It never ceases to amaze me how some people easily forget the 'freedom of religion' part of our Constitution. I've come to the conclusion that the Constitution, like many other rules and regulations, are only observed or enforced when it will benefit the person involved. Otherwise, it's just words. That's sad.
But then there are days like today when I read the yahoo news to find the Government is recognizing alternative religions on our military bases. If you've not seen the story about the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs CO, here's the link...
http://www.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100201/ap_on_re_us/us_air_force_academy_earth_religion
I've never had a desire to take part in a group ritual or ceremony. I am a Solitary and prefer it that way but being born and bred in Colorado, that is one dedication I'd love to be a part of.
Here's to our Troops of all religions and may each be tolerant of the others choice. Isn't Freedom what we're fighting for?
Many Blessings
Rain
Monday, February 1, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Imbolc
Imbolc is the first of three fertility Sabbats and the first of four fire festivals. It is the beginning of new life... new beginnings.
A Sabbat of promise. Imbolc is the seed planted for a bountiful year in all aspects of your life.
Now is the time to ready your cabinet for the year. Empty it, wipe out the cob webs ( that effect is only cool in Hollywood movies), and take inventory. Take inventory of your personal life as well. Are there things you need to deal with and dispense with so you can move forward?
This is a good time to welcome new things into your life. Invite inspiration and creativity to abide with you throughout the year.
The Ritual Casket
CANDLES & COLORS:
Yellow, White, Red
SCENTS & HERBS:
Wintergreen & Frankincense
CHARMS & STONES:
Snow quartz, moss agate, fire agate
Many Blessings
Rain
A Sabbat of promise. Imbolc is the seed planted for a bountiful year in all aspects of your life.
Now is the time to ready your cabinet for the year. Empty it, wipe out the cob webs ( that effect is only cool in Hollywood movies), and take inventory. Take inventory of your personal life as well. Are there things you need to deal with and dispense with so you can move forward?
This is a good time to welcome new things into your life. Invite inspiration and creativity to abide with you throughout the year.
The Ritual Casket
CANDLES & COLORS:
Yellow, White, Red
SCENTS & HERBS:
Wintergreen & Frankincense
CHARMS & STONES:
Snow quartz, moss agate, fire agate
Many Blessings
Rain
A Shift in Time
After all my years of being in this body on this plane, it still amazes me how time passes so quickly. You'd think I'd be use to it by now.
Since the first of the year, I've been thinking about the next casket post. Imbolc would (at that time) be just a few short weeks away. Because I want to post these two weeks prior to needing the supplies, I knew I was good until about the 15th of the month. Then my household shifted drastically and time as I knew it, ceased to exist. Nothing life-threatening.. just life-altering for the time being.
At 48 years old I find myself solely responsible for a 2 yr old 24/7. Our daughter left for Nashville for a job interview (which she got and is now in the process of settling in music city). My husband left for his three weeks on the river boat. Tootsie Pop and I are having a ball. But by the end of the evening I'm tired. I manage to make it about two hours longer than she does. hehe. Not a bunch of time to keep up with email and the blogs.
How long this will last, I'm not sure. Hubby will be gone two more weeks and then I'll have an extra pair of eyes. She climbs everywhere! But until our daughter is settled and has moved the baby down there with her, my time isn't my own. I'll do my best to keep up here but the posts may not always come as far ahead of an event as I would prefer. Bear with me, please. Life will return to normal... someday.
Many Blessings
Rain
Since the first of the year, I've been thinking about the next casket post. Imbolc would (at that time) be just a few short weeks away. Because I want to post these two weeks prior to needing the supplies, I knew I was good until about the 15th of the month. Then my household shifted drastically and time as I knew it, ceased to exist. Nothing life-threatening.. just life-altering for the time being.
At 48 years old I find myself solely responsible for a 2 yr old 24/7. Our daughter left for Nashville for a job interview (which she got and is now in the process of settling in music city). My husband left for his three weeks on the river boat. Tootsie Pop and I are having a ball. But by the end of the evening I'm tired. I manage to make it about two hours longer than she does. hehe. Not a bunch of time to keep up with email and the blogs.
How long this will last, I'm not sure. Hubby will be gone two more weeks and then I'll have an extra pair of eyes. She climbs everywhere! But until our daughter is settled and has moved the baby down there with her, my time isn't my own. I'll do my best to keep up here but the posts may not always come as far ahead of an event as I would prefer. Bear with me, please. Life will return to normal... someday.
Many Blessings
Rain
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Once in a Blue Moon...
The Blue Moon isn’t as rare as you might think. It actually occurs approximately every two and a half years. The rarity is that the Blue Moon occurs on New Years eve only every nineteen years.
The typical Birch Moon, which can occur between December 24th and January 20th, is the best time for casting spells and wishes for new beginnings and what you hope to achieve in the coming year.
The Blue Moon is perfect for those requiring long-term results because it holds double the power. Any spells cast in its glow may not come to full fruition until the next one – two and a half years away.
A deep blue ribbon works best for binding spells made at this time.
Blessings
Rain
The typical Birch Moon, which can occur between December 24th and January 20th, is the best time for casting spells and wishes for new beginnings and what you hope to achieve in the coming year.
The Blue Moon is perfect for those requiring long-term results because it holds double the power. Any spells cast in its glow may not come to full fruition until the next one – two and a half years away.
A deep blue ribbon works best for binding spells made at this time.
Blessings
Rain
Saturday, December 19, 2009
The YULE Casket
YULE is a time for celebration. With these supplies on hand, we can truly Celebrate the lengthening days and the blessings we have to look forward to.
Candles & Colors:
Candles: Red, Green, Silver, Gold
If you're doing any type of a YULE log candelabra, you will need 2 green and one red
Colors: stash some lengths of ribbon in these colors as well.
NOW is the time to purchase the Silver and Gold candles. They will go on clearance after Christmas in the retail stores and unless you go on-line through a supplier, you're going to be hard pressed to find them. The only exception will be at a Hallmark or someplace that carries anniversary candles. In which case, they're probably going to say 25th or 50th Wedding anniversary on them.
Scents & Herbs:
Bayberry - Wealth and Happiness. (As a Candle, this is incredibly hard to find so stock up when you do)
Mistletoe, Balsam, Fir, Holly, Catnip, Pine Cones/needles, Sandalwood, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg, Chamomile, Frankincense, Myrrh
Incense in any of these scents will work well. Whether you use the loose and a charcoal block, the sticks or cones, it's a personal preference. However, you can keep the naturals in their dried form in small amounts in your box. If you use dried, I recommend offering them back to Mother Earth at the end of the year and restocking with freshly dried. Also, some of the items will be best used straight from nature at the time. So those items that are readily available to you do not necessarily have to be stored at all.
Charms & Stones:
Stones: Clear quarts, Ruby, Garnet, Green Tourmaline, Citrine, Jet, Diamond, Alexandrite, Kumzie
Do you have anything else you use for YULE?
Candles & Colors:
Candles: Red, Green, Silver, Gold
If you're doing any type of a YULE log candelabra, you will need 2 green and one red
Colors: stash some lengths of ribbon in these colors as well.
NOW is the time to purchase the Silver and Gold candles. They will go on clearance after Christmas in the retail stores and unless you go on-line through a supplier, you're going to be hard pressed to find them. The only exception will be at a Hallmark or someplace that carries anniversary candles. In which case, they're probably going to say 25th or 50th Wedding anniversary on them.
Scents & Herbs:
Bayberry - Wealth and Happiness. (As a Candle, this is incredibly hard to find so stock up when you do)
Mistletoe, Balsam, Fir, Holly, Catnip, Pine Cones/needles, Sandalwood, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg, Chamomile, Frankincense, Myrrh
Incense in any of these scents will work well. Whether you use the loose and a charcoal block, the sticks or cones, it's a personal preference. However, you can keep the naturals in their dried form in small amounts in your box. If you use dried, I recommend offering them back to Mother Earth at the end of the year and restocking with freshly dried. Also, some of the items will be best used straight from nature at the time. So those items that are readily available to you do not necessarily have to be stored at all.
Charms & Stones:
Stones: Clear quarts, Ruby, Garnet, Green Tourmaline, Citrine, Jet, Diamond, Alexandrite, Kumzie
Do you have anything else you use for YULE?
Ritual and Celebration Caskets
Imagine walking over to your magick cabinet, opening the door and pulling out exactly what you need at a moments notice. You are not shuffling among the items on the shelves or in the drawers to find the items you 'just know are here somewhere'. Instead, you take out the shoe box labeled YULE, close the door and continue with your task at hand. How are you able to do this? Because all the essentials you need are in that little box. Granted, there may be some things you'll use that cross the ritual spectrum such as your wand, candle holders, bowl, etc. But inside this little chest you've put together are all the things SPECIAL to your YULE celebration.
I have broken the contents of the Ritual Caskets into three main categories:
Candles & Colors, Scents & Herbs, and Charms & Stones. Detailing the items into categories will also help you on your shopping trips. Placing like items together means you can shop for at least two of the items needed at the same source or location.
If you have a link to a source for any of these items and know of their reputation, please comment. They'll thank you for the promotion they'll receive in the book!
I have broken the contents of the Ritual Caskets into three main categories:
Candles & Colors, Scents & Herbs, and Charms & Stones. Detailing the items into categories will also help you on your shopping trips. Placing like items together means you can shop for at least two of the items needed at the same source or location.
If you have a link to a source for any of these items and know of their reputation, please comment. They'll thank you for the promotion they'll receive in the book!
Blessed YULE
I really let the family stuff take me over the last couple of weeks. I've been so focused on trying to clear up end of the year stuff. I finally booked a hotel room for a couple days so I could hide and get into a personal place where all things would come together. So far it's working.
When I've not been scurrying around like a field mouse stocking for winter, I've been reading verociously about YULE and the supplies needed for celebration.
Have you created a YULE log yet? I was hoping to create a tabletop version but decided to err on the side of safety and wait until hubby is home to plane the bottom for me on his table saw. The chain saw or hand saw and I would have gotten along fine, but I didn't want to start the season off minus a finger. So the YULE long will come next season. For now, I'll enjoy the moment with pillar candles.
This book isn't going to be about rituals. There are plenty of those out there written by talented followers of the Craft. I'll even spotlight some of them as we go along and their books will be listed in the bibliography of The Organzied Witch.
Rather, The Organzied Witch is about the essentials we need for rituals and hopefully to prepare ahead of time (unlike this year hehe). As we go along, watch the Shortcuts for Ritual Caskets and you'll be able to pull up those posts.
Many Blessings
Rain
When I've not been scurrying around like a field mouse stocking for winter, I've been reading verociously about YULE and the supplies needed for celebration.
Have you created a YULE log yet? I was hoping to create a tabletop version but decided to err on the side of safety and wait until hubby is home to plane the bottom for me on his table saw. The chain saw or hand saw and I would have gotten along fine, but I didn't want to start the season off minus a finger. So the YULE long will come next season. For now, I'll enjoy the moment with pillar candles.
This book isn't going to be about rituals. There are plenty of those out there written by talented followers of the Craft. I'll even spotlight some of them as we go along and their books will be listed in the bibliography of The Organzied Witch.
Rather, The Organzied Witch is about the essentials we need for rituals and hopefully to prepare ahead of time (unlike this year hehe). As we go along, watch the Shortcuts for Ritual Caskets and you'll be able to pull up those posts.
Many Blessings
Rain
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