly. Women who have fallen for the “girlboss” propaganda believe that petty acts of nastiness show how powerful they are, when in fact they’re being utterly subservient to the interests of the corporate system. As for the “I’m perfect and deserve everything I want” mentality, that’s something I plan on discussing in an upcoming post, as it casts a useful light on some of the riddles of our time. More on this later.

     Dobbs, nobody can time the popping of a speculative bubble. (Isaac Newton tried to do it and lost his shirt; Tim Morgan is unlikely to succeed where Newton failed.) All we can be sure of is that sooner or later, it’ll pop, and staying out of it altogether is the only sane strategy. The concept of “the collapse,” though, is a trap I’d encourage you to avoid. We’re not facing a single traumatic event; we’re facing another couple of centuries of traumatic events, and no one of them will be “the collapse.”

     Jacques, no, both those notions sound far too much like paranoid schizophrenia to appeal to me. The story of how the planetary intelligences or oyarses (Lewis didn’t invent this last term, btw) got cast as the villains in certain Gnostic teachings is a long, strange, and tragic one, and I’ll be telling it in a book one of these days.

     Michele7, thanks for this. I have this very much in mind.

     Atmospheric, many thanks for the data points.

     Clay, of course! What, do you expect them to admit that the future has been canceled?

     David P, many thanks for the data points.

     KAN, a useful reflection.

     Tankermottind, no, I think that the Western left has no future ahead of it at all. More on this in a future post.

     David, I haven’t seen any evidence of serious magical practice among the elite. What I have seen is a lot of debased and half-understood magic in advertising, public relations, and also the sort of New Age- and eastern religion-derived pop spirituality that’s so popular among our notional lords and masters these days. Those are among the sources of the darkness you’ve experienced; much more is driven by severe repressions and disassociations among people in general — I’ll be discussing that in a blog post soon. As for UFOs, I’m going to very strongly encourage you to read Jacques Vallee’s book Passport to Magonia, which talks about the parallels between UFO lore and medieval lore about fairies and elves. There’s something happening, but it has nothing to do with outer space. Your protection measures should be fine; sharp iron is also helpful — an open pocket knife tucked in between the mattress and the box spring will do wonders.

     Siliconguy, here we go. Whee!
     

     Patricia O, I’ll check with my internet person. Thanks for letting me know.

     Atmospheric, tarot is legendarily bad for yes/no questions — that’s why I use geomancy for such things. The one card pull approach you’ve proposed seems very sensible to me.

     Chris, well, I’ve had two first dates; neither of them went anywhere, but both were pleasant. As for the collapse of the middle class, exactly — as things proceed, the lower end of the upper class will start being catabolized, too.

     J.L.Mc12, good heavens. Thanks for this!

     Joy Marie, fascinating. Not surprising, but fascinating.

     Earthworm, thanks for this. I’ve forwarded it to my internet person.

     Joy Marie, very likely, yes. Bullies tend to gravitate toward positions of power.

     William, that’s also a plausible thesis. Like the character in the bad mystery who was shot, stabbed, poisoned, and shoved off a tall building into deep water, liberalism need not have just one cause of death.

     Siliconguy, it makes sense even if “dummies” is meant as a playground insult!

248. @ Jeff Dating children

     I realized I may have been too discouraging, I just wanted to add some balance to the conversation. Your needs and wants are important too, just know that it is a balance and a compromise vs kids first. I did date after my divorce, so I get that, and I would say that none of that was particularly good for the kids. Not all of it was bad for them either, but some things were. Most was completely neutral and dating they wouldnt have known about or didnt get to know the person to get attached. I dont know that there is a one size fits all or easy answer, but it is a compromise between your needs and theirs

249. @Milkyway (#231):

     The situation hasn’t developed enough yet to change my very general worried assessment. We–either Trump or the idiotic warmongers who hide behind him–have been tightening the screws on Venezuela, and on some other nearby countries, more and more. I expect this is connected with the delays in the proposed next meeting between Trump and Putin. But it’s still very early days yet.

     Remember, the outcome of a war isn’t determined solely by munitions or manpower, but also–sometimes chiefly– by immaterial cultural factors as well.

     Russians play chess very well, and love the game. It is a subtle game which moves very slowly, and it can take hours and hours for a player to win over a well-matched opponent. Americans, with some exceptions, are far too impatient for for chess. Also, Russians are willing to take simply enormous losses over a long period of time to keep from losing a game.

     Or losing a war, for that matter. — As in games, so in diplomacy and in war.

250. JMG,

     Regarding the death of liberalism, here are some key markers by my estimation:

     The Fall of the Berlin Wall and Francis Fukuyama. This is where the end of history is proclaimed and liberals can fully focus on bringing about utopia without the existential threat of nuclear hanging over their head.

     The darkening of Star Trek. This starts to happen in 1993 with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It’s the best Star Trek series, but gone is the giddy Utopianism of the original. It’s replaced with the idea that “It’s easy to be a saint in paradise,” but what happens to your morals when you come face to face with an existential threat. By the 2010s, after liberalism is completely dead, Star Trek becomes a grim dark series where the good guys gleefully shoot the bad guys.

     The rise of BAMN during the affirmative action debates. During the early 2000s and centered around the university of Michigan, an aggressive group called the coalition to defend affirmative action by any means necessary (BAMN) begins aggressively harassing and assaulting people during protests. These leftist shock troops were denounced by liberal left leaning groups at first but gradually replaced them.

     Failure of the Mayan 2012 prophecy. I think this is where it completely died. I’m not sure why.

     Starts to die in 1989. Dead by 2012.

     There’s a lot that happened in there, but I cannot stress how a key indicator is the darkening of Star Trek. That’s the religion that captured me as a child with TNG, and I think it’s true for a lot of liberals. The fact that it’s turned into a violent, grim dark shadow of itself (even its color palette looks more like warhammer 40k) says a lot about the mindset of the left.

251. > Tankermottind, no, I think that the Western left has no future ahead of it at all. More on this in a future post.
     I think it wouldn’t necessarily appear as the “Western left” as we know it. In fact I think “alpha decolonization” would be the very point where ethnonationalists and anti-American revanchists decide the left is no longer useful to them and dispense with both traditional Marx-ish rhetoric and their leftist “allies”. No more talk of universal justice, instead “you have something we believe we deserve, so we intend to take it from you. We’re not asking.”

     As the infamous October 7 tweet said, “what did you think decolonization meant? Papers? Essays? Vibes?” The same sentiment, expressed by someone actually *doing* the “decolonization” rather than a terminally online, uh, “shale”-poster, would be the moment where the very idea of “left” becomes meaningless and we are thrust into the political universe of prison gangs, where sympathizing with anyone but “your people” becomes impossible unless you fancy ending up on an obituary. It is a world I look forward to about as much as I look forward to a doctor telling me I have prostate cancer and need to be chemically castrated for the rest of my life…less than that, actually. I might actually survive the latter for a while.

252. JMG,

     Thank you. I know my comment was rather more vague and rambling than I would have liked. I have a number of thoughts on these subjects, along the lines of UFO cults and the like, that I’m trying to assemble into a coherent picture, and I’m trying to be careful about what I say in a public forum like this, but… I think you answered the question well enough. I’m aware of the connection between UFO/Alien lore and fairies or faey, though I have yet to actually read that particular book. I’ll look into it, and maybe I can suggest the pocket knife thing to my father-in-law without much controversy.

253. @JMG

     > my sense is that liberalism in the classic sense is inseparable from faith in progress.

     This certainly makes sense of the recent attempt by Ezra Klein and others to revive the old liberalism as “Abundance” liberalism. What’s been interesting is that nearly everyone outside that scene seems to understand at some level that that kind of liberalism is past its pull date and won’t produce anything like abundance.

     But what caused the faith in progress to die in the last decade or so? It seemed very much alive in the 00’s, at least until the 2008 housing crash, but surely a recession (albeit a deep one, though nowhere near Great Depression level) wasn’t enough to cause a major crisis of faith across society?

254. @Atmospheric River

     > @ Jeff Dating children

     Err, I would strongly advise against Jeff, or any other adult, dating children!

255. @Siliconguy
     > Speaking of salvage, office type PCs with Intel CPU numbers starting with 4, 5, 6, or 7 are on the refurbished sites as they are not compatible with Windows 11,

     “Incidentally” generations 4,5,6,7 are still holding in performance to all subsequent generations until 14 if you include thermal performance and power consumption to the subsequent generations. I think they were artificially obsoleted. In an efort of Michaelsoft to prop up INTC, the big seven keep throwing INTC so that it doesn’t fall and pop the bubble. INTC is still big enough in term of money and bigger still in terms of technotopia reputation.

     Also generation 2 Sandybridge is still a good CPU even though is more than 10 years old. If you find the best CPU from that gen with plenty of memory you can still install Linux on it.

256. Re Patricia Ormsby #233:

     Try going directly to ecosophie.NET in stead of via ecosophia,ORG.
     You get redirected anyway, and the latter doesn’t have a security certificate, which is probably the cause of the warning,

     –bk

257. Dear Free Rain,

     I think I have been near where you are, though American married to immigrant so slightly different (I suspect you are not American due to your use of quid)..
     Here’s the thing: male brains by and large on average do not do that stuff. There’s something about the hormone baths we’ve been in since conception that really is real and makes a difference. It isn’t culture–we’ve had ample opertunity to see that, between husband, my father, and four sons-it’s just some wiring thing. Please note this is an in general thing: specific individuals will be outliers. (points at son the third)

     In general, it does not occur to the male brain to do the thing until he needs to. That is, it doesn’t occur to him to wash the pot until he needs to use it next. He might be trained otherwise, by his family of origin, but if your mother-in-law did not succeed in training that, he’s probably going to need to be specifically asked forever because his brain doesn’t work that way naturally and it’s extra effort. Remembering what the kids have going on, noticing the undone chores, probably even routine car and health maintanance unless those are his specific geekdom, his area of passion, will always be outsourced as much as he can. Lifting heavy things, knowing the details of whatever his geekdom is, that’s the male advantage. Being aware of general life-continuing stuff, that’s the female advantage.

     So first advice: does he care if you “nag” him? If he does not, then go ahead. Be specific includng time frame. “Honey, please rake the leaves before noon today.” is much, much better than “Those leaves really need raking.” To us, the latter is a polite hint, to him it’s an observation of something you may choose to deal with later. Men generally get specific and direct. So be specific and direct. It’s a good thing men are so cute, isn’t it?

     Second advice: while it is wildly unpopular advice, we have found that it is significantly easier, and cheaper, to have the family manager (that’s me) work no more than part time. If I can take the time to do things, and do all the childcare except on his regular days off, our necessary expenses are so incrediably much lower that it’s not worth my having a regular job. When a marriage is rocky, this is a scary idea, and I do not recommend it to you at this time as something to apply, just consider. Having a parent to home school the kids, plan and make meals from scratch, do the food preservation, plan the garden, shop thrift, mend and repair, etc, is a huge money saver. Today I saved at least $150 by figuring out and replacing a $30 part on his truck. Took three hours, but we didn’t have to pay mechanic labor. Especially if you have daycare or eldercare expenses in your family, it can really be worth it to be the at-home person. (We have lived without paying rent for fourteen years providing eldercare for my parents.) Often a part time business can be fit in around family tasks, giving you the option to grow it when the kids are older if you want. It becomes the fun money source while the full time income covers the family necessities. (There are families I know that have Dad stay home and Mom work, but you have to work with the people you have, and it really sounds like you are more observation and execution oriented on family tasks than your husband is.)

     Third advice: have you told him straight our that there is a marriage problem? I mean, really direct. “This specific thing is not ok. If you do not change this specific thing I will file for divorce.” It needs to be a specific actionable item, and you need to be ready to follow through if you have to. In our case “If you ever say again that you think I should divorce you, I will. Next time you decide to say that, just give me your divorce attorney’s name instead.” Utter. Shocked. Silence. And he’s never said it again, in all these years. (Because of course the point of saying that was that I would insist that no I really wanted him. The reassurance.) Do NOT go there unless you will follow through. Men learn to recognize empty threats just as fast as women. But if it is really do or leave time, that can enlighten him that you are there. Make sure you are asking for a thing he is capable of.

     And always remember: men are cute, fun, strong, sexy, protective, charming, and generally desireable, as well as occasionally utter blockheads. It’s ok: we women are cute, fun, sexy, charming, nurturing, desireable, and ride a hormonal rollercoaster that makes us completely and totally unpredictable. It’s often a reasonable deal in life to pair blockhead and unpredictable!

     I hope very much that you can get through to your man in a way that strengthens your marriage. We’re at 24 years and six kids. It really is worth it. It’s fun to be enough years in to know all the little things he likes and for him to know those about me.

258. Clay Dennis # 222:

     Oh, the pro-nuclear energy guys usually find a new “silver bullet” near every week to save their business…err…the human race and to live a bright future. It’s really ironic indeed (as you’ve written it) the bigger nuke fuel for those marvelous reactors is Russia in the real world outsider nuke supporters unicorns world. It shows how desperate they’re in their seeking of revitalising the Faustian cornucopian promises.

259. JMG: “I think hate gets a bad rap these days; it’s a normal, healthy human emotion that we all feel, and repressing it doesn’t work any more than repressing any other emotion.”

     Fair enough – what I took from ideas like mastering the opposites is that virtues and vices are opposite ends of something in the form of the opposite to a bad idea is all too easily another bad idea with a dynamic balance point ‘hidden’ in plain sight between them; however, not on a simple two dimensional line of the emotional pendulum swing.

     In many ways the seeming differences between emotions are like aspects of something we can’t quite grasp – they seem different but are actually partial expressions of something larger, a general sense if you will that has been fragmented into parts.
     Where one set appear to reflect the tendency of ring chaos flow and another set appear to reflect ring cosmos flow – the seeming polarities and illusion of opposites gives us leverage for action.

     The way I was initially taught was that the energy of what might be called vices (e.g. fear) serves a very useful purpose but use of vices carries a risk of falling into error and that another route is to transform its nature and use the ‘clarified/cleansed state as a base of action.

     All of the energies and emotions are there and repression will mess us up and transformation through attention is key – if they can serve a useful purpose in maintaining harmonious flow they can be used, yet there is a risk that one might become ‘intoxicated’ in a similar error to the mystics and yogis thinking that the search for and discovery of bliss is the aim.

     I’m not Sufi but I’ve always liked this as an idea to chew on:

     Heaven is for the pious whose virtues were for this end, and hell is for the wicked who themselves have kindled its fire. The Sufi says, “I am beyond both, happy in the arms of the eternal peace. Neither can the joy of heaven tempt me, nor can the fire of hell touch me, for I have embraced the bliss and have kissed the curse, and have been raised above life’s joys and sorrows.”

     The original method I learnt nigh on 45 years ago began by spinning vices through 3d pakua followed by ‘polishing of the virtues end of things and then the condensation and raising of the blended energies to a different state – a kind of analogue to 3 cauldrons.

     Summing all that up, I’d say that all the vices and virtues are used to create something different where the resultant energetic state can shift into any form needed in a flash, but it is like being ‘outside’ of emotions. I did not realise it myself, but my wife told me that when practicing martial arts at certain points my face has the intensity of a temple demon that is, shall we say, a little disturbing for the person on the other end, but in the middle of whatever is going on there is simple focus and no emotion per se, just raw action – there is no emotion, just the activity.

     An idea I’m exploring at the moment is that ‘thoughts’ are actually slightly rarefied expressions in the same way that emotions seem to function. All are expressions of energy and that expression can be in harmony with flow or against it (depending on one’s direction of travel), they are not good or bad, but playing with the energies of the vices and base passions carries inherent risks because of the danger of the personality becoming intoxicated and drunk on its own supply and locked into a spiral that, in Fortunes metaphor would be equivalent to sailing with ring chaos.
     Of course on the other side of things, the so-called virtues carry their own dangers for the Personality that is not paying attention.

260. Hi Curt,

     Very funny, yes. And who was that Nixon bloke again?

     Hey, I was in nappies in those heady days. However, since you brought up the subject, I do recall going to the cinema in 1991 as a young adult careless of the soon-to-be economic ructions, to watch ‘Star Trek VI’, which was certainly the original crews finest cinematic effort. Here, we may disagree, but whatever. Within the film, Spock can be heard quoting the famous old Vulcan proverb: “Only Nixon could go to China” I now rest my case, and retire from the field with full honours and some glory, maybe! 🙂 But admittedly, your humour was good.

     You know, 2015 is a very abstract point in the road. People are people, and we’d easily recognise the motivations and desires of another human from say equally randomly, 15,000 years ago. And well, it was known then, and known now, that on a cold night a girl can get kind of lonely and be in need of some comforting… It’s not lost on me that many of us have Neanderthal genes, some more than others. I’d like to think I’d make a good caveman, yeah. 😉

     My, but we’ve massively digressed here. OK, so I can’t vouch for others for obvious reasons, but I’d never pull your ears for seeking such abstract and arms length relationships. Although, like an Elf or Faery of yore, please expect your nose to be tweaked on the basis that you had it coming for even considering such a dark path! 😉

     Cheers

     Chris

261. I am wondering whether the Venezuela of this world will be the Tanzania of a book by our esteemed host….

262. Hi John Michael,

     Oooo, mate, you remarked to me years ago that all a person need but do is ‘try’, and reading your first sentence makes me feel a little bit emotional, like in a happy and sad way all at the same time. It’s complicated, but nobody said life was meant to be easy. Sara was a lovely person, and one who helped me remotely in a tight spot and to which I’m eternally grateful. I can almost feel that she’d only want for your happiness. So, well done you for putting yourself out there. Respect.

     Far out, this empath thing is a bucket of dog poop, and probably due to something very bad I’ve done in a past life. True justice is probably not all that pleasant if you ask me… And I will point out that the weird little German bloke with the funny moustache who created so much mischief in the mid 20th century was one as well.

     Sorry, again I digress, it’s such a bad habit. So I had a chance to read all of the dating advice you’ve received this week, and what stood out to me the most was Heloise’s call to simply being genuine and yourself, for all the reasons mentioned. Respect to the commenter. Of course you’ll have to compromise and adapt, but I ask you, isn’t that part, nay a requirement, of the larger journey? Try being an empath for a day, or two, and your brain would possibly explode, like in that sci-fi film ‘Scanners’ from the 1980’s. Lot’s of gore, but a fun film all the same. Again, apologies for the digressions, but isn’t that what the ‘Open Post’ is all about? We get to adventure to far places all whilst at the comfort of our keyboards, and do please watch out for those scanners folks, they do seem like bad news. 🙂

     Cheers

     Chris

263. JMG,

     I have a question about spiritual beings that may be driving languages, I am curious if you know anything about that. I will illusidate.

     During the week I have been meditating over the biblical story of the tower of babel. After my reading session this morning, I came up with the interpertation god sent angels to modify everyone’s language and degrade it.

     This seems to be ongoing. Latin is famously a lot more grammaticaly complex than the romance languages that preceeded it, and languages tend of lose sounds or merge two phonems into one.

     So, do you think this is entierly a human process, or could unseen beings, angels or otherwise, be driving human languages into degredation?

     In the past there were substrntial efforts to resist this process. On India for example, the field of linguistics and phobology was developed from religous scholars studying student mistakes when reciting the vedas, but I read somewhere sanscrit still had some modifications.

     So, langueges allways change as human cultures change and divert, but what drives the process where langueges lose their sophistication? Complex grammar, even when useful, gets simpler, and phonems merge or stop being used.

264. Tyler A #224:

     I personally really like OpenBSD but their filesystem is so atrocious I can’t recommend it to anyone in good faith, at least for systems without a UPS (though it’s great for servers!). I used to have it run on a Raspberry Pi but it locked up after a couple of weeks. I had to unplug the power and some system files got lost—gods know how as I don’t recall doing anything that would touch those files during those weeks. I couldn’t figure out just what I’d lost, so now the Pi is happily running FreeBSD and my files are safe in ZFS’s hands.

     It’s a shame because nothing is quite as both convenient and simple as OpenBSD’s built-in httpd, relayd (reverse proxy), and smtpd.

     Patricia Ormsby #233:

     For what it’s worth, these things can just decide that they don’t like a particular site for essentially arbitrary reasons. It’s certainly worth looking into, though.

     —David P.

265. @erika

     I’ve been called many things but vapid is a new one. TBH, I’m genuinely puzzled and amused more than insulted. I have little idea what you’re going on about. Something about how you don’t quite approve of me? Sure, take a number, there’s a waiting room over there with a pot of stale mediocre coffee festering in the corner. Is that snarky enough?

     Or maybe it’s time to invoke the meme of the day – “It do be like that, Ms Lopez”

266. >Mafiosi still understand human relationships — corporate flacks don’t

     They probably don’t have to make quarterly numbers either. So they can take a longer term view of things. Probably aren’t that number-driven to begin with, more about how things feel than how they compute. And that would tend to make them view their customers as customers and not cattle.

     Rational numbers have their place but they’ve been overused. I’d like to see p-adic numbers overused myself. I mean, if you’re really going to go nuts over numbers, really really REALLY go nuts, I say.

     1 +2+3+4+5+… = -1/12

267. Christophe and JMG

     To clarify where I said “The idea of hatred has always struck me as a sort of animal passion, whereas the recognition of disharmony/imbalance and action in response to that do not have to be driven by low level emotions.”

     And Christophe: “That blocking, rejecting, etc. gets birthed from disgust, disapproval, hatred, etc.”

     And JMG: “Note, though, that she’s not hating the evilly evil — she’s hating their hate, which is not at all the same thing.”

     It is perhaps just the limitation of words in conjunction with varying methods of viewpoint and approach. In the system I use at the moment the trick is to note/catch the onset of emotion – not in a paranoid fashion but that part of one’s awareness should be aware of what is going on ‘inside’. The emotion is just energy and a decision needs to be made how to ‘use’ that energy. The base emotions are excellent sources of generating action, by accepting the emotion and than making a choice of how to ‘spin’ it up into something useful while remaining in harmony and flow.

     So to hate seeing cruelty to an animal or human is a particular vibration, the ‘hate’ is indicative that something is ‘wrong’ in relation to my flow at that time. The hate is raw energy, but to make it more manageable hate and fear (‘vices’ = ring chaos reflections) etc are ‘filtered’ to come into dynamic balance with the ‘virtues’, this takes one ‘outside’ of raw emotions but with the raw power being directed by conscious thought and choice rather than the raw energy running ‘within’ emotions where one of the principal problems with, for example, fear, is that the sheer power/energy is such that it can short-circuit higher level processes so that rational thought goes out the window. A process that we might have seen with the psychological manipulations seen 2020 onwards.

     Superficially it can seem unemotional because of operating from beyond emotion, but that is not correct, the emotions are all there, it’s just a question of how to work with them – martial techniques that have my face looking fierce may have been initially prompted by fear [of getting hit] but action is applied from a different level – the emotions are not left to run but provide initial stimulus that is amped up to a different order. Finding the spot between deer in headlights fear and the paralysis of bliss.

     Basically, there are choices and different levels that can be worked individually or collectively/simultaneously, so response to a physical attack has certain requirements and possibilities whilst with a non-physical attack the emphasis might well be at different levels than physical. In the end it all seems like a matter of energy and choice.

268. re: alpha/beta/omega

     I’d say alpha is any man who has an 8-10 rating. The beta category is 5.1-7.9, with the majority of betas being solidly in the middle of that range. Those are the ones who simp and paypig. 5-and-under is omega category. And then there’s another category you didn’t mention at all – sigma. That exists outside the framework altogether. √-1 rating

269. Dear John and Commentariat:
     Any advice for a meditator who suffers from back pain? I deal with back pain frequently in daily life due to scholiosis and it often creeps into my meditation sessions, making it hard to exceed 15 minutes of meditation. Any and all suggestions welcomed, even if it is just to ‘suck it up and deal with it.’

270. @Erika, thank you for the love!

     @Jeff R, Jeff to Jeff, I posted this today for thoughts on the fairer sex. Hope you can appreciate it.

     https://www.patreon.com/posts/figure-eight-142025285

271. Hi Jeff,
     Something I noticed in the last “thank you” comment you made is that you teach. If I recall correctly, you teach in higher ed. I suspect that the young women who are your students are too young, but you meet a lot of them. Have you considered teaching a night class at the local community college? I would guess you would meet older women, many of them single and divorced who are trying to better their situation. There may be other adult education situations that would put you in contact with older, single women. Of course, dating “students” is a pit fall for teachers, but perhaps there is a way around that.

     Another idea that came to me is your wardrobe. No doubt, as suiting your profession, it is on the conservative side, but you don’t have to dress like “Keep Austin Weird”, just wear something that attracts interest as a conversation starter. I would think it could be a very interesting jacket, hat or perhaps a pin. It could be something you have made. Naturally it can’t be too weird and it needs to be something you are comfortable wearing and that others might find interesting and want to ask you about it. For example, I have a felted wool, bowl shaped hat that I wear in the winter. A friend crocheted and felted it and I decorated it with a fancy, couched cord and a heart shaped pin. The couching is such that it looks like a brain (so maybe that is too weird) but it is wool and very warm and in the winter I get many positive comments on it. Comments like this can be fruitful conversations starters. Perhaps your girls can help you with suitable wardrobe choices.

     Just a couple of ideas that may or may not be helpful. I wish you all the luck possible in your quest.

272. “Earthworm, thanks for this. I’ve forwarded it to my internet person.”
     The message is still in my inbox, if your internet bod wants a copy of the email headers let me know.

273. JMG,

     Fantastic.

     It’s hard to avoid the rip tide of “high consumption with high sustainment costs” without giving your mind a narrative that says “No, you actually do not need that much”.

274. Thank you JMG,

     Have you heard of spiritual sources or other sources that have ‘reliable’ information on what kind of aliens are out there in the universe ?

275. Somehow the picture seems appropriate for our times.

     https://www.yoursourceone.com/columbia_basin/elected-official-calls-for-stupid-motorist-law-to-curb-bridge-strikes-after-cle-elum-incident/article_6c15feb4-ffd9-4108-81fd-22cc7ce54099.html

     The bottom of a beam like that is under tension. Tension loads in concrete structures are carried by the rebars. Those same rebars that are dangling in the wind. Time for a new bridge.

     The hard cider came out just fine. 😊

276. >As for the “I’m perfect and deserve everything I want” mentality, that’s something I plan on discussing in an upcoming post, as it casts a useful light on some of the riddles of our time. More on this later.

     “What do you bring to the table?”
     “I AM THE TABLE”

     A certain kind of girl can get away with that – for a number of years. At some point, the beauty fades but the entitlement is forever. And then right after asserting the table, “Hey, where are you going? You can’t handle me can you?” Followed by “Where have all the good men gone”

277. This week in “scientists catch up to occultists”: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a68232178/brain-creates-reality-illusion/

     Has anyone else had the experience of getting whole-body goosebumps by simply thinking the name of a certain god? No emotions attached, only the physical reaction of every hair standing up on your body, and only connected to one specific deity. No other kind of communication, if this is, in fact, some sort of communication. Opinions appreciated.

278. Hi JMG,

     I know you are a big fan of Davy and I tried reading it a couple of years ago. It just wasn’t my cup of tea, so I set it aside. I will have to give the Hall of Homeless Gods a try. Star’s Reach was terrific, and I also enjoyed your Winter’s Tales a lot. One symptom of following this blog is that many works of post collapse fiction are rendered unreadable because the future setting is so badly imagined with regards to energy and complexity.

     Joy Marie,

     Thanks for the bird hybrid article. I had never heard of a Green Jay either! As a side note to the druids out there, I just learned recently about the close relationship between jays and oak trees. It turns out that jays are one of the main vectors for spreading oak acorns and the two species have evolved together for quite some time.

     When I lived in Chicago there were feral tropical parrots who survived the winter by building huge colony nests on telephone poles. If you haven’t lived through a Chicago winter it is hard to appreciate. The lake effect snow and wind make it worse than parts of Alaska in my opinion. The colony nests were the size of a small car and drove the utility companies crazy.

279. Mr. Greer, do you think the llm bubble will be big enough to crash the whole system? Or is this more like a standard crash than 2008… or even 1929?

280. @Chris at Fernglade

     hehe 🙂 I recognize a lot that is written about here from many other commenters, from first-hand, second h and and other perspectives. It is interesting to me, that it all unfolds now and here on this forum like this.
     Yes 2015 is abstract as a landmark, more so than 2020 maybe. But roughly, a tipping point of things going digital and other things, I’d say.

     Ayn Rand glorified a criminal who abducted a twelve year old girl for ransom and killed her. It’s a bit of a meme on the internet that ruthless and sometimes psychopathic killers get a lot of attention from women in prison, disproportional to their behaviour.

     Interesting phenomenon; David Bell and Richard Ramirez. Maybe unfair to think all women were like that. Sometimes I wonder, is it that many of us secretly idealize anarchic violence because the complex society around us feels so oppressive.

     The pathological behaviour we see in our days in the West certainly has centers. It’s more urban and middle class than rural or working class, although a working class woman I know who would be considered “right wing esoteric” by the mainstream nowadays also always let herself be supported by men she then criticizes and condemns, all the while thinking a men with rare qualities is waiting for her, all the while not offering anything nice, now at 51 years old.

     These types exist. While the 63 year old Hippie (considered the same in todays lingo) is clearly sexually frustrated and equally likes to terrorize his immedeate social environment.

     I mention this because these two aren’t woke, they don’t know each other either, I knew them but don’t want to know them anymore, tragic because they had very good skills and sides to them as well.

     I find many of these counter cultural esoterics on youtube horrible as well. Cult of progress all over of course also.

     Seems to be a bit of a general pathology in our Western societies there, transcending boundaries of politics and class somewhat? A good case could be made for increased loneliness and competitiveness in our societies.

     There aren’t easy answers I think, neither do I have any special answers for anyone here, but I can see many difficulties do repeat.

281. I highly recomment author Stephen T Chang. Internal Exercises – a book accessible for anyone. Great health advice. General and rather simple exercises to energize, strengthen the nerves, strengthen each organ, focus sexual energy.
     A lot of good general advice.

     Also his book “Tao of Sexology” but I haven’t read that one yet.

     Consciously focussing sexual energy and make good use of it is, I think, very useful especially for many of us men here.

     Both in sexual realtionship, but also for the lonely dudes.

282. @Chris at Fernglade

     *Levi Bell is that still alive horrendous person with a lot of female attention in prison for his valiant deed of ambushing and killing random women. A real hotrod apparently.

283. Shortly after the EU announced to ban russian oil imports, the refineries of Hungary, Solvakia and Romania started burning. All the while these countries antagonize Brussels and London with increasing openness, partly also Poland.

     Political hysteria becomes extreme and a climate of fear spreads further. Many woke women in their late thirties and forties, whom I meet socially, start to become concerned with the transgender agenda.

     Also, they have economic sorrow. Quite a few of them rage at the Trump government for slashing USAID and antagonizing Bill Gates – because their jobs depend on such organizations. Apparently , times aren’t good there.

284. Other Owen, I am genuinely curious here. What is all this alpha/beta etc. stuff? Does this kind of categorization actually tell you anything useful about another person? It seems shallow and simplistic to me. What am I missing?

     I do observe that chaste women whom I have known, whether consecrated religious, faithful spouses, or spinsters are usually formidable people.

     bakbook @ 263, you surely meant to type Romance languages succeeded Latin. I think languages do what their users need them to do. English, in the fast disappearing formal version, is very much a written language. Latin has come down to us in manuscripts; nevertheless I think we should think of it as a mostly spoken language. Some verb tenses are distinguished one from the other only by different vowels. So, pronunciation was clearly extremely important. Remember that public business was mostly carried out orally.

285. Tanya Luhrmann has just published a new book which I think marks a real advance in understanding spiritual experiences. See this news article from the BBC:

     https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250902-the-places-where-hearing-voices-is-seen-as-a-good-thing

     She began her career as an anthropologist, but by now has come to combine her anthropology with aspects of cognitive science, and has been working for more than a decade now on how various cultures and sub-cultures deal — productively or not, as the case may be — with the world-wide phenomena of spiritual experiences. Our own Modern Western culture tends toward stigmatizing and dismissing these experiences as the result of mental illness, but most other peoples regard them as significant and useful experiences, and deploy them productively within their own cultures.

     Personal note: My wife and I had a long conversation with Luhrmann over a slow meal in Rhode Island back in the 1990s, not long after she had published her ground-breaking Persuasions of the Witches’ Craft. It became clear to me that she had decided — rightly, I think — to present herself to the world as a secular, materialistic academic, for the sake of her academic career, but that privately she was far more open to the likelihood that such experiences were every bit as real as experiences of the material world. (This can still be a huge issue in academia. Please treat this note of mine as confidential information.) I mention this so that any readers of this blog who might pick up her recent books will not be put off by her cloak of materialistic and scientific analysis. Read between her lines, please.

286. PS I have just put a PDF of the Luhrmann’s article on archive.org for those interested.

287. Bakbook 263,

     Your narrative of progressive and inevitable linguistic degradation sounds a bit like a reverse progress narrative, continuous and uninterrupted. Have you considered the possibility that language is a chicken and egg phenomenon, a living interaction. The times themselves have qualities that influence both culture and language, and the times change. Otherwise we’d all speak a language as phonemically simple as Hawaiian, with among the least sound units of known languages. Or that would be the teleology or direction. Need drives language, just as language affects needs and understanding. It’s impossible in my view to find a simple cause and effect understanding of how languages change (I’m not sure they evolve in the Darwinian sense), much less how they affect culture. Can any of us can stand outside language and observe it dispassionately? I don’t think so, which makes the study of linguistics an art and inevitably not a quantitative science.

288. The good news is that Zorin OS 18 had 100,000 downloads in two days from people looking to see if they can abandon Windows. Here is a tutorial for anyone interested in trying it.

     https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nplI2lvKu94&pp=ygUaRXhwbGFpbmluZyBjb21wdXRlcnMgem9yaW4%3D

     The bad news, although totally expected,
     https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2025/new-ebu-research-ai-assistants-news-content

     “45% of all AI answers had at least one significant issue.
     31% of responses showed serious sourcing problems – missing, misleading, or incorrect attributions.
     20% contained major accuracy issues, including hallucinated details and outdated information.
     Gemini performed worst with significant issues in 76% of responses, more than double the other assistants, largely due to its poor sourcing performance.”

289. I have long suspected that our clueless elites would attempt one more resource grabbing invasion in South Ameria. For some reason, I thought the hapless target might be Ecuador. I guess Venezuela is easier to access. I can understand the Western Hemisphere defense strategy, but maybe someone can explain why an invasion is necessary? War is easier and more fun than boring old diplomacy? War makes better TV? Can someone here possibly explain why the presence of a non-Communist elected leftist president in a foreign country is a standing insult to Americans? Apologies for hurting feelingses here, but I think Americans, all of us, from the Europeanist left to the poke nose, conformist right need to learn to mind our own business. In personal and public matters.

     I remind folks that the Iranians still resent the coup against an elected president in the early 1950s, and that was a British operation in which Kermit Roosevelt and the CIA were useful idiots. Naturally, our special friends were happy to let us take all the blame.

     The Caribbean and its littoral ought to be a wealthy place. Think of all the tropical products which can be grown there. Is it a deliberate policy of North American govts. to keep Caribbeans poor?

290. Virtues and vices: Aristotle said the middle way between then was the sweet spot. And IIRC, Buddha preached “the middle way” as well. Strikes me as sound advice. That, and “Don’t worry about tomorrow; deal with the troubles you have today,” from the wandering rabbi from Galilee.

     Two nights ago at the dinner table, the one resident* given to griping about everything at great length broke what Id considered to be a dinner table taboo and added “Trump” to her list of grievances.” Which got a chorus of “I didn’t vote for him,” and me,sitting silently as if either deaf (true) or tuning her out (also true,) and applying myself to the dinner. But if asked, I’d simply say “I was raised not to talk politics or religion at dinner. But, yes, this country’s in a mess and has been for years.”

     *Being with her at dinner is like breathing sulfuric acid, but since I always as for “family table” unless ‘m worn out and need to eat alone, I try very hard to tune her out. For what it’s worth, she’s 90.

291. JMG,

     Back in June of 2023, with the discussion on Chapter 2 of Ritual of High Magic, we talked about Equilibrium. I had asked if higher beings had to follow the Law of Equilibrium and you said that even they have to pull back the swing a ways in order to give it a good hard push the other direction.

     I’ve been watching our political system since that time and I would say that the pendulum that had been swinging so far in the other direction was a key ingredient for those who were praying for the success of the current administration.

292. @Corax @JMG

     There’s a conspiracy theory that I think I first heard in the 90s and still occasionally see floating around leftish social media, that Gloria Steinem got her start as a CIA plant tasked with steering second wave feminism away from its radical potential, toward the kinds of changes that accorded with the priorities of the corporate Establishment. Hippie-ism, with its advocacy of a love-based society in which men as well as women prioritized personal relationships over work and careers, was regarded by business leaders as a threat comparable to (when it wasn’t conflated with) Marxism. Getting dissatisfied women to choose the capitalist rather than the collectivist path would have been a top priority for them.

     Those of us from dysfunctional families were not hard to convince. I loved corporate dronehood. Nobody ever screamed at me. There wasn’t the constant miasma of fear, the sense of needing to walk on eggs to avoid sending the person in charge into an emotional freakout. With pay high enough (and rents low enough) to afford my own apartment, I felt gloriously safe. In a big city where my fellow weirdos were numerous enough to form an entire social life, and where my skills were marketable enough that I could just change jobs if things got ugly at work, I thought mainstream feminism was great. Collectivism, on the other hand, had the problem that it included everybody and called for a whole lot of acceptance. Capitalism offered me the freedom to exclude, to never deal with anybody difficult or help anybody who couldn’t reciprocate, except through my tax dollars, which seemed more than fair. I’d given up on the nuclear family when I was about 11. Being a loving wife to a husband whom I fully expected to be, if not actually abusive, then at least unconcerned with my wants and needs, and whom I was stuck with for life, yeah, no, I was not going there.

293. I just got back from a trip to Fujian, China.

     I think honestly in most Chinese cities, the standard of living for the. middle class is equal to or even surpasses that found in much of the West.

     Of course, the middle class is not evenly distributed, a huge number of people even in the cities work for low wages, and the vast countryside still has many people living in poverty, but even then to give an example, my wife’s extended relatives were rice farmers eking out a living in the mountains 30+ years ago. Today they’ve built multi-storey quasi-MacMansions for each branch of the family still there. They drive electric cars (electric cars are more common than petrol cars in the cities now), they send their grandchildren to universities overseas. This is just an ordinary peasant family.

     The cities I visited were all Tier 2 or 3 cities (Fuzhou, Putian, Xiamen). Supermarkets have a much better selection of fresh food than I can find here in Singapore. Live seafood is quite common including king crab, different kinds of fish, eels, prawns and more. One of my wife relatives said that as exports have reduced, the prices of goods produced internally has also dropped so they are available to more people at lower prices. One of Michael Pettis’ old points about Chinese domestic consumption being suppressed is at the very least getting reversed if it hasn’t already.

     Can all this last? In the long term, of course not, but for the time being, China isn’t really doing that badly, comparatively speaking.

     Just before I started writing this, I scrolled through my Twitter feed and found this: https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1982050033022410901

     Basically the Rand Institute, a think-tank funded by the military-industrial complex, just released a report calling for a less adversarial relationship with China, recognizing that absolute victory over China is impossible. Trump is due to meet Xi Jinping very soon. Time will tell whether his administration follows this advice, seeing as Hegseth and others seem pretty hawkish on China at this point.

294. Hey Erika,

     I actually didn’t mean to be snarky to you. I actually thought maybe you had your finger on the pulse of something I was missing and was wondering where it was coming from. I’m always curious about what cultural memes start getting circulated in the more interesting corners of the internet. Re-reading what I said it probably seemed like I was saying you were cringe. But what I was actually trying to say was that you were using the terms in a new way that didn’t seem cringe, and I’ve seen more people doing that elsewhere, so what’s up with the alpha/beta revival? What’s going on? I thought maybe I was out of the loop. Sounds like maybe I also missed some stuff in last weeks comments on the topic and maybe stuck my foot in it. I can sometimes convey ideas well in writing, but maybe not intent/affect. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings (and I actually mean that, that’s not a line of snark).

295. @NephiteNeophyte,
     I have no idea if this would have any impact on scoliosis-related back pain, and it may be totally irrelevant to you, but it did help me with low back pain that turned out to be sleeping position related rather than fibromyalgia. Sleeping on my side, with a pillow between my knees, instead of more or less on my stomach with my head to one side. Made the vast majority of my low back pain in late night/morning go away. I think it has also helped a bit with with shoulder and neck, but a lot. Still, every bit helps, and I’m very happy to be spending somewhat less time awake in pain at night, and using a bit less painkillers.

296. Possibly I shouldn’t comment on marriage since I’ve never been married but…

     I can’t help but notice a lot of married couples are trying to do three jobs with two people. Two full-time paid positions, plus all the housework and childcare which is to my mind equal to another job if there are children. This means the adults are going to be overworked, and likely stressed out.

     In such situations, arguments are bound to break out, especially if one party is trying to do a full-time job and most of the household work as well, or if one party is trying to do more than one jobs worth while coping with ill health.

297. Data: Why Trump is bailing out Argentina, according to the Politico website.Answer: Because Argentina’s new President has taken a hatchet to their long-standing dysfunctional economy, and has told their citizens “Our economy is in a mess and we all need to face up to it and bite the bullet. And has slashed a lot of programs and offices etc already.

     \\https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/10/24/argentina-deserves-its-bailout-00620337

298. For whatever it may be worth, speaking as a man, BoysMom’s post (#257) strikes me as pure gold!

     Allowing for exceptions, male and female brains and nervous systems really do seem (to me, at least) to be wired differently in very many ways, and BoysMom has described many of them quite well. My wife (a Primatologist) and I often say that men and women really do seem to be two different species who just happen to be able to interbreed.

     I am definitely one of the outlier men. Most women make far more sense to me as human beings than almost all men ever do, and what women talk about often interests me far more than what men usually talk about — when they talk with one another at all deeply.

     My wife and I have been married for 58 years now, and it has been a delightful and fun marriage for both of us all those many years. I met her at college (UC Berkeley) about one month before I graduated. (She was a sophomore while I was a senior.) A mutual acquaintance told me that she and I were both so weird that he wanted us to meet, so I cooked a meal for four (steamed artichokes, pan-seared steaks seasoned with basil and tarragon, and strawberry shortcake for desert) on a two-burner hotplate set up out on the back porch outside the basement room I was renting.

     I already had made vague plans for my future, which did not include getting married for quite a while. Also, I already had a fellowship for graduate school in New York. But within 24 hours I knew that I would never again meet a woman who suited me half as well as she did, so I tossed my plans in the trash and set out to court her. Her junior year was spent abroad in Spain, so almost all of our first year’s courtship was done by letters, as were most of the next two years (since I was in New York and she was in Berkeley). But our two families lived only a couple of miles apart in Los Altos, so we could see one another in person over the summers and during winter break. We got married in a very low-key ceremony in May of 1967, only three months before we moved to Rhode Island, where I had been recruited for a position on the faculty of Brown University (at a starveling salary). And the rest, as one says, was history.

     And my initial hunch turned out to be right. In all my 83 years I never have met another woman who might have suited me half so well as she has.

299. My take on the death of liberalism (in the broader sense; meaning including both liberalism and conservatism in the American sense) is that prosperity killed it. Specifically, the second generation of mass prosperity. Once there was a critical mass of young folks who were not satisfied with job+house+car+etc., there was a fork in the road. One fork led to a shift into emphasis on inner, spiritual development. The other fork led to emphasizing a nicer house + fancier car + more etc. A minority tried to take the fork of inner development (and some succeeded) but the other fork has been overwhelmingly dominant. Running a society based on convincing enough people that luxuries are necessities broke the moral backbone of society.

300. From last week: “Jessica, that’s easy enough. I know several Sarumans and many more Sarumanlets —”

     Proudfoots or Proudfeet. Sarumans or Sarumen. Sarumanlets or Saruwomen?

301. Well this is a bundle of optimism given what happened in 1914 and 1939.

     “We are at the maximum point of not knowing what actions will be taken and what effects they will have because the new leadership in the US has only been in power for a few weeks and President Trump seems to be more inclined to do previously unimaginable things than any president in the last 80 years—and perhaps any president ever.

     “By my measures, the current configuration of conditions is most analogous with those that existed in 1905-14 and 1933-38 and many prior times in many countries throughout history, which, as just noted, is what I call Stage 5 of the Big Cycle. During Stage 5, countries are overindebted, inefficiently run, divided, and threatened by other countries, so there is a strong tendency for leaders with populist, nationalistic, protectionist, militaristic, and autocratic approaches to emerge.”

     “This is where all of the major powers now are—i.e., they are overindebted, inefficiently run, and divided—and it is this configuration of conditions that is increasingly leading to the emergence of more nationalistic, protectionist, militaristic, and autocratic leaders and policies.”

     https://www.mauldineconomics.com/frontlinethoughts/debt-cycles-eastern-style

     Keep in mind that Trump just sent a bird farm to the Venezuelan coast leaving the Democrats in the awkward position of being in favor of foreign aggression or being in favor of drug runners. And that ‘or’ is actually an ‘exclusive or’, choose one or the other, not both. English has a vague spot there. In formal logic the two conditions are OR or XOR.

302. Jeff:

     This is a bit niche. Well very niche tbh, but I was startled to find that my new career as a bookbinder and associated crafts is largely female coded. I took a general course recently and of the 11 people attending there was only one other guy. He was taking a professional qualification and sat in a corner doing his own very complicated thing.

     It seems to me that if you are looking some feminine company, being in a place where there are a lot of women is a basic starting point. Also, having a subject to actually discuss which in this case was the general recalcitrance of paper, leather, glue etc. might really help. I’m an old married man and not looking for anyone but I do have ten new good friends. All of whom can sew better than me.

     On a related note, as part of my practice I created some software that generates diaries for any year as a pdf. Print it out, fold it up if you want to and there’s your year. It allows custom events so if you want to add public holidays, Samhain, special saint days and so on they get added as appropriate. I’m giving away the PDFs so if anyone here is interested drop a line to andy dot dwelly at manifold dot ink and I can’t make one for you. I’m rather happy to have snagged a dot ink domain but it does look a bit odd in an email address.

303. Betamax was the alpha of the VCR.

304. David Ritz # 272:

     Trump idea may to seem funny or absurd, but monuments until the arrival of (post)modern architecture were made imitating Greek and Roman models. By the way, I don’t have to like every Trumpian idea…
     —————————
     Mary Bennet #290:

     I suspect the event of invading another country is an act of showing power, which includes its self Spectacle of dominion. I think it’s related with the act of killing, which also shows power (the power of killing one or one thousand…).

305. @Atahai I had precisely the same thing the other day!

     I was out on the farm doing tasks and just cycling through different Gods to see if any were out here on the plains of Southern Australia, and when thought of/said Odin I got the chills down the spine, the goosebumps, the wind picked up and a (Australian) Raven called. Passarines are thought to have originated here in Aus so maybe there is a deep connection there.

306. >What is all this alpha/beta etc. stuff? Does this kind of categorization actually tell you anything useful about another person? It seems shallow and simplistic to me. What am I missing?

     It is. I’m just describing the dating market as it exists in 2025 and what’s required to play in it from a man’s POV. I’m NOT saying anything about whether it’s a good system, whether it is fair, whether most of the participants get much out of it, whether it should be fixed, whether it can be fixed, etc. That, is an entirely different post that would probably rival the length of one of Erika’s. I think about all I can say in short form is that it is a market so broken, it makes the stock market look functional. And that, is a broken market.

     TBH, most of the women playing in the dating market aren’t having much fun either (search for “situationship” and start reading), even the 8-10 on the woman side of things aren’t having as much fun as they could (mainly due to the massive competition from the lower tiers). The only group that seems to be winning is the 8-10 male group. They play all the women off on each other, if you’re in that group, all the dating market is competing for your favor. Again, I’m describing, not saying anything about whether this is a good thing or not.

307. JMG: “I think hate gets a bad rap these days; it’s a normal, healthy human emotion that we all feel, and repressing it doesn’t work any more than repressing any other emotion.”

     Given the many current abuses of the English language, “hate” and “phobia” are among the casualties. Much of what gets labelled this way is actually disapproval or distaste. The clinical phobias are listed in the DSM. Spiders don’t tend to benefit from the term “arachnophobia.” It’s a clinical phobia. The other phobias, the ones not in the DSM, need a name: I call them rhetorical phobias, because they serve somebody or other’s agenda. Orwell called the abuse of our language “newspeak,” and he devotes the appendix to “1984” to describing it. The appendix is worth reading, even if you can’t stand the novel.

308. For all my adult life, I’ve held that my own dating and marriage experience is too unique to be useful for anyone else, especially for older people in the changed world of forty years later. Now I’m rethinking that assumption, on the occasion of officially becoming a “senior”, and this post is a birthday present I’m giving myself but offering to anyone else who can find something in it.

     One of the two main turning points in my life is when my future wife said to me: “What I want is to walk through a door and be in another world.” We were members of a newly formed SF writers workshop, talking about fantasy gaming at the time. Specifically, why she found the elaborate tabletop role playing systems I was describing (that I’d been designing and playing for many years) interesting but not very appealing. That led to years of recreational LARP design and participation, both of us building many friendships with like-minded participants and eventually our own relationship. It sounds like the kind of frustrating advice that’s all but impossible to follow: “Why not try inventing and popularizing a new hobby variant that appeals to creative opposite-sex single people as a way to get dates? That’s what worked for me.”

     But that’s not the only narrative of our marriage. It’s just the one that highlights the most unusual elements. Here’s the story told in a different way: caught off-guard by the weird nerdy discussion of role playing games, my wife-to-be spilled the beans, and let slip the never-told secret of What Mature Women Want. In short: Build me a world.

     What does that mean? A wide range of possibilities. But there’s no way of exploring them while being politically correct. This is one-sided advice for men, the realm of alphas and evolution, the call that (if I may say so) Erika’s James answered. Build me a world. Build a shelter. Build a house. Build a place in a community. Build a community. Build a family. Build a way of life. Build a business. Build a cause. Build a story. Build, if you must, a fortune. Build a belief.

     The world I built my wife wasn’t that first fantasy LARP setting I designed in response to her wish, or rather I should say it wasn’t just that. It was the whole scene that eventually grew from it and around it. Planning events, designing scenarios, writing characters, pitching projects, completing contracts. We joked that if we wrote our own marriage vows, we would promise one another deadlines and stress. (We were wiser than that, though. Our actual vows were traditional.)

     No one nowadays expects a boyfriend to literally build a house. (But if you can, it’s not a bad idea. If Hallmark romance movies are to be believed, nothing is sexier.) And building a family is contingent on age and resources. But build something for her and with her. That’s romance. What a woman might settle for is, a man joining her life. But from what I’ve observed, that won’t satisfy either of you for long. What a woman might instead settle for is, to transfer from her present setting or lifestyle to yours. That’s why there are so many women on social media looking for a wealthy man, some even mistaking that for romance, but that’s still settling. (At some level they know that, which tends to make them all the more demanding out of frustration). Settling isn’t romance. Nor is being inducted into your gang or becoming your next disciple. Romance is, build me a world.

     Here’s why I’m saying this here and now. The good news. I’ve been reading every comment for years. Everyone who posts here is in, or is capable of achieving, a good position to grant that wish for someone. You know or are learning how to perceive, how to escape false limitations on choices, how to build new narratives, how to clarify your thoughts about your own and others’ wants and needs, and how possibilities and expectations are changing with the times. You know, above all, how to pay attention.

     That’s it… except while I was composing this, Erika, you posted #152, in which you say… For Love, we must build a world.

     Coincidence? We all know better.

     Erika, you’re not the slow one. Forty years I’ve lived happily and comfortably by build me a world and yet I’m only catching up to what you’ve been saying all along. I think you got there going the other direction: I started with building worlds (fantasy and real) and learned love, you started with love and learned from it the importance of building worlds. You want us to accept the mantle of “alphas” because that’s what alpha means to you. At least, that’s as close to alpha as I ever will be or want to be. Build us a world and Love.

     Walt Freitag

309. I sometimes watch clips from Timcast and saw one today that brought up meme magic. They were discussing whether Trump could serve a third term, of all things, when at about the 8:55 mark the following comment was made. (Rough transcript, not word for word.)
     Are you familiar with the phrase “meme magic”? We say it as a joke, but actually it’s kind of real, these things will themselves into existence. So Trump is sitting there and the Left is saying “No kings! We have to have a No Kings protest!” Trump’s supporters then say “You know, maybe Trump is a King!” and they put out videos of him as King. It’s all jokes and fun, until the Left thinks “We have to start fighting him like he’s a King” and the Right says “We have to defend him like he’s a King”. If he’s a King then he has the powers of a King, and before you know it, that hyperstition has taken place. You’ve moved yourself into a frame whether it’s true or not, whether you wanted it or not, everyone acted as if he were King, so therefore he is.

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTKLDYlHtMI

     “Hyperstition” is a new word to me, must mean superstition on steroids? In any case, the idea of meme magic is still bubbling in the political brew pot. As was mentioned earlier, the frog meme made it’s appearance in the No Kings protests; the clueless lefties didn’t realize they were channeling Kek. They think they are the change agent, but they are really blind to The Changer in charge.

     Joy Marie

310. Dennis, hmm! This seems reasonable, and also thought-provoking.

     Tankermottind, if you mean the kind of decolonization that Alaric the Goth inflicted on Rome, why, there I won’t argue at all. We’re at the twilight of the age of ideology and the dawn of the age of barbarian warbands, as I’ve discussed in a good many essays and books already. It’s not a bad idea to anticipate where the warbands will come from and what routes they’ll take, and live somewhere else.

     David, the book’s profoundly worthwhile; another, if you haven’t read it yet, is John Keel’s The Mothman Prophecies. I have this very much in mind right now as I’m thinking about writing a book on the interface between occultism and UFOs (and the rest of the world of bizarre phenomena from which UFO encounters are too often extracted).

     Slithy, that’s exactly the question, and I haven’t come up with an answer yet.

     Earthworm, I don’t disagree with this at all. My take, though, is that it’s never useful to try to stifle or repress hate, or any other negative emotion. Let yourself experience it, and then in meditation distance yourself from it so that you experience it as an object of consciousness rather than a condition of your subjective consciousness. The logic of Frank Herbert’s “Litany Against Fear” is profoundly relevant here. In the version I use:

     “I shall not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
     Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
     I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
     And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
     Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

     There’s a fine philosophical analysis of the Litany here:

     https://www.aeriagloris.com/ThoughtsOfDune/litanyagainstfear.htm

     Warburton, it’s a very real possibility.

     Chris, I spent years trying to be an empath, and failed miserably — I don’t have the inner sense that tells me what other people are feeling, so me trying to be an empath is a lot like a completely deaf person trying to set up in business as a piano tuner. I’ve certainly appreciated the advice, and especially Heloise’s — I’ve found the hard way that being myself is literally all I can do.

     Bakbook, that’s an intriguing hypothesis! I’m not sure I’d use the word “degradation,” though, as there’s an upside to the process — modern languages, above all English, have a vocabulary many orders of magnitude larger, more flexible, and more subtle than ancient languages. Classical Latin had about 10,000 words, total, and classical Greek had about 7,500. English, by contrast, has about a million words, 170,000 or so in current use, and each individual has a vocabulary of 20,000-30,000 words. Spanish has around 93,000 words that are accepted by the Royal Academy of Spain, and at least as many more that are in common use as regionalisms, slang, or borrowings from other languages, especially English. Chinese. has around 100,000 words in common use, and the official dictionary has 370,000. So if the angels are busy, their goal seems to be simplifying grammar and enriching vocabulary.

     Earthworm, that works very well.

     Nephite, try different positions. Some people prefer standing meditation, others prefer walking meditation, and there are a variety of odd seats and chairs that can help.

     GlassHammer, it’s a useful narrative!

     Tony, I wish I did.

     Siliconguy, I like the idea of a Stupid Motorist Law! If I may raise a controversial point, this is also a good reason why truck drivers need to be fluent in English…

     Athaia, yes, I’ve had that happen. I take it as a signal that the deity in question is interested in me, at least for that moment.

     Stephen, nope. It’ll just be an unusually big speculative wreck.

     Curt, somehow I fail to see why European women should have any kind of inalienable right to my tax dollars!

     Robert M, delighted to hear it. Her Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft was a fine participant-observer account.

     Mary, it seems monumentally stupid to me, too.

     Patricia M, nicely handled.

     Jon, it is indeed.

     Joan, as I recall, there’s actually some evidence for that theory. Still, thank you for the data points!

     Alvin, I’ve noticed the same thing. We’ll see how long they can keep it going.

     Jessica, that’s certainly plausible.

     Jessica, no, I didn’t mean “Sarumanlet” as a feminine form! That would be “Sarumaness.” There’s a fine old eighteenth century insult, “manlet,” meaning a weak, puny excuse for a man. You should be able to do the math yourself. 😉

     Siliconguy, yeah, what wonderful news. 🙁

     Phutatorius, that’s a useful coinage. Thank you.

     Walt, thanks for this!

311. Weeping Willow #305, will you still call it coincidence if I tell you that we’re talking about the same god…? And I’m not a Heathen.

312. JMG, well in that case, the interest seems to be longstanding – I had asked about a dream in which Odin claimed that I had sworn an oath of fealty to him in a former life, that was in a Magic Monday two(?) years ago, and that was when it started, and it hasn’t stopped since. I still don’t know if it’s true that you can tie yourself to a god in this way for basically all eternity. Nor do I know how to feel about it if it turns out to be true – especially this god, and in these times…

     And just because I reread my post and cringed at how self-important it reads… I want to stress that I’m basically areligious, have been all my life, and find it very hard to not fall back into the “it’s all a fantasy” mindset. I’m not anyone special who’d warrant this kind of attention. I don’t know if I believe it, I’m not sure I want it, because if it’s true, I have a feeling it’ll make my life interesting in the Chinese curse kind of way, and I’m too old for that sh…enanigans. I don’t know what to do about this.

313. Have you read Riencourt’s 1957 book The Coming Caesars, based on Spengler’s ideas, and if so, what do you think of it?

     The book starts off giving a clear summary of Spengler’s ideas, and it’s the best part of the book.

     Then it predicts the future course of history. America was better suited to be the seat of Faustian empire than Western Europe from the start, the author claims, because Americans are less hidebound in their ideas and more unified in thought than Europeans can be. (I don’t know whether that’s ad hoc rationalizations for America’s victory in WWII or if he’s onto something there).

     The Caesars will not seize control of the state with support from the masses. Running a global empire is not a task democratic republics are suited for because legislatures are too prone to inefficient gridlock. So the Presidents will be given more and more authority until he is effectively an autocrat, regardless of their wishes. Just like what happened in the Apollonian civilization. (He claims that Octavian wanted to restore the Republic but the state and people thrust absolute power onto him. I, a layperson, am skeptical of that and suspect his sources are imperial propaganda portraying the early emperors as humble, virtuous men).

314. If Mellon is plunking down 131 million to pay the troops during shutdown, I wonder how long before the US army is for sale to the highest bidder. Warlords come in many disguises.

315. JMG, a couple of days ago, Putin was asked to comment on the new round of European sanctions. The list of items under the sanctions included toilets. Putin joked, “Too bad they banned our toilets. They’re gonna need them.” How do you see the European situation in the near future?

316. Walt, in the grand pantheon of all time great comments here your latest must be close to the top.

317. RMS and Jeff, an interesting new work on Runes is Paul Waggener’s “Hamingja: A Runic Program of Life Reform”. The author is generally maligned (when not outright cancelled) by the mainstream, but is always worth reading or listening to, and he is constantly evolving as he ages – so don’t leave lying around if you work in a job sensitive to such things. It can be purchased from Gumroad at https://paulwaggener.gumroad.com – the paperback is sold out, but the ebook is still available. He also has a children’s book on the runes amongst other things.

318. Patricia Matthews #290,
     Well at least it won’t be long now. Something to look forward to. Tut tut my senile disinhibition is showing.

319. While we’re still on Open Post, I have a question about the later WofH books and especially “The Seal of Yueh Lao.” Asenath keeps referring to her “homespun” clothing, but there is no sign of all the things yu need for that: Looms, spinning wheels or spindles, and cotton fields or sheep for raw materials. And the elders we see in the Haven villages wear old retro clothing, but still, conventionally made.

     I was in the SCA, and have also visited the Northern New Mexico mountain town that has kept the Spanish Colonial tradition of hand-woven items – bought a few of them. And they have sheep and they have their tradition. Impoverished Americans live a little too close to the bone to indulge in handcrafts as long as factory-made items are still available. Now, home-MADE clothing, yes, that certainly would be the norm in Chorazin and Dunwich.

320. Jennifer Kobernik wrote, “Hey Erika, I actually didn’t mean to be snarky to you. I actually thought maybe you had your finger on the pulse of something I was missing and was wondering where it was coming from.”

     Your thought was right on target. Erika has been using the alpha/beta prefixes that John Michael in his October 1st post “Situationism: Laughter from the Empyrean” had delineated to distinguish two different categories of Marxists. I had tried in a comment to that post to apply his alpha/beta analysis to occultists. In his response to me, John Michael made it clear that he was using the “alpha” category to describe people who actually do and practice what they claim to be doing and practicing, regardless of whether that would be to their betterment or detriment. His “beta” category was easier to parse from the article as it clearly referred to poseurs and LARPers who claimed to be doing and practicing things that they had no interest in accomplishing, as that would take away whatever goodies they had figured out how to extract with all their studied posturing.

     That’s the alpha/beta that Erika was so delightfully riffing on by calling on us all to walk our talk. Erika’s finger is always on the pulse of something or other that the rest of us are missing, again regardless of whether that would be to her or our betterment or detriment. That’s part of what being alpha is — taking risks and breaking things, while others [read: betas] just keep trying to hedge their bets.

     Your apology is beautifully alpha, conveying exactly who you are and are committed to being. I hope Erika gets a chance to see it and to see you.

321. @Mary Bennet, maybe it’s due to their failures in Eurasia that the US elites have decided to reverse course and focus on “America’s Backyard”. Which they did in the 19th century too. If this is true then we should expect them to disengage more and more from Eurasian conflicts except as a middleman of sorts.

     ___
     Another thought on China, I wouldn’t want to live under an authoritarian state, but one big advantage they have is that Xi Jinping can take measures for the country’s long term interests that would get him voted out in a democracy.

     All over the world there is a real estate bubble building up. Many boomers have their net worth tied to their real estate, and it makes houses harder and harder to afford for the young. It is a major factor, not the only one of course, affecting the birth rate too. But at the same time governments are incentivized to make real estate prices go up to please their constituents, additionally, they want to get immigrants to replace the kids people are not having, which also boosts prices. I’ve read reports from numerous developed countries (Singapore, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, US) and it generally seems very similar with some local variations. Foreign buyers are partly responsible, but not the only cause, NZ restricted foreign buyers but still has very high housing costs relative to local income.

     Governments put in a lot of band-aid measures, but the only real way out of this is to disentangle real estate as housing from real estate as an investment vehicle. I don’t see any democracy willing to make this move as Boomers and maybe the earlier Gen X profited a lot from this and will likely not vote for anyone proposing such policies. Combined, they are the largest voting cohort in most developed countries with the most capital.

     Xi Jinping actually did: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houses_are_for_living,_not_for_speculation

     I don’t know if the specifics of Xi’s solution will work out in the long term, but I think they saw what happened if the bubble is allowed to continue in democracies like Japan and the US and decided to deflate it early and voluntarily rather than have it pop and result in “lost decades” like Japan.

322. JMG @ 309: I don’t agree that the arrival of warbands necessarily means the end of ideology entirely. Even warband members probably won’t be like cartoon villains being evil for the sake of evil or Conan quoting Genghis Khan (who wouldn’t be born for another 8000 years or so?) and exulting in power for its own sake. I think they’ll think they’re heroes avenging the humiliation of their people and punishing an evil and decadent civilization. They will have an ideology of sorts, to justify their behavior and to attract collaborators, and most likely q corrupted form of what used to be leftist ideology. But it will no longer be left per se, because it will have, with open eyes, renounced the unifying thread of all leftisms–that there is a universal Good whose pursuit can create a universal subject (“if there is no people, only peoples, there is no left.”).; It will be every bit as exclusive and chauvinistic as the worst sort of nationalism. Perhaps not the death of the left but its undeath and return as a monstrous revenant.

323. Addendum: I think you can already see this sort of venomous zombie leftism in the most extreme elements of the current online left like J. Sakai’s infamous book Settlers, the bloodthirsty Sinhalese-American-in-exile Hindu-Islamo-Buddhist doomsday cultist Indrajit Samarajiva (his blog indi.ca is a real trip, let me tell ya), and other such nihilists. Part of what drove me away from the online left was encountering people like these and realizing that no, it’s not a pose, some of them really do want to crush me and everyone like me, no matter how good an anarchist I tried to be.

324. @JMG

     If you don’t mind, what makes you confident that faith in progress has finally died, at least on the left? I have a similar sense that it is moribund, but I’m curious what markers you’d point to as evidence. For myself, I’d point to the fact that the left’s imagined futures no longer involve vastly more complex and powerful technology, nor high levels of shared economic prosperity.

     However, the flaw in my evidence is that the sect focused on moral progress seems to only now become demoralized; it put up a strong fight from 2016 – 2024 and might have won several more years of cultural dominance had the Democrats had a stronger candidate in 2024 or had its cultural commissars been more judicious and less openly sadistic.

325. Athaia wrote, “I still don’t know if it’s true that you can tie yourself to a god in this way for basically all eternity. Nor do I know how to feel about it if it turns out to be true – especially this god, and in these times… And just because I reread my post and cringed at how self-important it reads… I want to stress that I’m basically areligious, have been all my life, and find it very hard to not fall back into the ‘it’s all a fantasy’ mindset. I’m not anyone special who’d warrant this kind of attention.”

     I don’t know whether we can somehow voluntarily tie ourselves to gods for all of our incarnations, but I do know that we each have an assigned set of divinites watching over us here in the Romper Room of our coming godhood. They won’t necessarily stop us from running with scissors and killing ourselves (repeatedly, if necessary), but they do take an interest in our failures and successes. You didn’t think it was only guardian angels who popped in for visits, did you?

     Noticing the random goosebumps and other signs that a divinity is already aligned with you is probably the best clue as to who might be in your assigned pantheon. Of course, you can choose to work with other gods as well, but there will be more bang for your buck in working with the divinities in your actual pantheon.

     What you’re experiencing is not a fantasy, and we are all “special” enough to warrant this kind of attention. The gods are entertained by and enjoy tinkering with us, in the same way that we are entertained by and enjoy tinkering with ideas. Also, don’t forget that “special” has more than one meaning! We could very well be getting extra divine attention simply because we’re “especially” handicapped, and our divinities are worried that we won’t even make it onto the short bus to get to our “special”-needs Romper Room. If all the walls turn out to be padded, then we know we’re in serious trouble!

326. The “Devouring Mother = bureaucracy” hit a chord. It explains so much. The following is what making $1 feels like, not that it is actually this but just what it feels like. Seriously feels like:

     I make 100¢.
     60¢ goes to fedral govmint.
     20¢ goes to state gubermint.
     10¢ goes to local guvmint.
     I am left with 10¢. With that, I have to pay to keep myself alive.

     Why do these turkeys feel “entitled” to 90¢ on the dollar? Break it down for me. Next year it will be 91¢. The year after 92¢. I am a stooge.

     To say that I am disgusted is to put it mildly. When will it stop? Because it has to stop.

     Biatch biatch biatch, all day long.

     Mother-gubermint devours everything.

     💨🦧😑Northwind Grandma💨
     Dane County, Wisconsin, USA

327. Robert Gibson #95

     When I used to have conversations, I noted that every sentence had the word, you know, frig, in it. Substitute the two words “sexyule intercause,” and see how the sentence sounds? It sounds laughable, in fact, it is mandatory that we laugh every time we hear the f-word in a sentence. Make a point to ridicule the ridiculous. Why make mandatory an act where, in one but not all instances, a male puts his out-ie into a female’s in-ie, and the out-ie goes back and forth until a sticky gel spurts a geyser?

     “When I used to have conversations,” means I try not to have conversations anymore — too much bother. There is nothing to say that hasn’t been said billions of times before. Keeping mum has saved my life many a time; I say nuttink (nothing). Except here, where I let my gray-hair down a bit.

     💨🍆🎃Northwind Grandma💨
     Dane County, Wisconsin, USA

328. Inna # 315:

     EU bureaucrats gave Putin a too easy joke to laugh with the sanctions against toilets. Soon they won’t have more stuff to sanction and Russia keeps on its war against Ukraine. Even a very serious politician like Putin can smile with the news of sanctioned toilets. It’s so ridiculous…

329. @Athaia, now that is very very interesting that it was the same God!

     I’m not what you would describe as religious either, went to Catholic schools as a kid and baptised Anglican but no one in my family has taken it seriously or attended in a long time. Have always had a historical and cultural interest in Pagan Gods but never followed them in a serious fashion, more druidic (lonely wondered in nature spirituality wise) more than anything else I would say

     JMG what’s your thoughts of both of us getting the Odin response at a similar time at what I’m guessing is opposing sides of the globe? I would guess that perhaps our deep ethnic backgrounds could be similar.

330. David #104

     > I have tried and failed to start a simple daily religious practice. nothing felt right.

     When I started Transcendental Meditation (TM) at age 19 in the early 1970s, sitting and closing the eyes did not feel right for a couple months. After two months, my “body memory” led me to sit and close the eyes. Fifty-odd years later, I still have that same body memory. My body leads me to the seat and closes the eyes without thinking. Sitting and closing the eyes regularly (at least once a day), for me, was a god-send. I forced myself to sit and close the eyes those two months (major aggravation), and was one of the best things I ever did for my long-term well-being, little did I know — having been kicked-to-the-curb and was a babe-in-the-woods. There are literally dozens of kinds of meditation, some of which JMG touched on here. One ‘persuasion’ does not fit all.

     I would venture a similar body-memory happens with most spiritual practices. Take Hail Mary, for example. “Fruit of thy womb” creeps me out. Makes me think that Christianity values females merely as baby-machines. There are better prayers, “Dear God, thank you, sincerely yours, ____” is frowned upon, I hear.

     💨🧘🏼‍♀️🙆🏼‍♀️🪑🚶🏼‍♀️💃🏼Northwind Grandma💨
     Dane County, Wisconsin, USA

331. @Athaia

     Just to add too, I’ve been thinking and noticing the local Ash trees (they are weeds here but quite loved) a lot recently for no particular reason, but now have just thought that this is perhaps not coincidental. I also have a family of Ravens that we feed and live close to us and the vision in my right eye is quite bad and has been since adolescence about the time a started university but the other one is fine.

     All a bit strange to think about now.

332. @Athaia

     Just to add too, I’ve been thinking and noticing the local Ash trees (they are weeds here but quite loved) a lot recently for no particular reason, but now have just thought that this is perhaps not coincidental. I also have a family of Ravens that we feed and live close to us and the vision in my right eye is quite bad and has been since adolescence about the time a started university but the other one is fine.

     All a bit strange to think about now.

333. “Earthworm, I don’t disagree with this at all. My take, though, is that it’s never useful to try to stifle or repress hate, or any other negative emotion”

     Indeed, and I don’t recall suggesting that and am in agreement with you with regards to the necessity of understanding and working with the energies.
     To repress or revel in the ‘vices’ [weaknesses] will likely end as Mr Creosote; and yet the are issues with the virtues [strengths] too. Very often it seems that people forget that we are not the body and neither are we the emotions; and in the cases where thinking does take place, it can be argued that we are not our thoughts either.

     Here is an adaptation of the litany that has worked; in some ways it is a little ‘I’ heavy, but it was adapted for someone to use against serious panic attacks. It is not just litany but a guide to an excercise – a breathing and active imagination exercise that shifts from Chaos to Ideal to Stillness:

     I see the storm of emotion
     I pause and breathe
     I face the storm and remain calm
     I am within the storm but rise above it like a glowing star
     I see my body in the storm as my heart rides above and beyond the tempest
     The body is in the storm but shining consciousness is calm and clear
     The storm swirls but it cannot touch me
     I use the inner eye to watch the storm
     Love abides
     And when the storm has gone
     There is Peace
     And I remain

     I knew someone one time who insisted that any argument between her and her partner could only be ended with a shouting match in order to ‘clear’ the air; she revelled in the violent intensity and insisted she was in control of herself – that was all BS of course.

     I came to name it CMKF Style (Capuchin Monkey Kung Fu).

     If we want to develop in humanity then it seems to be a requirement to rise beyond throwing turds at one another.

334. @siliconguy

     At this point, I’m not sure where everything is headed. What I am almost 100% certain, is it isn’t going to go in the direction they want it to.

     That, and the ballgame may be in question but nobody will dispute that the stadium will be empty and the lights all off at 2am in the morning.

335. >English, by contrast, has about a million words,

     The French force-fed them a diet of a bunch of new words back in 1066. Drink! Drink! Drink! Or whatever it is in French. And they had to adapt to it. And then they began to like it. More words. MOAR.

     That was also about the time english lost its cases and genders as well. You can still see remnants of it in the pronouns but the nouns mercifully stopped declining. They probably lost it when they got those torrent of new words, I’m guessing. Something had to go.

336. Athaia said: “I reread my post and cringed at how self-important it reads…”

     Why not embrace the cringe and try to find out what it’s telling you?
     For me those moments help me see through spectacle..

     –bk

337. @ Martin # 188

     You know, Hindus also talk about periods of bad, ominous luck. My mother and grandmothers all spoke of Saturn’s Gaze, a phenomenon of sustained bad luck. A critical period in which we need to avoid risky ventures. Its probably what it is.

     @ Christophe # 164

     You know, I have been keeping internal misalignments in check for a period of time until this started. In fact, I had been racing the clock on a project at work for about a month up till this began, and I will admit that it began right after I became relaxed, right after I delivered the project.

     I think it is just what Martin spoke of – a period of ill luck – but it happened to overlap with a time of stress, anxiety, and momentary relaxation of willpower. The combined effect is quite daunting.

     @ JMG # 119

     I don’t think I have irked a magic user. The Gods perhaps, because I did slack off in the regularity of my prayers, but I cannot imagine them being hostile this way. Your other advice is helpful, though – journaling does reveal that I am in a cusp of a period. I have just jumped out of one stressful period, into another anxious period with a different kind of stress. It probably has something to do with it.

     In any case, I decided to take a three-card tarot reading, and it gave me some clarity. I think it was mostly just my own stress and anxiety borrowing shapes from my apprehensions, so it’s probably not too mystical in hindsight. And all things considered, the ominous period seems to have ended.

338. I have begun to suspect that Howard Phillip Lovecraft had Blue-Green color-blindness as well as Grapheme Color Synesthesia, and enjoyed (or suffered) the rare condition known as the Martian Color Syndrome.

     Lovecraft mentions in The Call of the Chthulhu that artists simultaneously experienced strange, similar dreams about R’lyeh. This phenomenon occurred on nights when the city was awash in the light of the green gibbous moon. Those of us who are familiar with the celestial body know that this is rare enough to be deemed a miracle. Yet, the newspapers of the Pacific cities seem concerned with the dreams of artists and their simultaneity, while no one seems to notice that the moon is green!

     By itself, this does not conclusive proof. However, in another of his works – What the Moon Brings, I believe – he talks about a Blue Moon, under whose baleful light the blue leaf of the vegetation seems wild etc. If I was surrounded by blue, wild leaves I would be far more concerned about the color than the absence of civility.

     So overall, it seems to me that Lovecraft was quite confused between the two hues. Things that are meant to be blue end up as green in his eyes, and vice versa. I think that is a case of blue-green color-blindness.

     Lastly, some people (myself included) have this condition called grapheme-color synesthesia. Our minds associate a specific color with each grapheme – ie, each letter or digit – and when we conceive the grapheme in question the idea of the color is evoked to mind. If I give in to it, any text I read literally appears in the colors of the graphemes. The color for each letter is fixed for a person with this condition – for instance, my letter A is always bright yellow – and the color varies from person to person.

     People who have both of these conditions – grapheme-color synesthesia and color-blindness – exhibit another interesting condition. I don’t, because I am not color-blind – but those who are color-blind and have grapheme-color synesthesia do experience what we call the Martian Color Syndrome. In this condition, the person is not able to perceive all colors by their eyes. However, their minds still associate colors with the letters and digits, and for some digits or letters they vividly experience the colors that their eyes can never convey to their minds. This color is known as the Martian Color.

     Lovecraft keeps talking about the color out of space, and I do believe that his inspiration may have come from the Martian Color Syndrome.

339. @Jeff Russel #6

     Hi Jeff & All,

     Regarding dating advice —

     I’m happily dating at the moment. What I would suggest is attend one or two group events consistently, i.e., every week.

     Most of the time dating advice tends to be geared towards attending ‘one-off’ events in the hope you’ll see ‘the one’ and immediately click. But that’s not really how it works a lot of the time. It’s also really not how women work.

     Women usually develop affection over a period of time. Attending a consistent event allows this to happen — and make her way more likely to date you than if you asked her out immediately in a one-off event where she hasn’t had the chance to develop this affection, and therefore says ‘no’.

     As an example, my best friend saw a guy for about a year in their weekly cultural group before she developed feelings for him and they started dating. She wrote him off at the start, but over time her affections grew and now she’s very happy in that relationship.
     I myself wrote off a guy at my church for being too young, but given we saw each other at least once a week if not more, soon enough my feelings developed and that overcame the initial rejection I would have given due to his age. I’m now very happily dating him, and in fact we had a lovely date today.

     So, in summary, I suggest to attend group events that meet every week. That worked for me!

340. JMG and others might like to read more on the latest incarnation of what JMG has called the Great Re-hash:

     https://escapekey.substack.com/p/mark-of-the-beast/comments

     One hopes as always that it collapses in a steaming, smelly heap, as did Mao’s Great Leap Forward. Sadly that one killed about 30 million in the process.

341. @Robert Mathiesen #249,
     Thanks a lot for your reply.

     I have to admit my own assessment of the situation is somewhat more worried now than it was a month ago. The deployment of the Gerald Ford carrier strike group, even if it should only be part of an elaborate show of threatening, bluster and bullying (a big if), will make it a lot harder for your government to pull out of this affair without having to show extensive gains for their effort (or what can be sold as extensive gains to the public anyway…). At least not without losing face, and to endure losing face doesn’t strike me as one of Trump’s most well-developed traits…

     Well, we shall see. I suppose a lot will depend on what China and Russia do, both in public and behind the scenes.

     You’ve only mentioned Russia in today’s comment, but then China must have at least as much of an interest in this area of the globe as the Russians. Would you also happen to have any thoughts on China’s plans, goals and strategies with regards to Venezuela and the surrounding areas, including the Panama channel?

     @Warburton Expat #261,
     I’ve also been eyeing this section of my bookshelf in recent days.

     @Mary Bennet #289,
     Not a consolation, I know, but I guess humans are always gonna human. ;-(

342. “Earthworm, that works very well.”
     Thank you.
     A correction (I over-simplified): “The emotion is just energy and a decision needs to be made how to ‘use’ that energy.”
     Would have been better put as ‘If the option is open to you, then it is a case of ‘whether to use it’, not simply ‘how to use it’.
     But that is not necessarily an option for a novice; when one begins, usually there is no choice but to do something if one wants to maintain balance and flow. With more practice, things can become more nuanced. First all the foundation work needs to be done – then one has some tools and options to work with.
     For example:
     One might do nothing and observe or do nothing and let it go, one might turn 90 degrees in renunciation, one could step out of the way or redirect or perhaps one might decide to use it… if the decision is to work with it, then the question of ‘how to use it’ becomes important.

     All this depends on the nature and intensity of the emotional energy as well as experience and current state of the practitioner – choices and potentials are multi-faceted but also limited and require discrimination, not blind adherence to a ‘one size fits all’ formula.
     But then life is a process not a steady state!

343. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg924nrgd3o

     The fishing industry is struggling in a lot of countries right now, but South Korea seems to be at the top of the list, with native fish species dying out or migrating farther out and climate change-fueled natural disasters leading to more and more deaths of fishermen. When I was a kid, I had read a book called World Without Fish, which painted a harrowing picture of a future world where overfishing and climate change led to ecosystem decay. It seems that, in South Korea and elsewhere, that unpleasant prediction is rapidly becoming a reality, leading to the impoverishment of both ecosystems and the fishermen who trawl them.

344. Athaia, so noted! That would also explain it, of course. BTW, no, your post doesn’t sound self-important — you’re not claiming any special status, just noting a connection made in a previous life. (Many of us do that with people as well as gods.) BTW, such a connection isn’t something that lasts for eternity; very likely you made a commitment and couldn’t or didn’t fulfill it, and that’s going to be part of your karma until you resolve it.

     Patrick, no, but it sounds interesting. I think he’s wrong about the US as the heart of Faustian empire — the US and Russia, rather, are two neighboring societies influenced by Faustian pseudomorphosis, which conquered the Faustian heartland in the wake of its last attempt at global empire. He’s also wrong about the Caesars — as we’re seeing right now, they do in fact have the support of the masses against the Senatorial elite, in the classic manner!

     Celadon, seems like a reasonable concern to me…

     Inna, Europe is screwed, blued, and tattooed, as we used to say when I was young. The EU leadership gambled everything on the plan of destabilizing Russia, causing an economic and political collapse, and splitting the Russian Federation into an assortment of weak successor states that could be absorbed by the EU and stripped of their resources. It was an audacious plan, and arguably not very smart, but Europe without a steady flow of unearned wealth from outside its borders will inevitably revert to what it was before 1500: an impoverished economic backwater divided by bitter rivalries and constant wars. That was what the EU leadership was trying to prevent. They failed, and now the bill is coming due.

     Patricia M, if I’d been concerned with maximum realism I’d have said “homemade.” These are fantasy novels, you know! 😉

     Tankermottind, well, we’ll see. The normal attitude of warbands isn’t that of cartoon villains; it’s simply that the world is a rough place and what you have is what you can take and keep at sword’s point (or, in our coming dark ages, gunpoint). My guess is that this is going to be fairly widespread. The thing I’d point out is that we’re not quite there yet!

     Slithy, it’s honestly more an intuition than anything else. I’d point out, though, that these days next to nobody on the left is presenting any vision of a better future — even the moral-progress types can no longer imagine a world in which racism, sexism, et al. no longer exists. The later Star Wars spinoffs are a case in point: nobody can imagine what will happen when the Empire is really, truly gone. It’s just an endless fight that accomplishes nothing and goes nowhere.

     Earthworm, the variant litany is good — affirmations that focus on “I” are very strong in practice. Agreed, we have to get past the poo-throwing stage, but that basically requires transcending humanity; we are just a species of social primates, after all!

     Other Owen, the best description of English I’ve yet encountered is that it’s what happened when Norman men-at-arms started chatting up Saxon barmaids. Grammatical complexities don’t survive such encounters.

     Rajarshi, well, I’m glad to hear that it’s over, at least. As for Lovecraft, it’s quite possible, though you should also factor in the far from minor point that he was basically batshale crazy — both of his parents died in a madhouse and he himself had a bumper crop of weird phobias and other psychiatric symptoms.

     David, there’s always the hope that they’ll hand it over to large language models, in which case it’ll go spinning out into hopeless dysfunction in a matter of weeks.

     Ethan, I noted some years ago that oceanic fish stocks are being depleted so fast that in the not too distant future each of us will have our last meal of seafood. That’s gotten quite a bit closer of late.

345. Alvin @ 318, I agree about disengaging from Eurasia. I don’t like the reversion to and revival of gunboat diplomacy. I guess we are back in the world of O Henry. He wrote a masterpiece on the subject, a series of interlocking short stories called Cabbages and Kings which is well worth seeking out. I am also wondering why bring a carrier group all the way from the Mediterranean. We don’t have one closer? One would think there should be one off the East Coast, especially with the hurricane season upon us.

     So, if hurricane Melissa or a successor wipes out an island, is the American response going to be, “So, sorry, but we need our naval resources for the invasion of Venezuela?” If the Dumbs had been serious in 2024, they would have been showing clips of what Maria did in Puerto Rico, and the laggard response from Trump 1.

346. One odd facet of the US political situation this past decade that very occasionally gets raised is how absurdly over-the-top the Democrats’ treatment of Mitt Romney was during the 2012 election. We all know the constant abuse hurled at the Orange Julius, but if anything the abuse hurled at Romney was worse.

     Romney, if you’ll recall, was quite possibly the emptiest suit to ever run for office. He differed from his opponent in no way that should have reasonably mattered to nearly anyone. Yet perhaps because of that he was subject to treatment from the left bordering on the genuinely psychotic. He was accused of basically everything Trump has been, and don’t forget when his awkward-but-well-meaning “binders of women” comment was twisted into being some weird BDSM thing where people thought he had women tied up in his basement or something.

     I’ve often wondered… what was that about? Given that it almost certainly helped desensitize the electorate when they hurled similar abuse at Trump, why would Democrats throw everything away just to keep Generic Politician #99999 out of the Presidency?

347. JMG,

     Concerning language changes. I did not think about the words, how interesting. I guess it was a brain fart, but thank you for humoring me.

348. @Milkyway (#342):

     IIRC, Venezuela has entered into similar defensive agreements with both Russia and China, but the reaction of each of those two countries, though probably well coordinated with each other’s, will likely be somewhat different from one another’s, though equally firm.

     Despite living in Rhode Island now, at heart I am a fourth-generation Californian from the San Francisco Bay area. I grew up there with many Russian and many Chinese schoolmates. Their cultures are relevant and somewhat familiar cultures for me in a way that, for example, French or Italian or Irish cultures can never be. (And I can read Russian, but not Chinese, so of the two countries, Russia tends to bulk larger than China in my geopolitical thinking.)

     I do not think that the elites in Washington, DC, understand how and what Russians think about the world and their (predestined, as they suppose) role in its history. Ever since the eleventh century, Russian writers have been working out ever more detailed theories of Russia’s (pivotal, as they suppose) role in the course of world history, and the current iterations of these theories will count for more than any economic or geopolitical considerations in determining how Russia will react to US pressures. It is very much not one world out there, responding in one and the same way to various political and economic forces. Religion and theories of history will play a far larger role in Russia’s (ad China’s) geopolitical decisions than politics and economics, far more than Westerners can ever imagine.

     [Like many from the West Coast, I feel that all the countries of the Pacific Rim (including Russia, of course) are all my near neighbors in some sense, whereas the tiny little countries of Europe are literally “the back of beyond” for me, and they hardly figure in my routine geopolitical thinking. That may be a blind spot of mine. The DC elites seem to me to have bee far to focused on Europe, especially Western Europe, to deal well with the modern world.]

349. Per JMG: “Ethan, I noted some years ago that oceanic fish stocks are being depleted so fast that in the not too distant future each of us will have our last meal of seafood. That’s gotten quite a bit closer of late.”

     Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and oceanic fish stocks will be depleted just that much faster.

350. “…but that basically requires transcending humanity…”

     Perhaps we could start by transcending being bipeds and actually become human! 😉

     Having read what you said there about transcending humanity, it occurs to me that the transhumanists are the ring chaos version of that. I have a Talking Heads theme tune for them:
     We’re on a road to nowhere, come on inside
     Takin’ that ride to nowhere, we’ll take that ride

351. @Christophe, from the lore about Odin, he’s not the kind who babysits. I’m worried that it’s more in the vein of what JMG wrote…

     JMG, if that’s the case, it must’ve been in a life where I was male – this sounds exactly like the thing a fifteen-year-old full of ale and testosteron would do. Ugh. Is there a way to find out what kind of commitment I presumably made? I’m sure I won’t like it, but I’d rather know than stumble face-first into some nasty karma stuff.

352. Cristophe,

     Thank you for that very helpful explanation, and for your kindness.

353. Obama is building Barad-Dur. It’s not graceful enough to be Orthanc. It definitely looks like a Mordor Engineering project.

     https://www.obama.org/presidential-center/

     It’s over budget by a factor of two and behind schedule of course.

     https://www.enr.com/articles/61443-behind-schedule-obama-presidential-center-construction-budget-balloons-to-615m

     The proportions are not quite right to be a middle finger to the country either.

354. @JMG

     > I’d point out, though, that these days next to nobody on the left is presenting any vision of a better future — even the moral-progress types can no longer imagine a world in which racism, sexism, et al. no longer exists. The later Star Wars spinoffs are a case in point: nobody can imagine what will happen when the Empire is really, truly gone. It’s just an endless fight that accomplishes nothing and goes nowhere.

     That’s an excellent point. The current progressive vision of the future is not one where bigotry has been overcome, it’s one where the fight against bigotry has become like one of those video game where you heroically fight endless waves of enemies to grind out infinity virtue points to buy mostly-cosmetic upgrades. (The Nazis may never be defeated, but at least you look stylish fighting them, and maybe with enough quarters you’ll get your initials on the Top Ten leaderboard.)

     Thinking about it, this may help explain why superheroes became so popular last decade: it’s hard to think of another genre that more blatantly relies on the trope that no matter how much you fight, you can never really defeat evil, and there’s always another, bigger threat around the next corner. (The fantasy genre has succumbed to this trope as well but that’s in part because what passes for fantasy these days is closer to the Avengers in spirit than to Conan or the Hobbit.)

355. JMG and commentariat,

     I’ve been wanting to read some military books, probably military history, but I’m open to works on strategy and tactics as well. I read Sun Tzu some decades ago, but there ends my familiarity with the topic. Insofar as I have a goal, I would like to understand more about various approaches to warfare, their strengths and weaknesses, and how wars are won and lost (especially unexpectedly). Ideally in a way more focused on the nitty-gritty military aspects, as if I were at war college, than on the general history with battle highlights, which is what I mostly find in popular books for general audiences about various famous wars. Any recommendations?

356. Siliconguy @ 353: “Obama is building Barad-Dur.”

     Wow is that ugly! I wonder how long until James Howard Kunstler features it as his eyesore of the month.

357. @Slithy Toves #346:

     “I’ve often wondered… what was that about? Given that it almost certainly helped desensitize the electorate when they hurled similar abuse at Trump, why would Democrats throw everything away just to keep Generic Politician #99999 out of the Presidency?”

     My take on it, in retrospect, was that we (yes, we, I was a hardcore blue voter at the time and so I share in those sins) were desperate to account for Obama’s failures, and also to erase his many betrayals.

     The Bush administration was, rightly or wrongly, regarded by the Left as an unspeakable abomination. The great promise of Obama’s first campaign was to restore right order, and the progressive future. So when he turned around, covered up his predecessor’s war crimes, committed more war crimes, bailed out the banks, and handed us the endless font of bulls**t known as Obamacare, the Left went schizo in a variety of ways.

358. Siliconguy (#353) just called my attention to the Obama Center now under construction. I see from the website he linked that it will have a large inscription high up on its outer walls, including the sentence that America is

     Unencumbered by what is, ready to seize what ought to be.

     This may merely be a thoughtless piece of political rhetoric, but taken literally it seems to me to say that America is not constrained in any way by reality, by the real world, but it can do anything at all that it may want or need: there are no real predicaments, only solvable problems.

     Oh, come on! (Cf. the New Thought movement in US religious history and its “mind over matter” premise.)

359. @ Mary Bennett: Carrier groups are not designed for, nor good at, coastal defense and peacekeeping. They are instruments of imperial power projection–what, exactly, are warplanes going to do to a hurricane? And without warplanes, carriers are just big and ludicrously expensive boats. Keeping an active carrier group around CONUS is a waste.

360. @JMG

     In America at least, it seems likely that Leftism will collapse before the final end of ideology. We have a two-party system. The post-progressive Democratic Party will have to promote some set of policies that will inevitably be branded as an ideology.

     What do you envision these two ideologies as being? Cornucopianism vs. officially promoted catabolisms of parts of the economy? Burkean conservatism vs. populist Caesarism?

361. Jennifer: I would actually recommend Big Serge’s substack – he has done an excellent series on manoeuvre warfare through the ages and is currently working through sea warfare.

362. Jeff Russel @#6.

     I don’t have any particular advice for dating myself, besides that what has always worked for me, is approach woman you like as friends and with no expectation put on them, if that works, then beautiful relationships have come out, at least for me; and if it doesn’t, you have a good friend, who also has female friends she might recommend you to. The reason why I like that approach is that I think too many failed relationships exist because they are trying to make the other like them, and when they stop doing that, who knows if their not-dating personas would work out. The pressure is also not favorable for me as I don’t develop well with stress and act stupid. What I would be able to recommend is working with Venus Aphrodite closely, not in terms of “give me a partner” of course, but she gives great advice in how to become lovable and to talk about the ins and outs of relationship making. I like doing this by invoking her, and then meditating on that space, there is a distinct quality in there.

363. Siliconguy #353:

     I spent about half a minute trying to figure out just what the text in the top left corner is supposed to say and gave it up as gibberish. Scrolling down, I found a perfectly readable version and then it clicked. He couldn’t even be bothered to get somebody to draw the damn thing. The very first image on the site is AI¹ generated.

     —David P.

     1: As a preemptive defense and apology to our dear host, I know fully well that these things don’t actually possess any intelligence but I don’t know what the graphics models are called. Surely those aren’t LLMs but something else?

364. Ethan L #343:

     Thanks for your comment. You made me think about how works today fishing in the world. Yesterday I went to the supermarket and I looked at the labels of fish bags and boxes in the freezed fush section. Well, quite of them were showing they had been fished in the Indic and Pacific, so maybe they came from
     South Corean ships. I don’t know if we’re going towards a world without fish, or we’re headed more towards a world without fishermen. Which one of them will end first?

365. Alvin (#321):
     Xi Jinping: “Houses are for living, not for speculation.”
     I can’t believe I agree with Xi on anything, but on this I do. I’m a young boomer born in the early 60’s, and I also wish the housing prices would drop. I’m not going to be living on much when I finally do retire, and do not want to struggle to pay sky high property taxes based on inflated property values. Even when I bought my house in the early 90’s I thought, because I was buying in a lower income neighborhood, I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping the house in my old age. I laughed at the idea that the house was an investment. To me, it was just where I was going to live, and would only go up a lot in value if I added a bathroom or another bedroom. I’ve seen the value of my house (with no major improvements!) more than double. I just finished settling with the county over my assessment, which fortunately was in my favor and dropped the value of my house, thus, lowering my taxes. For this year, anyway. Yes, I’m ready for the speculative bubble to either be deflated wisely (best option), or it’s just going to have to burst wide open and drain at some point. Much more painful for all involved, I’d think.

     Joy Marie

366. Earthshot and host Prince William to have an environmental awards ceremony in Rio de Janeiro in early November, but insults Brazilian chef by rejecting use of Amazonian fish and insisting on a vegan only menu.

     “It’s like asking Iron Maiden to play jazz,” Mr. Jennings said in an interview on Friday. “It was a lack of respect,” he added, “for local cuisine, for our culinary tradition.”

     https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/world/americas/brazil-chef-menu-william-sustainability.html

     Joy Marie

367. pygmycory,
     Thanks for the advice on sleeping positions. I tend to sleep exactly how you did: on my stomach with my head to the side. I’ll adjust my sleeping position!

     John, I’ll need to look into different chairs for sure. I’m a taller guy and most chairs are too short, they don’t let me sit with my thighs parallel to the ground and my feet square on the ground. I’m doing your LRM course and I have been hesitant to change the meditation position because I don’t want to start bending the rules laid out in the course…

368. @Augusto #362

     > approach woman you like as friends and with no expectation put on them, if that works, then beautiful relationships have come out, at least for me; and if it doesn’t, you have a good friend

     Counterargument to this approach: if it doesn’t work, you’re friendzoning yourself and her. You’re essentially putting the onus of the first move on the woman you’re interested in, which is probably not what most women want.

369. Greetings JMG, on the latest episode of Eurabiamania you were talking about how as decline progresses a lot of suburbia will become farm land again. There is one funny detail about our modern cities, they were settled in these locations because they had some of the best access to fertile lands and/or water ways, and now we have built over them with suburban nonsense. Not the brightest move we have ever had. Hopefully as we remove builds this land will return to its original use and not too much damage has been done.

     Provided of climate issues don’t force their hand, a lot of cities will still be where they are today but is very different structure. A fascinating thing to think about.

370. Anyone wishing to know what they may fall back on to endure the current and upcoming difficulties to be expected in our lives and societies, may I suggest…music. The kind actual humans perform. Folk music, sea chanteys, and by extension country music of all kinds. Followed by classical music (hymns here or at folk music level), Bach, Handel, etc. People who gave us melodies, music with direction. Maybe you can’t sing or play. Be not dismayed. You can at least stomp your feet or clap your hands. Plus, one of the sweetest sounds I ever heard was my aunt who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, singing her heart out next to me at her church. Don’t ever sit there being embarrassed about your voice or singing. You have something to contribute. You can, perhaps, whistle. As you walk, assuming you can walk, the rhythm of your movement evokes songs. Music. Don’t forget it. It can carry you far, even in awful times.

371. Jennifer Kobernik,

     You’re probably thinking of more modern stuff but I enjoyed On Ancient Warfare by Richard A. Gabriel. It’s a collection of essays about various practical aspects, some of which still apply today. Though it isn’t necessarily as nut and bolt tactical as you might like.

     I do have Ancient Battle Formations which I haven’t read yet and is more tactical. And fighting Techniques of the Ancient World which was pretty good.

     For sea, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History is limited to the age of sail but is wonderful for that period.

     You can also find many Army field manuals with infantry tactics for free download.

372. There was text on Barack-Dur?

     I was laughing too hard to notice that. Thanks for pointing it out. I thought it was some trendy ornamentation.

     The text does seem like the prattle of an AI.

373. Hello Mr. Greer,

     I have been trying to figure out the occult view of Jesus. From what I gathered looking at your “World Full of Gods”, “After Progress”, and “Occult Philosophy Workbook”, it sounds like you are saying Jesus is a person whose physical body died, but was then reinhabited via a still living etheric body three days later. That description of the metaphysical mechanics of resurrection is very interesting, but what do you think was going on with respect to Jesus and reincarnation? Do you believe that Jesus was a person who achieved enlightenment and developed a mental body? Was Jesus a divine being from a higher plane that reincarnated down the planes of being and entered a human form out of some act of pity on us? Or do you think Jesus was a minor exorcist whom the apostle Paul made into a legend? Any clarity you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

374. Jenifer Kobernik –

     I haven’t read a lot of military history in the strictest sense, but can recommend some relevant historical stuff. Starting with blogs:

     – the Scholar’s Stage was part of a strategy blogosphere, according to its author, back when there was one; see, for example, https://scholars-stage.org/not-everyone-likes-sunzi/ ;
     – ACOUP has a lot about what goes into armies and the states building them, e.g. https://acoup.blog/2019/07/12/collections-the-lonely-city-part-i-the-ideal-city/ .

     The book I’d most recommend on how military affairs vary by time and place is Firearms: a Global History to 1700, which explains why the West by that year was the most advanced region in their use, including how war worked elsewhere. Also on “how it worked elsewhere”, I’d recommend particularly the 3rd to 5th links at https://deketemoisont.dreamwidth.org/1929.html .

     A bunch of how “military history” works isn’t military, such as “the US won the World Wars by having more industrial production than the rest of the world”, and a bunch of it was specifically financial; I haven’t read much on it, but I’ve liked some related articles by Ray Dalio, who also wrote Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order – but I’m not sure about the latter’s quality. (Some book on English, Dutch, or Japanese financial history could be relevant, but I can’t recommend one.)

     I believe https://www.thepsmiths.com/archive has reviews of more than 1 important book, in particular Coup d’État on how to win certain conflicts by surprise. Lastly, you may try your brain at https://www.amazon.com.br/Infantry-Combat-Interactive-Small-Unit-Leadership/dp/089141536X (if you need further convincing, look for a review).

375. @KAN Thanks for the recommendation! Curious – the sample page makes it sound like he uses runes as a way to work alongside a kind of Buddhist philosophy, controlling passion (aka, the craving type of desire) for self-mastery. Do you think that captures his approach within the book, or is it much more than that?

     – RMS

376. Re David P
     “I don’t know what the graphics models are called. Surely those aren’t LLMs but something else”

     Isn’t, say, a jpg image simply a sentence saying something like ‘display a bunch of pixels in such and such colors on a screen’ in the jpg language?

     –bk

377. Patrick and JMG, for what it’s worth, my impression is indeed that nowadays, (Western) Europeans are indeed, more or less, too hidebound to do much in the way of constructive things. About dating, I don’t have much to add, only that it will be interesting to see how things pan out during the next three centuries.

378. >Xi Jinping: “Houses are for living, not for speculation.”
     >I can’t believe I agree with Xi on anything, but on this I do.

     I agree as well. But I would question why he (and a bunch of other politicians) say one thing and then implement policies that encourage – speculation in real estate. Look at what they do, not at what they say. What they say is less than worthless.

     TBH, I’m glad nobody has forced me to try to fix that problem. You can have affordable real estate but at this point, the tradeoff is the existence of a functional banking system. Or you can try to have both – but your currency then becomes quickly worthless. Or you can continue on the status quo and hope that all the younguns who you haven’t dealt into the system won’t just burn it all down to the ground. Also see: Mamdani.

     I don’t want the blame for what’s about to happen. Someone’s going to have to take the collapse to the face.

379. >Romney, if you’ll recall, was quite possibly the emptiest suit to ever run for office. He differed from his opponent in no way that should have reasonably mattered to nearly anyone. Yet perhaps because of that he was subject to treatment from the left bordering on the genuinely psychotic.

     Like the song went “Forgettable, that’s who you are”. All II remember of that era was some parody political ad for “Mitrack Obamney” and how it absolutely didn’t matter which one you voted for.

     I think all the people that “went nuts” during the 2020s were already nuts, it’s just there wasn’t any stress on their lives to bring it out into the open.

380. >Counterargument to this approach: if it doesn’t work, you’re friendzoning yourself and her.

     Also see: situationship, mystery circus

381. Stephen D. # 373:

     A good question for John, about a very controverted topic during a lot of centuries. Maybe you’re opened a can of worms here, or maybe not (obviously JMG isn’t a Christian, but it would be interesting to read his opinion from his occultist point of view. By the way, you all may know I’m myself a christian, but not very orthodox. Personally, I don’t think Jesus of Nazareth was only a great man (like Tolstoi thought in his personal view of Christianism), but I also think most of Christian churches have been too centered in Jesus not-human aspects of him, neglecting his human personality. In the short form, I believe Jesus was “more human than the average human”, but he was more of that. Of course, I hope John explains his Pagan view of this topic. I don’t have to agree fully/partly with him, but I’ll understand and respect his opinion. In this mysterious topics, nobody has all the correct answers, me think…So we can opine and argue about these topics but we aren’t going to reach definitive Great Truths, at least in this reality level…

382. Hi John,
     https://open.substack.com/pub/mattgoodwin/p/east-london-offers-a-glimpse-into?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1dcn5

     Quote below. The Islamists are now marching in the UK… thoughts?

     “If there’s one video you want to watch right now to understand where the United Kingdom is heading in the future then it’s this one.

     Take one minute before reading the rest of this piece and just watch that video.

     What you see here is a group of masked Muslim men, mobilising in Whitechapel, East London. They gathered to march forcefully in response to a reported demonstration by the anti-immigration UK Independence Party (UKIP).

     Adjacent to them, is another protest from the radical Woke Left, carrying the ubiquitous Socialist Worker placards.

     The Muslim mob screams “Allahu Akbar” and pushes the lefties out their way. “There’s no need for that; we’re on the same side bruv!” screeches one of the woke activists. And then comes to the key line: “No we’re NOT” comes the furious, masked reply, from an angry, local Muslim.

     Local shops were even gleefully marketing the sale of balaclavas for the march, under the terrifying slogan of “no face; no case”.”

383. BK #376:

     I guess you could see things like that but there’s still next to no chance a goLLuM could create a JPG of any meaningful size (directly). I can’t imagine these things actually working like that.

     —David P.

384. Jennifer:

     I would recommend Clausewitz, On War.

     Cuger

385. @Stephen D

     I know I’m not JMG, but my perspective is that about the only non-mundane thing we can confidently know about Jesus is that Christ is a deity (specifically, a god of the life-force) who is associated with him in some way.

     Beyond that, is Christ the same soul as Jesus, now ascended to godhood? Was Jesus an incarnation of the already-existing deity Christ? Was he a chosen hero/saint/prophet of Christ? Was he actually physically raised from the dead, or did he appear as a vision to his disciples (the way he did to Paul, who said he saw Christ in the same way the others did; but then again Paul was full of odd ideas about Christ that were at odds with Peter’s understanding, and Peter knew Jesus personally)?

     At this far of a remove from the actual events, we have no way to know.

386. @Free Rain

     Yes, my comment was in reference to yours but not about you personally (I of course know nothing about your situation); I saw it as being reflective of problems that are very common these days with marriage and cohabitation arrangements. I think the main issue is that the atomized nuclear family is an unnatural living arrangement, especially when both partners work full time away from the home, and even more especially when there’s children to take care of on top of that. In your follow-up reply, you mention “lack of child care” in your area. Relying on strangers to watch your kids all day (and at a hefty price!!) is a major component of that unnatural living arrangement, in my view. This was never a problem back when parents, uncles/aunts, siblings, in-laws, and close friends lived in very close proximity to home, if not on the property itself. Living in a rural area without any family nearby to help out watching the kids is especially strange by historical standards. I think any new or emerging religion or spiritual movement that can offer this once again (via surrogate kinship) will win big in the coming years.

     I do agree that actual female bosses (not the LARP version) can probably afford a full-time nanny.

     @Joan

     I see feminism as always having been used as a means for privileged, upper middle class white women to continuously jockey for more status, wealth, and power (at the expense of men, of course), riding on top of lower layers of women who lack the looks, and money/status background of the former category, thus are easy prey to have their feelings of envy and insecurities exploited. On the seeming shift of feminism’s focus, it seems that when the boomers grew out of the hippie lifestyle, they transitioned into their careers and shifted their focus to making lots of money, so feminism followed right along on that trajectory. Yeah, I do agree there was some degree of astroturfing and intel connections happening too, but I think this shift was mostly cultural and organic.

     Regarding your own story you shared, it sounds like you lucked out on never being in a toxic work environment. On that second part, it sucks that you had a bad upbringing. That said, it’s by no means a universal experience, and that the vast majority of potential husbands aren’t “abusers” (unless of course the woman in question routinely picks those sorts of men; see above discussions about the time-tested utility of arranged marriages).

387. @M Carole #198 re: Meeting Folks at B&N
     Thanks for the tip! I’ve spent some time in the Barnes & Noble cafe nearby, but mostly only during the day, and not out among the books. Maybe I’ll have to try a Friday evening amongst the shelves!

     @Chaquin #208 re: Hobbies to Meet Women
     Thanks again for the encouragement, and I didn’t mean to shoot down your idea, it might very well be that I need to broaden my hobby horizons!

     @Jennifer Kobernik #210 re: Meeting Women & #355 re: Military Books
     Thanks very much for these recommendations! Finding a hiking club sounds like it might be a good idea, though as you say, Houston is not quite so blessed with lovely, hikable places as Austin. I had considered a run club, but running is one of the things I most hate doing, so I’m worried my lack of enthusiasm will show through. I hadn’t considered BJJ as a place likely to have women, but I have thought about getting back into it for a long time (we got a smattering of jiu jitsu as part of Army combatives training, and I liked it, but never stuck with it). The one esoteric shop I’m familiar with is Magick Cauldron, which hasn’t given me a vibe of being too political, but I’ve also never interacted with anyone there except the staff, but maybe I should ask around about groups, activities, or events. Of your suggestions, though, taking a crafting class resonates most strongly, not only to be able to make devotional stuff, but also because I just really like handcrafts but never make enough time for them. So, once again, thanks very much.

     As for the military books, well, happily, there’s a male-dominated area I know a fair amount about 🙂 One challenge with trying to give you a satisfying answer to your question is that warfare is so contingent on factors like technology and terrain that the kind of stuff that applies more-or-less universally tends to be very high level, and the stuff that gets into the nitty-gritty tends to be about specific wars or time periods. With that caveat out of the way, though, a few titles you might consider:
     – On War by Carl Von Clausewitz: the “go to” book of big picture military strategy in the West. Written by a Prussian officer in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, he was one of the earliest theorists to grasp how mass mobilization and nation-states would have certain automatic tendencies towards totalizing war. Most of the low-level tactical stuff doesn’t apply outside of musket warfare, but the strategic insights are very good. Also explains one of my favorite concepts: friction. The idea is that in war, everything you need to do is pretty simple, but all of it is made hard by the build up of “friction”: bad weather, miscommunication, random mishaps, and, of course, enemy action.
     – The Campaigns of Napoleon by David Chandler: This one falls into the “nitty gritty about a specific time period” category, and full disclosure, I’ve only skimmed it, but I’ve heard great things. Also has lots of beautifully drawn maps, but if you’re really into maps for this kind of thing, you can supplement with the Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars.
     – Strategy: a History by Lawrence Freedman: a history of the idea and practice of “strategy.” As you might imagine, fairly high level, and only the first third of the book is about military strategy specifically (the other two parts go into how the idea was borrowed over into politics in the Renaissance, and into business in the 20th century), but I found it extremely interesting (of course, I read it after getting out of the military and while I was working in business strategy, so it checked a lot of my boxes).
     – War in Human Civilization by Azar Gat: This one might veer too close to “big picture,” in that it covers from the dawn of humanity (and a little before) through today, talking about how central war has been to, well, just about everything (for example: towns and cities likely did not arise due to economic advantages for living in one place, but defensibility). I sometimes snarkily call it “Sapiens for grown ups,” though that these days even that comparison might be giving Sapiens too much credit.
     – Hans Delbruck is looked on a little askance by modern military historians, but I get the feeling it’s one of those “the old, discredited books are actually right” kind of situations, but again, I haven’t dived into these yet. His series covers from aniquity through the modern era (I think he wrote right before WWI).
     – For something rather different, and maybe best checking the “understanding the nitty gritty” aspect, something rather different: Infantry Combat: the Rifle Platoon by John F. Antal is a “choose your own adventure” book where you take on the role of Platoon Leader in the early days of the first Gulf War. It’s meant to train the kind of judgment and decision-making you’d need for actual command, and its chief way of teaching you is by getting you and all your men killed in many (most?) of the potential outcomes, since you missed some key information or made the wrong call.

     I could keep going for far too long on this, so I’ll leave it there. Happy reading!

     @Michele7 #212 re: Complementarity
     Thanks for this reminder, it’s a great point. I’ve been doing a lot of reflection and journaling on what I do/could have to offer and what it’s important to me for a partner to have, but it’s almost certainly a topic worth revisiting frequently.

     @Achile #213 re: Dance Classes
     Thanks very much for the encouragement and the suggestion. I tried a few country western dance classes, and they didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, but I’ve heard from others that Salsa might be a better bet. On the downside, I might be so busy getting over my crippling embarrassment to dance to have successful interactions with any women there!

     @Inna #214 re: Tango
     Thank you both for the encouragement and the suggestion! I’d just point out that I didn’t say I was good at martial arts, just interested 🙂 I only started with HEMA a few months ago and haven’t been as consistent with it as I might like. Also, as I alluded to in answer to Achille above, I also hate dancing, though it strikes me that might be something to be gotten over rather than embraced, so I will give tango some thought.

     @Atmospheric River #225 & #248 re: Dating with Children
     Thanks very much for your thoughts, though I have to admit they’re not exactly what I would have wanted to hear. I suppose your point that only considering my kids’ needs would actually mean quite a lot more than trying to find a healthy balance between theirs and mine, and your perspective will help me be more realistic in considering how and how much to balance. So, I have been, and will continue, to think about this a lot.

     RMS #228 re: Dating and Runes
     As for what I’m looking for in a woman, I’m purposefully trying to avoid having some checklist or list of qualifications beyond some basics, like “we find each other interesting and attractive, is good with kids.” If I were to over-specify, say a “gorgeous, intelligent, esoteric Heathen that loves nerdy games who’s already great with kids,” well, I might be looking for a while!

     On Runes, happy researching and working, and I look forward to continuing the conversation!

     @SLClaire #243 re: Friendships
     Thanks very much for sharing your experience, and the advice to focus on making new friends, it makes good sense and I think I needed to hear it. Thus far, most of my social effort has gone into trying to maintain connections with my existing friends, since it’s been hard to do even that with all the other disruption in my life, so I hadn’t really thought about the value of making new friends who, as you said, will see me as who I am/become, rather than who I was. I’ll give some thought to shared activities with the girls as one possible avenue (maybe some kind of crafting?). At any rate, thank you again, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

     @Slithy Toves #254 re: “Dating Children”
     Hah, indeed! I figured Atmospheric River just had a slip of the keyboard.

     @Jeff B’KLYN #270 re: Lust and Longing
     Thanks for this, much of it hit uncomfortably close to home!

     @Kay Robinson #271 re: Teaching and Wardrobe
     Thanks very much for your comments! As you say, the students at my current employer are likely not interested, in a completely different phase of life, and it’s against the rules to boot. I hadn’t considered a community college position, though, so that might be something to consider, and would have fewer (though by no means none) of the issues with full-time undergrads.

     As for the wardrobe suggestions, thank you, I’ll keep that in mind! I tend to follow the very common male tendency of dressing for function and comfort with little thought given to style, so maybe it’s time for a critical re-evaluation. The one thing I wear that might fit your parameters is a bracelet of beads with the Runes carved on them that I made. Haven’t had many ask about who knew what it was (except my friend’s geeky teenage son), but I’ve occasionally have people ask me if I made it.

     @Andy #302 re: Bookbinding/Female-Coded Hobbies
     Thanks for this! As you may have seen, you’re not the first to recommend hobbies that women tend to enjoy, and crafting especially among them. Luckily, I like making things, and bookbinding might just work (I bound a journal back in college and have bound a few RPG print-outs since).

     @Walt #308 re: Building a World
     Thanks very much for this, it was lovely and inspiring. And, coincidentally enough, not so far off my own path, as I also enjoy designing tabletop roleplaying games, though I’ve never done a LARP.

     @KAN #317 re: Runes
     Thanks very much for this, looks interesting! I’m not afraid to explore some of the further afield tracks through the Runic woods, but as you say, I won’t be bringing it to my office 🙂

     @Ekaterina #339 re: Group Events for Dating
     Thanks very much for this, it certainly seems to jibe well with what a lot of other folks have been saying.

     @Augusto #362 re: Making Friends w/Women and Invoking Venus Aphrodite
     Thanks much for these! I have always been happy to make friends with women, though in my own (now long ago) experience, that didn’t usually lead to a romantic relationship, and instead, the romantic relationships came from being forthright that that was what I was interested in fairly early on. That said, considering what I thought was my most successful romantic relationship started that way and eventually failed, maybe a re-think is in order. As for the prayer/meditation, I’ve been doing something very similar with Freyja, and She has indeed been giving good advice (even if, or perhaps especially because, so far it’s mostly “calm down, slow down, and keep working on yourself.”).

     Many thanks to all who have chimed in, and my blessings to any who welcome them,
     Jeff

388. @Cliff #357

     > My take on it, in retrospect, was that we (yes, we, I was a hardcore blue voter at the time and so I share in those sins) were desperate to account for Obama’s failures, and also to erase his many betrayals.

     Thank you for this. That makes sense. I suppose there’s also the narcissism of small differences: with each candidate essentially running against a minor variant of his past self (remember when Governor Romney was for health insurance mandates and candidate Obama against them?), the need to make the difference feel bigger and more important than it actually was reached a fever pitch. Shame about the long-term consequences.

389. @Booklover

     He thiught that Americans, being on the edge of Faustian culture, were better suited to pick and choose which Faustian ideas to adopt with practicality in mind.

     America has ruled over the Faustian heartland (plus Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) since the end of WWII, technically fulfilling Spengler’s predictions (no Civilization in history has managed to create a global empire, but they ruled over the high culture heartlands and borderlands). But because of the Faustian drive for unsustainable growth, the Faustian empire stage won’t last long enough to be ruled over by a Caesar-President.

     Re: Jesus

     The Jesus of the Gospels comes across to me as a jerk with bad teachings, very unlike the image almost everyone else holds of him (even skeptics). I have been recently thinking Jesus’ character changed after his death and resurrection from an arrogant man to a kinder God.

390. @Boysmum #257 thank you so much for your reply! It’s full of great advice
     which I will continue to reflect on. I feel you hit the nail on the head much better than even many of the women I know well!
     When you said “in general it foes not occur to the male brain to do the thing until he needs to” was a bit of a lightbulb moment, yes that explains a lot I just couldnt get my head around; and yes it is a good job men are cute 😉
     ___________________________
     @ SLClaire #243 I would second the broadening friend circles thing. Whether or not you meet a potential partner, new friends= new worlds, especially in the city where so many worlds are layered on top of each other.
     ____________________________
     @Joan #292 I hear you. Women without means have to have so much trust and a good dollop of luck to avoid being stuck in a situation with no options up close with an abuser or a drunk or a wastrel of some stripe or other, even if they don’t start off like that. The pendulum on womens rights was so far in one direction its no surprise it has gone right over to the other where some women are hardened to any sort of relationship with men. BTW I feel your story stopped halfway through, if you don’t mind saying, did you change your mind?
     ____________________________
     @Corax #386
     I agree “the atomized nuclear family is an unnatural living arrangement” and “Relying on strangers to watch your kids all day (and at a hefty price!!) is a major component of that unnatural living arrangement”. I was just reflecting on a conversation I had the other day with a friend who has spent a fair amount of time in Kenya. She talked about how in trad villages everyone lives in a compound and childcare, cooking etc are largely communal amongst the women. My great grandmother lived in Hackney in the Victorian era (late 1800s) and then in the lanes of Great Yarmouth. I expect her life was closer to the Kenyan experience than mine, (even though she was usually for the time, a craftswoman and a single mum!)
     ___________________________
     @JMG and commentariat, especially Jeff for starting this conversation
     Thanks everyone for sharing on this. Its not an easy thing to talk about and it has been so helpful for me to read everyone’s perspective

     phew right I’ll shut up now!!

391. >“There’s no need for that; we’re on the same side bruv!” screeches one of the woke activists. And then comes to the key line: “No we’re NOT”

     Those poor wokies. Nobody likes them. And the people they thought liked them – nah, they were just using you. And now your usefulness is up.

392. Forecasting Intelligence # 382:

     That video shows how British woke left shares its “friendship” with one of its favorite “beings of light”…well, of course those violent muslim men don’t represent all the migrants group, but they’ve said and put in action very clearly their ideas, which they aren’t compatible with woke doctrine…Indeed a very grotesque situation.
     ———————————————
     Slithy Toves # 385:

     Those are a lot of questions whose answers of course aren’t easy nor clear. However, my personal point of view it’s the faith, though I know quite of you don’t share it, I’ll say I believe Jesus was more than a mere ancient Jew, like I’ve written in my last comment before this one. Of course, I’m not JMG neither.

393. Stephen D at #373: I’m obviously not JMG, but I don’t think there’s “an” occult view of Jesus. Heck, there’s not even “a” Christian view! OTOH, JMG’s view would be interesting!

394. en@#$ification of the internet, bots and racial concern trolling

     Over the past year or so I and other writers on AO3 have started having problems with AI bully bots who say assorted but very generalized things in comments on our stories and demanding we take said story down while not being logged in. Recently they’ve started getting a bit more specific, but the specifics are still general and show no signs of having read the story. One author I know had a bot screaming at her that the ship in her fic was awful… in a non romance story with no ship.

     This week, my most recent AI bully bot has been pestering me with concerns about colonialism, racism, and islamophobia. In a story where I never mentioned or even thought of islam and human skin color or real world ethnicities are a non issue, but anyway…

     It made me wonder how much left wing concern trolling online is actual people, and how much is bots.

395. JMG, why can’t the left meme?

396. Robert Mathiesen @ 358 .. you should check out the Babalon Bee’s take on the Obama ‘Library’ .. this quite a hoot!

     ‘Dom Dom Dom, Dom de Dom, Dom de Dommmm .. Dom Dom Dom, Dom de Dom, Dom de Dommmm’ …..

     Not to be out-done by the, um, ‘White Haus’ Trumpian ‘addition’ of the Death Star…

397. Personally having actually read the bible i think Jesus is overrated. That said I do think he was reborn as a Deva. It’s clear that people have had real experiences with a Deva who answers by the name of Jesus. And I personally have no beef with Jesus, he was never cruel to me. I remember when I left Christianity, he understood. Told me that Christianity was not for me, it was never meant for me and there was no hard feelings. He wished me well. I describe is as a very amicable breakup.

398. @ Stephen #373 Try asking Jesus himself and see what happens.

399. “Inna, Europe is screwed, blued, and tattooed, as we used to say when I was young. The EU leadership gambled everything on the plan of destabilizing Russia, causing an economic and political collapse, and splitting the Russian Federation into an assortment of weak successor states that could be absorbed by the EU and stripped of their resources. It was an audacious plan, and arguably not very smart, but Europe without a steady flow of unearned wealth from outside its borders will inevitably revert to what it was before 1500: an impoverished economic backwater divided by bitter rivalries and constant wars. That was what the EU leadership was trying to prevent. They failed, and now the bill is coming due.”

     Curtis Yarvin whimsically remarked a few years ago that the EU Parliament, “basically has the powers of Queen Elizabeth II, not the first. And then you have the European Commission, which is like the deep state, but it’s actually a better centralized, deep state. And everything comes from the European Commission, which is completely profoundly utterly… there isn’t even a pretense that these people are appointed by politicians. They just appoint themselves. It’s the final stage of oligarchy.”

     https://jimruttshow.blubrry.net/the-jim-rutt-show-transcripts/transcript-of-ep-160-curtis-yarvin-on-monarchy-in-the-u-s-a/

400. It seems like the the utopian vision for society is one in which everyone share everything, combined with abolishing of all sexual morals.

     It would seem to me that the practical result of this coming about (based upon the analysis of other primate species, as well as the experience of going through High school) would be that the majority of men would work to support the minorities children.

     This brings me back to https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/06/letter-to-my-fiercest-abortion-opponent.html. It seems like if the left actually wanted to bring about the egalitarian society they talk about. They would need to shape people into those who would be willing to sacrifice of themselves for others. Generally speaking left wing ideology seems to encourage selfless actions only in regards to the collective. The collective should take care of people. It doesn’t seem to encourage selfless actions in terms of individuals. I would consider the ethics around abortion one example, but generally speaking if somebody is going to tell you to prioritise your own happiness over family ties or similar (getting a divorce say) that person is likely to be coming from a leftwing perspective. Maybe thats a good thing and all of that stuff is just old patriarchal nonsense. But where in leftwing ideology does it tell me that I have *personal* responsibilities to other individuals, and I must fulfill them in order to be a moral person. If individuals can’t be faulted for breaking vows to one another, how can you expect them to stay faithful to the revolution when times get tough?

     In some ways it seems like the left is mining the social cohesion of previous generations.

401. @Jeff,

     Maybe join a board game meetup group? They might be able to host a 40s night if the crowd tends toward a younger group or maybe a family night if you want to bring the kids? I like what someone said earlier about attending something regularly.
     https://www.meetup.com/houston-board-gaming/
     https://www.meetup.com/find/us–tx–houston/singles-over-40/
     Although the crafting idea sounds cool too. Dancing – maybe you’ll bond with someone over mutual suffering/embarrassment? I’m not sure how rare that list is, but I’m sure she’s out there! What tabletop games do you like to play?

     Do you mind if I ask what runes are on the bracelet you mentioned? You don’t have to say if it’s personal, just curious.

     P.s. Check your Spam folder?

     – RMS

402. David P: ” there’s still next to no chance a goLLuM could create a JPG of any meaningful size (directly)”

     Why not? All images in any good library are tagged with descriptions of what they show, and search engines have been telling website owners for ages to add those tags to help their images get indexed (which, as a side product, also helps people with bad eyesight using a screenreader to know what the image shows).

     So, these models have a bunch of pixels and a description of what people’s minds make of them. What more do they need?

     –bk

403. David Ritz # 399:

     I didn’t know Curtis Yavin. I think his view of EU is right, it’s an oligarchy badly disguised like a democracy. European Parliament’s only decorative, and economic lobbies are very entrenched in Brussels to not have noticed them. It’s a wry irony part of the Spectacle which EU/NATO sell to the European inhabitants in the Ukrainian war is “western democracy vs Russian dictatorship”. Indeed, the EU project is IMHO a embryonary essay for a global totalitarian mega-state.

404. Hi John Michael,

     Yeah, being an empath is on the extreme other side of the continuum from where you are at, and thus why the good advice to seek someone who likes you for who you are, to me, seems the most workable way forward in your circumstances. Really lovely advice from Heloise too, because it clearly comes from the heart.

     Is it just me, or are other folks wondering how this sort of activity can be paid for? Google joins Microsoft in plans to restart US nuclear plants to power AI infrastructure. As someone who repairs and maintains machines, I do wonder if there was a good and solid economic / engineering reason for mothballing those plants in the first place? Truly, I’m utterly mystified by the business case for such activities.

     Cheers

     Chris

405. >why can’t the left meme?

     To meme, you need to have some idea of how others think. So that you can create a message that resonates in their mind. Something the “left” is (now) notoriously bad at. “Everyone thinks like me. Here’s a message saying so. Think like me or you’re a bad person.” And then it gets ignored and they stamp their feet and scream.

     I’d say the left is about as dorky as highly religious people these days. They’re fundies. Doctrine and ideology are comforting straightjackets that attract a certain kind of dork.

406. >And then you have the European Commission, which is like the deep state, but it’s actually a better centralized, deep state.

     There was a guy on twitter years ago who countered my “Soviet Murica” thesis with “No, you should be thinking of the EU as the new Soviet Union”

407. replying to Northwind Grandma #327:
     The absurdity is as you say, but in addition there’s the puzzle I was alluding to, about the increasing use of “f—” by public figures who, it seems, don’t care about thus compromising their dignity. I find this surprising since politicians are well known to have egos and the ego likes to portray its possessor as dignified. Why then wear a metaphorical placard that says “slob”?

408. >One author I know had a bot screaming at her that the ship in her fic was awful… in a non romance story with no ship.

     I’m not sure where this is all headed but I am almost certain it’s not going where they want it to. I wonder what happens when the internet is perceived to be useless? Let’s find out.

409. @ Jennifier #355

     RE books on military strategy and tactics

     “The Strategy of Indirect Approach” by B. H. Liddell Hart was quite influential in its day (1929, revised 1941), and can be downloaded free from the internet.

410. Dear JMG, two questions, if I may.

     1) For a memory training book that would dovetail with the RTOL work, would you suggest either Francis Yates’ book The Art of Memory or Mary Carruther’s The Book of Memory? I’ve not read either, and I was looking for something practical.

     2) What causes energetic clashes between different systems of occult training? Is it mainly the visualization involving different energy centers in the body, breathwork, other factors? Just curious about the general principles.

     Thank you!

411. English in progress

     Having stolen nonchalant from the French English discovered it wants chalant as well. It’s a matched pair after all.

     https://www.gocomics.com/shoe

     It’s not just the one comic strip either. Being me I had to look it up.

412. Hello JMG!

     I checked the discussion a bit and I was saddened by your comment about over-fishing. At this point seeing a post about those Chinese fishing cities on the ocean ruins my mood. Do you think we’ll fish most species to extinction or up to a point that they’ll be very rare for at least a century or two?

     I wanted to ask one more thing. I can’t remember which post, but I know you’ve answered someone telling them how before a big crash in the system there is a lot of buzz and agitation, referring mostly to commercial activity. I noticed this in my area too, buildings getting demolished and new projects then started. A lot of people buying motorcycles and forming biker gangs, lower the quality of life by a lot with their noise. Is this a trend that happens before a crisis in the system? For people to live in some sort of stupor acting like the party will never end then the power goes out? In my town the power has started to go out on a regular basis and I find it paradoxical that as the economy worsens people are more enthusiastic to spend as if things are getting better.

413. Chris # 404:

     It’s “logic” their big interest in nuke plants, because the entire world “virtualisation” (whose poster child is AI) needs huge quantities of electricity. That’s the elephant in the room not only for the virtual world, but also for the robotisation/automation of everywhere. The “idiots savants” who manage these powerful cibernetic corporations have to agree (because of their electricity hunger) with the True Believers in Nuclear Energy, so we need more plants to reach the Future and going on the evergreen Progress and blah blah blah…

414. WatchFlinger @103, along one of the light rail routes in my city there is (was) a small parking lot that was abandoned a decade or so ago. Looking from the train window, you’d never guess there was crumbled asphalt under the young trees, bushes and grasses. It’s an immensely cheering sight!

415. @Inna, David and JMG, it is quite astonishing how incompetent the European leadership is. Did you know that the top diplomat of the EU, Kaja Kallas, was the main instigator of the escalation vis a vis Russia? Merkel shared recently that she and Macron wanted to invite Putin to a EU meeting in Summer 2021 to talk about the escalating tensions but Kallas who was back then prime minister of Estonia, stood up to her and with the backing of the other Balitics and Poland refused to go along. I think Kallas is a good companion to Empress Pfizerella (Von der Leyen) who still refuses to disclose her communications with the CEO of Pfizer.

     Unfortunately, in the member states it is usually not any better. Tomorrow we’ll have the national election for parliament in the Netherlands. Populist party PVV (Wilders) will most likely win, but most others have already excluded him from forming a coalition so it will be the number two who will provide the prime minister and lead the new administration. Four parties are close enough in the polls to win second place so it is a tight race. But it will not matter. The differences between the parties are negligible on the subjects that really matter. They all want more EU (and thus less democracy), continued war in Ukraine, and mass immigration (some claim to want to curb immigration but are lying as they consistently vote against any proposal to make it happen). All of them supported the Covid fiasco policies. None of them addresses the energy insecurity or the ongoing de-industrialisation that soon will wreck European living standards.

     The media on their part do their very best to dumb down the audience. Every day there are ‘debates’ but the setup makes sure that it is only a verbal boxing match without any depth. It is maddening. Yesterday a debate between Van Dijk (Socialist party) and Wilders literally turned into a clowns act. It went like this:
     Van Dijk: ”You are a traitor”
     Wilders: “You are a fake socialist”
     Van Dijk: ”Your complaints are as fake as the tears of clown Bassie” and he started to enact a crying clown and throwing insults to Wilders till Wilders’ time slot was gone.

     The top 10% or so of Dutch society that steer the course of our country are hopelessly disconnected from the rest of society and blindsided by the echo chamber they inhabit. In contrast to the US, the Netherlands has a system of administration that dates from 1848 and hasn’t been adjusted since then. Combine that with inept, group thinking elites in politics, business, civil servants, justice and media and it is clear that nothing will change. The Titanic will continue full speed towards the iceberg with the music playing till the very last moment.

     Fwiw my vote will go to a fringe party who has a few idea’s that will be helpful after the bottom falls out. They also don’t see what is coming but at least they prioritize energy, industry and social cohesion (aka normalization with Russia and re-migration). It is discouraging but that seems to be all that can be done right now.

416. Slithy, I found that fascinating at the time, too. It was painfully clear to me, at least, that the GOP could have run Mother Teresa and gotten the same kind of reaction. When people start insisting that even the most milquetoast opponent must be evil incarnate, it’s clear that there’s some astoundingly intense projection going on…

     Phutatorius, I wish I could disagree.

     Earthworm, granted. Becoming fully human is the way to transcend humanity — you can’t pass beyond something without going through it! The transhumanists don’t grasp that.

     Athaia, you probably need to ask Odin himself. Runes might be helpful for clarification.

     Siliconguy, I tend to think whichever merry prankster came up with this image got it right:
     

     Slithy, exactly. It’s a weird sort of rigor mortis of the imagination.

     Jennifer, Clausewitz’s On War is essential. Another, just as essential but from the opposite perspective, is From the Jaws of Victory by Charles Fair — it’s the best history I know of military incompetence. There are also some classic studies of individual battles — I’m partial, for example, to Walter Lord’s Day of Infamy and Incredible Victory, which give vivid portraits of Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway respectively, and to Ernle Bradford’s Thermopylae and The Great Siege: Malta 1565, which do the same for two much older battles. That said, the crucial thing to do if you want to understand warfare is to pick a single war and read a whole flurry of books about it. It can be any war that’s well documented enough to have many viewpoints in print. Read what different sources have to say about the war you choose, and you’ll end up with a good sense of how war actually works.

     Patrick, what usually happens when our system goes through a convulsion is that for a while the two parties both embrace the same ideology, and just try to spin it to the advantage of one or another set of power centers. Think of the two parties from the Second World War to Reagan, both equally committed to corporate liberalism: that’s standard. So once the dust settles, the battered and bloodied Democratic party will rebrand itself as “MAGA, but different.”

     Joy Marie, but of course. Virtue signaling über alles!

     Michael, I know. What makes all this even more ironic is that because of the concrete foundations, it won’t be functional to turn the collapsing suburbs into big corporate farms. Instead, they’ll become truck gardens and microfarms, and begin the process by which food production will revert to a new peasantry.

     Clarke, thanks for this!

     Stephen, depends on which occultist you ask. In my case, why, I wasn’t there at the time, and any speculation I might offer would be sheer handwaving. Certainly people who pray to Jesus get a response, and that’s the detail that matters.

     Booklover, that certainly seems to be the case for the upper classes and political elites!

     Forecasting, that one’s getting a lot of attention across the American right. I wonder if your local leftists will realize just how seriously the Muslims mean it.

     Pygmycory, that’s fascinating. I wonder who’s trying to deep-six AO3, and why.

     Bridge, ah, the mystery of the ages! We’ll be discussing it in detail in due time.

     Dagnarus, that’s an excellent point. In effect, the current left is built on the idea that you should do whatever you want but expect everyone else to be generous and self-sacrificing. Doesn’t work that way…

     Chris, I don’t think there’s a business case for it. I think it’s purely a matter of soaking up subsidies and getting the clueless to hand over money.

     Jbucks, neither of those is a practical handbook. Yates’ book, though, is the one that launched the modern revival of the art of memory, and can be used as a textbook. There are a few specialized books on memory palaces but no good general text. As for conflicts, those come from different forms of breathwork and energy circulation in the body. As long as you’re not messing with the etheric body you’ll be fine.

     Rafael, it’s hard to wipe out a successful species of fish. It’ll be a matter of a collapse in fish populations, followed by recovery once we run out of fuel for the fishing fleets. As for the buzz and agitation, yes, exactly — if you’re seeing that, it’s a warning sign.

     Boccaccio, the European elite is marching straight into disaster under the conviction that they’re sure to reach heaven. It’s really astonishing to watch.

417. The Other Owen at 379:

     There was a great parody song and video “Mitt Romney Style” which was a parody of the then popular “Gangnam Style” by Psy. Still funny in my popinion even 10+ years later.

     The thing about Romeny is most Democrats I know are of the opinion that the Republicans should go back to that; they are gloriously oblivious to ObamaRomney politics getting us to where we are now. Then again, glorious obbliviousness is in high supply these days. I have at least two friends with moderate cases of Trump Derangement Syndrom who thinks ICE is going to show up any moment and deport them. Both are white, male, US citizens and obviously so.

418. Thank you all for the very helpful recommendations re: military history!

     JMG,
     “Certainly people who pray to Jesus get a response, and that’s the detail that matters.”

     Does it seem to you that they’re getting *more* of a response? I remember the epidemic of “I pray and no one answers” amongst Christians, but that seems to have changed. Is this part of whatever is going on with American Protestantism, along with increasing psychism? I was expecting something more staid and doctrinaire as the second religiosity ramps up, but instead it feels…weirder and maybe more Pentecostal (not so much in the denominational sense as the “direct communication with the Spirit sense) than expected? Admittedly, there seems to be a big uptick in commitment to Biblical inerrancy, but also in people taking that stranger places than I expected.

419. David Homgren, an Australian permaculture elder, has written some of his thoughts on world changes this year. I have read 2 parts of it. 14, then 13. I am sure it has, or would have if they read it, many who thought he thought like them, up in arms. This may also be fuel for me with my adult offspring, who say I have changed in that I am not just going along with the current narrative, here is a very visible elder who also sees problems with what we are being told. ( Well, I should hope that I do take in new information, new experiences and change. However, I think all or most of my core values are the same and what we are being sold in mainstream society is being pushed somewhere else. ) https://holmgren.com.au/permaculture-ideas-and-actions/writings/

     A first point of interest is his thoughts on why the “green” push has happened by the powers that be. The industrial world trying to shift to a command economy as a response to resource depletion so that the key resources, natural gas and oil, can be shifted to priorities of industry ( food processing using natural gas (heat), and military, farming, transportation, mining etc… needing diesel, the whole green washing is making a narrative to get people to not be able to use the fossil fuels and critical tie in to virtue signaling, they get brownie points for doing the right thing, but of course we cannot keep our current usages and the increases as they are on green energy. And they must know this. In the ensuing electricity black outs, rich with large battery back up and punters left to burn sticks in the backyard

     Part 14 ” …What I saw as problematic was how the climate narrative was being used to shepherd the public into accepting policy decisions based on polishing the climate credentials of corrupt power elites and even worse, getting the public to make personal and household decisions that I believed were the opposite of enlightened self-interest. What I found interesting is that it was primarily the well-educated, with apparently good ethics, who were mostly believing and acting on these narratives, while the ‘uneducated’ battlers were typically more sceptical about these inducements, based on a gut feeling that they were being gamed yet again and the proposals didn’t pass the ‘pub test’. This is following a pattern recently established with Covid, especially the novel injections.

     Reflection
     It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the US election where the working-class have rallied to Trump’s transformation of the Republican party into a national populous political party while the Democrats have morphed into representing a strange coalition of higher educated woke beneficiaries of globalisation. This coalition includes the vast majority of academia and mainstream media combined with the extreme neo-cons risking nuclear war to maintain the tottering West-dominated ‘rules based international order’ which includes the climate consensus and foundations for global governance. ”

     Part 13 is about the environmental costs of renewables, and how the energy cost of energy is rising very fast ( a cute chart), the move to large corporate scale installations, with the money and environmental costs, etc… and an interesting tie back to here with Nod to our host John Michael Greer
     ” … That those articulating RE limits are being branded peddlers of mis-, dis- and mal- information is quite natural. That it should be cast as a threat to public health is unavoidable, given how well the real and/or perceived and/or mal information about the Covid threat succeeded in an unprecedented acceptance of Brown Tech realities (and angry resistance by some apparently small minority). In all these assessments, I remain open minded about the complex “facts” involved in any of these issues. That I see the official Covid narrative as largely false and fabricated while I accept the climate emergency as real (and part of the larger Limits to Growth crisis) is beside the point about how real, manipulated and fabricated facts are used to produce changes in consciousness, which is John Michael Greer’s definition of magic. ”

     Then he compares the woke revolution with the cultural revolution under Mao.

420. BK #402:

     Because, on a technological level, they’re not outputting bytes, they’re outputting tokens, word parts. A JPEG isn’t composed of word parts. They also have a linear context, tokens following tokens, while JPEGS are two-dimensional. You need to have the pixel at coordinate (1,1) connect not just to (1,2) but also to (2,1).

     —David P.

421. @JMG
     “the idea that you should do whatever you want but expect everyone else to be generous and self-sacrificing.”

     I don’t think it is quite this. It’s not that everyone else should be generous, it’s that the society should be generous.

422. Bocaccio # 415:

     I agree. It’s the same incompetence and imposed consensus you’ll find between my country politicians and media. An ominous and lethal consensus, I’d add to it, about the several elephants in the EU room, which you’ve written about your country. A widespread echo chamber is working (if I could call it with this name) across the EU bureaucracy and its countries elites.
     —————————————
     JMG # 416:

     Your answer to the Jesus question(s) seems IMHO very diplomatic, I understand it because you’re not a christian occultist of course.
     *********************
     Your answer to Bocaccio concerns about European ominous leadership: I agree, no arguments here. I see the incoming disaster (in historical terms) too, so I’m also worried!

423. JMG wrote: “what usually happens when our system goes through a convulsion is that for a while the two parties both embrace the same ideology, and just try to spin it to the advantage of one or another set of power centers. Think of the two parties from the Second World War to Reagan, both equally committed to corporate liberalism: that’s standard. So once the dust settles, the battered and bloodied Democratic party will rebrand itself as “MAGA, but different.””

     So by the same process at work, do you think we can infer that the MAGA right, will forget how to meme, and will continue in the direction of becoming “Woke but differently”? It looks to me that they are becoming like the leftists they hate and complain about so much, because that is what so many of them are contemplating.

     Lord almighty help us all if the worst tendencies of each combine into the new American standard.

424. @Seeking

     Today, Jesus is almost certainly a paragon of virtue as most who encounter him say. But I think he spent a thirty year period as a fairly typical human being.

     I don’t know how Jesus was perceived during Roman and medieval times. Shifts in that perception over the last 2000 years may or may not reflect developments in Jesus’ personality/character, not just changes in cultural values.

425. I think pygmycory is hitting the nail on the head: “trying to do three jobs with two people” is a _huge_ problem for modern families. What’s worse is that once you account for childcare and the associated costs of a second job– never mind the opportunity costs of the things you could do yourselves with one human at home (a penny saved is a penny earned!)– it’s very, very hard to justify the economics of that arrangement for most people. Of course having your own job outside the home is a mark of self-respect, of “liberation” or whatever, so many people will bend over backwards to ignore basic mathematics.

     The only thing worse is trying to do two jobs with one person. That’s just simple math– 2/3 is closer to a whole than 1/2. Ladies, no matter how frustratingly useless you feel your husband to be, it’s not going to be easier without him. Even if you feel he’s only doing 5% of the housework– that’s 5% you don’t have to do! (And let’s be honest: nobody can make an honest accounting when it comes to that division. What you feel is 5% he might think is 50%, and you’re likely both wrong.) I know women who found that one out the hard way. They went from being resentful of how little the husband did to dearly missing that little contribution, even if they didn’t miss the man himself one iota.

     If your man is harming you or your children, or you fear he’s going to, why, that’s one thing. In that case, run fast and run far. If he’s just not helping out with the housework, that’s something completely different. Men can be trained, and you can get help with that. As BoysMom states above, we’re pretty clueless from a woman’s perspective. There are probably things about which you are completely clueless, from his perspective. If the two of you cannot meet in the middle, there are professionals to help with that, and they are one heck of a lot cheaper than divorce lawyers!

     As for love, ugh. That word is too imprecise. It’s not that it means nothing, but that it has too many meanings. When I first told the girl I was to later marry (at the tender age of 17) I meant something very, very different than what I meant when I told her that today, 20-odd years later. My 17 year old self was sincere: I loved the girl then, and I love the woman she’s become now. I say “love” but they are totally different emotions.

     The “love” of a whirlwind romance, of “falling in love” and the honeymoon… well, I think that it’s not strictly necessary. Oh, it’s fun, but it burns out quickly. You can build the long-enduring kind of love in the embers of that bonfire, or even in its ashes. (Or without the bonfire at all, depending on your culture.) It’s a less all-encompassing, less exhilarating emotion than the heady feelings you get from being pierced by Cupid’s Arrow, but it’s what’s needed to keep a couple of humans together through thick-and-thin, “for better or worse”. Sadly our culture has failed to make that clear: all of popular culture, from films to songs et cetera focus on the first, juvenile type of love. When it burns out, nobody knows they need to (or needed to) build the second. Hence you have no-fault divorces with the reasoning being “I just don’t feel that spark anymore” — I find that case particularly tragic, as there’s absolutely no reason those people couldn’t have learned to live a long and happy life together.

426. Re: AO3

     AO3’s comments are not heavily moderated, so you can post comments to the authors you like warning them of the existence of these bots. Fanfic authors usually read every comment they get, desperate for a small amount of Internet fame (or at least for a few people to love the fic).

427. @DavidP, BK,
     The image-generating models are called Diffusion Models, and work in a much stranger way than Large Language Models. LLMs are pretty straightforward: they’ve digested a huge corpus of text and can use that to guess what word is most likely to come next in a sentence, in response to a query. It’s the same way phone and tablet keyboards can suggest guesses for your next word, more-or-less. (Why, exactly, that results in the painfully obvious overuse of the em dash and the same handful of cheap rhetorical devices, I haven’t the foggiest idea, but that’s another kettle of fish.)

     Diffusion Models are actually de-noising algorithms being fed pure noise. Like, you’ve got a neural net, it’s trained to take noise out of an image. You’ve given it thousands of images of cats you’ve added static to, and it can take the static out to give you the cat. Now you give it pure static. Well, it’s going to give you an image of a cat, right? That’s what it’s meant to do: find the cat in the static. Training the Diffusion Model is a matter of taking images with their descriptions from the internet (as BK surmises) and then slowly introducing static so it knows how to, on command, pull not just a cat, but a dog or a man or Barack Obama wearing a frilly pink tutu out of the noise. It’s frankly bizarre how well this works.

     You would have a very hard time training an LLM to “speak JPEG” because the JPEG format isn’t a language like, say, HTML or PostScript. Those are scripting languages which describe how to format a page and can describe simple images as well. JPEG is a binary format, and any one bit out of place can compromise the entire image. Given how common LLM “hallucinations” are (that is the technical term, but it’s really confabulation) getting a workable image out of an LLM without it confabulating part of the file into uselessness sounds like an exercise in extreme frustration.

     If you’re thinking “But I can ask ChatGPT to give me a picture and it can” (or whatever box of digital demons is your personal poison) that’s another different kettle of fish. They used to pipe the output to a separate diffusion model, but for ChatGPT specifically they’ve now built in a third type of model, embedded within the LLM. Which maybe helps give an idea why they need so many huge data centers for these things…

     (JMG, sorry if this is going too close to the sun on your prohibition of discussing so-called AI)

428. Jennifer
     Though fiction, I would include Michael Shaara’s books on the US civil war. For primarily the failure of diplomacy and intelligent thought leading up to war, I would include Barbara Tuchman’s ” The Guns of August”.
     Sir Basil Liddle Hart’s book and thinking greatly influenced both Guderian and Rommel, and therefore the entire German approach to warfare in WWII.
     Stephen

429. Cato P-Funk # 423:

     I think we should be concerned if populist Right wing parties in the Western countries start their own cancelation campaigns against people in the culture, MSM and so on, signalling who are noticed by them as leftists, woke and so on. I wish to be wrong, but this temptation to impose a certain censorship (antiwoke or whatever name they could call it) can be too strong in the near future for post-Trumpian and other Right wing parties. Revenge’s a very contagious feeling, and when basic feelings have invaded politics across the “democracies”, everything could happen.

430. Atmospheric River
     Are those essays of David Holmgren’s in book form, or does he have a blog? I would love to see them. I knew him, took a course from him as well,though haven’t seen him for probably 20 years. He is a very intelligent and interesting man. I was particularly impressed by his ideas on permaculturizing ( for lack of a better word) suburbia, especially inner suburb Australian suburbia. Much of it could work in N. America as well. Toby Hemmenway had many of the same ideas out of Portland OR. I always liked David’s concept of starting with the reality of where you were/what you had and not with some elaborate dream that you would probably give up on.
     Stephen

431. Dear Commentariat,
     i haven’t read the responses that Scotlyn told me were here. i will later. i’m only here because it’s the responsible thing for me to do while this is still an open post:

     i’m sorry how i had to / have to go. what happened when i saw Jennifer’s comment was what happens when i go “animal” and sense something beyond words that are base like red light STOP! and green, GO!

     part of the reason IS because as i’d told some of you, i am in the red zone of poverty while playing chicken with a harassing landlord AND trying to turn the story into a better one as i live AND fly it.

     that means i’m “in play.” i’m raw and this is the Giacometti part of the stripped down TRUTH experience: intuitional screaming, animalistically quick responses that i am reverse engineering with words.

     i stared at jennifer’s comment like it was a pile of black seething serpents threatening to invade my brain my body my ENERGY and hissed back and away. this is the “i can only see pretty things” part. doesn’t mean i can’t read Walt’s comments that Scotlyn said i might be too sensitive for. not likely. right now i prefer the reality of punches.

     in Jennifer’s comment, it’s not even really PERSONAL. it’s just… women in society, phatic communication. and it’s why temp reality and i clashed–when she put me on hold for over ten minutes taking the specialness out with a shopping list making need.

     this is what i learned from James and in seeing how he was, i stopped being dismissive like “let’s move on.”

     but i cannot really explain my visceral reaction beyond that i realized it’s too dangerous to start projects and holy things out in public in front of everyone’s casual eyes. the internet’s problem is that it takes and has taken everything SPECIAL and SPECIFIC away from us and made us …generalized. generic. niiiiice. nuance is lost.

     that said, Jennifer i don’t need or even WANT you to “apologize.” it’s really not YOU but ME. i’m smiling but i’m serious. the entire WORLD is that way and i’m a weirdo.

     i’m skint and close to the bone of life ON PURPOSE. it’s close to the paranormal Geo P Hansen writes about. but it also forces me into sussing up situations really super fast because i have so little time money and room to spare on a bad idea going nowhere fast.

     Adocentyn was everything i was looking forward to about going back into the world without James. but Jennifer’s response told me as i stared at her comment in horror and realized a few things all at once that overwhelmed me:

     “there will be no jousting and arguing in the future as long as women are involved and men won’t step forward anyhow… ” and Christophe thank you for getting alpha/beta reference according to Scotlyn.

     i was looking for a way of putting some of the MEN here up on stage to shine and look amazing, which is what i think people CRAVE because it’s fun watching thinkers go at it and men can be fun debaters and not take it personally.

     and i also realized after the last talk on betas as alphas and the general consensus of niceness and not being too aggressive opinionated or whatever: “it will be a lot of work to drag people out of themselves because they’re out of practice online and i don’t have the strength to lift as heavy as i used to, socially…”

     and i felt like a dancing bear. entertainment. i was watching in horror as Papa’s experiences in hell were being trivialized into fodder for more abstract discussion instead of PUSHING forward through our own ossification which is inevitable for ANYONE.

     and then i worried Papa was a dancing bear and i decided that where i am now— in a stripped down animal sensing mode— is horrible for all that Papa’s built here and i do not belong because i’m undermining where people ARE and must realize people will and MUST only change in their own time.

     it’s just that later i also realized i was itchy about Jeffrey Russell’s divorce and after all of his regular contributing and careful sharing, how were we as a community not able to speak to him putting that kind of sacred dedication into his MARRIAGE?

     what’s missing??? Papa’s sharing sooo much of his most private life and marriage but so much is missed because the medium is the message/massage, right???

     that’s what i kept thinking. the MEDIUM is doing this to us. all of these avatars and fake names, too:

     that ALSO got to me and after reading Jennifer’s comment and staring at it in horror for the TONE, i barely remember what was said as it’s always about some unseen TONE for me when i’m like this so that’s also why i disappear: i am quite possibly, totally insane.

     i was scared at my vision (realization) my horror that the other realization as i read Jennifer’s comment was:

     “the culture will not move forward cannot move forward with women …as… this.”

     whatever “this” is, for i cannot see the color of air, either. it’s a VIBE. a horror.

     and Jennifer yes i heard you don’t / didn’t know about the alpha/beta discussion. i got feral because what i REALLY “felt” was like you could just as easily have been saying, “your penis ain’t all that. do something miraculous! …no, not that.”

     i read your comment and the truest horror i felt/heard was: “IT’S NEVER GOING TO BE ENOUGH.”

     i cannot defend that reaction to your comment. only that it was there and i realized that i fear that tendency in women to go there, to be unimpressed, calm, STAID.

     a young woman who’d come to me because she wanted to be a bad ass (her words), she had no god for being a bad ass. in fact, regarding her boyfriend who was falling into drug use from being wasted in life, she rolled her eyes at his dream of being a super hero in some way.

     i said, “but that’s Man’s DREAM.” she didn’t get it. just came at everything he dreamt of with that same TONE of Jennifer. oh… what’s THAT now? it’s like an assembly line of trivial concepts.

     when, if you can get the alphas to WAKE up, get up off the concrete and BECOME SUPERHEROES, then THEN we will make it.

     until then when people neeeeed to be pulled out to step up as themselves, when it’s too easy to hide behind 50 personalities instead of drilling deep down into just ONE complicated one that has seemingly endless tendrils, until then, we’re trapped in the fashion of nihilism knowing better and not be willing to be embarrassed or have a small penis in front of any woman who’s perfected the “oh, what’s up with this new alpha crap?” tone of ennui.

     it’s murder.

     the phones the innerwebs have made us general generic smoothed over mounds like Ken doll crotches.

     i don’t want to fight for the alpha in Papa G to be seen and USED by alienating his readers as i’m just guest and must needs behave and be kind.

     so yes… the way things are now, i can also only see “pretty things” and must protect myself from the withering gazes of internet “kill anything baby new on colt legs” so that’s also why i said I GOTTA GO.

     i am feral rude ugly… WRONG. but this is where i must go in order to see what’s next and where i can put my energy.

     i feel like i’m here on borrowed time and that’s why i’ve also turned away from Lilly: all the work i’m doing online dealing with ancient horrible emails makes me BLIND. and when i remember it’s time to check in her as a new widow, it’s a trap a set up for not writing back MORE or QUICK ENOUGH and i feel like a dude with a teeny tiny penis again.

     i cannot impress women and once the ones who dared reach out are close, then they want me docile. they want me like THEM. to conform. and i feel like a guy and i’m NOT one. i’m female. i want their love attention acceptance. i want to get the glib jokes. i DO!

     but for some reason i also want to be some kind of superhero. maybe it’s because i didn’t have kids and like Papa, i wanna do something for the kids i DO have in spirit. and i have been most electrified by the weirdos who call me out and are willing to piss me off or SCARE me.

     i almost always met such people on the street on the RUN when i’m in the red zone.

     where i am NOW.

     and that’s why i cannot take gen pop WITH ME. i see that i’m in the red zone which is not the case for folks here. i can’t woo you out and make love to your inner being at this time. maybe LATER.

     but right now i am on count down with no income and a landlord/mgt co. who’re now suggesting i’m making up all the claims of harassing. i just had a pot of water dumped down on me yesterday.

     i do not take for granted that i will prevail in this feminized court system here in mordor.

     so i’m also feral because of that.

     so i’m the one not meant for mixed company right now.

     Jennifer be as you are. even APOLOGIZING is too female for me right now. (smile) see? i’m a girl because no matter what you do you can’t WIN.

     no. to WIN would be to just take a look at that and see if i’m onto something or have finally gone completely insane.

     but as a female i LEAVE because i don’t want to hurt any womens’ feelings and right now things are feeling very womany right now. i know many of the “dudes” here (even the female ones) are being quiet, playing possume, CAMOUFLAGED and fitting in…

     NO! NOT AT THIS TIME!

     until we’re willing to piss off the vaginas in our life, we’re toast. that’s what i realized. i didn’t say lynch or burn and hang us vaginas. we just need OTHER ALPHAS TO STEP UP AND CALL IT OUT.

     until that happens i’m just repositioning MYSELF as the new scape goat around here because you all moved on from Violet. and that’s another trap, more shtick.

     so i’m all for Scotlyn’s vague idea about communication being bridges instead of walls and i’ll be in stasis regarding this place. but for now i’m just no good as others don’t seem to wanna share in the role of challenging calling out or questioning.

     creativity and my mind and magic have also saved me in the past from a life on the street. i don’t know if it was just living in the bounds of empire or it’s a “thing.” i can’t be shallow when i’m this close to homelessness or asking for help which would feel like being a loser because i’m not DOING anything i “say” or “talk about.” it’d be just all talk.

     i will eventually return and read and maybe swoop around in another open post. but right now i’d be DEMON to this place, understand???

     and this is also where MEN and menny types will have to eventually go if they’re to swagger off into their own insanity and try something new different terrifying.

     but i’m not FEELING or SEEING THAT HERE. and in light of what Papa’s writing about, that makes no SENSE. the world is ENDING. Jeffrey Russell losing his wife is TRAGIC.

     so how can we as community HELP this??? we can’t. that’s the futility of the internet. the more we “know” the more it just fizzles.

     this isn’t progress. it’s archaic Quaker stuff where the community signs the marriage certificate, vowing to help the couple stay together.

     so i’ll stick around and be within earshot of Scotlyn and check in late and read up. Walt i’m relieved you’re angry. FINALLY an “un-nice” emotion! I CAN TAKE IT! just not this moment. i hope to be done with the legal stuff shortly. i’m DESPERATE to get my head out of the toilet for a moment.

     so let’s just put Adocentyn on hold for NOW and perhaps i’ll show up even just to make myself to be talked to for real. but right now i can’t lead this gathering/get together.

     some one or others i hope alpha up and take on a vision, whatever YOURS IS.

     i can’t lead it. i have to focus on getting home secure and get ENDCAT the book writing done.

     but i’m kinda working on that now even HERE. because James and i always made up. never went to bed angry as of 15 now 16 years ago i guess. time does fly.

     i cannot right now put myself in the position to see “ugly” things (dismissive or shallow) and need the real even if it’s angry or sad. that’s not ugly. that’s REAL. stripped down humanity.

     the world is dying. i worry this is descending into a polite tea party.

     there’s no break dancing because women have taken over and the men get out of the way and let women flail their arms and be adored. men compete when they dance. it’s DIFFERENT.

     we need that. we don’t have to be a part of EVERYTHING… we tend to kill it. EVEN AND ESP ME. i bow out of things where i know my personality will take over or my femaleness will handicap the other.

     Jennifer be you. don’t apologize. i’m in weirdo crazy mode where i pass out at parties because i read minds and can’t make sense of the EYES.

     the innerwebs and these comment sections are the same where i don’t know can vibe out who anyone IS, real name or not.

     it freaks ME out. i’m not made for the internet. i was only here because you all were a lot like me and i didn’t feel like a creepy scary freak. now i do again. (smile)

     i bow out because being like this is like grooming alone in the bathroom. you don’t want anyone to see you clean out your own bellybutton with special soap. i don’t do that but now i’m curious.

     anyhow, Scotlyn’s right: bridge of communication open.

     but i can’t lead or organize anything at Adocentyn. if i’m able to take Peter up on his invitation later, if it’s even available, i will make myself available to talk about whatever i’ve done and how it made you feel or think.

     i’m taken aback at my own terror at women’s humor and ways. i love women i crave us. miss my family of sister and mother. father kills his spirit to be around them and wants me to contort. i cannot. i die. but i MISS and love them.

     via James i learned a lot about men’s dreams and epic VISIONS. we need to give room and place for that to rise up and shine with our side’s epic magic parts.

     it’s not you, Jennifer. it’s the internet. it’s our accepted forms of being and there’s nothing you could’ve done other than just been quiet and watched the conversation as it unfolds or follow up to earlier. but the internet this world doesn’t make ROOM for such reactions. everything’s hurry first take NOW or be missed.

     so it’s not what’s said. it’s a vibe of humility and possibly patience and even reverence in how alpha/beta discussions are the first stirrings of even such a concept RETURNING to the culture.

     my job as artist is to help shape the culture that is struggling to be BORN. i have to see where i think the beginning the start of the roll of tape is before i PULL on it.

     for a long time it’s been about healing the dudes. no lie. for a loooong time.

     so as i return to that “fxck everyone!” energy that is ripe for old hackneyed ridicule but it’s NEEDED. it will save us ALL. and women who snark won’t be exiled. we need balance.

     so my job is to pitch new approaches to old things we avoid out of fear laziness or ignorance.

     like wonder awe patience… earnestness… heart.

     i’m here because i like Scotlyn’s VISION of communication as a BRIDGE. i’m embarassed and ashamed i reacted so strongly but at least it was in writing and not in person. i actually scream back in person as if scalded when i catch someone’s ulterior vibe and are caught lying to me. often the person doesn’t even KNOW.

     because everyone does mean well.

     but i’m not to say “oh Jennifer it’s okay it’s ME” and leave it at that. i’m fine with it being ME, but it’d be cool to me if women would start looking at what they SAY they want to court and woo, and be ruthless in judging how well they’re doing it.

     this is long but i almost didn’t see Scotlyn’s email writing about Walt Christophe Jennifer and some others, and i felt lucky that i caught it (the nesting emails ruins me and i miss many emails).

     thank you for praying for me, Mr Moore. it worked.

     i am trying to find the God in all this. / i’ll come back and read later and if Scotlyn tells me to catch something i shall. but right now i’m verrrry wobbly as i am in play and as strong as i seem when i’m even just outside on my bicycle (last week a bus driver lady yelled out her window, “you go, Miss Thing!”) so i know i’m attracting energy and not repelling. another woman in heart shaped glasses only moments earlier was locking up her bicycle and as i was loading mine, recognized me from singing on the streets.

     so i SEEM strong but i’m super weak and fragile when i’m like this and right now i’m worried that i’m so afraid of WOMEN right now. i don’t like that because then i’m being controlled. but women’s energy is slippery and not very willing to not know right now. that worries me even more because that means we’ll shape shift like the liberals are.

     i’m also back because i finally realized if ANY PEOPLE would understand my inability to explain my fear of Jennifer and even the Other Owens … is that i’m easy to kill by simply not paying attention and so it’s MY JOB to avoid.

     Jennifer, be yourself. it’s the INTERNET. it’s increasingly making me psychically ill. even as i love to read on it. like heroin.

     (smile)

     please accept my apologies and i will try and be awkward ugly and uncomfortable as i stick around in a periferal fashion as i suppose i must still belong to many of you here. it’s not ever really up to us, is it.

     where creators have to go is often ALONE. to be different wrong dance badly sing off key and crack your voice. i have to be free to be ugly and wrong inappropriate.

     i WANT to be feral but like not having a magic phone, it gets me into trouble today.

     xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

432. @RMS #401 re: Boardgaming, Runes, and Spam

     Thank you for the suggestion for boardgaming groups, that fits well with the other advice I’ve gotten around here to find something regular to do that is as much focused on making friends as meeting women, and that I might actually enjoy and be able to bring my kids to.

     I have pretty broad tastes boardgame wise, from classics like Catan through to the mega-complex like Twilight Imperium, but I tend to enjoy games that are strategic in one way or another. One that I’ve only played a few times, but rather liked, was Century: Golem Edition. Deckbuilding games like Dominion are also a lot of fun (it scratches a lot of the itches I have left over from playing Magic: the Gathering, but in a far more cost-effective way!).

     As for my bracelet, it’s just the Elder Futhark in order, one Rune per bead, with dividers between the Aetts. I made it to help me learn all the Runes and their order, and since then I’ve adopted a practice where every time I put it on, I recite the short version of Eirik Westcoat’s Rune Poem from Eagle’s Mead, going to the bead for each Rune as I say its verse.

     Lastly, I checked both the comments on my blog and my email and didn’t see anything that appeared to be from you. My email is jeff DOT powell DOT russell AT gmail DOT com if you wanted to try again.

     Cheers,
     Jeff

433. Ok I’ll give my view on why the Left can’t meme. The Left are typically PMCs and represent establishment views. Memes primarily exist to mock what needs mocking ie, the powerful, and that is the PMCs and their views on covid, lockdowns, climate change, free speech, political correctness and their general authoritarianism. There are cat memes etc but most fall into the category of mocking the establishment.

     How could a member of the PMC mock themselves? They left X and went to Bluesky so they wouldn’t have to look at any memes, mocking them. They aren’t exactly known for their well developed sense of humour or humility. When the left try to meme, they always miss the mark because they don’t understand who and what they are mocking and trot out cliches that were old hat years ago, eg that Brexiteers want the return of the British Empire for example. Unherd wrote about it, “Left-wing beliefs don’t trigger taboos, even quite extreme Left-wing beliefs, so there is no need for them to employ the meme…” and “They cannot really be controlled or faked” which is what the Left is actually very good at.

     I asked an LLM why the Left can’t meme and got this, “there are very smart Left memes — but perhaps fewer that break out into mainstream viral culture because the formats might be more niche or less provoking” and “On the Left, narratives can be more complex and reflective (intersectionality, structural analysis, nuance) which doesn’t always lend itself to quick meme-punchlines.” More proof, as if it’s needed, that LLMs don’t equal artificial intelligence.

434. TylerA @ 425, Many years ago I came to the conclusion that it is dumb to try to have a middle class lifestyle without a middle class income. If who does the housework is a divisive issue, that says to me that it is time to simplify. Stuff has to be cleaned and maintained. I think it also shows a lack of organization. IMO, any adult can pick up after themselves. Period. Hang up the towel, wipe up spilled water, put clothes in the hamper, and so on. More serious cleaning can be scheduled. Running the washer and dryer every day is wasteful of both time and money. I am amazed by the number of people who can’t seem to be able to understand that utilities have to be paid for. Small children love to help Mommy and Daddy. Chores help build character and a sense of responsibility. Older kids need to get off the electronics and help. You live here, you do your share. It is a good idea to establish a schedule which works for both partners and the kids, who will have homework, sports practice and so on. Schedule means no one has to feel like they are being nagged or taken advantage of.

     Speaking of basic mathematics, I suppose you do know that nowadays, in most areas, one working class salary WILL NOT COVER rent+food+utilities. Both parties or factions are responsible for this state of affairs. We can’t have housing price controls because free market is like a sacred principle right there in the Bible or maybe the Constitution somewhere. We can’t make it unlawful to sell American real estate to noncitizens or foreign capital because bigotry, and multiculturalism is a hallowed value, established by Plato or Confucious or Nagarjuna or someone.
     The English language is very good for description. That is one reason why many early naturalists came from English speaking countries. It is good for stating matters of fact and principle. It is not so good at expressing emotion or states of being.

435. @ Stephen Pearson

     I put the link in my comment, so scroll back up

436. still will have to go through Scotlyn and yes it’s one way but right now how it has to be. just had this wonderful thought from when i wrote about my trying to set up men and get out of the way. i’d heard a speaker and wanted to host a show on KPOO as an excuse to air two men. not into it. i pitched the guy on his own to do a pre-taped show and he got a yes. so i DO want to get out the way here in a similar way (and maybe it’s how this was to transform?)—

     I NOMINATE ALL MEN ONLY TO HELP PETER SET UP ADOCENTYN NEXT YEAR. specifically Christophe, Jeffrey Russell now that he has time and wants to be in a more public position (in order to meet women easily), as well as WALT, to volunteer to make a dream Adocentyn.

     the rules are when money isn’t involved, you bring YOUR SOUL. it costs MORE as you’re invested more by bringing more of YOURSELF. that’s why it’s necessary to know and for you to share your talents skills your dance… you’ve gotta take over the floor NOW because it electrifies and brings joy inspiration LIFE.

     i say this to ALL.

     but i do have a serious thought that this is an opportunity to build something with Peter who is standing by, idling. I don’t want to just distract be loud emotional leaky. i want to inspire OTHERS to take over.

     so i nominate the above men to help Peter brainstorm a VISION shared vision with Papa about some potential different domains each man or men can cover.

     i think it is good that i stepped aside so that we may let some men with vision and time, whether they can even arrive in person or just help organize something from afar, i think Next Year ANY Year Adocentyn would be a good place for the men and maybe menny people here with vision, take this on. i think it needs alone time of finding a spark.

     i dig Walt’s willingness to be angry. the more i think about that, the more pleased i am. DING! this one here’s still ALIVE!

     any others, please do. i don’t try to keep women OUT, i’m just winking at us, saying maybe let’s sit this one out and help on the fringes but i for one, am curious to see what the male mages among us, transitioned returning, whatever i do also mean a type of THINKING that is fine with typically male traits and won’t cry foul when feelings are hurt.

     it’s a WAY an approach a promise. a way to save the world.

     so i nominate Walt, Christophe, Jeffrey Russell, and Papa G along with Peter, as the shamelessly head dudes. there needs to be the freedom of a new born with audacity of men pushing each other and competing to out do each other that i CRAVE.

     with how things are i can hardly promise to come should Peter still leave the invite open, but if i can at all i shall. i’m a bit nervous. but am also excited about this bigger idea and hope you gentlemen will dare to ascend to it.

     yes, to us women let’s stay out of it. they’ll INCLUDE us and ask or you all SHOULD run ideas by and capture Ellen in ME and whomever else. but i’d like to see some pushed ideas from male mages around here left to run free. Peter’s perfect.

     my scalp JUST GOT MAD CHILLS as i typed the idea above, it’s THAT good. yeah. let the magic guys go all out on their vision for awhile and we who don’t feel particularly manly can be the support staff for awhile. it’s so much fun watching the quietest ones blow your mind.

     back to work. but this is an even better idea. don’t waste me! this is better. you know it.
     x

437. @Patrick, when I’ve seen them on other people’s work, I tell them ‘yeah, they’re doing that to me too, it’s nothing you did’. I think I may stick an author’s note on the next chapter of my main work, telling readers what’s happening so those of them that write realize it’s happening to others.

     Oh, and according to the bot I’m now also anti-transgender for using the term ‘adult human female’ – except that I didn’t use it in the chapter in question and frankly there are situations where ‘adult human female’ is a perfectly reasonable and necessary term. I mean you wouldn’t want to get a human female confused with a female dog, now would you?

     This is so stupid.

438. @Chuaquin

     In America at least, a swing to the right with cancellations of some leftist viewpoints is now inevitable. Most Americans are not leftists, and want wokeist propaganda and censorship to end. If the Right limits their censorious zeal to viewpoints the overwhelming majority is sick of, its efforts will be successful for a couple generations to come. But if they try to coerce people to pretend to agree with unpopular right-wing viewpoints, their coming era of dominance won’t last as long.

439. In the bubble bubble toil and trouble category, two complementary headlines,

     “OpenAI has committed to spend about $1.4 trillion on infrastructure so far, equating to roughly 30 gigawatts of data center capacity, CEO Sam Altman said on Tuesday. From a report:
     The statement helps clarify the many announcements the company has made with its chip, data center and financing partners. That total includes the already announced deals with AMD, Broadcom, Nvidia, Oracle and other partners. That’s just the starting point, Altman said. Over time, the company would like to have in place a technical and financial apparatus that would allow it to build a gigawatt of new capacity per week at a cost of around $20 billion per gigawatt.”

     And to power this,

     “Jet engine shortages threaten AI data center expansion as wait times stretch into 2030 — the rush to power AI buildout continues”

     “Faced with multi-year delays to secure grid connections, data center developers have been racing to bolt ex-airliner turbine cores onto mobile generator trailers. These so-called aeroderivative gas turbines, long used in military and offshore energy, are now being ordered in bulk.”

     I believe they can be converted to run a natural gas instead of jet fuel.

     There is an internet graphic of an antelope chewing its cud behind a bowl of popcorn. That seems so appropriate right now.

440. the left can’t meme because they embrace earnestness, surely
     taking yourself really seriously has predictable consequences

441. JIM MOORE I ALSO NOMINATE YOU

442. JMG is an unbiased polytheist and respectfully recognizes that Christians encounter living responsive deity also. This can make people who have rejected or disagree with Christianity uncomfortable as they would prefer to think there is no spiritual reality or life to it. This can actually set them up to become Christian for if they do encounter to their surprise that there is living responsive deity and spirit in Christianity their world view is turned upside down.

443. Walt i’m sobbing. Scotlyn was right. read that before bed. yes! build me a world.
     no, no coincidences. The Conversation is ahead of us. it’s happening all about me.

444. Far too late in the comment cycle, but an amusing thought occurred to me a while back that I thought I’d share: I have a set of eclectic spiritual beliefs, drawn from many sources, and a going concern for me is how to adjust traditional spiritual traditions and wisdom to better fit the Aquarian Age.

     I am by any literal definition a New Ager.

445. Hi John,

     I just tried to order the Weird of Hali series from my local indie book store. The clerk was able to order 6 of the 7 from the publisher, but she said the last work in the series, Arkham, was coming up as out of print and it appears as though used copies are expensive and not easy to find. All of the other Haliverse novels from Sphinx Books look like they are still in print.

     Any idea of what might be going on with Arkham, and when it might be going back into print?

446. Erika,

     You may not see this or ever read my other comment, but I wanted to say some things.

     First, if that was your visceral reaction reading my comment, all I can say is that I always trust that reaction when I have it, and I think you should too. Something there/here/with me is not good for you, and I don’t want to paper over that or try to convince you to ignore it. So what follows is not to try to convince you to stick around or to make nice. It is simply what I want to say about the interaction.

     I do think you misread my tone, which still sounds neutral to me when I say it in my head, like “What’s with everybody wearing pink today?” or “What’s with all the cars in the church parking lot on a Tuesday?” or “What’s with everyone talking about ordering green tea lattes lately?” It doesn’t sound critical or catty to me, just an inquiry about something I’ve noticed that seems different than usual. But you mentioned “belittling.” I am sensitive to feeling belittled, and I don’t like that I made you feel that way. It may not even be that I did/said anything wrong, but I didn’t come across how I meant to. So what I am sorry for is not for being me (I am far from perfect, but I think I’m all right) but for you feeling so bad. (This is not me trying to blame you for your reaction. Just saying that I feel bad about you feeling bad because of me regardless of whether it’s “my fault.”)

     I also do think that I was lazy and treated an idea that was important to you too casually. I engaged with what you were saying as just another smattering of comments among many that I was intrigued by. But I know that you are careful about words as tracks in space, because you told me so. Asking you to reduce something you were really invested in and had agonized over in your writing to a casual explainer for my convenience was rude and sloppy. I should have thought about it harder. As you say, it’s the internet–it’s hard to give each comment the respect it deserves when the volume and speed are so high, but if I couldn’t give your words due consideration, I should have just not engaged. It was a lapse in judgment rather than meanness, but still not good. I also frankly feel really dumb for not making the connection to the alpha/beta Marxism posts, which seems incredibly obvious now; I instead connected it to some alpha/beta male stuff which I saw pop up elsewhere on the internet and thought maybe there was a trend.

     That being said–and I have been going back and forth about whether to say this, because it might just tick you off–but the stuff about me acting out the toxic feminine doesn’t ring true to me, and actually our interaction has kind of made me feel like a guy with an emotionally volatile girlfriend. You read a bunch of stuff that I didn’t mean into something I said, got upset about it, cussed at me, and “broke up” with me! I am not saying this to criticize but because it has given me an idea. You seem to be going through some rejection/fear of the feminine right now, to my understanding largely because of the Devouring Mother archetype and its role in the COVID fiasco and the woke totalitarianism that’s, well, devouring our society. But you are of course human, and specifically a woman, so fearing/rejecting the feminine means fearing/rejecting aspects of yourself. I wonder if you might be projecting your shadow feminine onto me/my comment, and the black seething mass you saw is actually you perceiving that projected shadow rather than anything coming from me. And the “crazy girlfriend” aspect of the interaction is the unconscious return of your repressed feminine. That probably seems like I’m trying to turn things around on you and say “No, it’s you!” but that’s not how I mean it. Maybe I’m totally off base, but those were my reflections on our interaction.

447. Wait. What?? Did Bill Gates just say we should all stop worrying about the effects of climate change? That Dude? Didn’t he write a book about how to live your life (where to spend your money) to Save The Planet? (How To Avoid a Climate Disaster 2021).

     Here the first link in my search for what he just said, there’s many.
     https://www.gatesnotes.com/home/home-page-topic/reader/three-tough-truths-about-climate

     Something smells very fishy here. Smells to me like he needs some Big Ole Server Farms for his pet AI. And well, that’s kind of the opposite of worrying about climate change. Better start bringing the people around to the right way of thinking.

     Anyway, I thought it was very interesting.

448. I have a comment and a question about the political situation in my home state, the place where this American adventure first started – Virginia. We have quite contentious election for governor, which is considered a bellwether for the national mood. And it is a truly bizarre election. The fact that the republican candidate is a balck woman and the democratic candidate is a former cia officer who never met a foreign war or domestic spying law she didn’t like is the least of the weirdness.

     John Reid, the republican candidate for leutenant governor, is openly gay. He has a scandal surrounding him. He allegedly reposted a tumblr meme with racy gay content – with an edge of raceplay. Something about a black man being a sexual slave to a white master. Which, you know, is very weird. What’s quite strange is the attempt by the democrats of all people to shame the man – not for it being racy, but racist, while they have embraced the idea that every single sexual kink should be not only allowed but celebrated. But I get it – they just want the story to get exposure to give the evangelicals the ick, I think.

     But then there’s the scandal to exlipse all the others – the Jay Jones scandal. Jay Jones is running for attorney general. Back in 2022, he apprently sent a series of texts about how he wanted to kill the speaker of the virginia house of representatives – TO A REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE. He didnt stop when he realized who he sent it to – he doubled down, called her, ranted, then sent more texts talking about how the man’s family and children deserved to die because he was raising little fascists. Which is, you know, a very fascist thing to say.

     While the self righreaous rage is absurd to me, I get it – he thinks he’s part of team good guy, and its ok to hate team bad guy. Return of the repressed and all that. What I cannot fathom for the life of me is how he would allow himself to be tapped for a critical race knowing he had done this. Like, if you believe in the cause of the left so much, when they approach you to run, wouldn’t you, out of concern for said cause, tell them that you could be a huge political liability? This has become the main issue in the race now. The democrat was on track to win, but this 11th hour revelation could change the race, especially following on after the Charlie Kirk situstion. I would understand keeping quiet if you were just a crass, selfish opportunist – but then why get so mad as to rant in a way that’s political suicide? I can’t make it make sense. What in a person’s consciousness would lead to this series of behaviors?

     Is this just the trickster at work, driving his opponents to self contradictory and self destructive acts? An example of ‘those whom the gods would destroy theu first make mad?’ It truly does seem sometimes like supernatural forces are driving the west to mad self destruction, or at least self-inflicted decline. I would ask what we’ve done to offend them, but the list of our arrogant errors is beyond counting at this point. The real question is – how do we mere mortals, trapped in the western egregore, avoid this curse of madness that seems to fall upon our hearts and minds with greater and greater weight?

449. I hope I’m not too late with this! My sons and I are watching the World Series, and we have an energy transfer question. The Blue Jays are currently playing in Los Angeles, but the Jays’ home stadium is full with a watch party on the Jumbotron. Where does all the energy of the Jays’ fans go? Does the energy transfer beyond the sight line? Does it build up in the stadium, or is it just being shared out among the attendees?

450. i’m glad we made up so at least we’re talking even if it’s admittedly one way for the moment. but i read Walt’s post and WOW. and i wrote that piece about men taking over Adocentyn to BUILD US A WORLD, it was before i read WALT! see? i’m trusting whatever’s coming.

     do we all have collective make up sex now?

     I’ll read this in the future. i’m here. allow me to have boundaries i need to make it with herculean amounts of energy skill awareness faith patience and wisdom for how i pitch my case. this is a test. if i win, i’ve learned enough to successfully code switch and my understanding of Other has been tested and i made it because i could appeal to them.

     Jennifer. tell me to fxck off and i’ll be ecstatic.

     x

451. @Jeff,

     I look forward to continuing our conversation!

     Thank you!
     – RMS

452. Regarding Magic. There is a hilarious story about Aliester Crowley challenging a rival magic society. Which involved waving hands and chanting incantations against W.B Yeats of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

     All of which proved completely ineffective until his opponent kicked him down the stairs.

     But on the other hand Ritual Magic actually works. What do you make of this incident?

     And why nothing seems to happen except managing to be physically defeated.

453. @TylerA #427:

     Thank you for the very clear explanation; it’s the first one I’ve read that my mind can actually grasp 🙂

     (The technique reminds me of human pattern recognition going overboard, where people see things that are really not there. Maybe we shouldn’t call it hallucination only when these models get things wrong?)

     It does mean that using the term LLM as a blanket replacement for AI (as I’ve been doing) is not correct.

     –bk

454. @Slink:

     Billy G has always been a businessman first and foremost.
     All else follows from that.

     –bk

455. Orange Oblivious Gerbil #445:

     My bookstore couldn’t get Arkham either but I managed to order it from Sul Books directly just a month or so ago: https://sulbooks.com/bookstore/p/arkham-the-weird-of-hali-7-by-john-michael-greer

     —David P.

456. >Faced with multi-year delays to secure grid connections, data center developers have been racing to bolt ex-airliner turbine cores onto mobile generator trailers.

     Those palms, they’re magnetically attracted to my face. Mmf. Fmhmmmf.

     Not sure where all this is going, absolutely sure it’s not going to go anywhere close to what they want it to.

457. >The English language is very good for description

     Eh. The English language should be called Verbish, IMHO. Whereas other languages get by with fairly simple verbs and simple verb structures, English luxuriates in compound verbs that I’m sure make a non-native’s head spin. Along with words, we got verbs verbs verbs. Not much else though.

     I should have been preparing to go to the market, for instance. You try that in another language and it will sound very stultified, simple. The most you might get is “should prepare going”. And that’s the way furriners *think* too.

458. >The fact that the republican candidate is a balck woman and the democratic candidate is a former cia officer

     Perhaps, like David Bohm says, you should look at it as an unbroken whole. Just go ahead and see the Republicans and the Democrats as the same thing. Then it might make more sense.

459. @ Erika #431

     “…i realized it’s too dangerous to start projects and holy things out in public in front of everyone’s casual eyes. the internet’s problem is that it takes and has taken everything SPECIAL and SPECIFIC away from us and made us …generalized. generic. niiiiice. nuance is lost.”

     Well, exactly. Perhaps you have begun to see why camouflage is one of the tools of the battle field. Being small and unobtrusive is what got Frodo and Sam all the way to Mount Doom in Mordor to accomplish their mission. Still, the claws, the teeth, the feral energy that helps some to be large and dangerous are ALSO tools of the battlefield.

     Be well, be blessed, stay free!

460. Returning to an earlier theme in these many comments: In fact, sometimes languages become significantly more complex over time, not simpler.

     More than a thousand years ago, Russian verbs, like those in other Indo-European languages, were single words, each with its own meaning. In modern Russian, those verbs have formed pairs with the same meaning that differ from one another chiefly in (what Russian grammarians call) “aspect”: imperfective versus perfective aspect. This is a grammatical category that neither English nor most other Western European languages have, and it is quite hard for speakers of those languages truly to master when they learn to speak Russian. It is a move toward complexity.

     On the other hand, further back in time, the ancestral language from which Russian developed had more verb tenses than modern Russian now has: it distinguished between an aorist and am imperfect simple past tense, and also had a number of compound past tenses with auxiliary verbs, analogous to such English constructions as “have read,””had read” and “will have read.” Modern Russian has lost almost all of these compound verb tenses, and has only two simple ones, past and present [for imperfective verbs] or future [for perfective verbs]. (There is also a compound future tense, but only for imperfective verbs.)

     So Russian simplified its grammar in one way, but made it more complex in another way, over the centuries.

     Nor was this a purely internal development. There was clearly some influence from other languages on the development of Russian verbs, most clearly from Scandinavian languages. The new passive forms of the Russian verb (made with the help of a former reflexive pronoun) and the simplified system of verb tenses both follow Scandinavian patterns. This ought not to surprise: in the early Russian state, the ruling dynasties all had Scandinavian (Swedish?) ancestry and their personal names were Scandinavian ones, lightly Slavicized. Also Scandinavian merchants seem to have dominated old Russia’s international trade.

     In short, language development doesn’t always follow a path of simplification.

461. The Other Owen #457

     So you’ve got five verbs in English: I should have been preparing to go to the market.

     Let’s try German: Ich hätte mich vorbereiten sollen, zum Markt zu gehen. That’s four verbs, not three. Being (if I may say so myself) reasonably proficient in either language, the word order strikes me as the larger difference. English’s long string of verbs is broken into two pieces in German.

     —David P.

462. @Corax

     Certainly the kinds of women you describe do exist. However, they did before feminism, too. They used to nag their husbands to make more money to spend on more status symbols and to get promoted to some position with an impressive title so they could drop the title into conversations with their peers as an act of one-up-womanship. Either that or they tried to get their children to live out their status fantasies without regard for what the children themselves wanted. (In the particular case of ballet mothers, this could lead to the kid being crippled for life from trying to dance on an injury.) Frankly, I think it’s healthier to allow those women to pursue their goals themselves rather than trying to use their husbands and children as proxies.

     The underlying issue here is that, just as with our host’s point about hate, ambition is a natural emotion. Trying to propagandize people into not feeling that emotion is the kind of thing that has never worked and never will. This, I think, is why hippie-ism, though it didn’t quite disappear, never became the transformative mass movement its proponents hoped.

     Unfortunately, when ambition is thwarted and even staying at one’s current status level is difficult if not impossible (as is the case for lots of people right now) it is also natural to blame one’s love life, or lack thereof, for the difficulties. One of my school friends grew up to marry an Air Force man with ambition to be a pilot. When he washed out of flight school, he blamed her, saying that if she’d networked with the wives of the higher-ups, it would have provided an “in” that would have boosted his chances enough to keep him enrolled. He was the one who filed for divorce.

     My brother (who is into his third decade of happy marriage) has a hypothesis to explain why the states with the most permissive divorce laws also have the lowest divorce rates: “It’s the money.” Permissive divorce laws are typical of states with high per capital income. Well-off couples who can satisfy their ambitions are more likely to stay together even though the law makes breaking up easy compared to lower-income states where divorce laws are more restrictive. Bad economic times are also bad times for romance.

     As for my own story, I did have a work situation turn toxic once, but between the high market value of my skills and my longstanding habit of living below my means, I was able to get out before it did me much damage.

463. #The other owen #457: Yes, English is strong in verbs. To hug, to shrug, to nod, to skip – all of these need complicated circumlocutions in other languages I know. English has many verb forms, too, but you don’t need a lot of separate words to express a complex verb form. What about a single word expressing the optative aorist medium of “to prepare” in Attic Greek?

464. @jeff russell. #6
     If you are at all open to learning to dance, it’s a great way to meet people of all sorts, and any man who knows how to lead will always be in BIG demand 🙂

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