Serenity Sunday

TOLERANCE [tol-er-uhns]

1. A fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.

2. A fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own.

3. Interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint.

My List:

1.) My kids

2.) My cats

3.) The First Amendment

4.) Roses

5.) Opinions

6.) Patience

7.) Sprinklers

8.) Sage

9.) Cookies

10.) Karma

Smudging With Sage

White sage is a flowering perennial that is native to the Southwest U.S. Its tall woody stems and tiny white flowers love dry, arid slopes with lots of sun, and flourish in the rocky heights of the southwestern canyons. The aromatic herb has been used for centuries as incense and in smudge pots for ceremonial use thus its common name of white ceremonial sage.

The History Of Smudging:

Smudging may seem a very modern practice. We read about city highfliers using it to sell their apartments or improve their business luck. But smudging has been used for thousands of years. When you light a smudge stick you are connecting with a spiritual tradition that originates from the depths of time.

The use of incense dates back thousands of years. It can be traced to ancient Egypt where materials were burned in religious ceremonies, and to drive away demons and gratify the presence of gods. It is mentioned on an inscribed tablet that was placed on the Sphinx at Giza, Egypt, in about 1530 BC.

How to Smudge:

Focus on your intent

Any action, undertaken with intention and belief can become a potent ritual. Consider your intention before you smudge and hold it clearly in your mind. You may wish to invite the spirit of the herbs to join you and guide and assist with your intention.

Get a shell, abalone is what I always use. Any small, flat, heat-proof container will do. Light the sage and let it flame for a minute or so. Extinguish the flame so the sage is smoldering and smoking. Take the smudge container and using circular clockwise movements, encircle yourself with the smoke, asking that all negative energies be cleansed away.

A candle flame is recommended to light the herbs as it may take a little time to get the herb smoking. Once there's a flame, put it out so that the herb is smoldering, not burning. Wave the flame with your hand or feather to put out the fire. Allow the smudge herbs to smolder, freeing the smoke to circle in the air.

You can do this for the whole room and even the whole house. Start at the most northerly room and working again, clockwise, through your home, let the smoke from the sage permeate throughout. Try and finish off the smudging process by ending up at an open door towards the most northwesterly part of your home. You should have come full circle around your home.

Roses And Cookies

My first rose to bloom this year is French Lace so in honor of one of my sweetest smelling roses, I'm adding a recipe of the same name....enjoy!.

French Lace Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 6 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup finely chopped nuts
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees

Preparation:
Blend flour and nuts. Bring corn syrup, shortening and sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; gradually stir in flour and nuts.Drop batter by level teaspoonfuls about 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake only 8 to 9 cookies at a time. Bake about 5 to 6 minutes, remove from oven and allow to stand 5 minutes to harden slightly before removing from pan.

Thorougly Irritated Thursday

It was a very long and rather frustrating day yesterday, The manufactured home park owner has decided to trap cats even if they have collars, tags and/or microchips. Cats who get caught are taken immediately down to the local Humane Society and bail is promptly set at $65.00 a head.

So, even though I own my own home and even though the owner is well aware of the two witches and their cats with a webcam and have the cats listed on my contract (with descriptions, I might add)...they insist any cats seen outside anyone's house will be caught and removed.

I ask what the hell (if of course I even believed in such a place...which I don't) is going on in this world that there seems to be nothing better to do than round up cats simply because they're outside. I say "Hello...it's a CAT! Aren't they supposed to prowl...? I mean come on, it's they're JOB! " Won't we experience a rodent problem if there are no cats to catch them?! What about the majority of elderly living here that have a fixed income as their sole support...how will they pay to get "fluffy" out of lock up?

I think the owner should focus on those whom have recently moved in and decided to park several of their partial, non running vehicles in front of all of the other houses around here because they ran out of room in their own driveway... And what about the methamphetamine addicts that have started to wander our blocks at three in the morning the last few weeks...? The Bull Mastiff that leaves pony sized piles of poo in the rose garden?... Did anyone notice the guy a few doors down drinking beer and smoking pot every weekend in his garage with under age kids...? There's just something a little off about the owner's logic around here...

*Steps down from the soapbox shaking her head and mumbling.....*

The Muses

Traditionally a poet...especially an epic poet...would invoke the aid of a muse to guide and assist him in his creative endeavor. This invocation to the muse became a literary convention in epic poetry... usually coming at or near the beginning of the poem as in the "Iliad," the "Odyssey," and "Paradise Lost" and in its earliest stages the invocation was essentially a prayer... a request that the goddess being invoked to inspire and quite literally "breathe into" the artist. The idea was that the artist did not himself "create" the work of art but merely served as a mortal channel through which the divine voice of the muse could speak.

The muses were believed to reside on Mt. Helicon, in Boeotia Greece, and in fact they were the center of a cult there. The muses as we know them today are of relatively recent origin, in their most ancient form they were probably not distinguished from each other or even named.... they were the patronesses of poets since poets were also musicians.... and accompanied themselves with instuments like the lyre. Over the centuries they became associated with all of the arts and sciences, which is why the word "museum" is used for a repository of works of art or of scientific collections.

The eighth century BC poet Hesiod provides a list of the muses with specific names for each... other lists from early times are not consistent with Hesiod's list but the names he gives the muses have become the standard. The association of specific muses with specific arts actually comes from Roman rather than Greek times.

*Calliope was the muse of epic poetry.

*Clio was the muse of history.

*Erato was the muse of love poetry.

*Euterpe was the muse of music.

*Melpomene was the muse of tragedy.

*Polyhymnia was the muse of sacred poetry.

*Terpsichore was the muse of dance.

*Thalia was the muse of comedy.

*Urania was the muse of astronomy.

The muses would entertain the gods on Mount Olympus together with the Graces and were said to have won against the Sirens in a song competition and got their feathers as a price. In art the muses were often depicted with these feathers in their hair.

Tarot Tuesday

Osho Zen Tarot- Going With The Flow

Going With the Flow is also called "The Ace of Water" ( the Ace of Cups in traditional tarot decks) and shows an indistinct figure that is floating in a large pool of water in which soft waves are rising and falling ... the water is blue and empty and the figure appears to be naked and shallowly submerged in the water itself.

The figure's posture is relaxed and reminds me of a loose version of the Hanged Man's posture ...one leg tucked lightly behind the other, the left hand tucked behind the head while the other floats outward comfortably from the body.

The companion book states, "When this card appears in a reading it is an indication that you are able to float now, trusting that life will support you in your relaxation and take you exactly where it wants you to go. Allow this feeling of trust and relaxation to grow more and more; everything is happening exactly as it should."

Sometimes, when our plans are thwarted or things do not go as we wish them to, it reminds us that we are not in control and sometimes it is easier to just let go of the imaginary reigns we hold on to so tightly and understand the universal mind has our best interests at heart and we can just sit back and let it happen.

This Memorial Day...

Memorial Day should be a time of solemn reflection on some of the most sacred of human ideals: faith, family, duty, commitment, heroism and honor. We are so profoundly indebted to all those Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen who have given their lives defending us.

My father fought in WWII, aiding Great Britain in defending freedom that stretched far past the English channel. My room mate Coral's father served two tours in Vietnam...the most unpopular war in American history. It is with great pride I see Memorial day as all this and more because the graves of those pagans and wiccans who fought and died for our freedoms and the choices of everyone's spirituality are now allowed to show their honor by having a pentacle on their headstones.

Freedom is not just for the mainstream, it stands for who we are, our choices and what we believe in whether it be Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Native American or of the Old Ways. Today, as a solitary and a very proud American, I stand and honor all of the men and women who gave their lives and put in their tours of duty in order to ensure every freedom we have today. Bright Blessings to all on this Memorial Day.

Serenity Sunday

Faerie's Love Song

Why should I sit and sigh,
Broo and bracken, broo and bracken,
Why should I sit and sigh, All alone and weary.
When I see the plover rising, Or the curlew wheeling,
It’s then I court my mortal lover,
Back to me is stealing.
When the moon begins her waning, I sit by the water,
Where a man born of the sunlight,
Loved the Faeries daughter.
Oh, but there is something wanting, O, but I am weary, Coming blithe, now bonny treads he,
O’er the hills to cheer me.



1.) My children

2.) My cats

3.) Belonging

4.) Mother Nature

5.) Home

6.) Meditation

7.) Lava Lamps

9.) Flip Flops

10.) Gatorade

A Cherokee Legend

When gold was found in Georgia, the government forgot its treaties and drove the Cherokees to Oklahoma. One fourth of them died on the journey west. When the Trail of Tears started in 1838, the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and crying so much, they were unable to help their children survive the journey. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother's spirits to give them strength. God, looking down from heaven, decided to commemorate the brave Cherokees and so, as the blood of the braves and the tears of the maidens dropped to the ground, he turned them into stone in the shape of a Cherokee Rose.

The next day a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mother's tears fell. The rose is white for their tears; a gold center represents the gold taken from Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem for the seven Cherokee clans. No better symbol exists of the pain and suffering of the "Trail Where They Cried" than the Cherokee Rose The wild Cherokee Rose grows along the route of the Trail of Tears into eastern Oklahoma today. More than 100 years ago, the Cherokee people were driven from their home mountains when the white men discovered gold in the mountains of Tears. Some of the people came across Marengo County in West Alabama. It seems that after they had left the mountains, they came this far south so not have to climb more mountains.

It was early summer and very hot, and most of the time the people had to walk. Tempers were short and many times the soldiers were more like animal drivers than guides for the people. The men were so frustrated with the treatment of their women and children, and the soldiers were so harsh and frustrated that bad things often happened. When two men get angry they fight and once in a while men were killed on the trip. Many people died of much hardship. Much of the time the trip was hard and sad and the women wept for losing their homes and their dignity. The old men knew that they must do something to help the women not to lose their strength in weeping. They knew the women would have to be very strong if they were to help the children survive.

So one night after they had made camp along the Trail of Tears, the old men sitting around the dying campfire called up to the Great One in Galunati (heaven) to help the people in their trouble. They told Him that the people were suffering and feared that the little ones would not survive to rebuild the Cherokee Nation.

The Great One said, "Yes, I have seen the sorrows of the women and I can help them to keep their strength to help the children. Tell the women in the morning to look back where their tears have fallen to the ground. I will cause to grow quickly a plant. They will see a little green plant at first with a stem growing up. It will grow up and up and fall back down to touch the ground where another stem will begin to grow. I'll make the plant grow so fast at first that by afternoon they'll see a white rose, a beautiful blossom with five petals. In the center of the rose, I will put a pile of gold to remind them of the gold which the white man wanted when his greed drove the Cherokee from their ancestral home."

The Great One said that the green leaves will have seven leaflets, one for each of the seven clans of the Cherokee. The plant will begin to spread out all over, a very strong plant, a plant which will grow in large, strong clumps and it will take back some of the land they had lost. It will have stickers on every stem to protect it from anything that tries to move it away.The next morning the old men told the women to look back for the sign from the Great One. The women saw the plant beginning as a tiny shoot and growing up and up until it spread out over the land. They watched as a blossom formed, so beautiful they forgot to weep and they felt beautiful and strong.

By the afternoon they saw many white blossoms as far as they could see. The women began to think about their strength given them to bring up their children as the new Cherokee Nation. They knew the plant marked the path of the brutal Trail of Tears. The Cherokee women saw that the Cherokee Rose was strong enough to take back much of the land of their people.

Elemental Herbs

I moved into this house just about three years ago and started to revamp the yard as it was mostly red rock (super yuck) and weeds. So far the front area is now sporting a thriving rose garden and a majority of the weeds are gone but there's this one really ugly area that I've been wracking my brain to come up with a solution to. It is a raised area that nestles in the corner of where my house and porch meet.

The previous owner had thrown in two monstrous, ugly, stinky, juniper bushes and I've been wanting to remove them, I just haven't had a whole lot of time or energy to apply myself at fixing it. Just when I thought it might have to wait till next spring, I read the page about The Language of Flowers Ritual in the book Pagan Everyday and my little light bulb switched on.

How about if I combine a small water feature with this ritual, the result would be a gorgeous little area that would catch visitors eyes like a magnet! The ritual basically goes like this...I am going to pick an herb that, to me, would signify all five elements...Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit. Air could be Sage and symbolize wisdom or clarity of thought....Fire can be Lemon Balm to symbolize healing...Earth can be Briony for money and protection...Water can be Catnip for love....Spirit can be Bay symbolizing psychic powers and purification.

I'm going to place them in the directions that they correspond to and in conjuntion with the pond I have in mind, with water lilies and koi, I think this is going to be one of those projects that I can't wait to get going on and show off when finished. I think I will like explaining what my little garden represents and how it reflects my spirituality. What better way to celebrate my inner goddess!

Of Magma And Mentos

Mariah, my room mate Coral's youngest daughter, and her classmates have been learning all about volcano's. For two weeks we have been quizzing her on "volcano lingo" and what supplies were needed to construct a working model of one. Yesterday, was the proud conclusion of their lessons when each child and their volcano were lined up outside on the lawn to drop mentos into their diet coke bottles so cleverly hidden inside of the projects.

The weather was a perfect 68 degrees and it went rather well as only a few children ended up wearing the exploding magma, much to their chagrin. There were ribbons awarded to the most dramatic eruption and everyone had a spectacular time. I, however, must remember to remove the volcano from my trunk before I go shopping this Friday because it is so large that I nearly couldn't get the trunk of the poor Acura to shut.

Just like my last blog post, Mother Nature is an amazing creature and I never cease to marvel at her demonstrations of magnificence. I almost sense a theme happening, I wonder what the universe will bring to my attention tomorrow?

Greatest Show On Earth

Yesterday afternoon, I got to marvel at the power of Mother Nature. It wasn't like last year when the clouds were so black it was almost night and a tornado hit a few miles down the road causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. I will never forget thinking of how I never wanted to see the sky looking like that again.... thank goodness here in the Pacific Northwest, those occurrences are rare indeed.

It was a gloomy, rainy day with partial clearing in between storms but in the afternoon the weather gave one last hurrah with a spectacular thunder and lightning show before blowing past. The clouds rolled in producing the best lightning I've seen in a long time and in the distance the rain looked like white streaked ribbons against breaks in the clouds that allowed brilliant rays of the sunshine to stream through.

As I sat in the parking lot at the children's school, I simply stared... the occasional Oooo and Ahh escaping my lips on the more elaborate flashes that tore across the sturbulent sky. I found myself thinking "Who needs to spend so much money on those fancy-dancy lazer light shows when you can catch Mother Nature's greatest show on Earth." All we have to do is slow down and notice.

Tarot Tuesday

In the Three of Cups we can see three maidens, one dark haired wearing a blue dress, one fair haired wearing a mauve dress (in some decks her dress is red) and one red haired wearing a green dress, each holding a golden cup and appearing very jovial and festive. In the foreground there are baskets filled with ripe fruits of all kinds and gives the impression of mid to late summer.

The Three of Cups is all about harmony, fullfillment and possibly a festive get together. Good times, good friends and scarcely a care in the world and on occasion, good luck. You may be feeling filled with gratitude for life's gifts and want to celebrate with those you care about around you. This is a time when enjoying yourself is as important as working hard.

While the three maidens salute the three graces, they are different colors..white representing the source of all things and unity, since white light contains all colors, blue is the color of the element water, and the subconscious mind, green is the color of the element earth, and represents life, nature, abundance, and all growth.

The Three of Cups is a very positive card and indicates happy times to come but on occasion, it can indicate that maybe you are working so hard that it is a great time to cut yourself some slack and enjoy the goodness and fun times life has to offer.

* This card is from The Robin Wood Tarot*

Lava Lamp 101

For years now I'd admired those cultural icons of the seventies...those dinosaurs of the disco era...those wonderfully nostalgic Lava Lamps. I can remember as a young child... marveling at the mystic bubbles rising and falling inside the conical shaped glass and found myself pondering for hours on just what caused this phenomenon. Well, the other day a friend of mine gifted me with a Lava Lamp that was old and cloudy and no longer wanted...Wow, the Lava Lamp gods had finally smiled upon me!

I eagerly grasped my spectacular new Lava Lamp and promptly whisked into my house. It was an older lamp, red goo and lavender water, in the business of bubbling for years and rather cloudy with age so I reasoned in my head that "Hey, I can just change it's water and...voila...brand new, crystal clear, groovy red Lava Lamp with a new lease on life."

Actually, it turned out to be the lamest logic known to man...and witch. I changed it's water...set it upon it's base, turned it on and proceeded to wait....and wait...and (yes you guessed it) wait some more. Nothing...absolutely, positively nothing, nada, zip, zilch. The lava just sat there in a liquid pool on the bottom of the lamp. "Hmmm, now what do I do?" I thought.... I think I broke it...no, it couldn't be broken...you can't break goo can you?

My next epiphany was my trusty laptop with internet access...much to my joy I found a page explaining just how to freshen up tired old cloudy Lava Lamps! I read on...my mind alert, my bum on the edge of my seat, eyes squinting to see the words...And then all of a sudden I came upon it... I found the cherished Lava Lamp secret of the ages...rubbing alcohol. Yes, I said rubbing alcohol. It seems that if your tired old lamp won't bubble (or you just plain screw up like I did) use rubbing alcohol, it makes the water less dense and therefore a better medium for the viscous red goo.

Who knew, I thought to myself. So tonight I find myself following the instructions I printed out from the Lava Lamp guru and I'm going to replace one third of the volume of water with said rubbing alcohol and ishkabibble...it's going to start sending globulous blurbs of lava in it's predictable trademark style....in theory, I haven't added the alcohol yet...I'll keep you posted.

Serentity Sunday

Wow, what a beautiful day it was yesterday! The sun was shining..... the temperature reached 82 degrees.... a refreshing breeze caressed my face and there wasn't a cloud in sight. It was the perfect day for the the annual Hazel Dell parade in Vancouver, Washington. My roommate Coral's oldest daughter, Isabella, (affectionately called Bella) played her clarinet in the Chief Umtuch ( pronounced Um- tuck) Middle School Marching Band and they were enthusiastically cheered on by the huge crowd that lined the sidewalks and streets.

With the beautiful weather yesterday and today (another 82 degree day) just reinforced the feeling of what is really important in this life...a small town parade...great weather... family and friends and a very laid back weekend.

My List:

1.) My kids

2.) My cats

3.) Good friends

4.) Cool breezes

5.) Picnic lunches

6.) Lemon flavored Propel

7.) Tolerance and education

8.) Music

9.) An old rusty Weber barbecue

10.) Taking life one day at a time

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes...

I had the most unnerving thing happen the other day, my youngest child Meaghan came running home in tears, nearly on the verge of hysteria about something that I feel would be an excellent topic in my blog. After about a half an hour of sobbing and carrying on, I was finally able to piece together the picture of just why she was so upset.

It seems that she and a little friend had been playing quite amicably in the yard when a minor dispute arose and from there took a very ugly turn... it escalated into to this child yelling "You can't ever talk to me again unless you're a christian" My daughter wasn't quite sure what to make of this at first but settled on the conclusion that our beliefs were under attack and somehow just because we didn't attend a "main stream" church that somehow it meant we were less than or bad according to this playmate.

I have to admit I was a bit shocked at first, because I really didn't think that the neighborhood children really paid all that much attention to what goes on in our house but obviously I was mistaken. I calmed her down and patiently tried to explain that unfortunately throughout our lives this might be a misunderstanding we will run into on occasion. It didn't necessarily mean this little girl should be banned from the ranks of "friend" but maybe she did not know very much about our beliefs and therefore Meaghan could maybe use this opportunity to educate her friend on exactly what wicca, and pagan were really all about.

I did, however, go to speak to this child's mother because I wanted to make sure it didn't get blown out of proportion any further. As it turns out, the mother had no idea of what her daughter had said and Meaghan and I (as well as this little girl and her mum) sat down and all had a pow wow about how those things can be very damaging and hurtful.

I'm glad to report that since this occurred, Meaghan's friend has been busy asking many questions of her and they have come to the conclusion that everyone is different and it takes all colors to make up the rainbow of our world and that's okay. I'd like to say that these issues could all be solved in this manner but as we all know that we live in an imperfect world. One of the greatest things we can pass on to our children is that of tolerance and understanding.

A Lost Goddess And My Plague

The last several weeks I have been so busy with appointments to keep, school activities for the children and daily housework that gets squeezed in between everything else, I managed to get myself so rundown and exhausted that I finally knew a trip to the family doctor was something I need to put at the top of the "to do" list. I found out that I have a sinus and respiratory infection on top of the asthma I've dealt with off and on since childhood.

I begrudgingly realized some down time was in order or I would not have a decent recovery by any means so I picked up my book "Practicing the Presence of the Goddess" by Barbara Ardinger and started reading....Wow...the very first pages are all about recovering the lost goddesses of transformation and the very first one that she speaks of is Serenissima...the Goddess of taking care of yourself....my goodness the universe works in mysterious ways, I exclaimed to myself and kept reading... my addled brain drinking in every word.

She goes on to say that when we reach the point that our lives are so filled with obligations and loaded appointment calendars that our little heads are spinning, it's time to call upon this goddess and soak in her blessings of "me time." I am so at that point right now, I sighed and read on...there is the perfect little ritual that she describes to finally get that "me time" and recover from what I like to (not so affectionately) call "The plague"

I plan on starting on this ritual this very evening and look forward to Serenissima's gentle hands blessing me with that sense of peace and refreshing energy that I need, as I take those horrible "horse pill" antibiotics and various medications to aid in my recovery. The first part of this two part ritual is all about finding time for yourself, just one blessed day, to do the second part of it and therefore enjoy that time I have for myself.

I'll let you know in a future blog about how it goes...just thinking about it seems to have removed some of the pressure of daily life that we can so easily get caught up in. Well, on to do some more reading, Bright Blessings to you all and always set time apart just for yourself....trust me!

Mother Earth's Finest Gifts

I have this stone from Ireland....right off the cliffs of Moher. It's my most prized stone in my collection because it is a small tangible piece of where my family and I came from.

To me it symbolizes a foundation, an origin as well roots and direction. My little piece of Ireland, that my good friend Peggy so bravely retrieved from the cliffs for me on her trip to Ireland, rests in an honored spot on my altar and I use it often as my pendulum.

Even as a child I collected small stones from mother earth at plowing time and I remember how truly great it felt to dig deeply in the soil and feel at one with nature. To see the seeds, planted in the spring, grow all during the summer and at harvest... get to enjoy their goodness at the dinner table. This is truly one of life's finest pleasures indeed.

My children now gather stones, some are quite pretty and some are more plain but I'm beginning to notice that I'm getting an abundance of old coffee cans, brimming with odds and ends of stones, building up behind my shed. I don't mind, not at all...in fact as I look at the overflowing cans of stones I begin to smile to myself remembering doing that very same thing many years ago.

Random Ramblings

Well I can honestly say desite the rain and random thunder showers (with hail of course) my day was very enjoyable indeed! The two books I ordered through Amazon.com came in the mail this afternoon and when I got home from picking up the kids, my raffle prize was waiting for me on the porch.

I wasn't sure what to open first so I started with the bigger one, the raffle prize that I won in the "Save Moki" website and had a wonderful time looking in and around the packing for the contents inside. I put the brand new cat bed on my webcam and the cats, I'm relieved to say, have taken to it right away. Toodles was the first to lay claim to the catnip mouse and hasn't let it out of his site since but I'm sure Binky will find it as soon as he wanders away from the bed.

My next item in line was the first book I ordered last week "Pagan Every Day" by Barbara Ardinger, I've been absolutely lurking by the mail boxes for that one all weekend and the other also by Barbara Ardiger is "Practicing the Presence of the Goddess, everyday rituals to transform your world" I was positively gleeful when I was finally able to open the books and read their pages. I read several of the pages in each book and I hope to blog about what I've read later this week or weekend.

I hear it's actually going to be sunny for once this weekend and possibly into the eighties Sunday and Monday...wow, hold me back...I've started to think I was turning into a mole lately after not seeing the sunny sky for what seems like weeks and weeks of gloomy rain and wind. I love the sunshine, it makes everything so bright and positive and my energy level is so much higher.

I probably shouldn't be living in the "seasonal depression" city of the nation...(I'm not really sure if it's the capital or not but to me it should be!) Anyhow, I'm going to sign off now and get to reading now that things are quiet and the kids have gone to bed for the nigh. Bright blessings to you all.

Tarot Tuesday-

I've gotten a few emails about the tarot card posts I do on occasion, so I thought I would draw one tarot card each week and call it "Tarot Tuesday" as a regular feature in my blog like I did with "Serenity Sunday" I hope this is entertaining and the goddess knows I could use the practice with my cards. I have several tarot and oracle decks so I think I will rotate them when the mood strikes, so....here it goes.

The Wheel

(Tarot of the Magical Forest)

When Witchy Wasn't Cool...

I had the coolest thing happen this weekend, I got an invitation to the Black Hat Society Network! I had been quite envious of this site for a long time now as an invitation is needed to join but low and behold the web mistress put an invite in her blog that said just send an email and an invitation would be extended...."Way cool..!" I said and promptly emailed her.

There is a cookbook in the works at The Black Hat Society Network and I'm really excited to be able to submit an entry that has been in my family for many, many years. My grandmother, may the universe bless her lovely soul, was the grounding and driving force in my young life that was less than idealistic due to my father's alcoholism. Without my grandparents, I would not be the person I am today and I wish that I could hug them one more time.

As a child I didn't even realize that my grandparent's were earth based, to me it seemed as everyones family was that way.... looking back, I see that my grandma and grandpa were true pagans at a time when it was unacceptable and thought of as blasphemy at it's finest. Holidays were mixed with little nuances of paganism and there were occasions that they celebrated that other families didn't have and it wasn't until I grew up and the path found me, did I realize the legacy that they had given me.

My grandparents have been gone for many years now, and at times I can acutely feel my loss but other times I can hear my grandmother's words echoing in my head or think that I've caught a whiff of her perfume (she made her own rose water perfume) and realize her energy still surrounds and comforts me in my lonliest times.

Serenity Sunday

Only One Mother

Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky,
Hundreds of shells on the shore together,
Hundreds of birds that go singing by,
Hundreds of lambs in the sunny weather.

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.

~George Cooper~

My List:

1.) My grandmother

2.) My children

3.) Lullabies

4.) Rocking chairs

5.) Homemade apple pies

6.) Playing dress up

7.) Crocheted afghans

8.) Gentle loving hands

9.) An old Victrola

10.) Tattered old photo albums and black and white photographs

Before I Was A Mom...

Although Mother's Day isn't until tomorrow, I got an email containing this poem from my older daughter, Caitlin . I'm not sure where she got it from but I thought it was so sweet and just couldn't resist sharing it with all of you!

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

Before I was a Mom!

Diary Of A Bookworm

I love books, as a child, my main goal for going to school was learning how to read...even as a kindergardner I knew that if I could learn to read that I could do anything. I was bitterly disappointed in second grade when I found out that I still needed to attend school for several more years but I never did lose my love of reading. I continued to read voraciously and even today I've been known to burn the midnight oil, curled up with a really good book.

Recently, while listening to Foxtayle's Pagan Podcast, she reviewed a book by Barbara Ardinger called "Pagan Every Day: Finding the Extraordinary in Our Ordinary Lives" in which she explains it as a short essay book of days jammed with facts about goddesses and saints, alongside an assortment of random pop culture references and personal musings.

Right away my interest was piqued and I immediately jumped to Amazon.com where I eagerly read for myself just what the hubbub was about. I perused the few pages that Amazon allows you to read in order to decide for myself if this book was truly what I might be interested in and of course it was better. Oooo, click on the "buy now" button, hurry...!

I'm now (im)patiently awaiting it's arrival any day and I hope the poor mail carrier doesn't start thinking I might be one of those weirdo stalker types when I anxiously stand by the mail boxes until she's done. (I'm really bad when it comes to waiting for tarot decks!) You would think they communicate that type of info..."Hey Bob, that one's just waiting for a package, no worries" Anyhow, I can't wait to get it and I'll post all about what I thought and maybe a few tidbits and words of wisdom I may learn.

Flower Moon

This Friday is the full cycle of the moon and is often referred to as the Flower, Planting or Hare Moon. Energies around this moon are ones of health, romance, love and wisdom.

We need to be encouraged to begin to take action on the things we’ve recently been planning whether it be one of the heart, meditation or taking care of one's self.

This full moon is a time when we begin to really notice more light in our lives.... the days are longer... the grass is green (and must be cut more often) and the flowers are starting to bloom. This is a time of playful , light and buoyant energy. Some ways to really celebrate this moon and the energy it brings, is do a fun thing like host a pot-luck with a spring theme or visit your local elementary school and volunteer during art class. If you are looking for something more “magickal”try lighting a green candle and meditate on being thankful for the feeling of renewal and rejuvenation you can feel at this time.

Gems to enhance this moon’s energy include ones like Malachite, Jade, Emerald, Peridot or any other green-hued stones. These gems help enhance the energy of the heart chakra, which governs our compassion, generosity, love and harmony. When I need a boost in any of these areas, I simply slip a green stone into my pocket ( I like a small piece of Jade) or I wear a necklace of green-gemmed jewelry.

Whatever you feel that moves you this Friday full moon, enjoy and rejoice at the energy of mother earth and the goddess!

The Two Of Swords

In this card, we can see a small blindfolded white cat in a rose colored dress sitting on a bench on what appears to be a pier with an ocean (or at least a lake) behind her. Her swords are poised upwards , one in each hand and they look to be at equal distance and height from each other. In the purple sky behind her we can see a waxing crescent moon.

Looking at this little kitty I am struck by the question "Why does she sit blindfolded with the swords in her hand, when she can very easily put down her swords and remove the blindfold?" "I wonder why she sits there rather rigidly when she might not have to.." To me her face looks rather pensive as I can see no visible frown nor smile.

In studying the Two of Swords, the common interpretation is that it implies that you are faced with a decision and perhaps you are in a state of denial about the importance of your choice. Notice the blindfold on the cat...maybe she chooses to remain blind about this decision and cannot or will not look at the truth... or even acknowledge that it exists. The swords seem to indicate a barrier between herself and something (or someone) else.

The most obvious barrier that I can imagine would be a closed heart. When we cut ourselves off emotionally, we sever the connection that allows our love to flow outward and even inward for that matter. Sometimes this action is necessary but every time we close off our heart... it seems to get more difficult to open it again. This is the very nature of the question that I asked myself this afternoon regarding a matter that perplexes me as of late.

Upon reflecting on the Two of Swords, I must automatically confront the fact that perhaps something about this situation I've been ruminating on is fearful to me and from this I must move on to the next question..." Why does this frighten me so?" I most decidedly did not like the answer the little cat was trying to bring to my attention at first but I found myself realizing that this card was indeed appropriate for the situation at hand.

I simply must accept the fact that there are fears present but not to let that fear become a stalemate in which I cannot make progress in any direction. "Maybe it's okay to set aside these fears and take the chance...maybe this won't be as fearful as I had imagined..." Sometimes to make any forward movement, we must take that chance... risk that rejection... because without it, we would not encounter some of life's greatest moments or opportunities.

The Greatest Little Fighter

Today I would like to introduce to you a distinguished little gentleman named Moki. I am completely in awe of his spirit and courage and I'm sure that it greater than anyone I know. Moki is a special little guy in a handsome striped suit who just happens to be a cat. He has special needs but they never seems to slow him down in the least... I only wish that we, in the human world, would have as much gumption and tenacity as he has shown despite his difficulties.

He walks rather stiffly and like some of us, he has his bad days but he has his good days too and this little man has surmounted odds that would have made the strongest of us give up long ago. He is in no pain, I must say that right away and sadly his Momma Bean gets her fair share of emails (out of ignorance mostly) that are less than compassionate towards Moki and his condition and my heart goes out to her. You can read about disabled pets on the webpage called "Moki's Friends" which speaks from the heart about those special furry friends we consider to be family and there is a link you can click on to read about Moki's story.... there is also a blog Momma Bean keeps updated about how Moki is doing on "Save Moki"

I have been following Moki and his story for a while now and wanted to introduce him to you because, bless his fuzzy little heart, has been a true inspiration to me. There was a raffle recently to raise funding for his care, as it is very expensive, and donations are always welcome. Moki's needs are ongoing and it is always appreciated when folks can assist in making Momma Bean's load a bit lighter.

I truly hope that you check out his website and follow along with all of us who read his blog updates... to cheer him on, send him positive vibrations or to just say hello. Moki is a true fighter and one of those rare little guys that just warm your heart and touch your soul.

Bright Blessings Moki,

from my furry bunch to you!

What's In Your Purse?

I was rummaging through my "purse/bag/carry everything" the other day and suddenly had the idea to see just what things I had in there that I kept juggling around to get to what I acually needed. So I dumped it all out on the couch and started itemizing my inventory. The results are as follows....

*My wallet- that's a necessity of course, need that license with that really bad photo on it just in case I need to identify myself.

* A pair of fingernail clippers and toenail clippers- I hide them here so I don't have to interrogate the children about where they went.

*A tin of Altoids- Gotta have fresh breath if I happen to run into Mr. Right in the produce isle at the grocery store.

*My tarot cards- For that on the spot reading that I may be asked for...hey, maybe Mr. Right has an issue that he needs resolved....

*Lighter- Yup, a nasty smoker type I am! Seems the cure is more expensive than the habit lately...

* Reading glasses- Just can't see that fine print anymore, must mean I am older than dirt after all.

* Moisturizing eye drops- To put in my eyes when my contacts dry out, usually after squinting to see that pesky fine print.

* My watch- Probably should wear it so I don't have to hear that I go by PST (pagan standard time...)

* Spare key for the house- In case I lose my car keys somewhere and don't wanna explain to the swat team about why I'm breaking into my own house.

* Quartz crystal- Hmm, not sure why that's in there but you never know when you might need a little clarity I suppose.

*Spare change- Lookie... the children must not have found that yet...better leave it in there for now.

So, that's what I found...not really sure what that says about me...I used to have a lot more in there but it got so heavy I had to whittle down it's contents in order to avoid dislocating my shoulder. Anyhow, I'm going to contemplate that thought for a while while you all run out and see just what's in your purse....

Serenity Sunday

I just love things that have a fantastic scent so I thought I would write down one of the recipes I use to make my own fragrances . I like to make my own perfumes using essential oils as opposed to store bought fragrances simply because they seem to last so much longer and are not nearly as expensive.

Floriental nights

2 tbsp. jojoba oil
3 drops bergamot oil
2 drops neroli oil
8 drops jasmine oil
12 drops geranium oil
8 drops ylang-ylang oil
4 drops patchouli oil

Pour the jojoba oil into a dark glass bottle with a glass rod applicator.
Add the essential oils drop by drop, and shake thoroughly. You can vary the proportions of the essential oils in accordance to personal preference, but note the geranium oil is what gives this blend its floral flavor. Be careful-too much patchouli oil will easily overwhelm the scent; too much bergamot oil will often irritate skin that's sensitive.
Caution: Bergamot essential oil should not be used by pregnant women or epileptics.

My List:

1.) My children

2.) My cats

3.) Good friends

4.) Potting soil

5.) Roses in bud

6.) Sheets drying on the line outside

7.) Laughter

8.) Toast with cinnamon and sugar

9.) Perusing the local nursery

10.) Air conditioning

A Beautiful Day

What a beautiful day we had yesterday, the children and I all made flower baskets and flower wreaths to give out to neighbors and family, we sang a few songs and ate a very nice meal outside in the evening. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, it was a little bit windy towards evening but we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

I noticed some gorgeous mini rose plants in the local Safeway store...on sale for Mother's Day...and of course I couldn't pass up grabbing a few. Okay, I grabbed exactly four...one for my roommate, one for her mom, one for an elderly neighbor and...look, one left over for myself...what a bonus! I planted the two roses in a nice green pot on the porch so we can all enjoy them...they even have a heavenly fragrance! (That's almost unheard of in miniature florist style roses!)

I'm a bit worn out from all the fresh air and activity so I'm going to cut it a bit short, as I write my blogs around ten o'clock the evening before, so I hope that everyone enjoyed their Beltane or May Day...which ever suits you best. Enjoy your Saturday, and blessed be to you all!

Blessed Beltane