Merry Solstice!

The fancy altars of a few years back are dusty and unkempt; places where rocks, sticks, feathers, and lint from pockets stuffed during adventures are emptied. And honestly, I'm ok with it.

I wasn't for a long time, but now. Fuck it. Being a witch isn't about being fancy, despite the instagram hype.

Today's celebrations included a stroll through a mountain forest and admiring the resiliency and speed of its growth after a forest fire a few years ago. We splashed in the cold water at the foot of a waterfall. I plucked some tobacco horn worms off of the tomatoes in my garden that seem bound and determined to put me through the ringer this year; first with high humidity making them attempt to root 2 feet in the air, then with the black spots of early blight, now caterpillars.

I haven't pulled anything out for dinner yet, but I'm thinking some grilled chicken along with zucchini from the garden will suffice. We'll stay up late to enjoy the fullest of sunshiney days, leave some wine and shiny things out for the fae. I may or may not find my way into my sketchbook; more likely I'll find my way into my bed with a book.

However you choose to celebrate today, or not, Summer Blessings to you and yours. <3

Everyday Magics

If I wasn't one for ritual B.C. (before child), I certainly can't get in to it now. Between keeping Acorn from break dancing on the kitchen table, swinging the cat over his head by his tail, feeding everyone, keeping the house in some semblance of cleanliness, spending time with Joe, and taking time to do the things I enjoy there really isn't much time left in the day for much pomp and circumstance.

Good thing I've always been a low maintenance sort of gal and Witch. ;)

My altar is (bravely) set up on my (new! Thanks, babe) dresser in my bedroom. So far, little hands have been disinterested in exploring it. Whether that's because of magic or simply that it's all old hat and he's seen the same old bones since he came home, I can't say. But I'm glad for it!

It's an all purpose Winter/New Year job, at the moment, but will change when Spring officially gets here. The beautiful butterfly in the center was a gift from my SIL, and perfectly timed as a kick in the shin from the Universe that, dammit, it's time to stop being afraid and go with the changes. Sort of like my card pull and subsequent phrase of the year pick, which I tried to just ignore - "Embody Feminitity". The card on the left is a wonderful little idea I got from my fabulous friend Lisa over at Woman Magick. She creates a magical little envelope for each month of the year with candles, love & magic notes, and little add ins. I decided to do the same, and open them at each New Moon.

Aside from those little magics at the altar, I'm more or less living my magic. You can find it tucked in to corners of our home; wish bones in the kitchen, charms over the doors, egg shells being saved to make fresh powder, pinecones on the mantle to celebrate the season. A broom used to sweep things out, vinegar and herbs for cleaning and cleansing, the crows that nest in my backyard that Acorn and I both love to watch and listen to, the attention paid to the land we live on, and my latest endeavor - visioning for secret messages.

This is an excellent nap time activity and a good way to remain creative and in touch with my intuition when I'm lacking the desire or motivation to paint. I just sit with a stack of magazines and ask "What should I focus on?" or "What do I need?" and cut images and words with no judgement and then glue them on paper in a way that's eye pleasing but also makes sense.

What are some of your every day magics?

Oh, Hello

Blue moon witchery. Big magic for big healing and big changes over the next 2 years.

It's been a while.

But, you know. Life. 1st birthday. Toddler. Illness. Family Visits. Sleep. WALKING! (sort of) It's been a busy life, and at the end of the long days that make up the insanely fast years, I want to curl up on the couch with my husband or a book and veg out. Sometimes, I art a little, or color, or work on a crafty something or other. I'm coming back to who I was before baby, though I'll be forever changed and it's still taking a little adjustment.

Funny, going "back to normal" is like a whole new adventure all over again. Haha. And as it is with adventures, I'm learning and growing from it. My priorities are a lot clearer now and the mess (though still sometimes insanity inducing) is firmly on the back burner until I've met the needs of myself and my dudes. That sometimes means dishes get done at 7 am and other times mean they're done at 10:30 pm. Doesn't really matter because they're still there waiting no matter the time, because I'm not a storybook witch who can wish them away. *sigh*

The big updates from here are: Acorn is now a year old. And hot stepping all over the place for short distances. And breaking his mom's heart with all this growing he's been doing, even as he delights us and makes us proud. Looking back on the last year has helped me to get through the hard and longest of days, because there's perspective now. I feel like I blinked, and my newborn baby was whisked away and replaced by this toddler with his boy face. Really, where did those baby features go?!?

Joe and I are both doing well and finding more time for ourselves and our hobbies again. My physical stuff is still ongoing, still waiting to see a specialist for my autoimmune disease so I can get a 100% accurate diagnosis and start treatment, but I've been taking my own steps to try to keep my discomfort under control. I'm working on improving my diet, cutting back on consumerism (sorry craft stores, my money now goes entirely towards food!), increasing my vitamin D (which is hard when it's like the surface of the sun outside ALL THE TIME) and getting up at the asscrack of dawn to do some stretches, yoga and my PT exercises. I'm not a morning person, so that's been a bit rough, but it's been tremendously helpful.

Taking some time to center and breath.

I'm making lots of progress with my mental health too, which sometimes feels very frustrating, because it often feels like 2 steps forward, 2 steps back. Every bit of progress seems to dredge up something else that needs to be healed. But, I'm getting there. The work is hard and some days I question if it's worth being grumpy or upset to get this work done, but then I remind myself that for all of the short term discomfort, there will be long term healing. Once I heal my inner child, overcome the fears that trigger my anger and quit questioning my worth, things will be smoother, happier and less stressful. So, onwards and upwards.

I've also still been debating if I should keep blogging here, change the name, move to Wordpress, blah, blah, blah... and I'm still undecided. I know the name no longer suits me, that I need an overhaul to make this space feel like it belongs to this current iteration of me. But do I want to wipe the slate completely clean, or just redecorate? Still pondering.

How are things with all of you? What's new in all of your lives? I've been a real shit about emailing, writing, etc. and I no longer use Facebook at all so I'm completely out of the loop.

Yule, Santa and a Peek at Our Tree

Before I shift gears and share a little bit of what's going on here for the holidays, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented on my last post, emailed, texted, called or drove to my house and lifted me up and shared their own stories. It's a lot less dark when you realize how not alone you really are. So, thank you all. I had my first therapy session last week and not only am I comfortable with the therapist (I dig her non fluff attitude) but she has given me hope that I will be feeling better sooner than I anticipated and that, if once we've overcome this hurdle I'd like to stay on and do some of the fucking deep healing - she's on board for that too. It just feels good to know that the very hard first step was worth it - I feel like I'm exactly where I need to be and am doing what I need to be doing. The work will be rough and I can't go as often as I'd like to due to budget constraints, but all in due time, right?

With that out of the way, I hope everyone had a magical Solstice and New Moon! How was THAT for a double whammy of releasing and inviting in new beginnings? We went to meet up with my sisters of the new moon to share a meal and sit around the fire for a bit before Acorn decided it was time to go home and to bed. I think we may have a sensitive old soul on our hands here - he likes new people, is calm when they hold him and takes in his surroundings with very serious intent but once his cup is full he is quick to let me know he wants to be alone, or sleep or go someplace quiet. And we oblige, because this time of baby hood is so very short. Once we got home and I had him settled, Joe built a fire and I worked a little bit of magic at the kitchen table with some Earth medicine and my oracle cards. It's funny, before I had Acorn all of my big work was done outside or at the altar in my bedroom. Now that he bunks in there, I'll make sacred space wherever I can carve it out, including on top of a ridiculous snowman tablecloth in the kitchen. Ah, lessons. After I was done, I left my pulled cards and the citrine stone that my Work was focused on in the grounded jaws of badger in my South facing window to absorb the magic of the newly rebirthed Sun. I need this immense fire energy right now, but it needs to be harnessed lest it burn me beyond the point of rebirth. I'm tempering the Phoenix medicine that's been appearing so frequently around me (oh, do I know there are big scary changes in store when Phoenix comes and shines her hot light in to my heart) with my belovedly stodgy Badger.

There's deep work, an inferno of release and a rebirth from the ashes ahead. I'm sort of terrified of burning up who I truly am with all of the refuse, but the deep rooted knowing of my soul says that my true self can never be consumed if I don't allow it to be. This winding path is scary sometimes, but I'm placing my faith in the bright light of hope.

We also made time to see the big man himself!

In more mundane magical happenings, we've finished decorating the house and getting our gifts together and are ready for Joe's parents to join us through the New Year. I'll be taking plenty of breaks with my kiddo in the quiet bedroom to nurse and get some introvert time in so I don't become overwhelmed. The holidays are always pretty taxing on me and with a house full for over a week, if I'm not careful I'll be ragged and edgy by Saturday. I'm ridiculously pleased with what I managed to pull together in the gift department without stressing myself out. Thank the Gods for nap times, the internet, thrift stores and a future sister in law who let me borrow her sewing machine at the last minute.

I'll be doing the "One Little Word" instead of a resolution again, as I have the past few years, but I'll have more on that as well as my usual photo whore wrap up of 2014 a bit closer to the New Year. I just wanted to check in amongst the holiday madness and let you all know I'm OK. I have a direction, I see Hope, I have helpers, support and so much love around me and I'm going to get better. And, I've been enjoying the holidays, even if quietly. While sipping eggnog on the couch watching my favorite Christmas movies with my favorite fella while our Yulemas tree twinkles.

Samhain Musings

As the year grows darker and we sit in the space between death and life, there is still hope and renewal. This is a space of transition, of shifting. A time to confer with our ancestors and spirits as they walk through the thinned veil, a time to divine what it is we need, what it is that we do not and what it is that is holding us back.

It is a time to reap what we have sown since the last dying season, whether it be good or bad, abundant or sparse. It is a time to consider what we want to cultivate as the great wheel spins on and ushers in a new cycle. Time to burn away that which is rotten, fouled and no longer needed to make way for new life once the darkest days of coming Winter are behind us.

I plan to pull out the cards tonight, once trick or treat and Halloween fun have finished, and share wine with the spirits. To leave honey for the fae and whisky for the goblins, in hopes they will continue to keep their mischief to themselves. I plan to make a resolution, as I do at each Witch's New Year... this year to cast of the chains I've bound myself in. To let go of holding back, of hiding, or censoring myself... even a little bit. Because to be anything other than my full, true self is doing a grave disservice to my soul and my emotional state.

I plan to let my freak flag unfurl and fly this year, to become truly brave and step in to my own.

So mote it be.

To my fellow witches, pagans and magic makers a very merry Samhain! May your harvest (both literally and figuratively) be bountiful and the ancestors bless you this evening. May you be blessed with abundance, joy and magic as the great wheel begins its cycle anew.

Ordinary Sacred

My last Full Moon ritual, where I did more than toss a tired glance out of my window in to the cloudy sky, was in June when I strung my mother cord necklace. July's was the night before I went in to labor and my body felt beat up and exhausted. August's and September's felt similarly, though I had a baby to show for my exhaustion which made it feel less lazy. I didn't light candles, I didn't go outside. I went to bed, because that's what my body and mind demanded of me.

Lughnasadh went by with just a hat tip and Mabon will most likely be celebrated with the eating of a sacred (ok, not really) apple fritter.

I had scaled back a while ago, keeping my altars simple and my rituals a quiet (usually, I don't speak) and straightforward affair. Nowadays I barely have time to do more than pause for a moment in front of it, breathing in the scents of wood, wax and old incense. Maybe I pull an oracle card, maybe not.

Depends on the day.

Mind you, I'm not complaining. Rather, I'm recognizing what has been going on in my spiritual life since this little star came and landed in to my arms.

It's taken some adjustment, as so many things have in the whirlwind of new mommyhood, but I'm finding the sacred and keeping my spiritual side fed in different, smaller, ways.

The sacred is all around us, we don't need fancy trappings or rituals to find it. We need only be still, quiet and observant - even if it's only for a minute. The sacred whispers to me as a breeze through the leaves. It warms me with the first glimmers of morning sunlight kissing my cheek. It's found in the quiet moments of love while Acorn and I lay quietly nursing. There's magic in the songs of the cicadas and in the breathing of my sleeping boys as I lay awake at night, petting Luna.

I've been inviting it in with small gestures: burning candles, windows thrown open on the first cool day in months, dusting my altar spaces, creating a wee new one in the studio, giving my hands up to spirit and paint when time allows. I invite it in by sitting silently, taking deep breaths and quieting my mind.

It may not look like witchery or magic. It may not seem sacred, but finding beauty, magic and gratitude in the simple and ordinary truly is.

The Mothering Moon

About a month ago, I decided I wanted to have some sort of ceremony with my soul sisters and friends far and wide and from all paths and walks of life to commemorate and celebrate my passage in to motherhood. Throughout this entire pregnancy I've been craving sisterhood and feminine bonding; real, deep feminine bonding not the shallow sort where people just pat you on the back, say you'll be a great mommy, and focus on the baby. In an act some would call selfish, I decided to celebrate myself and invite others to celebrate me as well.

All I asked of these sisters was to simply send me a bead. If they wanted to send a note or something else, that was fine, but the bead was the token requested. I collected all of the beads together and put them on my altar to wait for June's Full Moon when I would string them all together on to a necklace under Momma Moon's watchful gaze and create a string of prayer beads to hold or wear when I give birth or need to feel especially loved or empowered. I invited the other women to sit under the moon with me, wherever they happened to be and to send up some energy, a prayer, a wish in whatever fashion they chose to celebrate the bonds of sisterhood, myself and this transition of mine.

When the Full Moon came, it fell on Friday the 13th, typically a lucky day for me. When I picked the June Full Moon, it was because it gave my necklace a full cycle to sit in the moon's light before baby's estimated arrival. I didn't even notice the date. A little bit of universal serendipity.

That evening, I was feeling exhausted and worn out both emotionally and physically. I had planned this day of exquisite self care, where in I'd soak in the tub, sip raspberry iced tea, paint my nails, lay outside on the blanket in the grass with Luna and paint or read. None of that went to plan. I ventured out to the store in the morning for a few things, came home and felt queasy and tired. I spent almost the entire day on the couch with Luna. No painting, no reading, no afternoon nap in the shade. I was incredibly bummed out. I did however manage to take a nice long warm shower, not the bath I had planned on but the warm water and lavender soap melted away a lot of tension and unhappiness and relaxed me just the same.

When night fell and the time came for me to sit before my altar, the moon was hidden behind storm clouds and it was raining. But I could still feel her there. I called on my Gods and spirits and momma moon to join me and held my usual Full Moon ritual, as well as blessing the amber necklaces I got for both baby and I along with the beads. I pulled my guiding card for the cycle, The Green Woman, and then moved to my bed to lay out and string the beads.

This is something I actually did twice, as I decided to add stops every so often to keep the more delicate beads from being crushed or cracked by heavier ones. My own contributions to the necklace are the sculpted Gaia, the evil eye bead and 3 blue goldstones - the same stones I used to create my wedding jewelry 5 years ago. As I strung the beads, I thought of each woman who sent them to me, about our relationship, about the prayers, wishes or secrets they sent along with their beads and sent some love out to each of them individually. There was a warm vibration in each of the beads, which was magnified tenfold when they were all gathered together on the beading cord. I'm awaiting some late arrivals, so the ends aren't finished off yet but I did drape it around my neck to feel the weight of it and aside from being long and hefty (it hangs nearly to my naval), there is something so empowering, so primal and so divine in the donning of it.

This token of sisterhood without borders, this tangible celebration of me, will serve not only as a powerful talisman during my birthing time but also as a treasure to remind me for the rest of my life of the power inherent in female bonds that aren't tainted by social, religious, physical or other stigma or competition.

P.S. If you weren't invited please don't be offended, it wasn't from a lack of love, but from a lack of knowing how to contact you outside of blog comments. If you'd like to send me a bead, I won't be closing off the necklace for a few weeks still. Please email me at artful.danni at Gmail and we'll get things sorted out. :)

Merry May

As has happened the past few Beltanes, I was reminded of my luck when I glanced down. Rather than the usual 1 or 2 this year, I was gifted with a bushel of 4 & 5 leaf clovers. Timely reminders.

The First of May, the First of May! Outdoor screwing begins today!

;)

The May Queen has returned and she and the horned God will once more bless the land with fertility a'plenty. The fires of celebrants will burn away the last remnants of Winter and stagnation; lands and moods will be greened and renewed. Spring has come for certain, the lands are warming and baby birds have begun to peck through their eggs - ready to meet the World.

With the veil being thinned, troops of fairies will roam our world, singing and laughing their joy. You may join them and leave gifts for them if you wish, but be careful not to get trapped by them. As old tales have often warned, even the kindest seeming fairy may seek to trick you in to joining them.

I'll be leaving offerings later, under the old oak tree, for the creatures the Lord and Lady tend. There will be others left by the lilies for the fae that I know will dance through at their leisure and one last one by the thickety thorns for the Goblins so they'll continue to take their mischief elsewhere.

I'll head out to the very back of our property, where a mother crow has built her nest and leave gifts of meat for her and her soon to be babies. I'll find flowers, perhaps bake if it doesn't top 80* today and burn things when the Sun has departed.

May your May Day be filled with joy, celebration and warmth. May the fires of passion for whatever and whomever you love burn bright and hot and may you be blessed with an abundance of the fertility of your choosing.

Blessed Beltane!

Quietly, She Comes

Despite the turning of the wheel, I know many places are still shrouded in the death throes of The Winter Crone. Even here in the land of eternal Spring, we've still been having cold days and frosty nights. The other night there were flurries! It's been keeping me from beginning my gardens as early as I normally do, not wanting the baby herbs and vegetables to be burned or killed by ice.

But still, she is coming. The Maiden Spring and her train of merry making and beauty. You can see signs of her arrival all around; in the return of the warm weather birds, in the buds of trees, in the flowers that say "I've slept enough, I'm blooming now!". In the growing strength and warmth of the Sun. She is coming, slowly, not being rushed by a calendar date or the celebrations of the Equinox.

And quiet, as her returning, were my celebrations of the shifting seasons. I woke up early on Ostara morning and had coffee with my visiting friends before heading out in to the warm sunshine after 3 days of cold and rain to sit in comfy chairs and catch up while the dogs played in the yard. My altar, much in need of a cleaning, was stripped of its stones, crystals, bones and bric-a-brac. These treasured pieces were brought out to let the sunshine burn away old energies and be renewed with the energies of the Equinox.

The space itself was cleansed with smoke and fire and the ringing of bells. Then everything was lovingly returned and rearranged, ready for this new cycle.

In small ways, I'm still celebrating Spring's returning. The windows are stubbornly thrown open whenever the sun is shining, the cobwebs of winter are being chased from nooks and crannies and the house is getting a top to bottom scrubbing of both the physical and spiritual variety. I've got yellow candles and sweet rose incense burning amidst bees and birds on my mantel and am soaking up the sound of birdsong.

Most years I celebrate the coming of Spring with a lot of pomp and circumstance on the Equinox, as the transitional seasons are the ones with which I am nearest and dearest. But this year, I'm taking my cues from the Maiden herself and doing so slowly, quietly and with faith that soon enough the Crone will retire her cold throne and make way for rebirth, renewal, growth and warmth. Making way, inevitably, for the Mother's return. Which, as I prepare to enter her sacred circle, will be extra special this year.

The "Why" Isn't What Matters

This Winter has become a somewhat burdensome and overbearing one, even here in the South. It's sapped a lot of my energy and motivation and many projects and practices have been sitting idly by, collecting dust.

I know that I'm not alone when I say that during this time of isolation and indoor living, that my spiritual practices have become smaller and simpler. Not that I've been one for fancier ceremonial rituals, but even my pared down rituals have become simple silent gestures and the following of nudges and whims from spirit. Normally at Imbolc, I set my seeds for the garden on the Altar to be blessed with the fires of renewed light and warmth but this year, with it being gray and cold, seed purchasing and starting was very far from my mind and Imbolc was celebrated with a simple lighting of candles on the altar space.

The spiritual is very much still a part of my life, even during this time of sapped energies, but in more integrated and simple ways. I've spoken before about some of my simple everyday rituals and I've found comfort in those now. As well as in simple acts such as pulling oracle cards, lighting candles, burning incense, sipping herbal tea slowly and savoringly out of my favorite mug or getting a start on my Spring cleaning. Some of these things I do knowing full well what it brings to me and to spirit, but others are nudges and urges that I don't understand the "why" of, but follow through on anyway.

One good example of this; for no discernible reason, I had this very strong need to put a tumbled amethyst at the feet of my Ganesha statue. He's never asked for anything other than sweets and incense before, but that stone (which I had found on a walk several months ago and had been keeping in my purse) needed to be there. And there it sits now, shiny at the elephant headed one's feet and it feels right. I know a few practitioners who would poo-poo on the sentiment of "right feeling" or "following your gut" and dismiss it as fluffy, but I really couldn't give a shiny rat's ass about their opinions.

:)

For me, following these nudges is an act of faith in Spirit and a way to strengthen our bonds. It is also a way to further my sight and to strengthen my intuition. I used to worry over the why of the acts, but no longer do. Not everything we are asked to do has an understandable reason behind it, not everything we feel compelled to do requires a logical picking at and explanation. That goes against the very nature of faith and asks that the spiritual and magical reveal themselves to us in purely human concepts. In my case, this has only served to stifle connections, rather than grow them and as such I'm learning to let go of the constant need for explanation that is so much a part of human nature.



Hat tip to Aine at The Deepest Well for posting about her own experiences with this and causing me to stew on it for several days, inspiring this post.

Nods from the Green

AS part of my coming out of the resting period my spiritual path took, I've been rebuilding my practice of pulling a card from my beloved Heart of Faerie oracle deck each morning. And so far this week, I have pulled the same card every day, regardless of how short or long I spend shuffling...

If you've been here for a while, then you know that the Green Woman is very special to me; she is the Divine Feminine for me. Powerful, wild and strong, yet gentle, nurturing and beautiful. She is the Goddess figure with whom I am most comfortable, the one whom I speak and turn to most often.

Nods from the Great Momma, making me feel like I'm finding all the right footings for all of my various paths. And letting me know when I stumble, she's got my back.

Yuletide Blessings

The wheel spins round, in it's endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth and soon the slumbering Earth will reawaken, under the warm of the Sun and the watchful eye of the Oak King.

The Holly King has fallen; the king is Dead. The Oak King has Risen; Long Live the King!

On this longest night, may you be surrounded by warmth and love. Whether you be alone or gathered with friends and family, may your night be jolly and blessed. The Darkness has fallen, but the light is returning, ready to soon drive it back.

Merry Yule, fellow pagans, witches, heathens and you muggles too. May the Light shine brightly tomorrow and always, on you and yours.

The Breaking of the Rest

There come times on this spiritual journey, like the physical variety, when one must stop to rest. Whether that rest be simply to recharge your batteries, to take in the sights and sounds along the way, or to ruminate on where you've come from and where you're heading.

The past few months have been a resting period for me, as those who have been here a while may have noticed from my writings being few and far between. My Sabbat celebrations since Lughnasadh have been quaint and unfussy, my daily card pulls and chats at the altar ceased. The altar itself hadn't been spruced up much, just dusted to keep the space clear and clean. As someone whose spirit and persona are intermingled with my spiritual path (why keep these things separate?), my artwork and my fondness for music and dance have also slowed or ceased. I didn't realize it as it was happening, but now that the first stirrings of shifting and re-awakening are nudging me, I can clearly see this restful, quiet period for what it is.

As it's Winter and my body clock flows in rhythm with the shifting season of the Earth, these aren't huge boisterous calls to action, but rather warm feelings to move slowly back on to the pathway. Break-time will be ending soon and I must, once more, begin the Work and the Walk. It started with the urge to rearrange and add to the altar. Right now, I've rearranged and waiting to find the right things to add. I've also felt the urge to get to work on a more beautiful and formal Grimoire, as my journey and notes are scattered throughout various note and sketchbooks.

Signs to wake back up come in the cawing of the crows and the decision to vanquish the inner bullies once and for all. For how can one walk the path and perform the work when one's confidence is shaky? Best we toss those bits of carrion out for the birds and continue in to the woods, head held high. The Earth Mother is once more humming to me, calling for me to reconnect with She, the Goddess with whom I've always been thick as thieves; the ultimate in Divine Feminine to me. Hermes sends me messages, on the wings of bees who shouldn't be out in this cold. My altar has been freshened up, rearranged and the things there that need it, fed sweet smoke and offerings of wine and milk.

Most telling of all though, is my Muse is back with a vengeance and I'm painting again and scheming and dreaming of colors and symbols, flung wildly across paper and canvas.

All Hallows Eve

Happy Hallowe'en, my lovelies!

Once I'm off work this afternoon, I plan to take a second walk around the neighborhood under the cool grey skies and as ever, keep a watchful eye and open heart for messages or signs. And also, to simply enjoy this day and this weather while it lasts. Then I'll be sweeping and cleaning the house, renewing wards and protection charms. I plan to cook and set up the altar, nothing fancy this year... all while wearing my finest pointy hat.

Then tonight I'll entertain guests both living and non, setting out the jack-o-lanterns to ward off the nasty ghouls and ghosts and to guide the honored dead and beloved spirits to my table where a place will be set for them. I'll leave offerings where the fae congregate in our yard; wine and sweets in the garden for those who are gentle and kind and beer and bread at the edge of the thorny patch for the goblins. After all, we shouldn't slight the darkness. Don't believe me? Just look at what happened to Sleeping Beauty.

Candy will be given to those wee souls who are brave enough to ring our bell. I'll be opening a nice bottle of red wine and sipping that while the candles burn and I offer thanks for the blessings of this past year and ponder what needs to go and what I need to call to me in this next one. I'll bind what I must and send my wishes skyward on ash and smoke. Just before bed, I'll pull cards for the coming year and take their advisement to heart.

There's something in the air this year that feels different than recent Hallowe'ens past. I felt a pull to light all of my candles yesterday, to sweep clear the altar area and to keep those candles burning for 3 days and 3 nights. And so, I shall.

Samhain blessings to my fellow Witches and Pagans; may this new year be filled with blessings a plenty! To my cherished muggles, a very happy Hallowe'en, may your night be filled with magic and joy.

Shine on, Harvest Moon

The garden is dying back. Tomato plants, spent yet trying to turn out one last crop of wee tomatoes, hang limp and yellowing on their supports. Their leaves curling and crunching, slumping beneath the weight of tired stems while below them, the first tendrils of Winter peas are emerging from the soft dirt. We will get one final harvest of Summer's bounty before the Winter crops take over.

The urge to open wide all the windows and invite in the comfortable Autumn breezes yesterday was overwhelming. I had a headache thumping away in my skull and after my visit to my garden, I took a long, soothing nap in my bed. Warmed by the golden rays of the afternoon sun, kept cool by the breezes rustling the tulle on the bed frame. The scents of warm roses and rosemary mingling with that of the decaying leaves littering the Earth. A much needed respite from aches and pains and technology.

There were big plans for yesterday afternoon; being a full moon under a strong sign on a lucky day, it seemed the best possible day to work on cleansing and re-warding. To invite in the good and really shoo away the bad. But, even the best laid plans can be waylaid by feeling unwell and in my workings, intention is so very key that results can be achieved without a lot of pomp and circumstance. Simple tasks done with intention replaced the all out scrubbing I had originally planned.

When night fell, offerings of spiced rum, sweet cider and tokens of the harvest were set on the altar. Candles were lit to the Gods and to honor the Moon herself. Incense smoke drifted lazily over the space. I lit a candle to send my full moon wishes up to the starry sky and began to shuffle the cards for guidance in this moon cycle. As I shuffled, there were jumpers - cards that leap from the deck to get your attention - and I laid them on the altar in the order in which they fell.

The thief alerts one to stolen time, to missed opportunity - he takes things to teach us to value and appreciate, to help us move on from a sticking point. The Blessing teaches us to begin each journey, each new day, each new step forward with a blessing. As she is shrouded in darkness, but holding a blessing aloft she instructs us to uncover the value and blessings hidden in struggle. The juggler is a card I've been pulling quite a bit lately and one I feel identifies myself right now, in my current state. The juggler has a bad habit of taking on too many things at once and it's only a matter of time until he misses one of those glass balls and it falls, shattering, to the ground. The juggler's attention is scattered and all over the place and this fae is a call to wake up, re-evaluate your priorities and to reassess things. The Lady of Faith tells us to shield our bodies, to shield our heads, but to never, ever shield our hearts. She looks deep within herself to find answers, she has a deep trust in love and compassion and her faith in herself, in her heart are unwavering.

The four here, work together to weave a tale of time (and humor) being stolen (a blessing in disguise) to alert one to their role as juggler and their need to re-prioritize before the things they are juggling come crashing down around them. The Lady of Faith reminds us that in our quest to lay things down gently, to reassess and regain what was stolen, that we must have faith in ourselves, in our hearts and in the love that surrounds us. We must not shield ourselves entirely if we are to succeed in our quest.

Given the thoughts in my head, the feelings in my heart and the small steps I've started to take lately to regain some of my own time and happiness, to regroup and reconnect with the person inside of me who doesn't take on everyone else's problems, doesn't waste tons of time online, is healthy, active and most importantly isn't so damn serious but is joyful and carefree... I'd say the Fae's message is one of hope and encouragement. I'm on the right path, I just need to keep going.

I can't pinpoint exactly when in the past few months I got lost, when my sense of humor slipped out the back door, but I'm tired of letting stress and the ho-hums and negativity and misery of others and the world at large drag me down and suck the life out of me. And in this time of in-betweens, in the season of Death and Rebirth, I will cut those things from my life with the sharpest of scythes and lay them to burn on the woodpile. And while I'm feeling the urge to Hermit myself away to deal with all of this, I will take caution not to shut up my heart, for therein, I'm sure, lies the key.

Everyday Rituals

In every household I've ever been in, there have been small rituals, family traditions, things some folks might call eccentricities, observed and performed. Oftentimes, without a conscientious thought or effort. Things like humming while cooking, always adding a particular herb or oil to a food or cleaning solution because that's how it's always been. Planting particular herbs or flowers near the garden gate and kitchen door, hanging windchimes in the trees, whispering to the winds, singing while you clean or always having salt on the table for each and every meal.

Little things that to the person doing them, are simply the way things are done. Little things that bring bits of magic and intention to our day to day lives and in some cases, keep folk and family traditions alive.

Happy little green witch and friend, Jen over at Rue and Hyssop wrote about hers recently, calling them "Little Witcheries". I like that phrase to describe the small ways in which we encourage magic to visit our homes and lives and I was amazed by the fact that she and I do some of the very same things, without ever having spoken of them previously. Her post has inspired me to share my own everyday rituals and traditions here, borrowing her idea to break them in to categories. Thank you, Jen, for the inspiration!

*Cleaning*

* I take a very green approach to cleaning, trying to avoid chemicals as much as possible. When cleaning counters or windows, I use a solution of water, vinegar and a few splashes of Four Thieves vinegar to add an extra bit of magical cleansing and protection (from disease on the countertops, intruders at the windows.)
* Never, ever run out of vinegar.
* Singing, shimmying or chanting while I clean to drum up the energies.
* Once windows and doors have been cleaned, draw refreshed sigils of protection on them.
* When sweeping, sweep towards the doorway or edge of the room, rather than the center, to send negativity packing along with the dirt.

*Kitchen*

* Kitchen witches abound.
* A candle is lit when I work. I sprinkle herbs in to the warm, soft wax sometimes.
* I use only wooden spoons to stir or move things in the pan. There's spirit and life and memory in them, not the unfeeling rigidity of metal or plastic.
* A chipped blue crockery cauldron and spoon wand reside in the kitchen, used for offerings and quick kitchen spell work.
* I stir food in a clockwise direction, to bring nourishment, contentment (and sometimes a little added magic via particular herbs) in to our lives and bellies. I stir the same way with concoctions where I wish to draw something in. I stir counter-clockwise when I want to send something packing; when I make soup for a cold, add honey to tea for a sore throat or create a concoction to release or banish something.
* I sip my morning coffee at the kitchen table, facing out the large picture window at the backyard. I greet the Sun as he shines his light on dewy rose petals and take in the visiting birds, squirrels and rabbits as they pilfer the kitchen garden. On rare occasions (due primarily to horrendous mosquitoes this year) I'll move my coffee ritual to the patio table.
* I loathe, hate and detest a messy kitchen. Clutter on the table and crap on the counters is a surefire way to put me in a horrendously sour mood and I will remain so until it is once more gleaming. Typically, I work best within, what I like to call, organized Chaos. Not true in the kitchen.

*General Home*

* Always have a candle burning in the heart of the home when company is visiting.
* A wreath on the front door welcomes friends and family and attracts prosperity.
* There are symbols of protection on each and every entrance point in my home, drawn on with a special herb and oil mixture, full moon ocean water or my saliva, depending on what's handy and what feels natural at that moment.
* Gargoyles are placed at the entrances to keep away the nasties. Leave your shit with him, please.
* In the bedroom, there are stones and talismans placed in, above and around the bed to ward my sleep. As someone who used to have nightmares nightly, often waking up breathing heavily, sweating or weeping, these are some of the most important bits of magic that exist in my home. Now my dreams are often incredibly bizarre, but I'm no longer waking up covered in sweat, tears or on rare occasions when I've hurt myself... blood.
* There are acorns all over my house. There are also crystals, stones and dried herbs placed all over as well.

*Yard/Garden*

* I leave offerings and libations to the plants, spirits of nature and the fae in my gardens. Usually, honeyed milk, wine, pretty stones, shells and sparkly baubles.
* I whisper and sing to the plants. As I plant the seeds or baby plant, I will whisper my blessings to them. When I tend them, I will hum or sing over them... sometimes I will talk to them as I would an old friend. When I prune them, I explain why I am doing so and ask the plant to help guide me so that I may do it greater good than harm. And when I harvest them, I give them gratitude for their sacrifice.
* When I walk the yard, I touch the leaves and branches of the trees who enjoy it and acknowledge the others by stopping beneath them to gaze at their beauty and speak to them.

I'm a salt tossing, wood-knocking, sky-watcher. Some would call me eccentric, others may call me superstitious or even, in some circles, old fashioned. All of the little things that I do, listed here and not, are ingrained in me for better or worse. Picked up through the years out of observation, superstition, folk tradition or guided by my own heart.

Eclectic, yet cozy and familiar.

The sugar bowl is always out, lavender is planted for luck, a kiss from a bee is a very lucky omen, storms are rolling in when the leaves show their undersides and wishes made on dandelion seeds often come true.

What everyday ritual and little witcheries do you do?

Release on the Corn Moon

Cloudy and breezy, the moon was hidden from sight, though her light shone bright enough to continue to illuminate the darkness. Wispy clouds shining silver across the deep blue sky, occasional stars twinkling.

Inside, the scent of incense floated on gently winds, blowing in through the open windows. Roses wafted about on the breeze, candles on several altars burning down. So much work to do on this full moon, though many feel the moon isn't a good time for work and simply time to thank and observe.

I disagree. As a follower of the sun and moon, I feel that working in tune with their ebb and flow, their energies, is as essential to magic as the simple belief that it does, indeed, exist. To deny the power of the moon's swollen form, of her insistence on inspiring restlessness and excess energy in me, is to insult rather than thank her. But, to each their own... I don't walk another's path and can only speak for myself.

Cleansing the altar space, tools, stones and amulets; using the moon's light, fire, smoke and water collected at the edge of my favorite spot on the sea. Casting wishes and prayers for others up to the heavens on sparks. So many people that I care for needing so much right now, but only so much energy that I can expend at one time; even with the help of the powerful moon. Offerings to the Great Mother and the Fae; wine and milk and honey.

I deviate from my usual three card pull this moon time, pulling just one from the Heart of Faerie to inform and guide me for the next month. Not at all surprised to see this cheeky Trickster's face, I know I've once again been spreading myself too thin. Too many projects, too many things on an over-bearing, self imposed to-do list; I find myself frequently worrying about 'doing this', 'seeing to that', 'worrying about so-and-so', 'helping them out'... not doing or being enough. Juggling too many things... and the balls are about to drop. My energies are being depleted on things that I shouldn't give so much care too, they're sucking up my joy.

His timing is impeccable. As I think back on last Autumn and the apathy that pervaded my personality then. Caused by burnout and stress.

A Trickster this fae may be, but clearer sight was his gift to me.

Acknowledged to Momma Moon and her ability to help release things, with a tinkling bell, a candle and some ale... I'm tossing out that smothering to-do list.

The First Harvest

Over the years, Lughnasadh has become one of my favorite Sabbats; I love it nearly as much as I love Samhain. I could go in to the mythology behind the Sabbat, tell you all about Lugh and his mother and why this festival was founded, but there are many other writers that do a very good job of that.

Instead, I'd like to share what this festival means to me. Sabbats, as with holidays both secular and of other faiths, hold different meanings to each person. While for the most part we start out in the same place when it comes to celebrating (learning the Mythology, associations, traditional rituals, etc.) as we become more in tune with our individual spiritual path, forge our own unique connections with deity and become comfortable with the cycles of Earth and Heavens in our own geographical location; our ways of observing and celebrating as well as our reasons why, may change. Evolving, if you will, into something more personal and therefore, more meaningful for the individual practitioner.

The harvest season here in the South starts a bit earlier than it does further North, typically with the first harvest happening closer to the Summer Solstice. When I lived in the Northern states, I celebrated Lughnasadh as an agricultural holiday, as well as a day dedicated to the god Lugh. You can imagine then, that my first harvest here was a bit of an adjustment; I'd already been pulling in the bounty for weeks - now what was I supposed to celebrate? Did I just go on with harvesting things as a way to celebrate?

Sure, but there was more than just pulling in goodies from the gardens to this Sabbat. The First Harvest Festival marks the start of the darker half of the year for me; heralding the start of the dying season. I've always been much more comfortable and content, on both physical and spiritual levels, with the part of the year that falls between August and March. This is the time of the year that I really get in to my element and get things done, this is the time of the year where my creativity typically peaks.

As a Harvest Festival, it is also a time of abundance - a time to reap what we have sown in the Spring time. Every Spring I do a cleaning and abundance ritual and so it is that I repeat that ritual once more at Lughnasadh. I clean house, clear out the energies, recharge wards and most importantly, evaluate where I am and how far I've come since Spring. If there's something holding me back or ties that no longer serve me, I use the powerful energy of this day to cut away the cords with an emotional scythe. Reaping and Harvesting isn't all just about bringing in the good stuff, after all. As I'm one to work with balance in mind, I realize that a cutting and burning like this leaves a gap that needs to be filled and so my final act, aside from the card pull I do at every Sabbat and Esbat, is to make an offering up to Lugh - in the form of art that I burn in my cauldron - and ask him to bless my creative practice and call forth what I need in my life.

Today I will celebrate the aspect of the God; Lughnasadh has always been a very masculine day for me - much like Imbolc is a very feminine one. For me, this isn't just a time to celebrate Lugh, but to also honor the Horned One and the God of the Wildwoods. There will be good ale in cold pints, fresh bread and hearty laughter. I will take offers to the edge of the property, where the trees and brambles grow thick between our yard and the next obscuring view and sheltering critters of both fur and feather.

May your Lughnasadh be merry, your blessings bountiful. May you reap that which you most desire and your creative fires be abundant. Happy Sabbat!

P.S. Edited to add photos. Feeling under the weather so celebrated and observed far earlier than usual.

Homecoming of the Spirit

If there is one constant in my blog habits, one thing that always rings true about my blog circle, it is that when I visit Aine at The Deepest Well, I find words that make me think, make me feel deeply or that are the exact thing I needed to hear without knowing it until it happened. Regardless of whether I comment, I always have thoughts bubbling in my head after I read Aine's writings. Today is no different except that I have enough thoughts bubbling around after reading A Time of Knowing that I didn't want to leave a novel in her comments.

Thank you Aine, for the inspiration to write.

Always, there seem to be trends among circles of peers and similar thinkers. Like others in this circle of witches and writers, pagans and thinkers, I have not written much about my spirituality of late; save for the occasional full moon or sabbat posting.

The truth of the matter is, there hasn't been much to write about because I've taken a break from learning, reading, growing and exploring. I've been lounging in my spiritual hammock in the shade of a familiar old grove I've seen many times on my path. To use Aine's words, I'm in a time of knowing.

Ruthlessly trusting my intuition, my knowing without reason, is something I've been working towards in other aspects of my life for nearly a year now. It started with art; baby steps back in to a place within myself I didn't question when I was a babe but grew mistrustful and jaded towards as I became older. Then it trickled in to other aspects of my life; relationships, jobs, how I spend my free time. That last one sounds a bit odd, but when one has been reared in a society that sees time not being outwardly productive as wasted, one needs to work hard to relax and breath when one's body/intuition begs them to do so.

And so, it's only natural that as I begin to retrace steps back in to that place of just knowing in other aspects of my life, that it would eventually become a part of my spiritual path. After all, as a highly eclectic human, compartmentalizing aspects of my life or myself has never worked out very well.

And so, I've stopped searching. I've quit reading and researching. The forks in the road have disappeared for the time being. Does this mean they'll never resume? No, not at all. To me, the reading, the searching, the setting out on new paths are very much like the spirit's version of bodily travel. Physically, we take trips to explore, to experience new things, see new sights and meet new people. To grow and to fill ourselves with knowledge, opinions and experiences we can't get if we stand still. But, these trips typically have a circular conclusion; Homecoming.

Right back where you've always belonged, right where you began. Sometimes, it just seems to take a long, winding route to get there. In a spiritual sense, sometimes it takes a lot of searching, reading and walking new paths to recognize and trust in what you know, rather than what you wish to believe. So many believe things are better elsewhere, that other methods are better than their own. That these thoughts or those practices are somehow holier or more spiritual. And they think that if they believe so ardently, then it is true. In the end, after the trials and travels, many of them end up knowing that this isn't the case.

I'm not saying this is the case for everyone's spiritual (or life) path as I can only speak to my own experiences. While I haven't been on this path as long as some, it seems to me that no matter what I learn and try, no matter what I read and think, it's the things I've always known, deep in the bones of my admittedly short life, that I keep coming back to. The things that work best and resonate deepest with me are those that I know, rather than those I believe.

These are the things that I always come home to. The simple truths housed in my intuition. The quiet, spirit led rituals. Concoctions and spell work advised from an unexplainable knowing rather than advice, a ledger or a grimoire. After connecting with many spirits, deities, paths and customs it is back to the Gods of my youth, to the spirits of the wildwood, the gifts and teachings of Earth, Sea and Sky that I've come back to. I'm reigning myself back in, regrouping and recharging after years of stretching myself incredibly thin on a quest for knowledge, growth and deeper spiritual wisdom.

My path has circled back and I've come Home.

Scots, Shrubs and Foxes - Oh My!

We had quite the busy holiday weekend over here. I'm back at work today, sitting at my desk, wishing I could have a weekend to recover from my weekend. My muscles are sore, my feet are achy but it's the sort of sore and achy that makes you smile despite the discomfort, because you know the aches were well worth it.

Except the itchy sunburn. The itchy sunburn totally sucks and was not worth the 2 minutes it would have taken me to slather on some damn sunscreen. But, I digress.

The weekend kicked off with sighting the Super Full Moon on the horizon on our evening stroll with Luna. Under her bright light, I collected fresh roses from the garden and offered up rum and wine, smoke and flowers at my altar. Feeling moved to hum a melody in deep, vibrational tones, I relaxed by candle and moon light and let my mind empty itself of burden, obligation and thought for several minutes while I hummed. When I felt ready, I opened my eyes and lit my candles for the evening's work: a white one to honor the moon and a brown one for grounding and burying. As they burned down, I sipped my wine and pulled the oracle cards that will guide me this moon cycle.

Saturday morning saw us waking up early to head to the annual Highland games at a local university. This is the second time we've gone and the first time we've been able to make it in time for the opening ceremonies and they were spectacular! As if hundreds of pipers and drummers weren't enough to get me excited about a bunch of people chucking heavy objects all day long, members of the military parachuted in with flags from Scotland and the US to begin the second half of the ceremony. After the presentation of the flags, the singing of the national anthems, a 21 gun salute from the Marines and the playing of Taps by a lone bugleman, a single piper began Amazing Grace.

Bagpipes make me cry. I don't know why, there's just something about them that makes my eyes well up whenever I hear them. Amazing Grace on the pipes makes me bawl. I was holding it together pretty well, biting the inside of my cheek while the single piper played... and then the rest of them joined. Hundreds of pipers playing at once. There was no stopping the waterworks. I just stood there on the edge of the field and sobbed until they were done and the chucking of heavy objects began, the falconry exhibition began and the Scottish inspired rock music came flowing forth from the beer tent.

We spent nearly 6 hours there, strolling through the tents, watching events and exhibits and listening to music but it only felt like 2. Until we got in the car to come home and realized how much being in the sun had drained us and conked out on the couch when we got home. There's little I love more than a nice afternoon nap!

The rest of the weekend was spent doing work around the house, tie dying with my lady friends, seeing the new Star Trek, laying under the stars in the hammock (I saw a shooting star!) and grilling out. We're getting ready to paint the house for the first time since we moved in two years ago, but before we can do that we needed to clean up the shrubs (and weeds) that have sort of, kind of, taken over one entire side of the place. I'm not sure what the previous owners were thinking when they did some of their planting (I think this pretty frequently when I work in any of the gardens save the veggie patch) but some of the things they planted are WAY too big or WAY too invasive for the areas they put them in and it's taken a lot of work to even get just the first half of the stuff cleaned out.

Yesterday we were able to say goodbye to some of the shabby shrubs, prune off a lot of branches on the crabapple and bradford pear trees and begin the arduous task of tearing out ivy, kudzu and Gods only know what else that's been growing under the shade of those awful bushes. It required the truck and we sacrificed a few straps in the process but we removed all but one incredibly tenacious azalea bush, which is crazy because it's half dead from lack of sun. That bastard is getting chainsawed and pick axed out.

Eventually, the plan is to plant a small cottage inspired garden in the front corner of the house with foxgloves, hollyhocks and lilies. Then I'm hoping to tuck some of those variously colored hostas along the shady side of the house for interest and to keep some of the weeds down. Slowly but surely we're making our little house our own.

The perfect end to the weekend? Sitting on a friend's patio, sipping cold beverages when a fox wandered out of the bushes. Honest to Gods, I've never seen a wild fox before. It's the little things, really.