November 14th, 2016

Blessings for Esbat and the Super Moon! I couldn't actually see it tonight for some reason, but the moon was gorgeous last night.

That picture was taken by Destiny; my camera phone was not cooperating at all. Still, it was big and honey-yellow. 

I did a ritual tonight for love, healing, and hope. If you have the time and inclination, I would encourage you out there to do one as well. Goodness knows we could all use it. 

August 8th, 2016

The World of Faeries Festival was this weekend! I was so excited to go; after a long, difficult summer of family crises, I was really looking forward to some down time out in the open air with magical people and surroundings. The theme this year was Seasons of the Faeries. Participating children got a calendar, and then could go to each of the twelve month fairies (I was February) to play a game and get a birthstone sticker for the corresponding calendar page.

Me as Amethyst, the February fairy.

Destiny, the Season Changer fairy.

Hazelnut as Corra, the November fairy (she also did a lot of the season changing, as Destiny wasn't feeling the best).

The Blue Rose Mermaid.

One of the vendors' daughters with Natsu, the iguana dragon (check out her mother's work here).

Raincloud made it out with her boyfriend - I haven't seen her in forever!

There were some funny little field mice scurrying around the park.

Kaladin, the stilt walker.

The Statue Lady.

Bubbles...!

A vendor, Sara, working on a fantastic watercolor painting (view and purchase her art here).

Fairy Godmother Rose with her right-hand gal.

The river - we had perfect weather. Warm, but with a steady breeze and some cloud cover.

After the fair closed last night, the cast went out to dinner at a local buffet (photo credit to Hazelnut).

And last but not least, a group photo of a bunch of the cast (photo credit to photographer Mike Smith).

I met some cool new people and got to reconnect with a lot of old friends, which made me happy. I also did lots of shopping, so posts on that are upcoming. I'm very glad I got to go, and I'm already looking forward to next year.

January 9th, 2016

My friend, Destiny, made me this picture a few months back, but I never got around to posting it. She thought I could use another hummingbird in my life, and I'm inclined to agree:

August 10th, 2015

What a fun afternoon! After I got off work, both Raincloud and Destiny were able to come over for a nice little luncheon. We were hoping Hazelnut would also be able to make it, but regrettably, she didn't have transportation.

Photo by Raincloud
From the left: Destiny, Raincloud, Hummingbird

Raincloud was kind enough to give us both little baggies of Hyssop, an herb which she recently acquired. It's useful both for purification and for protection, so I'm sure it'll get plenty of use. I'm not allowed to burn things at home, but perhaps I can make some sort of infusion and put it in a spray bottle.

We ate, and then we sat on my bed and just talked for several hours. It was so nice to get all caught up and relax with my fellow Pagan friends. While we were talking, I set up a little crystal grid on the blanket, like so:

I set my seven Amethyst points all facing outwards towards us with my Spirit Quartz in the middle. We'd been discussing some pretty heavy stuff, so I felt like we could all use Amethyst's calming, soothing influence, and the Spirit Quartz is great for encouraging harmony between members of a group, which also seemed appropriate. It was my first time working with these stones, and I felt like it was a very powerful grid. I know I could definitely feel the energy radiating off of them. 

It's been so long since I've had a big group of Pagan friends I could sit and just talk with, and it was great to be able to do that again. I know I'm really going to miss them when I leave for school next week, but there's always Facebook and Skype. Maybe we can try to do a group ritual over the internet - that would be interesting. Does anyone have any experience with that sort of thing?

The World of Faeries Festival 2015

The Fairy Fest was simply amazing this year! The theme was The Eleventh Hour: A Journey Through Time, so of course I wore an updated version of my steampunk fairy costume, while Destiny went with a lovely red and blue outfit of her own.

(That's me on the right.)

Destiny borrowed a pentacle necklace of mine until she could buy her own.

We heard fantastic music from award-winning Native American flutist, Randy Granger (pictured), a Japanese Taiko drumming group, the band Patchouli, the "Harp Twins" who do contemporary music played on harps, and more.

There's always so many interesting characters...

...and fantastic creatures...

...and if one looks carefully in the fairy garden...

...one might spot a little hummingbird up in a tree!

Destiny bought herself several things, including these stones:

From left to right, these are Labradorite, Rose Quartz, and Citrine.

I also bought myself many exciting things, but those will get their own post. 

The weather could not have been better (except for a thirty-second downpour Sunday afternoon), and we met up with many delightfully Pagan vendors, some of whom we already knew and some of whom were new this year. All in all, another amazing weekend!

Blue Moon 2015

What a weekend it has been! A blue moon, Lughnasadh, and Fairy Fest, all overlapping one another!

Destiny came over on Friday and we got all our costume things sorted for Fest. We also did an Esbat ritual to celebrate the blue moon, which was her first time doing an Esbat as well. I won't get into all the details, but we got dressed up in some robes of mine and some pieces of magickal jewelry - a pentacle and Tangerine Quartz necklace for me, and a silver wolf necklace for her.

My phone doesn't have a front-facing camera, so my selfies always turn out a little blurry-looking. I thought this was a cute pre-ritual picture, though.

We enjoyed a nice ceremony where we did some spellwork to further our long-term goals, and then afterwards we took leftover cookies and juice outside for offerings, standing under the moon for a while. It had what looked to us like a blue halo around it, and was very bright over the neighboring houses.

As always, my camera-phone utterly failed to do the phenomenon justice, but the pure Goddess energy was really spectacular.

The next morning, we had to be up quite early for Fairy Fest. Lughnasadh dawned bright and clear this year, and for once we had an actual harvest to honor - our tomato crop has delivered in droves now that my dad and brother built them a planter box. 

As you can see, the tomato on the left was bigger than my hand. We've also had bowls full of cherry tomatoes, and as of yesterday several more large heirlooms have come into ripeness.

I took this photo of a (very short) sunflower soaking up the morning rays after I paused a moment outside to set down a bit of toast in offering. Destiny and I enjoyed the light for a bit, and then it was off to Fairy Fest! 

July 31st, 2015

I'm so excited - this weekend is Fairy Fest! And, as if that weren't enough, Destiny is coming over tonight to stay the weekend, and it's a Blue Moon Esbat! So much going on; I love it. I've gotten to start some crystal research, too, which is good since I'm sure I'll get lots more little beauties this weekend.

Blue Calcite

Physical Characteristics: Generally opaque and with a texture describable as "soapy" or "waxy", Calcite is white or clear in its pure form, while the presence of other minerals can turn it grey, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and even black.

In Nature: Calcite is a carbonate mineral, and is common in sedimentary rocks like Limestone. It is often the primary constituent of the shells of marine organisms (e.g. plankton and bivalves) and the hard parts of red algae and sponges.

Chemical Composition: CaCO3

Mohs Scale Hardness: 3 (low)

Can be Found: Worldwide, including Mexico, Africa, and North America

Healing Properties*: This stone helps one get the rest one needs, especially when recuperating from a period of illness. It is a good choice for long distance healing work. Use it to strengthen the bones and joints, or to heal complaints of the throat and head. Paired with a blue or purple candle, its healing properties are especially strong.

Magickal Properties: Blue Calcite soothes anxiety and calms its bearer. It is a great facilitator of communication, particularly when people hold opposing points of view. It encourages people to speak honestly and to reconcile their differences. 

It is also a powerful psychic stone which can be used to enhance astral travel, channeling, and dream recall. Activating intuition, it can likewise improve one's experiences with meditation. The stone draws upon both its psychic and communicative properties by strengthening telepathic and thought-transference skills. 

Additionally, it can be used as a purifier, clearing the energy of a person, room, etcetera.

Chakra Association: Fifth (Throat) and Sixth (Third Eye) chakras

Element: Water

Energy: Receptive

Planetary Association: Venus

*Magickal healing should never take the place of seeing a doctor and following any recommended prescriptions, actions, or other advice. Magick works best in tandem with physical efforts, anyway, so don't skimp on those check-ups!

O hí Lughnasadh

I haven't done an actual Lughnasadh ritual in at least four years because I'm always spending the weekend at Fairy Fest. This year, however, with Destiny coming over, we're planning to do something in the evening. As such, I figured I ought to get my altar set up ahead of time.

I rather like this design. I might edit it a little still before next week, but I think I've got a nice, solid foundation.

On the left, I have my chalice, gourds, (plastic) grapes, a cup and saucer for water, salt, and a pair of dried corn cobs.  I also have a "corn dolly" goddess figure (actually made out of taffeta) which I put together several years ago. 

In the center, I've my elemental candles all sitting around the direction plate I got at the auction last month. In the center is the tea light from Rebekka, as well as a tiny incense holder and my new Selenite wands. 

Over on the right side of the altar, there's a god figure to match the goddess one, as well as my wand, athame, and a feather. There are more gourds and grapes, and I filled my cauldron with some festive potpourri I found. A seasonal fairy hangs in the back, and up front sit pieces of Orange Calcite, Citrine, and a crystal which I've finally identified as Aragonite. 

All of this is sitting on an orange tablecloth with a smaller green swatch in the center. The orange is one which I've generally reserved for Samhain in the past, but I decided that I might as well use it since I likely won't even be here for Samhain, and I wanted some more color. The green is actually a piece I got in Japan during a high school calligraphy class. Hidden under my elemental items is the Japanese kanji for "festival"; it's really just as well that it's hidden, because I didn't do the neatest job of writing it. C'est la vie.

Still not entirely sure what our ritual is going to consist of - I'll continue researching that this evening - but I'm excited!

July 22nd, 2015

I had such a productive day today! I found some shell shards while cleaning the other day, so I set them outside with some bread and honey as an offering (and a thank you for keeping me safe from wild drivers yesterday!).

I also got a lot done on my unicorn and fairy cross stitch, and then Destiny came over after dinner. She's going to go to Fairy Fest with me! Whoo hoo!

More Pagan Art

So, I got a little bored earlier and was feeling like making some art, but there's only so many things you can hang on your wall before you run out of room. The solution, of course, is to make things for other people, which is what I did.

I painted this for my friend Destiny, and I'm going to tell her about it by posting the picture on here. Hi! Surprise!

Hope you like it!

Bonus picture: Me. Hello, readers!

June 8th, 2015

So I pieced together this little photomanipulation for Destiny tonight.

She picked out the pictures, and then I edited them together. I think it came out neat! She's going to use a series of these for iPad backgrounds.

June 6th, 2015

This morning, I read one of the books I bought with Destiny the other day.

Title: The Rune Poem
Translated and Annotated by: Jim Paul
©1996

Paul has a doctorate in medieval literature, and his ongoing translation and re-translation of this ancient poem into English makes for an interesting look at one of the oldest connections to the Futhark runes we have.

As Paul explains, this particular rune poem is from the Germanic tribes of pre-Christian Europe (similar poems also existed in Iceland and Nordic countries). The oldest written copies have all been lost; currently, the only historical record of the original poem comes from a transcription by a Christian monk, which had in turn been transcribed by a series of other monks before him, like a scholarly game of telephone. As a result, some of the original Pagan passages have more Christian overtones. If you have read Beowulf, you've probably encountered this same problem. That being said, thousands of years later (the poem is believed to have first been recorded circa 1000 CE, and had likely existed for centuries before that), the poem still retains both its simple, fluid verse and reference to the magic and daily life of the Anglo-Saxons.

The book begins with a brief introduction to the history and magic of the runes. Then, beautifully illuminated pages show both the rune and the accompanying three lines of verse with Paul's annotations to explain their significance. It's hard to see in my room's poor lighting, but all the colors are metallic, and the surrounding borders draw clear inspiration from art contemporary to the poem.

This is not probably not a book for those already well-versed in runic readings, origins, or meanings. It's really more of an introductory text, almost bearing resemblance to the alphabet books one might read to children. However, if, like me, you've never read the original rune poetry before and aren't necessarily looking for a more expansive book, then this could be one to add to the collection. Also, as I pointed out, it might not be bad for younger individuals interested in runes, either. The large illustrations are attractive, and the language is very straightforward throughout the text.

Overall, it's not a particularly academic text, but I knew it wouldn't be the first time I picked it up. I just wanted a nice translation of the rune poem to read, and Jim Paul's book certainly delivered.

June 3rd, 2015

It's been a fun couple of days! Destiny came over today after I got off work, and we got to sit and chill for a while. She wanted to see my book collection, so we pored over those, as well as my collection of Pagan and/or crystal jewelry. I need to organize that!

She also showed me a couple of the things her grandmother brought back with her from her recent trip to England. Apparently, Destiny had requested she bring back something for me as well, and today she gave me the cutest little pewter trilithon figure (on the right side, in the picture). Destiny also gave me a small stone (on the left), which she said was also from Stonehenge. That's so cool! I got a book from the library last summer about stones from sacred sites, so I'll have to see if I can find it again and check out its Stonehenge entry.

June 2nd, 2015

Destiny and I had a fun afternoon today! Her grandma drove us over to a local Half-Priced Books (which I hadn't even realized we had), and we spent a couple hours totally geeking out over books. I got a couple of things - as it would happen, their metaphysical section was in fact better-developed than most Borders'.

I got a little book about Nordic runes, and then we each got a copy of a volume recording Celtic myths and legends. I also got the next book in the Dresden Files series, because why not? Book reviews to follow for the first two, as soon as I get my act together and read something new instead of just rereading YA books (but hey, the Kane Chronicles have me all psyched over Egyptian mythology, so there's that).

Afterwards, we drove over to a nearby metaphysics shop - yet another place I had no idea existed! We had a bit of a time limit, so we only got to stay long enough to wander a little and get a feel for the place, but it was absolutely lovely and had a huge selection of crystals available, so it won me over immediately. The place was called Quest Books, or something to that effect. Apparently, they also have a labyrinth down the street one can go walk.

In short, if I keep finding brilliant places like this, my bank account is going to be in trouble.

March 14th, 2015

Look what my friend Destiny made me for my birthday!

It's a beautiful dreamcatcher! I've got a small collection, and this is a brilliant addition to it! She put so much thought into making the beads and the feathers elementally colored, and then added wind chimes, a turquoise stone, and a jar of fairy dust from Faery Fest. It's absolutely wonderful. I've got it hanging up in my room right now (I'm on spring break), but I'll be bringing it back with me to put up in my dorm.