"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." Maya Angelou
Tarot: Son of Knives (Page of Swords) / Lenormand: Young Man, Scales, Tree /Adinkra: Mate Masie (I Have Kept What I Have Heard)
I suppose what my readers expect from me this week might well be a prediction on who the Democratic pick for Vice-President will be. I think the energy is too fluid, still, but I do have some thoughts. I suspect it will be neither Andy Beshear nor Josh Shapiro. We know it will not be Gretchen Whitmer, as she has expressed a lack of interest in the job. The pick will be a wild card, I believe. There are so many factors that could go into such a decision. For example, I have heard some pundits opine that Shapiro would not help with the Jewish vote, as Doug Emhoff is Jewish and Harris celebrates the High Holy Days with him. I find that rationale amusing. It reminds me of a time, a few decades ago, when a neighbor invited me to attend her church. I asked how diverse the congregation was, and she looked at me, blankly. When I elaborated, asking if there were Black people, she quickly responded with the word
“Enough.”
“Enough for what?” I wondered silently. I never took my neighbor up on her invitation to that church. Her answer was…instructive. This Shapiro theory is like that: the implication is that there are sufficient Jews in the mix with Emhoff. Why gild the lily? What a stupid theory! Amirite?
There are theories that Harris must select a man, so as to balance the ticket. That is another eye-rollingly amusing idea. Notice such a gender-balancing act has never been prioritized before, except for Clinton’s choice of the milquetoasty Tim Kaine, meant to balance her female, dominant (Yang) energy with his male, but softer (Yin-ish) vibe. That, if you recall, was a bust.
There are theories that two women cannot be on the ticket because of the inevitability of Queen Bee Syndrome (which has nothing to do with Beyonce, except that she is, of course, a QUEEN.) It’s the idea that two women cannot share spotlight without one of them trying to step over and ahead of the other. I am not saying I have never seen or experienced the phenomenon, but I also think it has become something of a sexist trope.
Some say Harris needs a pitbull, who will go as hard at Vance as Harris is going at 45. I agree. But we all think we are the experts, right? Let’s just wait and see. If my intuition pushes me to get a bead on a particular contender, I will rush right here and let you know who that is and why.
For today, I’d like to make some observations about the electorate, rather than the candidate pool. I’ve turned back to my previous way of seeking advice from three oracles, instead of just one. We human beings may have a hard time talking to each other, but these three divination systems know to each take their turn, to listen respectfully and actively, so that the story they tell is not disjointed, but rather, coherent, pointed, and kindly rendered. Here are our cards:
I always begin with Tarot. As I shuffled, I set the intention to look at the electorate, and how we might consider conducting ourselves, moving forward. The card that wants to assist us is Son of Knives (Page of Swords) from Nyasha Williams’ Black Tarot. This deck portrays the Page as a spear fisherman. What we know about him is that he is both fearless and impetuous. This card asks us to exercise the former and rein in the latter as the months move us closer towards the election. It seems, at times, that people have a tendency to think of fearlessness and impetuosity as synonyms. In fact, they are not. As an example, when I posted this meme on Facebook, it received a huge number of “likes” and comments:
I mean, what’s not to love about the visceral satisfaction this photo provides? I suspect it is viscerality, spontaneity, impetuosity that made so many like and share the image. I get it! I did the same thing.
I posted something else, though. It was this:
It got 7 likes, and one of them was from a Black friend. I don’t know….I am not white, of course, but I would have thought that this image would have been at least as viscerally, enthusiastically responded to as the previous one. Silly me, right?
Note: this week, since Sunday’s announcement, there have been calls attended by thousands of Black women, thousands of Black men, thousands of Latina and Asian women. I mean, the meetings have been so well-attended that people had trouble getting in. Could it be that the white women I know on social media are all quietly among the 47 percent of women who are all-in with 45? Or could it be that, as soon as they all saw this post, they were in such a hurry to put their phones up to scan that QR code that the didn’t even think to also acknowledge the post? Is it maybe that they wanted to like the post, but didn’t want to be seen liking the post? Could it be that they have a conviction that they “don’t see color,” and that they therefore think all of these virtual calls separated out by race are….let’s see…unseemly and divisive?
Gee, I have no idea. I guess, as no group is a monolith, the above shoes will fit some and not others. I will say that Son of Knives energy, while it warns against impetuosity, absolutely encourages and endorses courage. When the numbers come in after this call tonight, we will know the measure of that supply.
Lenormand takes her turn now, with Young Man / Scales / and Tree.
This Young Man is not a person, I trust you realize, but rather energy, hope, conviction, and courage. That Yang energy that we all possess is asking to be activated now. The Scales is the card I have added to the Lenormand system. It asks that we weigh our actions: which are merely impetuous, and which are courageous? How do we know the one from the other? How do we come to name some one thing and others the other? Which side were we on? Why? Why not? The Tree symbolizes our role as progenitors, forebearers, ancestors to the generations that will follow. How do we want to be remembered? Are we fragile or are we fierce in this moment that asks us to ponder how we hope the words “a more perfect union” might be reimagined? Our children are watching. Even the childless cat ladies (another meme that is loved, and liked, and shared) can make a mark that will make all our descendants grateful. Which Son of Knives calls to each of us? Speaking of: if you are a white woman, I hope you will be on the call tonight.
Adinkra’s Mate Masie is the symbol for “I have kept what I have heard.” I have donated as much money as my retired teacher’s salary allows. I was on the Black Women’s call the other night. I will phone bank and text folks. I will vote. And I can write here. I hope it makes a difference.
Amen and Ase
P.S. I’m launching my own YouTube channel on August 1. You can go there now and subscribe, even though the first video won’t go live until the 1st.
I am registered for the call and I believe it’s full/over subscribed
Perhaps it was those darn algorithms again because I saw your first post and not the other
I will probably see the answerthecall post 3 days after the call lol
This white woman is registered 🩷 Thanks so much for posting this!