July 30th, 2016

I'd like to share a cool weather charm I learned to make while in Japan. I used it today, and it worked... well, like a charm!

These little guys are called Teru Teru Bōzu (照る照る坊主), "teru" meaning "shine", and "bōzu" meaning "monk". The ones in the picture above are fairly elaborate, decorative varieties, but the ones I learned to make were quite simple.

You need:

• Two (2) sheets of paper
• I used regular printer paper, but cloth or tissue paper is probably more traditional
• String or a rubber band
• Marker(s)
• Other decorations as desired

Begin by taking one sheet of paper and wadding it into a firm ball. Take the second sheet and pull it tightly over the ball to make a sort of ghost shape, with the ball-containing end becoming the head. Tie a string or rubber band around the charm to hold the ball inside the second sheet of paper. (Ever make ghost lollipops for Halloween/Samhain? It's the same principle.) Then draw on a face or otherwise decorate.

These "shining monks" are weather charms which became popular in the Edo period and are still used today. I was taught to make them by some high school students in a Japanese farm town. The Teru Teru Bōzu are hung up outside under the eaves to keep away rain before big outdoor events like school picnics and etcetera. They can also be hung upside-down to invite rain during a dry spell.

We were supposed to have big thunderstorms all day today, but it was my town's annual summer parade and carnival, and I really didn't want the festivities getting rained out. I set out my Teru Teru Bōzu (pictured below), and while we had some pretty dark clouds go by for a while, we never got rained on, and actually had some sun and blue sky by afternoon!

Apparently, there is a traditional nursery rhyme (warabe uta) which can be sung along with their use. I'll add the translation under the YouTube link.

Lyric Translation:

Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Make tomorrow a sunny day
Like the sky in a dream sometime
If it’s sunny I’ll give you a golden bell.

Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Make tomorrow a sunny day
If you make my wish come true
We’ll drink lots of sweet sake.

Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
but if it’s cloudy and I find you crying
Then I shall snip your head off.

March 17th, 2016

Happy St. Patrick's Day! A lot of my spring break so far has been consumed by homework, and a lot of the rest consumed by cleaning. We're getting new carpet tomorrow, and we've had to take everything off of our shelves and other pieces of furniture, getting them out of the way for the carpet install. Most of our possessions are currently occupying the garage, and my things in particular are stacked up in the computer room, which has laminate wood flooring.

Since we were taking everything out and cleaning anyway, I figured this was a good time to do some heavy-duty space clearing. I started off doing all the physical work - vacuuming thoroughly, dusting everything off, moving furniture that hasn't been moved in 10 years to clean behind it, etc. I finished that up today, and then decided I was going to open the windows, play some music off my Pagan playlist, and use a shaker of mine to break up stagnant or negative energy.

Well, things were going great, my room was cleared, I was jamming with my shaker, and I had just finished driving all that unwanted energy to the front door to banish it outside, when my shaker broke in half and spilled plastic beads all over the floor. Apparently, the effort of space clearing was too much for the cheap glue holding it together. I swept up, finished chasing the stagnant stuff out the door with the broom, and then decided I was going to fix my little instrument.

I replaced the plastic beads with barley (for Athena) and short grain Japanese rice (for Amaterasu), and hot glued it back together. I think it actually sounds better now.

I finished up by using a bell to invoke positive energy, and not leave a void in my room. I'll have to go around after the new carpet is in to really build in some protective enchantments and whatnot.

SIPA Yule 2015

Some pictures from the ritual yesterday! It was held indoors at Gaia House, although at a balmy 65⁰, we could pretty easily have had it outside. 

Table decorations for the post-ritual potluck.

Holly leaves inscribed with some Japanese phrases denoting what I want to grow in the coming year. (Other people used runes, but Japanese felt more applicable to my practice.) They say, よろこび (joy) 愛 (love), and 平和 (peace). The one saying joy I wrote in yellow, hence the fact that it doesn't show up in the picture. 

One of the members brought her pet Tegu, named Walter! I got to hold him - he's a real snuggle bug.

Getting ready for the gift exchange.

A Yule Carol booklet, with lots of the rewritten classics.

My gift from the gift exchange - three colored glass jars!

They look so pretty on my altar!

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!

July 13th, 2015

I've been productive this afternoon! After months of just sort of thinking about it, I finally got up the energy to consolidate all of my Pagan files to a single jumpdrive.

I got a 8GB USB for free at school, and figured that would be sufficient for my purposes. I had typed up my Book of Shadows several years ago, so as to ensure that things were spelled correctly, formatted neatly, and etcetera. Today, I moved the BOS folder over from another, smaller drive (which is, incidentally, held together only by tape and a prayer), and also typed up some new spells I found.

Then I got all my Pagan tunes transferred from yet another drive, and am in the process of downloading some more.

I also found the font which I'd used on my original BOS pages and downloaded that .zip file again so that I could continue using it.

And last night I discovered a link to Dark Books Magic Library which has over 1,500 public domain manuscripts on the occult, Paganism, magick, Wicca, etc. You can download them all for free (although she also includes some reviews for books which are still under copyright, so those can't be downloaded). I've been stocking up interesting ones in yet another folder.

June 30th, 2015

I painted my second fairy house today! I spent most of the day on it, except for an interlude of a few hours where I went to Destiny's house.

The front.

The right side.

The back.

The left side.

I took inspiration from Celtic Women's song, "Fairies", in picking my imagery.

August 4th, 2014

Happy belated Lammas to everybody! Why didn't I post sooner? I'll tell you why! Because the first weekend of August just passed, and you know what that means. Yes! It means that I just spent all weekend at the local World of Faeries Festival!
Once again, it was an amazing experience. There are few things more novel to a Pagan living in a Christian household than getting out for a weekend to mingle at a predominantly Pagan-run event. For the 10th anniversary of the Faery Fest, the theme was Year of the Dragon. There was two days of great music (if you've never heard of Randy Granger or Frenchy and the Punk, check them out), a quest game for the children, bubbles, sword fighting, fresh air, and sun. I got a complimentary wholeness blessing, and even saw a hummingbird winging its way over the flower garden. As per my usual, I bought a bunch of new accessories and several new stones, but before I get into posting about those, I want to share some pictures.

Welcome!

Me in my steampunk Time Faery costume, holding an adorable little woodsprite critter made by the esteemed Dragon Lady. I, unfortunately, did not have the means to pay the adoption fee, but if you'd like to see more of her work, check it out here.

Water Faery.

Statue Lady.

Dragon ice cream.

One of the vendors with Tommy, the Peregrine Falcon.

The fairgrounds.

Bird Man dances.

Friends appear in unexpected places.

A mermaid!

Additionally, it seems only fair to help spread the word about some of the wonderful vendors. Besides the Dragon Lady, whose work is linked up above, I got the business cards of several other people. Not all of them are necessarily Pagan, but they do high-quality, handmade work.

• Eliza C. Stockfisch: watercolor and digital artist, custom masks, and crafts. www.etsy.com/shop/eis4artist
• Annette Powell: fairy houses and gardens. etsy.com/shop/fairyellagarden
• Christina Loraine: paintings, art, and magnets (animals and dreamscapes). etsy.com/shop/ChristinaLoraineART
• Catherine B. Torres: Goddess gowns, vests, corsets, and soy meditation candles. swsilverlark@gmail.com
• Crystal River Gifts: crystals, jewelry, oil, candles, incense, etc. 1 (244) 535-8708
• Joe and Lisa Rothengass: wire wrapped and beaded jewelry, stones and crystals, stone readings. www.maplehousearts.com

December 26th, 2013

I was bored this morning, and frequently when I am bored I play with my photomanipulation software. For lack of another idea, I decided to make a quick illustration of the chakra crystal layout I did yesterday, in case my halfhazard explanation in the previous post was somewhat ambiguous. All the images are shopped together off the internet, so don't sue me, please.

From the bottom up, the list runs as follows:

• Grounding Cord - Andalusian Cross Stone
• Base Chakra - Red Jasper
• Sacral Chakra - Carnelian
• Solar Plexus Chakra - Citrine
• Heart Chakra - Rose Quartz
• Throat Chakra - Turquoise 
• Third Eye Chakra - Lapis Lazuli
• Crown Chakra - Lepidolite
• Higher Crown Chakra - Clear Quartz

Get comfortable - you may want a mat or a blanket, the latter especially if you're likely to get cold. I always find that energy work makes me feel warm, so I didn't use one, but you may find differently. You may want to play music - my family was watching a movie, so I popped in my earbuds, but sometimes silent meditation can be even more powerful. Lay out the stones, from the bottom up. You needn't use the same ones on my list - any stone of the same color or correspondence will do the trick if it's meaningful to you. Getting the last few in place can be a little awkward if you're working by yourself since you can't move around as much.
Then relax - your eyes can be open or closed as you prefer. Breath regularly and focus on each of the chakras in turn. As you contemplate the meaning of each energy vortex, look at your life specifically, see how each chakra relates to it, and decide what changes, if any, need to be made on an energetic level to bring things into balance. If, for example, your work with the heart chakra shows you that your relationships have been lacking due to an inner lack of self-acceptance, then broaden the energy flow to the region, filling it with white light that assimilates into the chakra's pink or green glow. On the other hand, some chakras might be too open, bringing too much of an energy into your life. If this is the case, temper the flow of the energy vortex, bringing it back down to its appropriate level. Work with the stones' natural vibrations to bring the energy centers into equilibrium.
Seek any additional insight from the meditation. Then allow excess energy to drain into the ground. Visualize it returning to the earth and being recycled through the planet's endless cycles. Before you return to your daily life, you may want to do a quick aura combing with the Quartz crystal. Just run it through your aura on all sides, allowing it to fill in any holes in the energy and smooth any rough patches. It only takes a few minutes and feels great afterwards. Make sure to cleanse your crystals after working with them.

Playing Catch-up...

Hello, ladies and gentleman! I'm back! It's been a crazy month here, so let me fill you in on everything.
My family, grandpa, and Aunt C all went camping in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for a week. We left home on June 29th, and returned July 7th.

Here's a pretty sunset - isn't it gorgeous? We saw a plethora of wildlife, including turtles, toads, snakes, eagles, and a mink or a weasel.

We stayed in tents, of course. Aunt C and I were in this one, grandpa was in his own, and everyone else slept in a larger tent. I was asked upon my return what it's like to sleep outdoors. I was rather dumbfounded by the question; it' hard to describe. For readers who have never had the experience, it is hot and muggy, even when it's cool outside the tent, and if it rains, it's damp. You can also hear everything through the canvas, so you get woken up by the birds in the morning, and you go to sleep hearing the drone of the mosquitoes.

Our street had a block party last weekend, which was a lot of fun. A fire truck and police car stopped by to visit and give demonstrations; the little kids (and some of the bigger ones) all got to spray the fire hose. We grilled out, got to know each other, and the dozen or so younger kids raced each other on tricycles and played on the water slide.

I got dragooned into helping with my mom's church's annual Vacation Bible School, but luckily, I got to avoid all the religious drama by volunteering in the Arts and Crafts department. Over the course of a week, the kids made swords, shields, tunics, catapults, and more, in accordance with this year's Medieval theme. I've been doing art with VBS for years now, and usually I'll make a couple of the crafts for myself. This year, however, I didn't really care for a lot of the designs. Yesterday, though, they made lanterns, complete with little electric candles. I thought it'd make a nice altar addition, especially because I'm not allowed to burn my real candles, and since there were extra kits, I made one.

Last but not least, our town puts on an event called Summer Celebration at the end of July every year. Among other things, one major attraction is the town parade, in which different clubs and companies enter floats. My mom and I are members of our local choral society, and have been working on the society's parade float. Since the parade's theme this year is Broadway, it was right up our alley. I can't post pictures of the completed float yet, but here's me with the topper for the giant Tony award we're using as the proverbial icing on the cake. I drew the design on both sides and painted it. Quite the production.
You can also see in this picture that my arm is in a splint. I've had tendinitis since March, and am now seeing an Occupational Therapist to get my wrist healed up. Send positive energy, please; I want to get back to having full use of my thumb ASAP!
Whew! I think that's about everything. On with the regularly scheduled program!

May 3rd, 2013

I'm usually not too excited about walking in the rain with my school things - I don't want all those carefully-taken notes getting ruined! - but as I was coming home from the bus stop today it started sprinkling, and I was loving it. It was cold and windy and wet, but I had some awesome tunes playing, and the air smelled like spring. <3

April 14th, 2013

I don't even know what to do with myself right now. After four and a half months of some of the hardest work I've ever done, my high school's production of Les Miserables was absolutely astounding. Our final show out of seven was last night, and frankly, it was Broadway-quality. We were all crying backstage before the show (I don't think there was a dry eye in the cast), and some of us continued to cry while we were performing. Luckily, Les Mis is a show where that's totally in-character.
Last week Wednesday we had a preview rehearsal-show where kids from local elementary and middle schools came in to see us perform. Before we started that day, I took a little bottle of blessed salt water and sprinkled it around the stage to invoke creative positive energy and all that good jazz. Before each show, I also called on the Lady Minerva and Lord Dionysus, Goddess and God of theatre, to keep everyone's voices sounding awesome, to keep the microphones working, to have the lights be correct, for the orchestra pit to be awesome... The list goes on. It was probably a five to ten minute little ritual of mine, and in the end, it totally paid off; in my time at that school, we performed The Phantom of the Opera and West Side Story, both of which were fantastic shows, but Les Miserables blew everything my school has ever done out of the water. Almost a third of the cast is graduating this year, and I'll miss everyone terribly - if you're reading this, it'd be great if you could send them all some positive energy for their life at college and beyond.

March 31st, 2013

I was reading a book today about the Japanese Tea Ceremony, called (somewhat obviously) The Book of Tea. To illustrate a point, the author, Okakura Tenshin, related a traditional Japanese parable. I so enjoyed it that I thought I'd share it here:

The Taming of the Harp

Once in the hoary ages in the Ravine of Lungmen stood a Kiri tree, a veritable king of the forest. It reared its head to talk to the stars; its roots struck deep into the earth, mingling their bronzed coils with those of the silver dragon that slept beneath. And it came to pass that a mighty wizard made from this tree a wondrous harp, whose stubborn spirit should be tamed but by the greatest of musicians. For long the instrument was treasured by the Emperor of China, but all in vain were the efforts of those who in turn tried to draw melody from the strings. In response to their utmost strivings there came from the harp but harsh notes of disdain, ill-according with the songs they fain would sing. The harp refused to recognize a master.
At last came Peiwoh, the prince of harpists. With tender hand he caressed the harp as one might seek to soothe an unruly horse, and softly touched the chords. He sang of nature and the seasons, of high mountains and flowing waters, and all the memories of the tree awoke! Once more the sweet breath of spring played amidst its branches. The young cataracts, as they danced down the ravine, laughed to the budding flowers. Anon were heard the dreamy voices of summer with its myriad insects, the gentle pattering of rain, the wail of the cuckoo. Hark! a tiger roars - the valley answers again. It is autumn; in the desert night, sharp like a sword gleams the moon upon the frosted grass. Now winter reigns, and through the snow-filled air swirl flocks of swans and rattling hailstones beat upon the boughs with fierce delight. 
Then Peiwoh changed the key and sang of love. The forest swayed like an ardent swan deep lost in thought. On high, like a haughty maiden, swept a cloud bright and fair; but passing, trailed long shadows on the ground, black like despair. Again the mode was changed; Peiwoh sang of war, of clashing steel and trampling steeds. And in the harp rose the tempest of Lungmen, the dragon rode the lightning, the thundering avalanche crashed through the hills. In ecstacy the Celestial monarch asked Peiwoh wherein lay the secret of his victory. 
"Sire," he replied, "others have failed because they sang but of themselves. I left the harp to choose its theme, and knew not truly whether the harp had been Peiwoh or Peiwoh were the harp."

I liked the story for a couple of reasons: the evocative language and beautiful description of nature, and that moral that those who do best are those who are humble. I also thought (did anyone else do the same?) that the description of the tree in that first paragraph could be easily employed as the basis for a grounding and centering meditation. Maybe that's just the nerd Pagan in me. ;D

March 28th, 2013

Wow, I'm starting to get really excited! After months of intense rehearsal, construction, and yet more rehearsal, my high school's spring musical, Les Miserables, is coming together! Even though I'm on spring break I've been at the school every day practicing; today, we had our first full makeup and costume run through, and we open next week Thursday. I'd been going to use the little shell bottle that I got at the Fairy Fest to bring some blessed water to school and thus dedicate our auditorium properly, but apparently a little hole has opened up in the shell's bottom, causing it to leak. I'll fix it this weekend, but my dedication will have to wait until Monday.
In other news, the weather here has finally turned warm, and for the first time this year I have the windows open in my room. It feels so good to air the space out that it's almost an entire room cleansing on its own. We also have some flowers growing, here and at the high school: crocuses, daffodils, and tulips are all pushing up in the garden. What signs of the changing seasons have you noticed?

March 23rd, 2013

I feel like I ought to get a medal for being so busy all the time! Wednesday was my birthday (I'm 17 now - I'm so old!), I had rehearsal for the musical and work on Thursday, I had rehearsal until almost 10:00 last night, and I had rehearsal from 8:00 to 3:00 today. I love Les Miserables, and I love all my cast-mates, so I enjoy all that time I put into it, but now that I don't have practice for the rest of the day or tomorrow, I hardly know what to do with myself. I hadn't even had a chance to think about performing an Ostara ritual, let alone actually getting around to doing one, so I think that's going to be on tonight's schedule. I also have some laundry to do, I need to clean my room... It's never ending.

If I have a chance, I'm going to knit a pouch that I can carry my new Moonstone, and maybe my Sodalite, in for our performance nights. Both are great choices for actors to stimulate creativity and the Throat Chakra. Also, perhaps on Monday, I want to officially consecrate the auditorium and our set to Dionysus, Greek god of theatre. I'll likely just do something basic - a bit of salt water sprinkled around with a simple invocation, and maybe a little food offering if I can come up with some grapes or other appropriate victuals. It's getting to the point where I'm simultaneously excited and nervous. I'm even having dreams about it. All I can say is that I hope everyone loves the show!