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. 

September 27th, 2015

It's the lunar eclipse tonight, everyone! Tonight is the Harvest Moon, "Super Moon", and Blood Moon eclipse all at the same time. It is also the end of a four-year astronomical cycle, called a tetrad. You may have noticed we've been having a lot of eclipses recently; two last year, and tonight will be the second this year. These four eclipses happen about every 11 years, and are significant to different groups for different reasons. 

Some Christians, who take the Bible more literally, consider it a sign of the Apocalypse, as noted in the New Testament. Apparently, there's also a pastor who's claiming that they represent the fulfillment of a prophecy in his denomination. 

The Inca believed that a jaguar attacked the moon during this time, staining it red, while the Mesopotamians believed that it was a sign their king was in danger of demonic attack, and so they would install a surrogate king for the length of the eclipse to bear the brunt of any injury. To the Hupa Native American tribe, of northern California, the belief was that the moon had forgotten to feed his pet mountain lions, and so they attacked him.  

On the Pagan side of things, eclipses can be considered an entire lunar month compressed into one evening, as the moon waxes, reaches full, and wanes as the eclipse occurs. Therefore, magick done during this time can really pack a punch, although one should be certain that one knows what one wants, as the effects can really be far-reaching. 

At this time, as this is the end of a moon cycle, and also of the summer season, magick is best centered around banishing and letting go. I know I'm planning to continue the work I began at Mabon, releasing old energies and moving past some things. I'm hoping to go out tonight and actually see the eclipse, but it's supposed to be cloudy all day, so I don't know if I'll be able to.

It should also be noted that while lunar eclipses are often called "Blood Moons" for the reddish color they turn as light refracts through the atmosphere, the general name of the October full moon is also the Blood Moon, and these events are not the same thing. 

August 11th, 2015

Oh look, it's my 400th post. I don't have anything particularly spectacular for the occasion, but it's been a productive morning. I spent several hours finishing off my weighted blanket this morning. Ta da!

It weighs about nine pounds, and I got my four little crystals in the corners for some extra soothing energy.

Then I sat and did some further research on Athena, and specifically Her festivals. I found some rather interesting information; first, that Her birthday is celebrated monthly on the third day. Of course, the Greeks followed the Attic calendar rather than our Gregorian one, and the Attic calendar corresponded to the lunar cycles, so the third day of their month actually falls two days after the new moon. For those working with Athena, a new moon ritual this day would be an appropriate way to honor Her. One could incorporate Her worship into an Esbat, or one could opt for a more Reconstructionist approach and honor her with a specifically Hellenic ritual format.

Personally, I think that for now at least, I will continue my Esbat ceremonies only on the full moon, and on Her festival I will give Her offerings in a format more traditionally Hellenic.

Athena also has the festival of Plynteria, which falls on the 22nd - 25th of Thargelion. The month of Thargelion begins on what we would today know as the first new moon of May, and may continue into June. Plynteria honored Her as Athena Polias, or Athena of the City. In this aspect, She is the protector of Athens. At this time, her temples were ritually cleaned, and it was recommended that one avoid new ventures as Athena was resting and would not be available to bless one's efforts.

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!

May 4th, 2015

I ended up not doing much on Beltane for Beltane, but I was very busy this weekend with other creative and manifestive pursuits, so I still got to tap into some of that energy regardless. On Saturday, I helped one of my friends paint the nursery in her new house, and on Sunday, I worked some more on an accessible dog park with my architecture group. (Friday night I spent seeing a production of Godspell instead of actually doing a ritual. Oops.)

Tonight, though, was amazing! I just learned that there's a Pagan alliance in my region, and they do open rituals every so often. They did an Esbat tonight, over in the labyrinth circle behind the Gaia House, and I was able to make it. I don't have any pictures at the moment, although one of the guys there did take a bunch, so I'll keep you all updated.

We started off by going around the circle, smudging each other with sage smoke. Then we drew down lunar energy and used it to charge a bowl of moonflower seeds. We all got to take little peat pots, fill them with dirt, and then plant several seeds to take home! I've always wanted moonflowers, so I was very excited. Everyone was really friendly, and it was absolutely gorgeous weather. Plus we had a few little bats dart around overhead.

I'll be going back home for the summer, but in the fall I'd really love to check out their Mabon ritual or something! Great group, for sure, and I'm excited to go back.

February 5th, 2015

I totally missed my Imbolc post. That may have something to do with the fact that I've basically been doing nothing but continuous schoolwork for the last 72 hours and never even had the chance to celebrate. Perhaps I will be able to tonight, depending on how late my roommate is out. I missed Esbat, too, for the same reason, but the moon was absolutely lovely tonight. The sad camera in my phone utterly failed to capture a photo, but it was large and honey-yellow and just sort of hanging in the air while I spent my evening running across campus-town.

In the meantime, I'll leave you all with this video. It's of a sleepy little Peruvian hummingbird snoring. (FYI, it's very high pitched, if those sorts of noises are hard for you to listen to.)

An Update

First - an update on those activities which I mentioned in my last post! I did indeed end up doing a crystal spread and meditation. I went with chakra- themed stones, because I was feeling off energetically, and so laid the following crystals over the appropriate energy centers: Black Tourmaline for the Root chakra, Red Jasper for the Sacral chakra, Tiger's Eye for the Solar Plexus chakra, Green Calcite for the Heart chakra, Turquoise for the Throat chakra, Lepidolite for the Third Eye chakra, and Clear Quartz for the Crown chakra. I did this while laying down on my carpet, with a blanket thrown over my legs because it was chilly. There was a bit of stiffness in my lower back, but as I began the meditation, this relaxed and dissipated.

Afterwards, I walked over to the campus lake and rented a kayak. I spent about an hour paddling around, enjoying the weather and the wildlife.

There were a ton of ducks, and the turtles were also out in force, basking in the sunlight. By the time I was through, I'd counted eleven, including one itty bitty softshell turtle that was barely an inch and a half long. Moreover, there were many frogs sitting in the shallows, and I spotted a school of minnows darting just under the surface. All things told, it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.
That evening, I had had plans to go to a meditation class at the Gaia Center, but when I got there, it looked like the class was in a different location.

I ended up just wandering around town a bit, and besides finding a little Chinese shop which sold delicious bubble tea, I also stumbled upon the Gaia Center's labyrinth, which is painted on an abandoned piece of concrete.

There's also a lot of pretty trees surrounding it, and a little waterfall.
Monday night was Esbat, and also represented my first official ritual since moving onto campus. I had located a really pretty area behind the dining hall near a creek where there was a grove of trees and several stumps. Since it was out of the way, I thought I might use it for my ritual. I don't usually get to do rituals outside, as doing so in our backyard would be more than a trifle obvious, and this seemed like the perfect place to get away from prying eyes.

I grabbed my travel altar and set up camp on one of the flatter stumps. The ritual went really well, I think, albeit a bit short, and even though I was in a pretty secluded area, there were still a few people who walked by. I'll probably do my Mabon ritual there, though, and see how it goes. Because it was a so-called "Supermoon", the moon rise was just beautiful. It was butter-yellow, and huge in the sky as it peeked up over the trees.

My cameraphone cannot begin to do the phenomenon justice, but for the record, that yellow blob in the middle of the picture is the moon (the one on the left is a street lamp).

September 7th, 2014

Moving to college is a little more hectic than one might immediately assume it would be. I've just wrapped up a big architecture project, and am trying to give myself the day just to relax as a result. It occurred to me that this was a perfect opportunity to fill my readers in!

(Actually, I wanted to post yesterday, because my girlfriend informed me it was National Hummingbird Day, but got distracted by the aforementioned project.)

What with tomorrow being Esbat, I've been working to get things in order for a nice first ritual here at school. There's a really nice wooded patch just outside my residence hall, and I think I can go out there and perhaps borrow a tree stump to set up my travel altar on. It's also supposed to be a Supermoon tomorrow, so the view should be good!

I've been rather cautious about setting up anything too overtly Pagan in my room (no need to freak out my roommate), but I do have sort of a casual altar established on my dresser, next to the microwave. Is it lacking a certain mystic quality? Probably. But it's functional.

I have an electric tea light in a paper lantern (candles and incense are both prohibited), a My Neighbor Totoro washcloth serving as an altar cloth (I bought it in Japan, and let's be honest - that's a beautiful movie), a card with a fairy print on it, some silk flowers, and my chalice. All the rest of my goodies are carefully packed in a desk drawer where I can grab them when I need them. Did I bring my entire crystal collection? You better believe it. 

I've developed a bit of a headache, so I may do a crystal layout and try some meditation this afternoon. There's free canoe rentals over at the boat docks as well, if I can successfully get myself out the door.

October 16th, 2013

Our house is getting spookier every day as we approach Samhain - I set my altar up on Monday, and it looks fantastic! Plus there's going to be a lunar eclipse on Esbat Friday night (7:50 pm EST, I believe).

The proper name for this month's full moon is "Blood Moon". I don't know if that is because of the eclipse or it's just a fascinating coincidence, but either way it's appropriate, as lunar eclipses color the moon pink!

I understand that some people find eclipse energy difficult to work with and so choose not to work magick on eclipsed Esbats. What are your thoughts?

 

June 24th, 2013

Well, we had a rainy Esbat last night, which was unfortunate as it was also the "super moon", the day of the year where the moon is closest to Earth. You couldn't see it at all through the clouds. Nevertheless, I did a nice impromptu ritual by my window wherein I empowered some water for healing by using a Moonstone, Quartz Crystal, and a Holed Stone (a stone with naturally occurring holes in it). I then left the water in front of the window to soak up lunar vibrations. Why, you ask? I've had an unfortunate bout of tendinitis in my wrist for the last few months, and the medication I've been taking is only helping very slowly, so I decided to get some magickal backup. Hopefully it helps! :)

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!

September 1st, 2012

The first of September! Where did summer go? Funny how that happens, isn't it? Anyway, today I did my Blue Moon/Esbat ritual. I had hoped to do so yesterday, but just as I'd started, mom and dad called me to do something else.

Today we discovered that we have a new resident in our backyard - a chubby little woodchuck found the abandoned rabbit hole under the shed and seems to have moved in. He's been busy all morning eating the tall grass around the shed.
The word "woodchuck" actually comes from the Native American name for the animal: wuchak. According to the mythology of the Algonquin Native Americans, Grandmother Woodchuck was a very wise creature who adopted Glooskap, an Algonquin equivalent to Hercules, who frequently fought monsters to make the world safe, but ended up getting into trouble from which Grandmother Woodchuck had to save him.
Because the groundhog (another name for the woodchuck) hibernates during the winter, the animal is symbolic of understanding the cycles of life, death, and rebirth. It is further representative of the ability to know when to "go underground", or to back up from a situation.
Do you have a groundhog living in your neighborhood? Consider what he might be trying to tell you.

August 31st, 2012

A very happy Esbat and Blue Moon to all! A Blue Moon, for those who don't know, is the second full moon to occur in a month, something that happens every two to four years. The term "Blue" Moon comes from ancient calendar makers. They denoted the full moon in red ink, but on the rare occasion that two full moons happened in the same month, the second moon was colored in blue. It is a time of exceptional power, and so is best used in regard to long-term goals or projects. It is also an excellent time for divination. So go out tonight, my friends, and revel in the Lady's glory. Remember:  

"If if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without.

For behold, I have been with you from the beginning, and I am That which is attained at the end of desire."

Travel Altar

Well, I did it! I rummaged through my closet, stored altar supplies, and the dreaded coat/backpack/jacket/random-thing-someone-didn't-want-to-put-away rack to find all the supplies and a carrier needed to construct my travelling altar.

Top middle (North): A small makeup mirror, an itty bitty brush for a besom, a polished rock, and a salt vial.
Top right: Gold pouch to hold the vials, rock/crystal, and shell.
Right (East): Feather and wand.
Bottom middle (South): Yellow tea light and a pocket knife.
Left (West):  Snail shell and empty vial for water.
Top left: Tarot deck and book.
Center (Spirit): My God and Goddess statues flank a white tea light in a ceramic holder with a tiny crystal set in front.

 

And all that fit into this small canvas shoulder bag that I got as a prize from the library years ago. Later, I'll bless and consecrate my travel altar as part of my Esbat ritual.

August 2nd, 2012

This is quite the jam-packed week, here, magickally speaking! Yesterday was Lammas, today is Esbat, and tomorrow I'm going to Hazelnut's house for the Fairy Fest.
Rather hilariously this morning, my mom and I were driving my dad to work when I told mom that Hazelnut wanted me to head over at around 4:30 tomorrow afternoon. My dad had no idea what we were talking about - he didn't realize I was going to be gone this weekend, even though I've been planning my trip for almost a year! Also exciting, to me at least, was the realization yesterday that we have a second litter of wee baby bunnies inhabiting the backyard. I was watering the hostas, when BANG - this itty bitty fluff ball came barrelling out from under the plant, saw me, turned around mid stride and dashed into the neighbor's yard. Nick spotted him again this morning, so we all headed out to see him. So precious.
For Esbat today, I'm listening to some of my favorite Pagan tunes and watching some Youtube videos by other Pagan web-goers. One in particular has me interested - creating a travel altar. I'm familiar with the concept: a small, portable altar tucked in a purse, bag, or even a tin, containing all the basics for a ritual. I have a very basic version that I kept in my school locker last year, but I got some great new ideas and now I'm considering expansion options.

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A travel altar could include:

• A cloth to set everything up on
• A God/dess representation (statues, two stones, two tea lights, etc.)
• Small vials for salt, water, sand, etc.
• A feather
• Miniature wand
• A pocket knife (for an athame)
• Tarot Cards or other small divining set
• A few other tea lights or birthday candles
• Matches
• A sea shell
• A mini broom for a besom (many stores sell these and brushes with their larger counterparts)
• A small notebook for journaling
• A small crystal

If you intend to set up a travel altar, bless and consecrate the supplies, as well as the bag they are to be carried in. Then, any time you're on the road, you can take an altar with you, without having to pack up your home altar,house shrine, etc.

This is a travel altar designed by Dancing Goddess Dolls:

To see more, visit this link.

July 3rd, 2012

Happy Esbat, everybody! So far, my goal of working more meditation and magick into my life is looking good. I read through a number of spells today, and got some great ideas for prosperity spells that I'd like to try. I wrote in my Book of Shadows, my journal, and even accomplished some more of my summer homework while I was at it! 

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A month or so ago, I was writing to a dear friend of mine who enjoys learning about different belief systems. I was describing Air elementals to her, and found a beautiful image of a painting by Josephine Wall, called The Spirit of Flight. Then, a few weeks later, I won a prize in a drawing off my mom's blog. Since she didn't want it to seem as though the drawings were rigged (which of course, they weren't), she drew a second time and told me that she would get me a different bookmark later. Today, she happened to be at Barnes and Noble and got me that bookmark. I wasn't with her, nor did she ask me which I wanted. But when she came home and gave it to me, the print on the bookmark was the very same print I had seen a month ago.

 

The bookmark is gorgeous, and I know I will treasure it both as a high-quality bookmark, as well as a wonderful visual of Sylph magick.

January 9th, 2012

Happy Esbat, everybody! I'm waiting until later to do my ritual, but am spending what free time I have today writing and listening to music. How better, after all, to celebrate the wonder of the Goddess and all creation then by creating something yourself? In other news, the director of the Speech team commandeered me to act in a competition in March, so I'll be a touch busier Mondays and Thursdays now, but all in the name of theatre. How do you like to celebrate Esbat? Do you have a favorite chant or activity you do to get you in the mood? Please, comment and share! :3

December 17th, 2011

Today, I want to summarize all the little things I've been meaning to post all week, but haven't gotten around to. I finished my painting of the moon, inspired by a beautiful sunset the night before Esbat:


I made some of my teachers Yule/Christmas/Hanukkah/whatever clipboards:





I finished my Yule gifts for Hazelnut and Raincloud:


And finally, I woke up this morning to see this outside: SNOW!


In other news this week, my English class adopted a family from the Giving Tree: a single mom with six kids. We were able to raise over $1000 in cash alone, and got them everything on their wishlist: clothes, bikes, food, toys, electronics; it was really amazing what people donated. Later this afternoon, my mom and I are going with our Community Choir to carol for the people in a nearby nursing home, and might bake some cookies or fudge when we get back! :)

December 10th, 2011

Today is Esbat, and I popped out-of-doors a while ago to get a picture of the moon. It's hard of course to take good pictures at night, but eventually I got one that seemed decent:


It's just so pretty... I also made those Yule ornaments I mentioned a while back, and made a video on their construction. The link to said video will be added once it becomes available. I'm going to empower the little guys during my ritual tonight, and then hang them up. :)