The next installment of Cocktail Apocalypse takes an in-depth look at the Book of Revelation and examines the historical context as well as way the book was perceived over time. We’ll dive into what was happening in Rome at the time it was written, John of Patmos, the emperor Domitian, what Nero had to do with it all, and what was the Mark of the Beast anyway? Was all of this written for it’s own time, or is this a prophecy yet to be fulfilled?
I hope you check it out and enjoy! Also, if you like it and would like more of that sort of content, don’t forget to Like and Subscribe to Rebel Spirit Radio.
Next month we will examine the AI Apocalypse and the Singularity. Subscribers get to view it first. Hope to see you there!
It’s been a long time since I posted. As John Lennon once sang, life is what happens when you’re making other plans. Last year I lost a lot of people in my life and this year I’ve had to go back to work full-time. But despite all that, I’m now collaborating with my good friends Nick Mather, who runs Rebel Spirit Radio, and Jeremy Anderson, of Kill-Divill:Rum & Cocktails, on a monthly live streamed podcast we lovingly call Cocktail Apocalypse: Happy Hour at the End of the World.
We had a fantastic start to the show, just coming up with what the term apocalypse means and topics we’d like to explore in the future. Take a look!
Next week’s topic will take a look at the Book of Revelations in the Christian Bible to discover the history and the text of this mysterious text.
Jeremy, Nick and I all graduated from the same master’s degree program in religious studies nearly 20 years ago now. My thesis work was in Christian Zionism and how it related to apocalypticism in the American political system. While I’ve moved on to study the Western esoteric tradition (Hermeticism, Gnoticism, and various pagan traditions) that has mostly been buried in the paradigm of Western monotheism, I’ve remained interested in the eschatological apocalyptic movements in current political systems.
Hope to see you all there! If you subscribe, you get to suggest topics for us.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Albrecht Durer, 1497-8
Those of you that follow me, I know I’ve been quiet for a long time. We’ve all had a tough time over the past two years as covid, war and murder hornets have taken over our lives. Last year I lost my father to cancer. I was fortunate enough to be there with him in the last month of his life. I feel that the Universe blessed me to give me that gift. But it was a rough year. My own health and work life took a left turn and I entered a pretty dark period. I didn’t feel like writing and doing much of anything.
But I’m back now. I am in a much better, healthier place and I’m ready to start writing again. I’ve started a new blog call The April Fool. It will touch on spirituality, cooking, gardening, traipsing about, playing with animals, talking to plants, kitchen witchery, life as a neurodivergent being, ecospirituality, the Divine Feminine and anything that brings joy and laughter to my heart. It will take a less formal approach than I’ve used here. Please check it out if it looks like your sort of thing.
As we are approaching the end of the year, I thought I’d write down my greatest lesson of 2020 on the path to self-discovery and understanding:
The most important things in life cannot be taught, one must learn these lessons on their own.
Most people seeking the answers to the important things in life will seek out teachers despite this.
Most people will spend a lot of money and time doing this.
Time is required, but not much money is required. The money will be spent anyway.
It’s okay to spend the money. Losing it in this quest is part of the process.
You will absolutely lose your mind several times in the quest.
Losing your mind is part of the process.
When you regain your mind, it will be in a better state than when you lost it.
Each time you go through the process of losing your mind and regaining it, it gets a little better.
When you arrive at your answers, you’ll understand how it was necessary to go through all of the things that were not necessary.
You cannot teach this to anyone, everyone must walk this path alone. No amount of intellectual understanding will prepare one for true, united understanding of the heart, mind and soul.
Laughter is the best way to deal with this knowledge.
I have stated this before here and here, but I think it bears repeating – we need to stop treating the physical world like it’s less important than the spiritual world! These two worlds are connected to each other and are of equal importance. As above, so below; as within, so without; as the Universe, so the Soul. The material world is not something to be use and be discarded. It’s also not a bad thing to have material things and seek comfort. The problem isn’t having them or wanting them, but rather when we get out of balance and start hoarding all of the things!
But the spiritually-inclined often get into the mindset that this physical existence means less than what is spiritually on the other side of this life. I think this is where things get lopsided and twisted for us on both a conscious and unconscious level. If we incarnate here to learn lessons, have experiences, reach gnosis, awaken to our spiritual reality – whatever term you want to use – then this physical world is of extreme importance. If we could do it without incarnating, I think we probably would. Physical incarnation is part of the process. Recognizing this is part of our spiritual growth. We can’t do it without all of the flesh and bones and sinew and gaseous star stuff and leafy greens and bumble bees.
When we devalue the physical world over the spiritual one, it leads to all sorts of abuses. The environment, women, minority groups, how we produce out food, how we treat animals, how we produce and use non-renewable resources – all are treated as commodities for consumption rather than as precious people and resources that help balance our world. Everything on this planet is intrinsically good and part of a great ecosystem worthy of reverence and respect.
Howling at the moon is good for the soul!
While I know most reading this post would agree with this sentiment and are environmentalists themselves, unconsciously we absorb a lot from our language and the dominant cultures and religions in our communities. Countless times (today in fact) I’ve heard the suit of pentacles or disks in the tarot referred to as the lowest level or least important of the suits. Why? Because it’s the suit that correlates to Earth and material things. The Moon, a symbol of women in the West, is still often associated with concealing, misleading, delusion and lunacy, when it just as often is an illuminating force in the darkness, a force of creativity, and where dreams are forged.
How we use and perceive our language and symbols matter. Becoming aware of how we speak and interact with symbols can help us bring our unconscious biases to the light.
I hear he knew a thing or two about how the mind worked.
By Tarotmum13 ~ Just a Tarot-mad mum writing about the things she loves - might be Tarot and Oracle cards, might be my little girl, might be crystals or pendulums, might be my cat!
Awakening the Witch 