Archives for January 2021

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

We have all heard of Groundhog Day on February 2nd. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog, called Punxsutawney Phil, emerging from its burrow on this day sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will persist for six more weeks; but if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early. We might have all seen the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. Where he has to relive the same day over and over again until he gets it right. What we don’t know much about is the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

The area was originally settled by the Lenape (Delaware Indians), and the name “Punxsutawney” derives from a Native name in Unami (a Lenape language): Punkwsutènay, which translates to “town of the sandflies” or “town of the mosquitoes” (punkwës– ‘mosquito’ + –utènay ‘town’). Alternatively, the name is said to come from another Unami term, Put’schisk’tey, which means “poison vine.” It was originally a Native American campsite.

Punxsutawney Phil has been in charge of telling us how long winter will wear on (and, conversely, when spring will finally bloom) since 1887. When Punxsutawney Phil is not busy predicting the weather at Gobbler’s Knob, a rural area about two miles outside of Punxsutawney proper, he lives in the town library.

More than 40,000 people visit Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania every year to see the most famous groundhog. This year the festive will not happen at Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

Punxsutawney is considered “The Weather Capital of the World” is the perfect location for a museum dedicated to the weather, and the Weather Discovery Center doesn’t disappoint. Here, visitors can learn about weather, experience the feeling of a real tornado, create a thunderstorm, or even crawl inside Phil’s burrow. If you want to learn more about the weather, you won’t want to miss this museum.

Picture is Groundhog Day 2005 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania provided by Wikipedia.

Fairy Godmothers

Whether you always wanted to be one or needed one in your life, I think at one time we have all thought about Fairy Godmothers. It is believed that the idea behind the Fairy Godmother stems from the Moirai, or better known as the Fates. The Fates controlled the thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. They were independent as they directed and watched each fate assigned to every being by eternal laws so it might take its course without obstruction. But did the Fates ever step in? The Fates were the distributers of good and bad fortune to men and to nations. The tale Sleeping Beauty has many similarities to the fates such as bestowing fate at birth, equaling out fortune and the spindle. In other French literary fairy tales, apparently, fairy godmothers act much as actual godmothers did among their social circles, exerting their benefits for their godchildren, but only expecting respect in return.

I would assume a Fairy Godmother would come from a group of fairies known as the “Seelie Court.” The word “seelie” translates to English as “blessed.” The fairies of the Seelie Court are generally considered to be benevolent and are known to help humans in need as long as they were kind and respectful. Seelie faeries are generally thought of as spring/summer faeries, who provide life and energy to the Earth.

Perhaps we all have Fairy Godmothers who are waiting for that divine moment to appear and bestow gifts upon us. One day my Fairy Godmother will return from her booze cruise in Mexico and bestow my gifts with a Sombrero. This day will come and as I wait, I will quietly sip my margarita and stare at the moon.

Photo by Antonio Friedemann from Pexels

Quotes from Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt also known as Teddy Roosevelt earned his face on Mount Rushmore. He was an American statesman, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer, who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He previously served as 33rd governor of New York from 1899 to 1900 and the 25th vice president of the United States from March to September 1901. Roosevelt emerged as a leader of the Republican Party and became a driving force for the anti-trust policy while supporting Progressive Era policies. As governor, Roosevelt was concerned with social reforms, combating internal corruption, and reducing the power of large corporations. Roosevelt was not a typical Republican, especially by today’s standards: he was not pro-big business. Instead, he tried to look out for the ”little man” by regulating big business.

Below are some inspirational quotes from Teddy Roosevelt:

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”
“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
“When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on.”
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
“The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.”
“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”
“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”

You are made of Stardust!

Do you ever look at the night sky and just stare at the stars. Sometimes, I like to use the app SkyView Lite so I can see which constellations I am looking at in the night sky. Have you ever wanted to be apart of the stars? Well, you actually already are! Atoms as well as elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur) in your body are found in stars and many have come through several supernovas and were formed over the course of billions of years and multiple star lifetimes. We have about 97 percent of the same kind of atoms that our found in the stardust of our galaxy. Also, it is possible that some of our hydrogen (which makes up roughly 9.5% of our bodies) and trace amounts of lithium, originated from the Big Bang, which was created about 14 billion years ago.

This then brings up, how are you we exactly apart of the stars other than we share a similar makeup? The phenomenon known as entanglement shows that when two particles or fields interact, they remain connected no matter how far apart they are. This is also true of particles and fields that were created at the same time. This means that since we are made of the same particles as the stars, we are then connected/entangled with them no matter how far away they are in our galaxy.

So, next time someone mentions that you are out of this world, you can tell them a fun fact and let them know that technically they are too.

Photoa by Aviv Perets from Pexels and Ken Cheung from Pexels

Tarot Overview

Tarot cards or Oracle cards are a great way to obtain information about yourself. I like to collect tarot and oracle decks. I have been able to gain great insight with them, but it has not always been that way. The trick is to remain neutral while completing the reading, this can be hard especially if you desperately want a certain outcome. For most things, I am able to detach myself from the outcome and I usually receive an accurate reading.

Another thing to remember when searching for answers is divine timing. It is good to clarify during the reading when this will happen. Sometimes you will find that divine timing is the answer. This means that the divine will decide the best time for that person/event to enter or leave your life.

Another thing to remember if your are doing a tarot reading on your future is that the reading is good for that moment. This means you are taking a snap shot of the future and as long as the people and events continue to move forward as planned in the moment you had the tarot reading, then the future will be what was discussed. If the people and events take a different turn due to free will, then your reading will end up being obsolete.

People will often use tarot and oracle decks in tandem to obtain a more concise reading. The tarot follows it’s own set of traditional rules which were laid out in the 13th century, while the artists of oracle cards have had freedom to express different concepts.

Tarot Cards

The tarot structure is predictable. If you learn the Rider-Waite, then you will most likely be able to read any other tarot deck.
Tarot always has 78 cards
Major Arcana = 22 cards relating to major events and life pivoting events
Minor Arcana = 56 cards Page, Knight, Queen, and King (Ace through 10 are known as the Pip Cards, the Page, Knight, Queen and King as the Court Cards)
The Tarot is divided into suits; Wands, Swords, Cups (Chalice) and Pentacles (Coins)
The modern deck of playing cards is a descendant of the Tarot; Hearts are cups Pentacles are diamonds, Wands are clubs and Swords are spades. The Joker and the Fool are nowhere and everywhere and the Court Cards that remain are the King, Queen, and Jack.

Oracle Cards:

Oracle decks are structured independently and each follows it’s own set of rules
They may have any number of cards usually between 36 and 64.
Rarely have suits, although they are often numbered for guidebook reference.
Some have a bit of a tarot theme while others do not.
Some have the meaning of the card printed on them.
Novices refer to guidebooks for information and in many cases; it is acceptable for professional readers as well.

Below is a card from the Rider-Waite tarot deck. If you click on “learn more about this card”, you will be taken to the meaning of the card. There is a new card each day, so you can return to this post to see the new card for the day.

Photo by Alina Vilchenko from Pexels

Dragon Day!!! January 16th

Ever since I was little, I loved Dragons (Unicorns also hold a place in my heart as well). So, I have Great News, in case you did not know, that there is a day on the calendar which celebrates the beloved Dragon. That day is January 16th! This is the perfect excuse to break out all your movies with Dragons and prepare for some massive bingeing. January 16th is also National Nothing Day, so watching Dragons movies all day is perfect aligned with this as well.

Here are 6 fabulous Dragon Facts in honor of Dragon Day:

The word Draco in Latin and dragon in English is taken from the word drakon, a Greek word. The meaning is water snake, dragon or serpent of huge size. In the beginning of 13th century, the word dragon became the English word. It was borrowed from the Old French dragon.
Dragon tales are known in many cultures, from the Americas to Europe, and from India to China. It’s not clear when or where stories of dragons first emerged, but the huge, flying serpents were described at least as early as the age of the ancient Greeks and Sumerians.
Scholars believe that the fire-breathing element of dragons came from medieval depictions of the mouth of hell; for example, art by Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, among others. The entrance to hell was often depicted as a monster’s literal mouth, with the flames and smoke characteristic of Hades belching out.
In Ancient Greece there were four dragon species including the serpent Dracones, Cetea the sea creature, Dracaenae a female dragon, and Chimera the fire-breathing dragon.
The Ancient Celtics believed that dragons were capable of prophesizing and they worshipped them. They also believed that dragons waited to greet those who had just died at the gates of the Underworld.
Dragons can be spirit guides. The dragon presence in your life calls your attention to your primordial strength and enables you to find peace. This spirit guide is the master of the Earth, Air, and Fire.

Photo by Craig Adderley from Pexels

Attainable New Year’s Resolutions

Ever year I think about making New Year’s resolutions. This year I have not made any as of yet. I want them to be successful this year and not something I quit 3 months into. Below are the ways in which to make your New Year’s resolutions successful.

It is helpful to get others involved in your New Year’s resolution. Either have the same resolution as someone else, or tell someone about your goal and ask the person to help you stick to it. Peer pressure works. Based on previous studies, it’s also helpful to put money on the line. Give money to a trusted friend with an arrangement that you’ll get it back at the end of the year only if you fulfill your resolution.
Trying to adopt a new habit or introducing something new to their life has a higher rate of success. Resolutions about avoiding or quitting something were less successful. “For example, if your goal is to stop eating sweets in order to lose weight, you will most likely be more successful if you say ‘I will eat fruit several times a day’ instead. You then replace sweets with something healthier, which probably means you will lose weight and also keep your resolution,” stated Per Carlbring, a psychology professor at Stockholm University. “You cannot erase a behavior, but you can replace it with something else. Although this might be harder to apply to the resolution ‘I will quit smoking,’ which is something you might do 20 times a day,” Carlbring added. It might be possible to quit smoking by replacing it with bubble gum candy cigarettes. You still take the smoke break. You would then have bubble gum/candy instead of a smoke.
Make sure your goal is achievable. Break down a large goal into obtainable segments throughout the year. This way you will not feel defeated after 3 months.

My goal this year might be weight loss. As always, I pack on the pounds for the Holidays and now need to work at losing the weight for the rest of the year. Hopefully, some of you may have more interesting goals for 2021. If you do, please share in the comments below.

Photo by breakingpic at Pexels

Archives for January 2021

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