Watch now | Meme maven and culture commentator Aidan Walker returns to the WOODRUFF cast to help diagnose the US's latest eruption of political violence.
I live a few miles from where it happened and got a text from my husband within minutes of the shot. It shook me to the core - I knew this was not good for any of us, at least in the short term. The Sun was conjunct the South Node (3’ applying) at the very moment, between eclipses. This one shook EVERYTHING - not about him, his views, or anything. Incidentally his memorial is on the 20th at 11am in Glendale, AZ. - a few hours before the solar eclipse. This feels like a BIG tipping point (and hasn’t the whole rhetoric ramped up since???)- and our Governor is a dweeb lol. I am early Gen X but my kids are Gen Z - meme culture.
Right, I've been following the astro commentary re his memorial today, the timing is both mind-blowing and as to be expected given the acceleration process at play right now. Especially the Mars-Pluto square. "More to come," no doubt. How could there not?
I live a few miles from where it happened and got a text from my husband within minutes of the shot. It shook me to the core - I knew this was not good for any of us, at least in the short term. The Sun was conjunct the South Node (3’ applying) at the very moment, between eclipses. This one shook EVERYTHING - not about him, his views, or anything. Incidentally his memorial is on the 20th at 11am in Glendale, AZ. - a few hours before the solar eclipse. This feels like a BIG tipping point (and hasn’t the whole rhetoric ramped up since???)- and our Governor is a dweeb lol. I am early Gen X but my kids are Gen Z - meme culture.
Dear Frederick and Aiden--thank you for your very informative discussion. My takeaway is that every generation has its own form of communication and the meme is a symbol system that grew along with the tech of social media. As an "old," I do a search when I encounter a new phrase or word so I can attempt to understand the youngs and their concerns. What I now find most concerning is the tech bros and their opaque algorithm that is designed to gin up anger and hate in the service of $$$. We all see a different feed, so how are we ever going to unite? Even people who are the same age, with the multitude of content do you get FOMO? In the 1960-1970s, we all heard the same music and saw the same tv and movies. Anyway, I hear a thoughtful young man like Aiden, and feel reassured. We are going to be fine ♥️
The stage sets change over time, but the motives remain as old as time, namely the use of violence, rage and sex to engage people. The tech bros' tactics are the latest version of this playbook during this closing down moment in late stage capitalism.
And, like you, seeing folks like Aidan engaged with the dialogue and process, it gives one a sense of hope. I appreciate his clearheadedness and unwillingness to hammer on any one ideology. He's checking it all out, both sides.
To paraphrase Lord Of The Rings - We wish we didn't have to be in the middle of these times. All we can do is decide what to do with these times.
I like what Aiden said about how we're still living our lives in the middle of the chaos. My life has always been chaos so it doesn't feel like so much more to me. Maybe that comes from being born at a chaotic time. 1968 was pretty chaotic from what I've read.
Maybe it's all just another turn of the wheel. I'm a believer in cycles, and maybe that's where my faith comes from. No matter how bad things get, they'll eventually get better.
I'm also thinking of the Yin Yang and how they each hold part of the other. Like what you said about blurring of polarities.
It goes back to the Bardo and by trying to grasp something you lose it.
The suppression of free speech should alarm Americans but things are evolving as Frederick explains. Death is the only thing dictators fear. There is no rule of law.
Imagine if Pete Buttigieg was assassinated and what Donaldae Trumpescu and his cabal would say. The shooter would be hailed as a hero and get a parade. Achtung Amerikaner!
As I mentioned in the cast, I felt a tremendous sense of relief as a valve opened up after the Kirk tragedy. It had nothing to do with politics (well, mostly) and everything to do with how 'karma' flows. Behavior can only go so long in one direction before it's checked somehow.
Thank you for this discussion with Aidan. Wow! There is so much in this conversation, and a lot went right over my head because I have no understanding of the segment of society that apparently lives in the simulations of video games. At least that was my takeaway. To be fair, we all create a simulation of some sort.
I need to share the following before I can get to my point.
After consuming traditional perspectives about astrology for three decades, I'm looking in a different direction and reframing everything I've learned about astrology from the feminist perspective. Your interview with Nick Dagan Best prior to the election was a fork in the road for me. While I respect Nick's knowledge and skill and his ability to apply his astrological knowledge to mundane events (he was right about who would win), I realized for the first time just how patriarchal astrology is. I'm an idealist (Aries asc, Jupiter in 1st house) so of course I believe a woman can be president. But she couldn't be president in the "good old boys" USA. And the astrology backed that up. That's the story we keep telling ourselves. And astrology is one of the tools we use to explain things to people. So, I'm going to stop using that playbook and learn a different one, that actually includes women from all perspectives rather than only lover, cook, decorator or decoration as we see with Venus, or mother, nursemaid, housekeeper, emotional loony, etc. as we see with the Moon.
You mentioned Saturn and karma in the video. Your thoughts about karma seem to be (I could be wrong) consistent with the belief that a cause/action is followed by an effect/consequence. Your observation that we are experiencing a time when actions have no consequences and we just keep spiraling further without normal consequences is, in my opinion, correct. I trust very little these days. Life feels untethered from anything I've ever known. (The boundaries have and are dissolving.)
From the feminist perspective, Saturn in Pisces exposes lies and fantasies we've been told about the world and ourselves. And it isn't only women who've been lied to by the patriarchy. Men have too, and THAT is I believe at the core of the problem we're now facing worldwide. And the effect has been exaggerated X10, or 100 maybe, which I believe is why there's a crisis in the patriarchy and for the men who live the lies--and fantasies of power, killing, and sending women back into the kitchen and bedroom without birth control.
It'll be a painful lesson (karma) for all of us when the simulations get so ugly and mean that no one--men or women--wants to live in the worlds they/we've created. It's a fallacy though to believe the outcome of the current game will be different from the outcomes of the same games that were played in previous centuries/millenniums. The system of whatever it is that started all the planets spinning has laws. There will be consequences. My belief in "the system" was a gift I received from astrology. We can know the time and place of every planet, and know when the Spring and Fall Equinox arrive, because these things are consistent and WAY, WAY, WAY more powerful than any human. Right now, today, I'm sorry for all of us who are experiencing the rot.
My consistent shying away from the edicts of traditional astrology involves how much the system utilizes patriarchal language -- especially value judgments related to that skew. I've slowly been changing up the lexicon I use with astrology to distance myself from that prejudice.
Given each of our short lifespans, we forget that insane times have been roiling across the planet for eons. People have no capacity for being still, for being at peace with their givens, and thus must disturb, poke, and prod -- or go to war -- to assuage their incessant itch.
Sometimes I think this is the way our species progresses, by disturbing and killing off. That sounds brutal, but, I dunno, study world history in detail--and except for art and science, people seem to be 'stuck' in loops that go nowhere. As an agnostic, I don't believe in human progress.
I realized I was a misanthrope at a very early age. It seemed a logical view to assume. And as George Carlin said once, "I value and love individuals; I feel their heart and beauty -- BUT mobs and groups: NO THANK YOU." I'm paraphrasing.
I love it. Sun and Mercury conjunct in Gemini; Moon, Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto conjunct in Virgo; Mars in Sagittarius; North Node in Pisces. I’m just a wee bit mutable.
I live a few miles from where it happened and got a text from my husband within minutes of the shot. It shook me to the core - I knew this was not good for any of us, at least in the short term. The Sun was conjunct the South Node (3’ applying) at the very moment, between eclipses. This one shook EVERYTHING - not about him, his views, or anything. Incidentally his memorial is on the 20th at 11am in Glendale, AZ. - a few hours before the solar eclipse. This feels like a BIG tipping point (and hasn’t the whole rhetoric ramped up since???)- and our Governor is a dweeb lol. I am early Gen X but my kids are Gen Z - meme culture.
I meant to post this as a comment to the interview lol
Right, I've been following the astro commentary re his memorial today, the timing is both mind-blowing and as to be expected given the acceleration process at play right now. Especially the Mars-Pluto square. "More to come," no doubt. How could there not?
I live a few miles from where it happened and got a text from my husband within minutes of the shot. It shook me to the core - I knew this was not good for any of us, at least in the short term. The Sun was conjunct the South Node (3’ applying) at the very moment, between eclipses. This one shook EVERYTHING - not about him, his views, or anything. Incidentally his memorial is on the 20th at 11am in Glendale, AZ. - a few hours before the solar eclipse. This feels like a BIG tipping point (and hasn’t the whole rhetoric ramped up since???)- and our Governor is a dweeb lol. I am early Gen X but my kids are Gen Z - meme culture.
Dear Frederick and Aiden--thank you for your very informative discussion. My takeaway is that every generation has its own form of communication and the meme is a symbol system that grew along with the tech of social media. As an "old," I do a search when I encounter a new phrase or word so I can attempt to understand the youngs and their concerns. What I now find most concerning is the tech bros and their opaque algorithm that is designed to gin up anger and hate in the service of $$$. We all see a different feed, so how are we ever going to unite? Even people who are the same age, with the multitude of content do you get FOMO? In the 1960-1970s, we all heard the same music and saw the same tv and movies. Anyway, I hear a thoughtful young man like Aiden, and feel reassured. We are going to be fine ♥️
Thank you, Marie.
The stage sets change over time, but the motives remain as old as time, namely the use of violence, rage and sex to engage people. The tech bros' tactics are the latest version of this playbook during this closing down moment in late stage capitalism.
And, like you, seeing folks like Aidan engaged with the dialogue and process, it gives one a sense of hope. I appreciate his clearheadedness and unwillingness to hammer on any one ideology. He's checking it all out, both sides.
To paraphrase Lord Of The Rings - We wish we didn't have to be in the middle of these times. All we can do is decide what to do with these times.
I like what Aiden said about how we're still living our lives in the middle of the chaos. My life has always been chaos so it doesn't feel like so much more to me. Maybe that comes from being born at a chaotic time. 1968 was pretty chaotic from what I've read.
Maybe it's all just another turn of the wheel. I'm a believer in cycles, and maybe that's where my faith comes from. No matter how bad things get, they'll eventually get better.
I'm also thinking of the Yin Yang and how they each hold part of the other. Like what you said about blurring of polarities.
It goes back to the Bardo and by trying to grasp something you lose it.
Thanks as always for firing my synapses! 💌
Thanks, Angie. I always appreciate your takes. And yes to all the pointers you mention above.
The suppression of free speech should alarm Americans but things are evolving as Frederick explains. Death is the only thing dictators fear. There is no rule of law.
Imagine if Pete Buttigieg was assassinated and what Donaldae Trumpescu and his cabal would say. The shooter would be hailed as a hero and get a parade. Achtung Amerikaner!
Sadly true.
As I mentioned in the cast, I felt a tremendous sense of relief as a valve opened up after the Kirk tragedy. It had nothing to do with politics (well, mostly) and everything to do with how 'karma' flows. Behavior can only go so long in one direction before it's checked somehow.
Say hello to Gauguin for me!
Thank you for this discussion with Aidan. Wow! There is so much in this conversation, and a lot went right over my head because I have no understanding of the segment of society that apparently lives in the simulations of video games. At least that was my takeaway. To be fair, we all create a simulation of some sort.
I need to share the following before I can get to my point.
After consuming traditional perspectives about astrology for three decades, I'm looking in a different direction and reframing everything I've learned about astrology from the feminist perspective. Your interview with Nick Dagan Best prior to the election was a fork in the road for me. While I respect Nick's knowledge and skill and his ability to apply his astrological knowledge to mundane events (he was right about who would win), I realized for the first time just how patriarchal astrology is. I'm an idealist (Aries asc, Jupiter in 1st house) so of course I believe a woman can be president. But she couldn't be president in the "good old boys" USA. And the astrology backed that up. That's the story we keep telling ourselves. And astrology is one of the tools we use to explain things to people. So, I'm going to stop using that playbook and learn a different one, that actually includes women from all perspectives rather than only lover, cook, decorator or decoration as we see with Venus, or mother, nursemaid, housekeeper, emotional loony, etc. as we see with the Moon.
You mentioned Saturn and karma in the video. Your thoughts about karma seem to be (I could be wrong) consistent with the belief that a cause/action is followed by an effect/consequence. Your observation that we are experiencing a time when actions have no consequences and we just keep spiraling further without normal consequences is, in my opinion, correct. I trust very little these days. Life feels untethered from anything I've ever known. (The boundaries have and are dissolving.)
From the feminist perspective, Saturn in Pisces exposes lies and fantasies we've been told about the world and ourselves. And it isn't only women who've been lied to by the patriarchy. Men have too, and THAT is I believe at the core of the problem we're now facing worldwide. And the effect has been exaggerated X10, or 100 maybe, which I believe is why there's a crisis in the patriarchy and for the men who live the lies--and fantasies of power, killing, and sending women back into the kitchen and bedroom without birth control.
It'll be a painful lesson (karma) for all of us when the simulations get so ugly and mean that no one--men or women--wants to live in the worlds they/we've created. It's a fallacy though to believe the outcome of the current game will be different from the outcomes of the same games that were played in previous centuries/millenniums. The system of whatever it is that started all the planets spinning has laws. There will be consequences. My belief in "the system" was a gift I received from astrology. We can know the time and place of every planet, and know when the Spring and Fall Equinox arrive, because these things are consistent and WAY, WAY, WAY more powerful than any human. Right now, today, I'm sorry for all of us who are experiencing the rot.
Thanks for this clearheaded commentary, Sharon.
My consistent shying away from the edicts of traditional astrology involves how much the system utilizes patriarchal language -- especially value judgments related to that skew. I've slowly been changing up the lexicon I use with astrology to distance myself from that prejudice.
Given each of our short lifespans, we forget that insane times have been roiling across the planet for eons. People have no capacity for being still, for being at peace with their givens, and thus must disturb, poke, and prod -- or go to war -- to assuage their incessant itch.
Sometimes I think this is the way our species progresses, by disturbing and killing off. That sounds brutal, but, I dunno, study world history in detail--and except for art and science, people seem to be 'stuck' in loops that go nowhere. As an agnostic, I don't believe in human progress.
I realized I was a misanthrope at a very early age. It seemed a logical view to assume. And as George Carlin said once, "I value and love individuals; I feel their heart and beauty -- BUT mobs and groups: NO THANK YOU." I'm paraphrasing.
I love it. Sun and Mercury conjunct in Gemini; Moon, Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto conjunct in Virgo; Mars in Sagittarius; North Node in Pisces. I’m just a wee bit mutable.