Samhain Blessings

Samhain, a time to remember and honor those who have come before. The veil between the land of the living and that of the dead is thinnest, spirits come to call and sit with us a while should we choose to let them in. This is a time for introspection and reflection; a time to rid ourselves of the negative and invite in the positive as the wheel of the year begins anew.

The Earth is beginning to slumber as the days grow shorter and the air colder. The light wanes as we bid farewell to the Lord of the Sun, Darkness rules this half of the wheel. Cailleach, the Queen of Winter steps up to take Brighid's place, amidst the swirl of dead leaves caught in a chill breeze. The harvest is ending and Winter will soon be upon us.

My spirit wishes to worry not for winter just yet, wanting only to celebrate the lives of the dead and dance with the Fae amongst the last rays of the fading sun. To carve jack-o-lanterns to light the way of peaceful spirits and ward off those that would cause harm. I will cast off the old and welcome the new as the wheel renews its endless cycle, beginning my third year on this path. I welcome the Crone and the darkness where I have always been quite comfortable.

May all the blessings and renewal of Samhain be upon you and yours as the days grow cold and dark. And despair not, for Spring is only half the wheel away.

And the Winner Is...

The winner of any print in Busted Knuckle Photography's Etsy shop, picked by the random number generator at Random.Org is number 3...

LyndaB from The Auld Grey Mare!

Congratulatuions! Please email me your snail mail address and which print you would like and I'll get your info to the gals at Busted Knuckle.

Thanks everyone for playing and expect another giveaway in the not too distant future from yours truly. ;)

On the Twenty-Seventh day of Hallowe'en...

As Samhain draws closer, I've been thinking more and more about what I'd like to take with me into the magical new year and what I'd like to leave behind. Each year, after the trick-or-treaters and Hallowe'en revelers have gone to count candy and to sleep I slip off to the sanctuary of my altar to perform my Samhain ritual. During my ritual I do a spell for release and balance that out with a new year's wish. I close with a 12 card tarot spread to glimpse into the coming year.

This year, the things I'd wish for are few but the things I'd like to leave behind are plentiful. Some require a lot more work than the few days left between now and Samhain can fully heal, but other ones that have plagued me for entirely too long need to be told they will no longer have power over me and I can think of no better time than Samhain to release them.

The things I am leaving behind are the demons of self doubt and loathing. For as long as I can remember, I've suffered from fairly low self esteem and the wee demons in my head telling me I'm not good, creative, in shape, pretty, clever, funny, talented, likeable, etc, etc, enough have been less than helpful in my getting over it. I am blessed with people who love and praise me, but am completely incapable of graciously accepting a compliment. Until I began this blog a little over a year ago, sharing my art was something I very rarely did. So, I have made progress in some aspects, but now it's time to deal with the rest of them.

Yesterday, I sat down and began work on my project for week one of Tam's Art, Heart and Healing workshop on Willowing.org. Yes, week one actually started last week, but sometimes the universe has you hold off on things until the time is right for them. This was most certainly the case, because as I was pondering letting go of my demons I was watching Tam's videos for this project, which is all about changing how your inner critic speaks to you and letting go of the negativity it can breed in you.

Of course, when you create a void by letting go of something, there's an empty space to be filled with something wonderful. The page is devoted to the wonderful that you wish to focus on; a statement and word that will solidify the positive and keep out the negative. She said we could make a person who represented us and looked nothing like us, but for me, I wanted the girl on my positivity page to be me. I didn't look in a mirror or use photos, I just let my pencil and brush go and ended up with a semi stylized girl who looks almost exactly like me ten years ago.

My glasses and nose ring are present and accounted for and the message is straightforward and simple. Quit beating up on and start loving yourself.

And that my lovelies, is my resolution for this Samhain.

Will you be making any resolutions, releasing or wishing for anything as the Wheel of the Year begins a new cycle? feel free to share in the comments or on your own blogs. If you share elsewhere though, let me know here so I can come visit with you.

A Walk in the Autumn Woods

On Sunday, the 24th day of Hallowe'en, Joe and I decided to go to the State Park about 20 minutes from our apartment, since we hadn't done it yet. It's a well wooded park with narrow, dusty trails and despite the fact that there were a lot of people to share the trails with, including a few suicidal (homicidal?) mountain bikers flying down the paths and over rocks with little regard to the walkers they share the trails with, it was a beautiful place. I didn't feel quite the connection I felt with the forests back home, but I'm sure in time the energy of the forest will sneak up and join me and I will be pleased when it does so.

This one reminds me of the final scene in Legend, where all the fairies are waving goodbye with the Unicorns. Something about the lighting.

As it was, the walk was pleasant and not terribly taxing. We held hands, I snapped photos, we enjoyed the changing leaves, collected a few wee pine cones, found a baby snake and were followed by a squirrel for twenty minutes or so.

The past two days of Hallowe'en have been spent doing simpler things. I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. As the days wind down, so will my activities since I'm having a more laid back end to the Hallowe'en season than I'm used to. Some of the lovelies coworkers and hopefully the two ladies I've befriended down here will be attending my small Hallowe'en Party on the 30th and we'll be carving Jack-O-Lanterns and handing out candy before I have Samhain ritual on the 31st.

And then dear hearts, it will be November. I have no idea where this month went.

P.S... Don't forget to enter the giveaway I'm hosting for Busted Knuckle Photography! You can win a gorgeous photography print from their Etsy shop. You can find all the details here.

It's about time for a giveaway!

Happy Monday, Lovelies! I hope you all had an excellent weekend. It's the last week of Hallowe'en and I have to tell you, this month flew by way too quickly! To brighten everyone's spirits as our Hallowe'en revelries begin to wind down with the cycle of the seasons, I'm hosting this awesome giveaway from Busted Knuckle Photography.

Here is a taste of the work of Cheree and Megan Kimball, the eyes behind the lenses at Busted Knuckle.

The prize up for grabs is any print, as listed in their Etsy Shop. The print will come signed, without the watermark and the shipping times listed in the item descriptions will apply.

This contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world! Just keep in mind it may take a bit longer to get to you than the shipping times listed for within the United States. :)

The contest will run from today October 25, 2010 until Noon EST on Friday October 29, 2010. I will pick the winner with a random number generator and announce it shortly after.

Requirements to Enter
* You must leave a valid email address for each entry or have a public blog where I can contact you if you win. If I can't contact you to let you know that you've won and get your shipping information to the girls at Busted Knuckle, I will have to pick another winner.

* Go visit Busted Knuckle Photography's Etsy Shop and let me know which print you're hoping to win.

For Extra Entries
Each of these is for 1 extra entry. Please leave a seperate comment for each entry!

* Heart Busted Knuckle Photography on Etsy.
* Tweet about this giveaway. Make sure to leave the URL with your comment.
* Blog about this giveaway. Make sure to leave the URL with your comment.

Unfortunately, Facebook cannot be used to gain entries into contests. But if you'd still like to pop over there and say 'Hello' or give a thumbs up to the ladies at Busted Knuckle Photography, you can find their Facebook Fanpage here.

Full Moon Tea

On Blood Moon night,
by the pale moonlight,
I sat down for tea with visitors three.





We reveled in the moonlight,
as our tea we did pour,
The chit chat by candlelight,
never began to bore.





As we sipped down our tea,
the leaves we did did swirl,
in cup bottoms we began to see,
shapes and futures unfurl.



A Heart?



A creature most fierce?



An Umbrella Carrier?



Perhaps you can tell me what shapes you do see,
in the soggy leaves left in cup bottoms by tea.

Thank you for stopping by! You can visit the other tea partiers by visiting our lovely host, Frosted Petunias Blog.

A House Cleansing and Blessing

As I mentioned a few posts ago, Autumn is the time I do my annual cleaning rather than Spring. This time of year is great for cleansing and protection spells as well as divination. Since it took me longer than expected to finish my home's decluttering and deep cleaning (there were so many unpacked boxes stuffed in some of our closets) I opted to wait until today to perform my home cleansing and blessing spell work so I could get the extra power of the Full Moon behind me. Once my house is cleaned physically, this is the ritual I came up with and use to cleanse and bless it magically.

First thing's first, get rid of any negativity you flushed out during your cleaning spree. Take up your besom and sweep all that nastiness right out the door! To get rid of any particularly stubborn residual negativity light a black candle in the room where you and your family spend the bulk of your time. As you light it say:

Absorb into thee all negativity,
that our home shall be cleansed,
and our hearts will be free.
As I will it, so shall it be.

Let the candle burn out on its own.

Before the next phase, I like to take a shower or bath. If I'm going to cleanse my space I had get rid of any residual yuck that's clinging to me. Once I'm clean and dressed I gather the following items in the center of my home.

-Small Glass Bowl
-Water
-Salt
-White Candle in a safe container (see my photo above)
-Feather or Smudge Fan
-Loose herbal blend. You can put any herbs that you associate with purification, protection and prosperity in here. I use a blend of sage, thyme, mint and lavender.

Ground and center. In the small dish mix the water and salt. Walk along the edges of your home, through each room, sprinkling the mixture as you go. At each window and exterior door you come to sprinkle the mixture over the door step and window sill. Then pause and draw a star on the window or door with the mixture and your fingertip. As you do so say:

By Earth and Water I bless this entrance.
I bar entry to that which means us harm,
Only love shall enter here.

Once you've gone through each room in your home and made sure to bless each entry point, go back to the center of your home. Set down the bowl and light the candle. Take up the herbal mixture and sprinkle it over the top of the candle. With your feather or smudge fan spread the smoke throughout the room, making sure to get it into each corner and dark space. As you do so say:

By Air and Fire I cleanse and purify this space,
only joy and kindness will dwell and prosper here.

Repeat this for each room in your home taking care to refresh the herbs on top as needed. I usually put my candle and a small pile of the herb mixture on a plate to achieve this easily. Once you've cleansed each room return to the center of your home. Place your items down. Ground and center yourself before blessing your home as follows:

Let Air's laughter ring,
Water's love flow,
Fire's energy protect,
and Earth prosperity bring.
This home is now blessed by the elements four,
No spirits shall hide nor negativity endure.
May blessing enter and darkness flee,
As I will it, so shall it be.

Let the candle burn out. Take any leftover herbs and salt water outside to return to the earth.

Happy 22nd day of Hallowe'en! Get out under the full moon tonight, it's the closest one to Samhain. ;)

I'm sharing my spell with all of you lovelies for your personal use. Please don't republish this in part or full without my permission. That's bad karma.

On the Twenty and Twenty-First Days of Hallowe'en...

I drank a hefty amount of cinnamon spice tea last night while scouring the internet for some lovely vintage Halloween images. Why? You see, we have one of those digital photo frames that someone gave us as a gift last year, and the poor thing has been sitting on our end table unused and collecting dust the whole time. However, I'm about to change all that. With the help of some old postcards and saucy witches it will decorate my final empty table space for Halloween. I still have a few stray pumpkin decorations to wrangle up and put out, but aside from those and the last minute things I'll be doing the day of my Halloween party I'm finished decorating this season.

After I had loaded my final photo this morning, I made this little pumpkin faery painting.

She measures in at a mere 5"x7" and was done entirely in watercolor. I cannot believe how much I've improved with this medium over the past year. While it may not show extremely well in the scan, her dress is made up of many tiny blades of grass and the pumpkin is formed from several layers of green, brown and orange paint. I've listed her in my shop if anyone is interested in giving her and her wee pumpkin a good home.

On the Seventeenth through Nineteenth Days of Hallow'en...

I'll start off this post with an update on my eye as I had my follow up with the doctor this morning. The outer most layer of my eye is healed, which is great news. Unfortunately, the eye drops I'm on, while healing the infection, have caused inflammation in the next layer of my cornea. This is causing continued photo sensitivity, some goopy grossness and a thin layer of film to keep developing that's obscuring my vision. Unfortunately, I can't quit the eye drops that are aggravating but healing my eye just yet, because the eye drops to soothe the inflammation are steroid based. Steroids in my situation can cause the lesions to open right back up and even flourish if not kept in check by the original eye drops. I also have to be seen fairly frequently to make sure the lesions don't begin to re-open and we don't have to start back at square one.

So, a mixed bag of news from the doctor this morning and I'll be continuing to fight this thing for a while longer.

Oh well, enough of that hum drum though and on to the fun stuff!

Over the past three days of Hallowe'en I've...
Gone on a walk in the park to see the leaves starting to change.

Painted some pumpkin folks with Joe.

Watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time this season. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have seen this movie, I love it. That being said, Lets do the Time Warp Again!

Divination on the Sixteenth Day of Halloween...

After throwing a fancy Halloween party on Friday and hosting a plethora of lovely people from A Fanciful Twist's Party Saturday, I decided to kick back with a bottle of red wine and my Heart of Faery Oracle Deck and do some divination.

I poured a glass, sipped a bit and shuffled the deck. I didn't focus on any question in particular I just asked to be shown a focal point in the form of a three card spread. What turned up was interesting...

I had intended on it being a past, present and future spread but looking at it originally, it didn't seem to fit that pattern. The fact that two queens showed up in the reading seemed of significant importance. I left the cards on the table and went off to get some dark chocolate to enjoy with my wine while I pondered. However, when I came back something jumped out at me. There was no past, present, future theme. The cards in the first and third position were showing me the two sides of myself who have been feeling a bit neglected and out of balance with each other as of late while the central card was showing me the outcome of realigning and acknowledging them.

The Faery of Naughtiness represents my spontaneous, mischievous inner child. She likes to play and have fun and doesn't take anything including work, life or light hearted pranks, too seriously. She is my light, a source of joy and never becomes fixated on one thing for terribly too long. The Queen of Night however, is the darker more adult aspect of myself. She is a passionate, sensual woman who yearns for success and desires to fulfill her dreams, occasionally to an obsessive degree. She is often inspired but can be quite serious, even melancholy at times and can lead down a path to ruin if you let these aspects of her take over.

Between the two, the Queen of Day sits calmly. She declares that should I learn to acknowledge, accept and balance these two I can be more at peace than I have been in some time. She warns that excess of either aspect can lead to disappointment; an inspired painting that I work on in frenzy once finished may be an abject failure, too much play can lead to the forgetting of important daily matters. To have these women within me is a blessing for while one should not be serious all of the time, one cannot lose themselves in constant play either.

---
I've only recently begun to work with cards of any sort again after nearly ten years of neglecting my first deck, the Universal Waite. I was given this deck at 14 and memorized the little white book as I thought this was the way to go about doing it. After a few years of getting garbled readings that meant nothing to me, I put the cards away in frustration.

Almost a decade later I found myself yearning to read them, but again, the Universal Waite refused to speak to me. My goal in picking the cards back up is to get away from the memorization of the little white books and learn to read intuitively. As I've had a very hard time connecting with much of the imagery of the Universal Waite I went off to find a deck that spoke to me. Over the past year, I've come into possession of the Housewives Tarot and the Paulina Tarot. I've had greater success connecting with the Paulina Tarot than the other two decks. The imagery is absolutely stunning and her figures are very emotional. I'm still learning the basic symbolic meanings of some of the images found in various tarot decks, so some cards are more difficult for me to read than others, but I know that once I've gotten the symbols down, the Paulina Deck and I will be very close.

While tarot still tricks and eludes me to a degree, I've had great successes with intuitive readings through the Heart of Faery Oracle deck, which I came across quite by accident while I was perusing the book store nearly two months ago. I was wandering in search of the mythology section, sipping a comforting pumpkin spice latte after a particularly awful morning, and passed by an end cap. Something caught me out of the corner of my eye and caused me to turn around to check out the display. Amongst the books of love spells and other things I never usually glance twice at sat a huge box with a regal woman on it. I recognized the art as Brian Froud's immediately and picked it up, not intending to purchase it. I never made it to the mythology section that day and instead headed home with my new deck of cards. The fae are funny like that, causing you to do things you never intended to do.

I find that I have a difficult time practicing with my decks because I rarely have anything specific I feel the need to ask them. This causes me to lack focus and my typical tarot readings to come out extremely scattered. With the Faery Oracle however, I've found that I need not focus on anything in particular, I just shuffle and ask them to tell me something. The readings I've done with them have occasionally come out as riddles that need to be solved, or less than a soft blow, but have always been honest. I really enjoy working with them and they have re opened the door to belief in the wee folk that I had left behind when I 'grew up' so to speak.

Now that I've rambled quite long enough, here are some questions I'd like to put to all of you lovelies. Do you read cards? If so, how did you go about learning? Do you read intuitively or by the book? Which decks do you use and what sort of successes have you had with them?

Feel free to post in the comments or on your own blog. If you post in your own space, be sure to let me know so I can stop by for a visit!

***
Here are links to the folks who expanded on and shared the discussion in their own blogs:
My history with tarot at the Deepest Well
Tuesday Talk at Kally's Cauldron
A little about me and divintion at Witchy Gumbo

A Fanciful Hallowe'en

Will you follow me to my witches table to be merry and eat all the treats that you're able?

A ghastly array of delights you will find, along with witches and creatures of all kinds.

Perhaps you'd like a cookie or some spiked wicked cider? Or maybe some wine made from oak leaves and spiders?

Mind the mice as they wander over pumpkins who slumber to awake on All Hallows Eve. Feed the ravens if you must but I warn of their lust, for attention and they won't let you leave.

Off you must be to visit the other revelers making merry or spooky with Vanessa over at A Fanciful Twist. I hope you've enjoyed your visit and will return some day, I've lit candles so you can always find the way.

On the 14th Day of Hallowe'en...

I set up this year's apothecary shop. While nowhere near as elaborate as last year's I still like it. Different home means different shelf space, such is life.

I'm off now to finish making tasty treats and get ready for my Halloween Party. I do hope you'll all stop by tomorrow as well as visit the other folks who are joining in on the fun over at A Fanciful Twist.

One Inspiring Witch

Willow, over at A College Witch's Experiences asked us all to share witches, either fictional or real, who have inspired us as part of her Inspiring Witches Blog Party.

I've wracked my brain, because throughout the years so many witches have inspired me. Fictional characters like Mildred from the Worst Witch, The Wyrd Sisters of Discworld Fame, Sabriel in the Abhorsen Trilogy and real life witches such as Ellen Dugan, Ann Moura and all of you have inspired me and taught me things. However, only one witch stuck her pointy finger in my heart and stuck with me throughout my life. If only I had the ruby slippers to get her attention... I certainly wouldn't have melted her, poor dear.

Of course, I speak of the Wicked Witch of the West, whom L. Frank Baum gave such a bad rap (but a fashionable eye patch!) who was recently redeemed and shown for the misunderstood woman she truly is by Gregory McGuire. Elphaba, the green skinned pointy hat wearing, fictitious witch.

When I was a kid I always hated when Dorothy melted the witch. I held out that she wasn't as bad as she seemed, she was angry about her sister being killed by a house and some kid stealing the ruby slippers. I also secretly wished I could visit her tower with its amazing crystal ball and horde of flying monkeys.

When Gregory McGuire's book Wicked came out, I snatched it off the bookshelf and read the entire novel in about two hours, I couldn't put it down. I related heavily to Elphaba's being an outcast in school, her craving of affection, and her decision to stand against the Wizard and his awful schemes. The novel showed her as a strong, intelligent woman with dreams, goals, ambitions, unrequited crushes and a sense of right and wrong. She was a witch by nature not by choice and had little control over her talents, often having her powers flare up when she was angry, until later in life when she found the Grimmerie and learned to harness her abilities. Throughout her life Elphaba held many roles as daughter, pupil, sister, caretaker, friend, revolutionary, lover and eventually Wicked Witch as she was driven mad by the deaths of loved ones. The book made me love the Wicked Witch of the West even more and unsurprisingly when the end came for her I was inconsolable.

My love for this green gal being what it is, you can only imagine my elation when Wicked the Musical hit Broadway! When I lived in NJ, I was a mere 45 minutes from New York City and my friend and I bought tickets to see the show while the original cast was still in place. It cost us quite the chunk of change, but to see the character I've felt so much affection for and have been so inspired by come to life was worth it. To witness the events of her days, see her interactions with the people she cared for and hear the music was unbelievable. Being the big sap I am, I cried the whole way out of the theatre, happy tears this time, but I won't spoil anything for those who haven't been fortunate enough to see the show.

So, today when we toast the witches who have inspired us, I tip my hat to the fictitious Elphaba Thropp, Wicked Witch of the West. I could pick no other witch to want to model myself after than her courageous, loving, intelligent, inspiring self.

So if you care to find me, Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo, At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me take a message back from me!
Tell them how I am Defying gravity!
I'm flying high, Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown.
And nobody in all of Oz, no Wizard that there is or was is ever gonna bring me down!
Lyrics from the song Defying Gravity from the musical, Wicked.


You can visit the other participants of the blog party and see who their inspiring witches are by clicking the image below.

On the Twelfth Day of Hallowe'en...

I spent a good portion of my day cleaning my apartment in preparation of my annual Autumn cleansing. With the approach of Samhain, this has always been the perfect time for renewal, protection and banishing spells around the home. First thing I like to do before any sort of spellwork is physically clean my space from top to bottom, alleviating any clutter or dirty nooks and crannies where negativity can linger and hide out. Tomorrow, once I've finished my deep cleaning, I'll get to the witchy work of shooing away the negativity that's collected in here, cleansing my home and renewing protection spells.

I've got my four thieves vinegar a-brewing and I'll share more about how I go about the magical side of my cleaning ritual tomorrow after I've finished. To relax after all of my scrubbing and tossing out of things today however, I did some light decorating around the living room that I thought I'd share.

A small portion of my witch collection with Joe's insect collection.

The decor in front of our television.
Some close ups of two of the jolly fellows who live in front of the television:

Those two fellows came to live with us after we picked them up in New Jersey at a consignment shop for the unbelievable price of $3 each! And they aren't small or chintzy either.