Serenity Sunday

When we were children, our parents were the people who made our everyday choices for us...if we were lucky, our parents made wise choices that took into account our safety and well being and helped us grow into mature, well grounded, loving, respectful, law abiding people. When we became adults, we were responsible for our own choices and as a result, the consequences depending on whether they were wise choices or foolish ones. I thank the goddess for this unbelievable freedom that we, in the democratic society are part of, can make our own choices and not have them made for us.

How often do we take this great gift for granted...? In many other countries there is not that option and much of what they read, hear or buy is decided by someone else. I ask today that you sit down and truly imagine just what it would mean to you if the choices we are presented with every day were suddenly taken away... How would you react...? What kind of atmosphere would you be living in...? I am grateful that I can decide what kinds of books I like to read, radio stations I like to listen to and which television channels I find interesting.... and  the ability to make my voice heard....to think thoughts I choose to think and have the opinions I choose to have.

My List:

1.) My children

2.) My friends

3.) Choices

4.) Pansies

5.) Splashing through puddles

6.) Pumpkins

7.) Pagan/wiccan podcasts

8.) Digital cameras

9.) Soaking in the tub

10.) Scented candles

In Or Out......?

Most folks, who like me, consider themselves wiccan or pagan eventually find themselves seriously pondering the question of whether or not to “come out of the broom closet.” If you have never heard this term, this basically means “coming out” as a pagan or wiccan ....identifying yourself to family,  friends and/or neighbors that this is your spirituality. It’s a very personal issue, and people have a number of reasons for choosing not to disclose this information....just as many people choose this to be appropriate for them to declare.

Coming out may not be for everyone, or it may be something you choose to do a bit at a time. When you decide to make your faith known, you are opening yourself up to all the problems that may accompany being recognized as part of a non-mainstream faith. But  you do have certain rights particularly in the United States. Arming yourself with knowledge will help you tremendously in protecting those rights.


There are different levels of being “out”. For most of us, simply letting friends and family know about our spirituality is enough. Many people consider religion to be a private thing anyway no matter what religion they may be ... and are perfectly content to limit the number of people in their lives who actually know the details. Plenty more people are of the opinion that if you are asked, tell the truth, but otherwise it is better not to be "in-your-face" about paganism or wicca.

Other folks are more vocal and feel that if you really believe in something, you need to tell everyone and do so with  great pride. It is, however, difficult to know just how many choose this path and one of the reasons it’s so hard to get an accurate count of the current pagan and wiccan population is because there are so many people who are simply private about their beliefs. There are some estimates in the United States that suggest that there are anywhere from 200,000 to two million pagans and wiccans in the United States alone.


As paganism and wicca move more towards the mainstream, more and more people are coming out of the broom closet. Some are very vocal while others are more discreet and quiet...and some don’t come out at all simply because they’re concerned about the reactions they’ll receive. I always give the advice that if you feel that your community would be accepting or tolerant of  you and wish to proclaim your spirituality as a way of life and not just a fad as some have accused, then by all means,  let it be known!

*Side Note* If you want a truly authentic, absolutely gorgeous handmade broom, please check out this website. I own two and often send them as gifts!! 

Magic Brownies

With that announcement, I'm assuming I have your attention.  Anyone my generation would instantly recall images of a very strange and thankfully forgotten time called "the late sixties, early seventies." (Boy, today's youth know so little about the culture their parents had to grow up in!)  Anyway...moving on....let me fill your  noggins with a new and positively witchy image as you bite into that next rich and chocolatey brownie.....

( My older children used to roll their eyes and groan at me but I still use this little chant in my kitchen to this day, when I make fudge brownies...)

Lizzie's Chocolate Goddess Invocation

They say that chocolate is the food of the gods...
(But the goddess and I know better....)
I ask that this chocolate we eat today
Encourages happiness and love in my home
In a gentle but effective way.
For the highest good of all with harm to none
By this witches word, my spell is done
So mote it be.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Ingredients

• 4  (1-ounce) unsweetened chocolate baking squares
• 1  cup  butter, softened
• 2  cups  sugar
• 4  large eggs
• 1  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1  cup  semisweet chocolate morsels

Preparation

Microwave chocolate squares in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 1 1/2 minutes, stirring at 30-second intervals until melted. Stir until smooth.
Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.
Add flour, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in vanilla and chocolate morsels. Spread batter into a greased and floured 13- x 9-inch pan.
Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into squares

Tarot Shadow Work- Hidden Treasures

I was supposed work on my treasure chest  this last week...and once again, I failed miserably so I have decided that the show must go on and I will be talking about the card I chose to "take back my shadow."  This is the part of me that I need to recover ownership of once and for all.

I put all the cards into a rather ratty and very undecorated shoe box and as I mixed them up, I wondered just which one would find it's way into my hot little hand. All the cards were important as far as taking them back....I finally grasped one and pulled it out and saw that it was the Tower. Hmmm, how appropriate I thought...the Tower seems to be a symbol of my adult years from at least the age of twenty (on up to today, I pessimistically thought.)

The Tower Shadow qualities are building up false securities around me...sabotaging possibilities of new growth by ridgidly holding onto ideas or attitudes (a whole lot of attitudes in my case)...releasing pent up energy in an angry or destructive way. Wow, how do these cards know me so well?! In my twenties and almost all the way through my thirties, I was nothing but attitude and repressed energy. In my family, showing anger or any other "negative" emotions was highly frowned upon so I pretty much learned to suck it up and walk it off. My mom called it  having "A stiff upper lip"

The problem of creating such a volitile Shadow was that I was missing out (for many years),  on the Shadow Gifts that the Tower had to offer. Looking back on "the lost years" I see that I could have been breaking down all the unhealthy beliefs I had learned living in an alcoholic home...exersizing my free choice...  finding my own inner strength and living my life the way I saw fit rather than choosing to go with what I thought others wanted from me.  I'm learning to be happy with who I am, I am strong...I am able to make wise choices based on a firmer grasp of what reality is instead of what I'd like it to be.

It's so easy to get lost on what is really important in life and the Tower should not be looked upon as   a terrible, cataclysmic event but the goddess putting us firmly back on track and  thus making it possible to live up to our highest potential.

Autumn Slideshow

Mouse over images to see captions.

Tarot Tuesday

Today I'm writing about the Five of Pentacles from the Robin Wood Tarot Deck. I like this deck because, for one, it's the deck I use for my Tarot Shadow Work and two, it is a more pagan themed deck and is easier to use than some of the more complex decks like Crowley's Thoth deck.

Robin Wood designed this deck after noticing that a lot of Judeo/Christian decks used symbolism that was not drawn very well and  colors that were a bit odd and a little depressing and there were not many (at that time, if any) that were wiccan/pagan in nature.

The Five of Pentacles is all about misery...being left out in the cold...people who cannot find common ground and impoverishment ( whether it be spiritual, physical or mental). In this scene, we can see two figures who face away from each other, one standing and one sitting with her hand out as if reaching out for solace. When I see this card in a reading, it usually suggests to me a type of cold shoulder situation or two people who are so set on their viewpoint they are unable or unwilling to empathize with the other.

The building behind these two figures may represent a church or institution that offers aid or shelter. It stands behind them with it's brilliantly shining stained glass windows and solid brick structure that may indicate a feeling of being seperated or ignored by the mainstream church or facilities that are designed to render aid only to turn those away who do not fit their qualifications.

The lesson that I always gleen from this card is that we are all connected and must help each other in times of need for if we choose to turn our backs, we run the risk of finding ourselves in dire need of assistance and not having anyone to turn to (burning our bridges so to speak.)

Magical Monday

Inspiration can come in many ways and bringing a little magic into your daily life is not as difficult as most would think. What is it that moves or inspires you? The sound of ocean waves...the scent of a forest in the morning mist...the sound of birds chirping outside your window...the feel of fresh fallen leaves under bare feet? Sometimes it can be as simple as pulling weeds from the garden or watering flowers in your window boxes.

Sometimes though, we just can't find inspiration and just feel bogged down and stagnant... it can happen to the best of us and when we get focused on that which is not happening, we can miss the small moments of magical inspiration that occur quite often...we just need to listen with all our senses.

A great way to break through the occasional slump I can fall into is to get up, get out and take a walk. There's a terrific local park close by with lots of tall trees, soft green grass and soon...plenty of fallen leaves. I find a tree (preferrably an older, wise looking tree) and sit down at it's base and close my eyes. I listen to the birds chirping, smell the damp grass, I feel the energy of the tree resonating within me.

After spending a half an hour or so, I feel refreshed and renewed...ready to start aknowledging the everyday inspirations that I may have missed before. What are some ways that you  bring the magical, the inspiration of the natural world into your everyday life? I have found that the more I take time to just be still, to listen, touch, smell and hear what mother earth is presenting to me to inspire my life, the more sensitive I am when these little moments happen.

Have I Missed You?

I have added quite a few wonderful  blogs to my Google Reader but have not kept up on adding  them to my blogroll (shame, shame, I know!)...if you notice that I am following you but do not have your blog listed or your  blog button  on my page, by all means...drop me a line!  I deeply apologise...things can get kind of hectic 'round here and I'd hate to have anyone feel snubbed.

Bright Blessings All

Oooo, Another Award!

Wow! I won an award again...Thank you so much to Eliza over at Just Twaddle. This is the second time I've gotten this award so I must be doing something right...hee, hee. Well, onto the requirements....

Hhere are the rules -

* Thank the person who gave this to you...
* Copy the logo and place it in your blog ....
*  Link the person who nominated you....
* Pass this Award on to seven blogs you like and let them know in their comments that they have won
* Name 7 things about yourself that no one would really know.
  

1.) I'm a closet pessimist

2.) I firmly believe that no one can ever have too many tarot or oracle decks (or cats!)

3.) I have little patience for arrogant behavior

4.) The second toe on my right foot is slightly longer than my big toe...Ewwww!

5.) I'm still trying to quit smoking...bad, bad me!

6.) I was blessed with eight green fingers and two green thumbs.

7.) I spend way too much time on the game FarmVille.


Blogs of note to pass this award to...

* A Herbal Journey

* A Racing Mind

* Barefoot In The Sand

* Bringing Up Salamanders

* Bramble Patch

* Crochet N' Garden

* Laila And Minchie

Serenity Sunday

The people known as "The Sidhe" (pronounced Shee) or people of the mounds were descended from the "Tuatha de Danann who settled in Ireland millennia ago.

Down through the ages the Sidhe have been in contact with mortals giving protection, healing and even teaching some of their skills to mortals - Smithcraft or the working of metals being one such skill.  The Gaelic word  "Sidhe" refers to these otherworldly beings now called fairies.

The Irish fairy is not like the diminutive fairies of other European countries, the Sidhe are described as tall and handsome in all accounts, also they are dressed very richly and accounts of their halls are of richly decorated places with sumptuous foods and drinks.

My List:

1.) My kids

2.) Good Friends

3.) Crisp mornings

4.) Pumpkins

5.) Scented candles

6.) Earl Grey tea

7.) Pretty tarot bags

8.) Electric pencil sharpeners

9.) Laughter

10.) Gherkins