I am visualizing writing a book. Taking the time each day to sitdown and write.
Ivy.
March 4, 2009
November 7, 2007
Handfasting
Favors: Spices in Glass Jars
Dress: Hemp Fiber, Self Made
Flowers: Herbs such as lavender, roses and bay leaves
Venue: On the deck of a boat for ceremony and reception.
Music: Drum Circle
Drinks: Champagne cocktails
Food: Vegan fare such as marinated mushrooms and bruschetta
Cake: Vegan Cupcakes in a variety of flavors
Dress: Hemp Fiber, Self Made
Flowers: Herbs such as lavender, roses and bay leaves
Venue: On the deck of a boat for ceremony and reception.
Music: Drum Circle
Drinks: Champagne cocktails
Food: Vegan fare such as marinated mushrooms and bruschetta
Cake: Vegan Cupcakes in a variety of flavors
July 11, 2007
A Timeline
1400-1716 European and American Witch Hunts 1431 CE Joan of Arc burned
2,575-2,150 B.CE The Egyptian pyramids are built.
3,200 BCE Stonehenge is erected.
3,800 - 2,400 BCE The Temples of Malta are built.
22,000-24,ooo BCE The Venus of Willendorf is created.
2,575-2,150 B.CE The Egyptian pyramids are built.
3,200 BCE Stonehenge is erected.
3,800 - 2,400 BCE The Temples of Malta are built.
22,000-24,ooo BCE The Venus of Willendorf is created.
July 10, 2007
Vegan Began
More than 2 months ago I became a vegan. That means no meat, no cheese, no eggs or any other animal derived products. After 32 years of living with the typical American diet and having attempted vegetarianism twice in the past I was shocked at how easilyI fell into the vegan diet.
I explain it simply as I only eat things that grew from the earth. fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, grains and beans. I get iron and calcium from leafy green vegetables and all of my protein comes from tofu, beans & rice and soymilk.
I explain it simply as I only eat things that grew from the earth. fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, grains and beans. I get iron and calcium from leafy green vegetables and all of my protein comes from tofu, beans & rice and soymilk.
April 4, 2007
Easter and Ostara
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostara
I shop at craft stores a lot and I see the seasons pass in retail.
Currently there are bunnines in every concievable incarnation. Bunny candy dishes. Bunny dolls.
Baby chicks made of marshmallow. Candies shaped like eggs.
The Pagan in me sees the iconography of spring, archetypes. The symbols of fertility and new life.
The rabbit is a fertile creature, mating and reproducing rapidly. The egg is the growing of new life and the chick is birth. The colors are pink and yellow, the yellow is the sun and the pink is birth like cherry blossoms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostara
I shop at craft stores a lot and I see the seasons pass in retail.
Currently there are bunnines in every concievable incarnation. Bunny candy dishes. Bunny dolls.
Baby chicks made of marshmallow. Candies shaped like eggs.
The Pagan in me sees the iconography of spring, archetypes. The symbols of fertility and new life.
The rabbit is a fertile creature, mating and reproducing rapidly. The egg is the growing of new life and the chick is birth. The colors are pink and yellow, the yellow is the sun and the pink is birth like cherry blossoms.
March 20, 2007
Ostara
The Spring Equinox is today, right now. Day and Night are Equal and after tonight the days are longer than the nights more and more each day until the Summer Solstice.
I am very grateful to have this day come. In the Pacific Northwest the skies are frequently overcast. Winter can be soggy and gray.
Spring emerges here in glory. Trees blossom along the streets and bulbs shoot out flowers. Sunshine and rain showers alternate throughout the day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostara
I am very grateful to have this day come. In the Pacific Northwest the skies are frequently overcast. Winter can be soggy and gray.
Spring emerges here in glory. Trees blossom along the streets and bulbs shoot out flowers. Sunshine and rain showers alternate throughout the day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostara
February 7, 2007
Herbal Bouquet
Rose (Black Magic)
Lavender (variety including white)
Myrtle branches with berries (lemon myrtle?)
Lavender (variety including white)
Myrtle branches with berries (lemon myrtle?)
January 31, 2007
Law of Three
Phillis Currot, author of Witch Crafting wrote:
"The core ethical precept (precept=rule or law) of the Ara Tradition is: Ara Witches seek to live in a sacred manner because we live in a sacred world.The Ara Tradition does not have "rules" for practicing Witchcraft and magic. Ara Witches do not subscribe to the "Threefold Law" -- whatever you send out magically will come back to you threefold -- because a theory of punishment is not an ethical precept. Witches in the Ara Tradition do not harm, use baneful magic or use magic to manipulate others, not because of any "law" but because we recognize the Divine immanent in all things. Because we are aware of and experience immanent divinity in ourselves and the world around us, Ara Witches act in accord with this theological precept."
(Can you tell she's a lawyer?) Read the entire article explaining the Ara tradition here
Counselor, my rebuttal:
The law of three is like gravity. We are constantly pulled by a force that keeps us from floating away. This exists both in magical workings and in day to day events.
If you don't dress for the weather you might end up cold, wet and uncomfortable. Nothing is punishing you. You are, however, experiencing a life lesson.
I wrote about the law of three or the threefold law in an earlier post and gave several examples of the way in which we reap what we sow.
Ms. Curott is making the point that Witches don't do harm because they honor everything around them. I think this is an excellent point. She is making the case that the higher law is respect. We do what we do out of respect for all creation.
Maybe it's the Libra in me but I think these two ideas do not cancel each other out.
"The core ethical precept (precept=rule or law) of the Ara Tradition is: Ara Witches seek to live in a sacred manner because we live in a sacred world.The Ara Tradition does not have "rules" for practicing Witchcraft and magic. Ara Witches do not subscribe to the "Threefold Law" -- whatever you send out magically will come back to you threefold -- because a theory of punishment is not an ethical precept. Witches in the Ara Tradition do not harm, use baneful magic or use magic to manipulate others, not because of any "law" but because we recognize the Divine immanent in all things. Because we are aware of and experience immanent divinity in ourselves and the world around us, Ara Witches act in accord with this theological precept."
(Can you tell she's a lawyer?) Read the entire article explaining the Ara tradition here
Counselor, my rebuttal:
The law of three is like gravity. We are constantly pulled by a force that keeps us from floating away. This exists both in magical workings and in day to day events.
If you don't dress for the weather you might end up cold, wet and uncomfortable. Nothing is punishing you. You are, however, experiencing a life lesson.
I wrote about the law of three or the threefold law in an earlier post and gave several examples of the way in which we reap what we sow.
Ms. Curott is making the point that Witches don't do harm because they honor everything around them. I think this is an excellent point. She is making the case that the higher law is respect. We do what we do out of respect for all creation.
Maybe it's the Libra in me but I think these two ideas do not cancel each other out.
Familiar
Oscar came to live with me in 2000 when he was four years old. He had been living with my friend who had rescued him. My friend was in the process of moving and could not have a cat his new place.
I had just cast a spell to find a cat.
So, sight unseen, I adopted Oscar. He was indoors for the first few days that I had him. I came home from class and he looked so bored. After that he was able to be an indoor outdoor cat. I have moved from place to place and Oscar has gone with me. He is the sweetest big, old kitty.
This last year we adopted a kitten. Max is now 10 months old and has grown to be good friends with Oscar.
Watching the cats as they experience life is a great teacher. Caring for them is also an education. They each need love and attention, food, water, medications, grooming, supervision. They are lumps of love.
I had just cast a spell to find a cat.
So, sight unseen, I adopted Oscar. He was indoors for the first few days that I had him. I came home from class and he looked so bored. After that he was able to be an indoor outdoor cat. I have moved from place to place and Oscar has gone with me. He is the sweetest big, old kitty.
This last year we adopted a kitten. Max is now 10 months old and has grown to be good friends with Oscar.
Watching the cats as they experience life is a great teacher. Caring for them is also an education. They each need love and attention, food, water, medications, grooming, supervision. They are lumps of love.
January 29, 2007
Other Paths
I have a dear friend who I used to go dancing with in Sarasota FL. Let’s call her J.
She was a member of a church that thought dancing to be bad. She differed with them on that stance. J and I would go out and she was the sober person, drinking sparkling water. She loved to dance. She was the life of the party and I got to hang out with her.
One day at the beach I asked her if she believed that I was going to hell (me openly being a Witch and all) and she said “Well…yeah. Oh I just hate it when I have to answer that question.”
I told her I did not want to put her on the spot, I was just curious.
This is the reality of some faiths. Accept what they believe or go to hell, nothing personal.
The fact is that I do not believe there is a hell. I believe we are born, die and are reborn.
I believe that each person has their own relationship with creation, their chosen religion. I do not believe that there is one way to envision God any more than I believe there is only one song to sing.
She is one of many people who would find fault with me for my spirituality and believe me to be doomed.
Sin is not a Witch’s concept. I accept the law of three: what you send out returns three fold in this lifetime.
She was a member of a church that thought dancing to be bad. She differed with them on that stance. J and I would go out and she was the sober person, drinking sparkling water. She loved to dance. She was the life of the party and I got to hang out with her.
One day at the beach I asked her if she believed that I was going to hell (me openly being a Witch and all) and she said “Well…yeah. Oh I just hate it when I have to answer that question.”
I told her I did not want to put her on the spot, I was just curious.
This is the reality of some faiths. Accept what they believe or go to hell, nothing personal.
The fact is that I do not believe there is a hell. I believe we are born, die and are reborn.
I believe that each person has their own relationship with creation, their chosen religion. I do not believe that there is one way to envision God any more than I believe there is only one song to sing.
She is one of many people who would find fault with me for my spirituality and believe me to be doomed.
Sin is not a Witch’s concept. I accept the law of three: what you send out returns three fold in this lifetime.
January 26, 2007
Sympathetic Magic
"Rainbow Goddess Tara" by Venerable Lama Lhanang Rinpoche
In Witchcraft the power is within and outside you. The earth and all of creation are different forms of energy.
Your thoughts and visualizations are powerful and they direct the course of your life.
Cast a stone into a still pool of water and a splash, ripples, a sinking rock and rising bubbles will all occur because of your action.
In Witchcraft the power is within and outside you. The earth and all of creation are different forms of energy.Your thoughts and visualizations are powerful and they direct the course of your life.
Cast a stone into a still pool of water and a splash, ripples, a sinking rock and rising bubbles will all occur because of your action.
Magic is casting a thought, an intention, out into the cosmos to bring about change, to influence events.
It all begins in your thoughts. There is a goal that you have. What symbolizes that goal? Sometimes I use objects on my altar to symbolize a goal, sometimes I draw a picture or write symbols, poems, chants or plans.
I am an artist so I place a tiny watercolor and brush set on my altar to honor that part of me.
Anything you can see, touch, taste smell, hear or intuit can be a powerful personal symbol.
The same symbol can mean very different things to individual people.
The rainbow is one of my favorite symbols of magic, created by rain and sun, color in all of it's glory. To Christians the rainbow is a symbol of Jehovah's promise to never flood the earth again. To homosexuals the rainbow is a symbol of gay pride. Same symbol, different meanings.
January 8, 2007
Imbolc
Imbolc (February 2, 2007)celebrates the first stirrings of spring.
Today, I saw red blooms on a flowering shrub. The earth is beginning to warm, to wake and to grow.
I greet Imbolc with relief. The dark days are waning and the sun rises earlier in the day.
Imbolc is a "cross quarter" day. It falls halfway between Yule, the longest night of the year and the Spring Equinox when day and night are equal and light overcomes darkness.
This Imbolc coincides with the Full Moon on February 2nd @9:45 pm Pacific Standard time.
December 30, 2006
Magic
I practice magic and have studied the Craft for over a decade. The magic that most people know is the type from fiction. In Bewitched, the movie with Nicole Kidman, she is able to conjure a house and car, fly on a broom and turn a Tarot card into a debit card. This is not the magic I practice. Magic is about subtle energies and intention. I cannot summon the remote to my hand or levitate in the air. I think these things are possible and that some people can do these things. Even so, that would be an extraordinary ability. The magic that I practice has much to do with influence. There are so many forces at play in our lives; the people around us, traffic, obligations, surprises and wishes. The best magic treads lightly to respect those around us. Do as you will so long as it harms none. If you have a desire for your life such as a job, new home, baby, relationship etc. it affects your environment. Thought is required. To manipulate a person is not a positive thing. Manipulation or coercion interfere with a person's free will. That is harming a person. Any harm you do comes back threefold. So how do I do magic? It begins in my thoughts. What are my desires? How would my life be if I had what I want? How would it affect my environment and the people around me? From my thoughts I develop my intent and through my intent I choose symbols that illustrate that intent. Desire: to be a successful artist. Intent: to direct energy toward producing and promoting my work. Symbolism: brushes and paint represent the tools I will use. The next step is to write a spell. A great way to do it is to write on a lovely sheet of paper with a colored pen. To me, purple symbolizes art and the creative process so I would use purple paper or ink. There are symbols that I might draw such as a pentagram, a rune, an astrological sign or a mark of my own. Writing in the past tense is a wonderful way to "jump ahead" in time. "I am a published author. I have had several shows of my paintings. I have been featured in several magazines." "To accomplish this I carved out an hour a day to be an artist and began to submit my work to galleries and publications. Many other serendipitous things happened along the way that were icing on the cake!" Put a date on anything you write.
I would fold the paper, maybe seal it with wax or place it in an envelope. I would give it a place on my altar and I would spend time at my altar lighting candles, meditating, visualizing, writing, stretching or casting a circle and doing a full ritual.
Put the writing in a keeping place. In you Book of Shadows, in a box or cabinet, under the bed or at the place where you work. My statement will be kept attached to my easel.
So how does this work? It changes your consciousness, allows you to see further and creates a picture of your future path. This is similar to affirmations that people say to themselves. The difference is in the use of symbolism and ritual. You are directing your thoughts and you are creating a ripple effect outside yourself. In writing and keeping the statement a bridge was created. I have created a magical document that I will hold with me as I walk from now until the time when all I have written has come to pass.
I would fold the paper, maybe seal it with wax or place it in an envelope. I would give it a place on my altar and I would spend time at my altar lighting candles, meditating, visualizing, writing, stretching or casting a circle and doing a full ritual.
Put the writing in a keeping place. In you Book of Shadows, in a box or cabinet, under the bed or at the place where you work. My statement will be kept attached to my easel.
So how does this work? It changes your consciousness, allows you to see further and creates a picture of your future path. This is similar to affirmations that people say to themselves. The difference is in the use of symbolism and ritual. You are directing your thoughts and you are creating a ripple effect outside yourself. In writing and keeping the statement a bridge was created. I have created a magical document that I will hold with me as I walk from now until the time when all I have written has come to pass.
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