January 26th, 2013

Today is Esbat, isn't it? I just realized that. After six hours of building the set for our school musical, I spent most of my afternoon relaxing in bed, reading a collection of short stories from the library about the Green Man and other nature spirits. I'll be having dinner soon, and I suppose I'll do a nice little ritual for Esbat after that.
I re-learned the lesson that one cannot trust everything one reads on the internet just now. I was looking for pictures of Bee Hummingbirds, because they're small and presumably cute, and I wanted to know what they look like. I came across this picture:

The associated website labelled it a "Bee Hummingbird", but my brother, who is well on his way to becoming a zoologist, told me to look at the legs - they are much too long to be those of a Hummingbird. He identified it instead as a Cuban Tody. Bee Hummingbirds do live in Cuba; whoever took this picture simply mislabelled the local wildlife. Instead, Bee-birds look more like this:

Aren't they sweet? I figured that if I want to consider the Hummingbird my patronus animal, I should probably know more about their corporeal counterparts!

January 25th, 2013

Good afternoon, one and all! I am inordinately happy that it is the weekend. This week was pretty jam-packed so a day or two of a breather is going to be great. I finished Judika Illes' Encyclopedia of Spirits the other day, and am so glad to own it. The sheer volume of material it contains is staggering, not only about the deities themselves, but also about how and when to honor them, what offerings they like, and some even had full rituals described. Next on my list-to-read is a book I bought a few weeks back: Scott Cunningham's The Magical Household. I also found a book about Hummingbird mythology at the library, and just had to bring it home. I was amused to find that one of the Aztec deities, Huitzilopochtli, discussed in Illes' book was also in the Hummingbird book I checked out.

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Huitzilopochtli, Aztec for "Hummingbird from the Left", is the lord of war and spirit of the sun. According to the book I checked out (Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas), the Aztecs were led in a battle against invaders by Huitzilopochtli, who was then killed, insomuch as a god can be. Afterwards, the Aztec warriors discovered their god had transformed into a Hummingbird. Thereafter, it was believed that Hummingbirds were the spirits of fallen warriors and were given great honor. Hummingbirds' long beaks are perceived as looking like weapons, and they are often fierce defenders of their mates and territory.

January 18th, 2013

I'm so happy! I got an "A" on all of my finals, including the one I had to take for Calculus! Thank Goddess!

In other news, I'm still working my way through Judika Illes' Encyclopedia of Spirits, and was particularly interested in the entry for the Roman goddess Minerva. Apparently, in addition to her common association with the Greek Athena, Minerva is a goddess of the arts and of artists. As an artist myself, that would make her a potential deity to consider as a matron. Also interestingly, her Feast days occur from March 19th to March 23rd - my birthday is March 20th. I'll have to consider this.
I've been toying with the idea of cultivating a relationship with Dionysus for some time now, who, in addition to being a god of wine, is a god of theatre and actors, of which I would also consider myself one. Dionysus' Roman counterpart is Bacchus. Since Dionysus and Minerva both come from the same region and don't have any mythological tensions between them, I would think they could work as patron/matron pair. I don't want to decide on patron deities too quickly, though - it's a big commitment. I've also been considering working more closely with Shinto deities. Anyone have any idea if Shinto and Greco-Roman deities would conflict with each other?

Minerva

January 16th, 2013

I had a half-day today, since we had finals, meaning that I got home at 1:00 instead of 3:00. I already know that I did really well on my AP Environmental and Global Business tests, and I think I did well on Japanese, too. I have three more tests tomorrow, and two on Friday. I'm crossing my fingers...!
Today, I'm going to move some things around on one of my bookcases, to hopefully make enough room for the massive influx of books I've had. In addition to the two books I purchased earlier this month and those I got for the holidays, I got another half-dozen or so books from the library, which was getting rid of several cart-fulls and were letting staff members take what they wanted. I got a bunch of metaphysical ones, including one on dreaming, and another on channelling. Huzzah!

January 15th, 2013

Eek, it's finals week! I've got tests Wednesday through Friday, and although for the most part I'm feeling pretty confident, I have had some trouble the past two nights getting to sleep and staying asleep, and then even once my brainwaves have slowed down to a sleeping state, I keep having nightmares. As such, I've decided to make and empower a sleep sachet, and call upon the Baku, a Japanese Shinto spirit who eats nightmares and turns them into happiness and good fortune.

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Baku's Sleep Sachet

• A piece of blue or purple cloth, at least 4" X 4"
• Scissors
• Ribbon, possibly matching the color of the cloth
• Rosemary (dream recall)
• Lavender (peaceful sleep)
• Tumbled Agate, Amethyst, and/or Geode
• White slip of paper
• Pen

First, cut the cloth into a square if (like me) you just grabbed a weirdly-shaped fabric scrap because it was on hand. Remember, keep it at least four inches on each side!  Then, using the scissors or another, similar implement, make holes around the fabric's edge, spacing them evenly. This way, the cloth can be turned into a draw-string pouch later. In Circle, cleanse, consecrate, and empower all the supplies. You might recite an empowering invocation that draws on the associated powers of the herbs, and stones, for example, asking for protection from night terrors while bestowing kind, insightful dreams and restful sleep. Place the herbs and stones in the center of the fabric. Then, on the slip of paper, write the following, three times: "ばく, 食べて ください." This is Japanese for "Eat it, Baku!", the spirit's traditional invocation. If desired, say the invocation out loud as it is written. The Japanese phrase is pronounced "Baku, tabete kudasai." Next, roll up the paper and put it in the center of the cloth, also. Thread the ribbon through the holes cut previously, and draw tightly closed. Then say a final blessing over the pouch, perhaps holding it in your hand: "Through this cloth, magick seeps to bring me a good night of sleep, and dreams that come be peaceful and kind, remembered tomorrow in my waking mind.". The sleep sachet is done. To use, just set it either under your pillow or next to your bed. Sweet dreams!

January 11th, 2013

Aunt C and her friend Leah are here for the weekend! Since they couldn't come at Yule/Christmas, we opened presents tonight. I got a gift card for Barnes and Noble, and a FANTASTIC set of faux horns and a Green Woman mask. I gave them a potpourri sachet I made, as well as lots of other presents from my family in general. It's great to see them again!

January 5th, 2013

The books I ordered arrived today! On the left of my photo, I have the two I purchased - A Practical Guide to the Runes, by Lisa Peschel, and The Magical Household, by Scott Cunningham. In the bottom middle are the two books I mentioned previously, Encyclopedia of Spirits, and Witches' Datebook 2013, and on the right, though not metaphysical, are two more awesome books I got for the holidays - JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

January 4th, 2013

Good morning! :) We have but a few days of our winter break left, and then I'm back to school on Monday. In the meantime, I'll be helping build the set for our school musical, Les Miserables, and reading various books, some metaphysical and some not. In addition to the Encyclopedia of Spirits that I was given for the holidays, I just ordered two books from Barnes and Noble. One, by Scott Cunningham, is about spells and rituals to do for the home environment. The other is a practical guide to using rune stones. I've got a few other books from the library to read, too. Hmm... I better go and get on that!

January 1st, 2013

Wow, welcome to the New Year, everyone! It feels so strange to be typing "2013" now.
In numerology, the four digits of the year - 2,0,1, and 3 - add together to 6. This number is considered one of the most harmonious, which is certainly a good sign. Numerology.com describes the number 6 as being maternal and caring, the epitome of tranquility. Other traits associated with the number 6 are sacrifice, healing, and protection.
Of course, every number has negative qualities, too. In spite of (or even because of) number 6's caring, motherly nature, it is connected with meddling and intrusiveness. At other times, self-sacrifice can be taken too far, in which case abuse or neglect could occur.
In the year 2013, work magick to enhance the year's positive traits and reduce the negative ones. Happy zapping! :)

(I was excited to discover that this is my 200th post. Whoo hoo!)