I took an aerobics class on Monday. I adore the teacher. She is so full of life, bouncy and fun. I think she is either a Trumper herself or is married to one. Which makes me think she doesn’t have all the information.

I was talking to another student about the election, who said, “I can’t wait until this is over.”

The instructor said, “Yes, everyone is so extreme.”

I said, “Well, one side is a lot more extreme than the other.”

She immediately countered, with a more serious expression on her face than I generally see on her, “Both sides are extreme. My sister….”

At which point, I said, “It’s just that the people who are threatening violence tend to be clustered on one side…”

At that point, she turned away to turn set up the music, and I sensed that she was thinking about it. Maybe she wasn’t, maybe she was just glad the conversation was over. But when I thought about it afterwards, I asked myself, ‘was what I said true? Did I say it just to make me feel better? Or might it actually have been helpful?’

I am pleased to say that I have no regrets about that comment. I do believe it’s true, and my comment wasn’t mean-spirited or nasty, just factual. If it makes her think, then that’s good. I know she’s not in favor of violence or aggressive tactics to get her point across. She’s a good person and a wonderful aerobics instructor. Probably a good mom and responsible citizen, too. I’d love to see her vote for Democrats, but even if she doesn’t, I feel it’s important to illuminate the truth of the situation.

Some people focus on love as the creative force in the world. As a witch, I acknowledge the power of love. I also acknowledge the power of hatred and fear. People have for centuries feared witches because they were seen as having the ability to harness the power of evil to manifest their wishes. However, we also know that the law of three is a real consequence of one’s actions. Whether your ill intent is returned to you threefold, tenfold or just a little may be disputed, but I do not doubt that bad actions with hateful intent will at some point boomerang on the bad actor.

The problem for most of us is the timeframe. Does evil immediately rebound on the evildoer? Unfortunately, no. But I have faith that it will. Maybe in ways that I won’t see or be aware of, but it will.

Certainly, the justice system is one way that can work. But there are other ways as well. Guilty consciences can make people miserable. Lack of trust in your fellow humans can leave you lonely and isolated. If you trust in aggression to keep you safe, you will always be expecting an attack.

When I remember the laws of nature, including the law of three, I don’t worry about this election. I see joy, love and respect among the Democrats running for office. When I listen to their speeches, I feel uplifted, excited and glad I’m alive. I believe that what they’re putting out will be returned to them threefold, just as I trust that the suspicion, denigration and vitriole that is spewed from Trump and his followers will also come back on them.

I am but a grain of sand in the huge beach that is humanity. So insignificant. And so crucial. Without me, and you, there would be no beach. No matter what happens this election cycle, I will keep sending out what I want returned to me. And I suggest that will happen to everyone whether we want it to or not. That’s why I’m not anxious.

VOTE ROW A ALL THE WAY

VOTE FOR HARRIS AND WALZ

GAIA WILL SURVIVE

Vernal Equinox 2024

I look out on the trees that are shedding their leaves like reluctant tears after a tragedy. I see the hawks floating, soaring and dipping, high above our puny human troubles. I am reminded that Gaia cares little for our squabbles. She may be struggling due to our neglect and intrusions, but she will survive, whether we do or not.

As a Witch, I try to take the long view. I know there are cycles – dark and light, winter and summer, contract and expand. And I know that this moment in history is only that, a moment. The Earth has existed way longer than the life span of humans. No matter what we do, it is likely that the planet will adjust and will continue winding its way around the Sun for millenia.

Still, I am sad when I think about how humans are behaving these days. We act as though we are entitled to all of the natural resources the planet has to offer, without having to pay for them. Yet we do pay and we pay dearly, although the cost is not equally shared among all the populations.  

Some believe technology will solve the world’s environmental problems. But in order to develop batteries, solar panels, digitization and other types of advances, precious minerals, such as lithium, cobalt, copper, graphite, nickel and rare earths are crucial. Some of the poorest countries in Asia and Africa have more than their share of mining operations, effectively being raped by the wealthiest countries.

“A significant portion of critical minerals is found in developing economies (such as sub-Saharan Africa, which holds 30% of the world's mineral reserves, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone accounting for 70% of cobalt supplies). Also, the interests of these countries risk being overshadowed by the geostrategic and economic priorities of the developed world.” World Economic Forum, Aug 14, 2024.

What does this have to do with the vernal equinox, you may ask. In pagan traditions, Mabon is a time of harvest, a time of balance, a time to take stock and begin to prepare for the coming winter. I think about whether I have enough cut logs for my woodstove, which plants need to be cut down, pulling my wool coat out of winter storage.

As a people, we need to take stock of what we have harvested – incredible art, science and social advances. And continuing wars and conflicts throughout the world, fatigue and distrust of governments, and a rise in authoritarianism. In the United States, we are poised on the brink of a major transition – a choice between joy and the future, or hate and a retreat to past oppression. We are at a balance point, like a tightrope walker in the middle of her journey. She can continue to adjust left and right, forward and backward, and make her way across the arena. Or she can hesitate, misjudge her center, and give in to gravity’s pull. We could fall.

Global climate change is in full swing. This year was the hottest on record, as was the year before. The earth’s temperature has increased by 1 degree Celsius since 1880 and is expected to warm by 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, and 2-4 degrees by 2100.  Carbon dioxide levels have been increasing steadily since we began recordings at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii in 1960. These changes in the atmosphere have led to more severe storms, coastal rise, and increased drought and flooding.

These problems all seem to be bigger than me, far beyond my control, impervious to my efforts to ameliorate. But I’m a Witch, aren’t I? I may be a tiny node in the matrix of energy systems across the planet, insignificant as one little speck in the mosaic of human societies. But what if my spell (and yours, maybe?) sets off a reaction that reverberates across the energy threads that make up the web of life around the world? What if my effort ripples out around me like the concentric circles radiating from a stone in the pond? I need to be careful. I’m responsible for the impact of my actions.

As a Witch, I can hold both my insignificance and my tininess, and my power and my magnificence in my hand at the same time. I am but a speck of sand on the beach, but without each speck of sand, there would be no beach. I balance my greatness and my humility. And I can make it all the way across the tightrope to the other side.

Take a moment. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Ask yourself, what am I harvesting this year? What have I grown in my energetic garden? Have I nurtured positivity? Respect? Humility? Peace? Have I made my small world, my community, a better place for humans? For the earth?

Now what can I do? How will I enter the season of darkness, the season of introspection? What do I need to put to bed? What seeds should I plant so that the spring will bring flowers? When I succumb to the darkness of winter, will I have done all I can to prepare?

The answer for me is simple – I must do all I can to elect Kamala Harris to the office of U.S. President. I need to work to elect Josh Riley in my Congressional District, CD-19 in New York. I will resist hate-mongering, anger, hostility and disrespect. I’m going to put my garden to bed, and go to the polls.

I have faith that Gaia will survive, no matter what happens this November. But for me, life will be much better for humans, not only in our country, but throughout the world, if Democracy prevails and preservation of the planet is a priority. The choice is clear.

It’s MABON – the VERNAL EQUINOX.

TIME TO VOTE FOR THE FUTURE!

VOTE FOR KAMALA HARRIS

A man’s name is not like a mantle which merely hangs about him, and which one perchance may safely twitch and pull, but a perfectly fitting garment, which, like the skin, has grown over him, at which one cannot rake and scrape without injuring the man himself.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

If you’re a witch, you may understand the dilemma about your magical name. If you’re not a witch, my thoughts on this issue may make no sense to you. That’s okay.

I wrote a book under my magical name, Avian Swansong. But my friends and family who only knew me by my mundane name, Valerie Cole, couldn’t find it. So I decided to create a website that would include both names.

In other words, I decided to make my magical name public! And to connect it to the name that is tied to my social security number.

OMGoddess! I had decided to kick myself out of the broom closet. My stomach is still tied in knots but I’ve done it….

I came to identify as a witch in the 90’s. I started by conducting a house blessing ritual with my roommates when I was in graduate school. I was training to become a psychologist, an academic and a scientist. Yet I knew there was another part of me that was connected to nature, that had unseen energies and untapped power, that needed to be acknowledged and released. I began reading and fashioning my own private rituals to allow that side of me to express itself, to become what it needed to be and to grow.

In 1996, I decided to devote myself to this identity that was developing. I was working as a psychology intern at the Los Angeles Veterans Clinic, writing my dissertation, and basically reinventing myself in many different ways. I was reading and meditating on what it meant to be a witch, what motivated me to see myself in this way and how this identity might shape the rest of my life. As many nascent witches do, I kept this part of myself secret. It was mine and mine alone. I was discovering myself, my power and my priorities.

Finally, I created a self-initiation ritual, based on books I had read and inspiration I had received during meditation. The books suggested adopting a magical name to separate this new self from the more mundane aspects of one’s life. This name would be imbued with the magic of the Goddess. To protect the name from contamination or dissipation of its power, the name should be kept secret and only shared in sacred space with those you completely trust.

I made up a name that sounded right to me. I didn’t realize it was a real word when I first started saying it to myself. I called myself “Avian” with a soft initial ‘a’ like an ‘ahh’, a sensation of comfort and safety. It was years before I heard people say avian, with a hard, sharp initial ‘a’ and associate my name with a bird flu. By that time, the name had sunk into my bones, and I could no more change it than I could change the color of my eyes.

Over the years, slowly I began to use my magical name more and more when was in a creative space. Not just at Witch Camp or with my fellow witches, but in writing workshops, or as a handle for email, Instagram and Facebook.

Now the two halves of myself reach out and grab each other through hundreds of tendrils, some thick, some thin, some long-lasting, some brief and ephemeral.

When I created a website titled ‘valeriecoleauthor.com’ which is linked to ‘avianswansong.com’, it was like an exchange of wedding rings between two entities that once distrusted each other but have since come to believe in each other’s good intent.

It’s all me, for good or ill, brilliant or muddy. You can find me no matter which half you’re looking for. I’m both Valerie Cole and Avian Swansong.

Please join me on my journey and enjoy my stories.