It\u2019s 9:53 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2008.\u00a0 I have just witnessed the swearing in of Barak Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.\u00a0 For some, this represents a major moment in a struggle for racial or class equality.\u00a0 Others have different thoughts, perhaps ones of trepidation or doubt.\u00a0 Maybe some even define this moment as a bitter defeat or failure.\u00a0 And I\u2019m sure there are even those who will see this as the beginning of the end for some ideology they have embraced and a threat to their way of life.\u00a0 But I think that few would contend that it is an insignificant moment.\u00a0 What surrounds the new President is an aura of power that he seems fully cognizant of and willing to use.\u00a0 The rise to the presidency by Barak Obama has been an amazing display of adept political magic.<\/p>\n
The turmoil and angst that touches every corner of our world should not surprise anyone who knows the basics of magic, least of all Pagans.\u00a0 After all, we have been perhaps the most vocal about how our species has forsaken the Earth and her riches.\u00a0 We have been fervent about wanting the people to awaken to the needs of this planet and the inherent divinity of each individual.\u00a0 We have dreamed of a time when our needs and the needs of the Mother would be in greater harmony.\u00a0 Surely we didn\u2019t expect such changes to be made manifest in total comfort, did we?<\/p>\n
I have to admire the expertise with which the new President has built and shaped this political power; it is a masterpiece of spellcraft.\u00a0 He, and the people he has chosen to help him, have gathered not just the will of millions of Americans, but the hopes and good will of billions of people worldwide.\u00a0 Never has there been more energy focused upon one person and the vision that person holds.\u00a0 President Obama has led the chants, performed the dance, and summoned the spirits that can manifest the beginning to wonders that just a few months before might have been only wishes.<\/p>\n
Such awesome power is both inspiring and frightening.\u00a0 No president can say their policies have always been the best.\u00a0 None can say they have always led the people in the right direction.\u00a0 There has never been, nor will there ever be a President who is the perfect leader, the all-knowing wizard of magical powers, the anointed one who never makes a mistake.\u00a0 And Obama himself has tried to keep this image from forming in the minds of the people because it is an impossible vision to manifest.\u00a0 But even while trying to temper the nation\u2019s expectations, he has been able to keep the energy flowing and focused on the future activities of his administration.\u00a0 Once again, he has proven himself to be a masterful magician.<\/p>\n
Obama\u2019s circle is not just the inner power circle of politicians.\u00a0 Nor is it only the people of this nation.\u00a0 His circle is three-dimensional; it is a sphere.\u00a0 It is the sphere we call our planet.\u00a0 Though there is an abundance of people and nations who oppose us, there are more who wish that we help lead the world in matters of political, scientific, and spiritual (but not religious) thought.\u00a0 A nation that uses energy wisely and responsibly.\u00a0 A nation that has compassion and knows the meaning of love for even the most lowly.\u00a0 A nation that shares its wealth and bounty for the betterment of all humankind.\u00a0 A balance in the Elements that produces a spirit that is worthy of the treasures we enjoy.<\/p>\n
Mr. President, we, the people, have given you our love and trust.\u00a0 And we stand ready to give even more energy to the vision you have engendered in us.\u00a0 We have all spoken the spell; let the magic begin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s 9:53 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2008.\u00a0 I have just witnessed the swearing in of Barak Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.\u00a0 For some, this represents a major moment in a struggle for racial or class equality.\u00a0 Others have different thoughts, perhaps ones of trepidation or doubt.\u00a0 Maybe some even define this moment as a bitter defeat or failure.\u00a0 And I\u2019m sure there are even those who will see this as the beginning of the end for some ideology they have embraced and a threat to their way of life.\u00a0 But I think that few would contend that it is an insignificant moment.\u00a0 What surrounds the new President is an aura of power that he seems fully cognizant of and willing to use.\u00a0 The rise to the presidency by Barak Obama has been an amazing display of adept political magic. The turmoil and angst that touches every corner of our world should not surprise anyone who knows the basics of magic, least of all Pagans.\u00a0 After all, we have been perhaps the most vocal about how our species has forsaken the Earth and her riches.\u00a0 We have been fervent about wanting the people to awaken to the needs of this planet and the inherent divinity of each individual.\u00a0 We have dreamed of a time when our needs and the needs of the Mother would be in greater harmony.\u00a0 Surely we didn\u2019t expect such changes to be made manifest in total comfort, did we? I have to admire the expertise with which the new President has built and shaped this political power; it is a masterpiece of spellcraft.\u00a0 He, and the people he has chosen to help him, have gathered not just the will of millions of Americans, but the hopes and good will of billions of people worldwide.\u00a0 Never has there been more energy focused upon one person and the vision that person holds.\u00a0 President Obama has led the chants, performed the dance, and summoned the spirits that can manifest the beginning to wonders that just a few months before might have been only wishes. Such awesome power is both inspiring and frightening.\u00a0 No president can say their policies have always been the best.\u00a0 None can say they have always led the people in the right direction.\u00a0 There has never been, nor will there ever be a President who is the perfect leader, the all-knowing wizard of magical powers, the anointed one who never makes a mistake.\u00a0 And Obama himself has tried to keep this image from forming in the minds of the people because it is an impossible vision to manifest.\u00a0 But even while trying to temper the nation\u2019s expectations, he has been able to keep the energy flowing and focused on the future activities of his administration.\u00a0 Once again, he has proven himself to be a masterful magician. Obama\u2019s circle is not just the inner power circle of politicians.\u00a0 Nor is it only the people of this nation.\u00a0 His circle is three-dimensional; it is a sphere.\u00a0 It is the sphere we call our planet.\u00a0 Though there is an abundance of people and nations who oppose us, there are more who wish that we help lead the world in matters of political, scientific, and spiritual (but not religious) thought.\u00a0 A nation that uses energy wisely and responsibly.\u00a0 A nation that has compassion and knows the meaning of love for even the most lowly.\u00a0 A nation that shares its wealth and bounty for the betterment of all humankind.\u00a0 A balance in the Elements that produces a spirit that is worthy of the treasures we enjoy. Mr. President, we, the people, have given you our love and trust.\u00a0 And we stand ready to give even more energy to the vision you have engendered in us.\u00a0 We have all spoken the spell; let the magic begin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}