Wheel of Wonder January 21 2018

Sometimes it seems we Humans are all part of an interconnected web of life, but as individuals we find ourselves in a false dichotomy where we believe we can't be both an individual and part of  a whole.  Perhaps then the true dichotomy is that we are all separate threads in a greater tapestry of life.
Most of us individually want a sense of personal autonomy, we've seen this reflected in the countrywide women's marches of the USA just yesterday, part of the motivation seems to have been Mr. Trump deciding to decrease funding to planned parenthood, under the mistaken idea that all they do in that organization is give women abortions.  Planned Parenthood actually is focused on family planning and educating women about their choice to be or not to be a Mother and how that can be facilitated.  The going idea seems to be, at least with the Trump administration that women aren't allowed to choose whether or not they become Mothers at any particular time, whether this is completly true or night is beside the point here. It comes across to the women of America, and their allies that the US Government is not respecting their personal autonomy. Though this may be less about the Government than about the influence of the Catholic Church, which has a long history of not respecting Women's personal autonomy. I do not gender identify as a woman so I can not speak much more about that and still feel that I'm being respectful to my friends, relations and sisters Pagan or otherwise and what they have and do go through as individuals of female identity.

Picture above "The Dancing Muse" from Wiccan Together, a website that seems to have been taken out by a computer virus.
How has the desire for independence revealed itself in the past? Especially among the historic cultures I am co-opting nothing to talk about, as they are part of my ancestry. For many hundreds of years Ireland and Scotland fought hard to retain their independence from England. For cultures connected to the land they live on, this could be understood as a matter of autonomy and their rights to traditional lands, not so different a dynamic than rights to the body when you are that connected to the land. What pushes one to act? How far will people allow things to go before they say "enough is enough!" How far would you go to protect the land you call home? This is pertinent to the 21st century and is what we explored today on Wheel of Wonder. Profit seeking economies or person serving economies seems to be what this comes down to these days.  Long ago the Scots had their heroes affectionately known as William Wallace and "The Bruce" These days though, we have to be our own heroes as we learn the meaning of courage while still understanding the efficacy of firm non-violence, so as not to just depose one dictator for another. This is one of the largest challenges I think we face in this 21st century, this perhaps, anthropocene era.

Portrait above Robert the Bruce from the historic website Ancient Pages