Whew — I’m back in business again. Client bookings welcome!

All Awakening Plus events and AstroShaman client appointments are back on schedule. Yay! And I’ll get the October 1-15 astrology forecast out as soon as I can.

Spiritsong and I drove four hours to Manning, South Carolina Sunday night, and are now settling in at a Hampton Inn for a stay of … who knows how long?

We’re grateful to once again have running water, electricity, wi-fi, cell service, and food availability we can depend on. May we never again take these for granted!

I’m wide open for client work, so don’t hesitate to schedule an Astrology+, Shamanic Healing, or other service with me via Zoom or phone. My “home office away from home” is fully set up, and I’m 100% ready to serve you.

In fact, with the unexpected additional expenses we’re incurring on the road, I’m more grateful than ever for client sessions in the coming days. (Don’t forget about my “Once in a Lifetime” Astrology special, which saves you $50/hour!)

When we left on Sunday, our town (Weaverville, NC) had no electricity and intermittently running water. Cell service had just been restored, but there was only one open grocery store (running on a massive generator), with huge lines to get in and check out. Almost all other business are closed, since the town (and much of a multi-state area) has no electricity.

The Asheville region only has one open highway out of town, going south. The highways running west, east, and north are closed with severe damage, and have no projected time frames for reopening.

Hurricane Helene’s effects are being described as “biblical” and “catastrophic,” and being compared to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Spiritsong and I saw dozens of huge trees toppled onto power lines, and had to drive over severed power lines splayed across the roads like black spaghetti. We also saw cars, homes, and businesses swept away by raging floodwaters.

Here’s one of my experiences. I only had a half tank of gas when the storm hit. It didn’t look like this would be enough fuel to drive out of the disaster zone, where gas wasn’t available due to widespread power outages.

Fortunately, I knew of two gas stations still operating near downtown Asheville. We had driven by them Saturday afternoon, and both had crazy-long lines of cars waiting to get gas. This didn’t look promising, so we drove home.

But my inner guidance woke me up early Sunday morning, with the compelling thought that I should drive back downtown and get in line for gas. I got to one of the gas stations at 3 am, where several other drivers were already queued in line at the pumps. I was first in line at my pump, and was grateful to top off my tank when they opened at 6 am.

Another bit of divine grace was a sudden thought that popped in, just as I was leaving the house, that I should take cash with me. As it turned out, they were only taking cash. And the amount I had on hand was exactly enough to fill my tank!

It was fortunate that I got to the gas station so early. Driving away, I passed a line of cars over a mile long waiting to fill up at the station I had just left.

We’re so grateful for the inner guidance and divine grace that has guided us through these challenges, and continues to do so. And we thank all of you who have sent us messages of concern and support. Please forgive us if we don’t have time to send you a personal reply. Once again, our prayers go out to all those being challenged by this catastrophic event.

The Asheville region was widely considered “climate safe,” one of the places least likely to be hit by an environmental disaster. If we aren’t safe, who is?

May we all do what we can to minimize and reverse the existential threat of climate change, so that more people and other living beings may survive and thrive!

Infinite blessings,

Benjamin