September 20th, 2016

Every time I think 2016 can't get worse, it does. I know I haven't been very active of late, and I can't say that that's likely to change what with how busy school's been, and on top of that, my grandfather, who has leukemia, is in a very bad state and the doctors are guessing he only has a few days.

In light of that, I decided I needed to do something today to try and deal with everything. I've noticed over the past few weeks, a very specific labyrinth design kept popping up. First I saw it on a field trip to the Antheneum, and then there was a display in the theatre building using the same graphic, shown below.

I recognized it as being a slightly smaller version of the labyrinth at Gaia House, which is itself based on the labyrinth in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. Since the imagery kept reoccurring, I walked over to Gaia House this morning to spend some time walking their labyrinth.

The geodesic dome sculpture is in homage to Buckminster Fuller, who lived in this town for many years, while the labyrinth turns an old concrete slab into a peace park. It really was nice to enjoy the fresh air for a while before the day got really hot, and I've attended at least one ritual in this space, too, so that brought back good memories. I'd like to spend more time there if I can manage it, I feel like it would be healing.

There's also a really nice fountain and pool just beyond the dome, which is pretty.

The other thing I've noticed a lot lately is bird signs. This is a photo of three crows all sitting on top of a street light taken last week. I saw the trio a second time this morning. Birds always seem to show up at important times in my life. It's nice to see them.

I have done nothing to get ready for Mabon, and it looks like I'll be travelling on Thursday anyway. However, I am planning to attend the SIPA ritual this weekend, so I'm looking forward to that - I daresay I need it. We might even be camping out after the ritual, which would be cool.

July 9th, 2016

Well, you know what they say about a road paved with good intentions... It seems like every time I think it might be calming down enough that I could update this blog regularly, life decides to have a laugh at my expense. June was very, very busy between a vacation, bridal shower, and almost every conceivable sort of family issue. Anyway, I am back. I have some pictures from our trip that I will share (I'd been hoping to liveblog it, but the hotels we stayed in usually didn't have wifi), at least to start things off.

Mussel shell on a lake shore in Albert Lea, MN.

The Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD.

The Badlands National Park, SD.

Big horned sheep (with a baby!) in the Badlands, SD.

Mt. Rushmore in SD.

Devil's Tower National Park in SD.

Little Bighorn National Cemetery, SD.

Lakota prayer cloths tied to a bush in Little Bighorn, SD.

Sunset over Colombia Falls, MT.

Glacier National Park, MT.

McDonald Falls in Glacier, MT.

Rocks on the riverbank in Glacier, MT.

Mountains on Going to the Sun Rd. in Glacier, MT.

Snow melting into a waterfall in Glacier, MT.

Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone National Park, WY.

An enormous chunk of Aventurine next to my foot; apparently it's a fairly rare stone, but happens to occur in a small town in Montana.

The Paint Pots in Yellowstone, WY.

Blue Star Spring in Yellowstone, WY.

Old Faithful Geyser erupting in Yellowstone, WY.

Grand Tetons National Park, WY.

Overall, it was a really cool trip. There was a lot of driving, but we got to see lots of amazing scenery and wildlife. I brought home some stones, of course, and a book, which I will eventually get to writing about, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the photos, and I apologize for the long break from posting.

SIPA Beltane 2016

SIPA hosted their Beltane ritual this afternoon, which I was fortunately able to attend! I missed it last year because of a build day for an architecture group I'm in, and this year I was concerned it would overlap with set strike, but fortunately the times worked out. It was also supposed to storm today, but the weather turned out to be beautiful! All in all, we couldn't have had a nicer set-up for a ritual.

Today's ritual was at a shelter in Giant City, which has a lovely creek running past it. The shelter was smaller than the ones we've been at before, but since it was so nice out, it didn't matter.

Me before ritual, all dressed up with robes, a cape, Quartz necklace, and the flower crown I bought at Fairy Fest last summer.

The maypole; SIPA uses theirs three years consecutively and then burns it at Samhain. This is this maypole's second year.

Elemental banners around the Circle.

There were several dogs at today's ritual, including this little lady, Serenity.

Blowing bubbles and grilling bratwurst.

Dogs!

West side of the creek

East side of the creek, with Zeppelin the dog.

One of many red ochre rocks in the stream bed. I looked for fossils, but didn't spot any.

Waterfall into the creek.

SIPA's banner, which was incredibly difficult to hang. The gentleman on the left had to give me a leg up to tie the grommet to a nail in the wood, and then he climbed on the other guy's back to staple up the other corner.

Tying this year's ribbons to the maypole.

Our drummer getting in a good stretch so he's ready to go.

So many ribbons! Mine was a dark blue, to match my outfit.

Erecting the maypole (not my photo, I didn't have my phone during ritual).

Everyone getting ready to dance (also not my photo; that's me in the foreground). We wove in thoughts and intentions of things we wanted to grow this year. It was super fast-paced and a little chaotic, but...

...it turned out great! Our maypole, all braided up!

We had a potluck afterwards with a ton of food, and I was completely stuffed. I got back to campus around 4:00, which left me plenty of time to get ready for set strike at 4:30. I am very tired now, but it was a good day!

December 31st, 2012

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2012 has been full of the brightest blessings, and that 2013 holds even more!
In a brief reflection on 2012, here are some of the biggest events of my year:

• Received a medal for my performance in my school's Group Interpretive rendition of The NeverEnding Story.
• Played a Jet girl in our spring musical, West Side Story.
• Went to New York to see Niagara Falls.
• Designed and constructed the local choral society's parade float for our town's annual Summer Celebration (and won first place for float design!).
• Visited for the first time Styx and Stonez, our local metaphysical shop.
• Got my first job, working at the library.
• Played an eccentric author in my school's fall play, Break a Leg.
• Got the part of Montparnasse in our musical to be performed next April - Les Miserables!
• Got my first-ever metaphysical books that are mine to keep and I don't have to return to the library - Witches Datebook 2013 and Encyclopedia of Spirits. 

Once again, a very happy New Year to you and yours. 

あけましておめでとうございます.

June 17th, 2012

Our trip to Niagara was great! It lasted from the 14th to the 17th, and we got to see all sorts of things. The 14th was all driving; we left later in the day, and spent the night in Indiana. On the 15th, we drove the rest of the way, and got to our hotel in Cheektowaga, NY, just in time for supper. After we ate, we made it down to the falls to see one Nik Wellenda! It was completely by coincidence that our trip matched his crossing of the falls on tightrope, and honestly, I was glad we hadn't come all the way out just to see that. We didn't really have the greatest view, as there were so many people. Nevertheless, I could see the tightrope, shimmering through the mist. And once it started, I could just make out Wellenda working his way across.

The next day was more exciting, though. We took the Maid of the Mist out under the Horseshoe Falls. The mist was so thick, you couldn't even see the waterfall. You looked up from the tossing lake, thick with foam, to see a blanket of white filling the sky. We wore ponchos on the boat, so I got less wet than I'd anticipated, but Niagara was perfectly happy to change that later in the day. After we docked, we walked over to Goat Island to get a better view of Bridal Veil Falls. It was nice to look down them, but it was the Cave of the Winds tour that was truly magickal. It was a hike right in front of the Bridal Veil Falls, that takes you to where Hinum's cave once existed, before years of erosion washed it out.

The tour lets you view the vast population of gulls (including the last fluffy babies), as well as get a close-up of the water. A close-up as in water pouring down the inside of your poncho, making them completely irrelevant. One could literally stand mere feet in front of the falls. In spite of being surrounded by people, you can't hear anything except the roar of the water in your ears. We drove the 12 hours back home on the 17th, taking a detour through Pennsylvania to see some of the Allegheny Forest.

June 12th, 2012

Strange things happen sometimes, and I for one do not believe in coincidence. Yesterday, after typing up the information about this Celtic Tree Month, Oak, my mom, Nick, and I went on a half-hour hike at a local forest preserve. It was almost time to turn around and head back, when we came upon a place where the trees hung over the path and formed a tunnel. Nick declared that it was a "portal to another world", and said that we must go through it. We did so, and nothing out of the ordinary seemed to happen. However, turning back, I looked up and realized that the trees creating the tunnel were varieties of Oak. I was instantly reminded that the Fey protect Oaks, and wondered for a moment if Nick's claim that the tunnel was a portal was as far-fetched as it seemed. Then later, my dad said, totally out of the blue, that if something were to happen to one of the trees out front, he would replace it with an Oak tree. I feel as though I am being told something here....

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In other news, mom and dad decided to take a vacation this summer - we're going to Niagara Falls! We will go hiking, and also take the Maid of the Mist boat out to see the falls up close. Naturally, the Native American tribes who once lived in the area had legends about the falls, and indeed, the name "Maid of the Mist" comes from that folktale. 

The Ongiara people had lived peacefully along the falls for many years, when suddenly, many villagers began to sicken and die. The people thought that they had angered the thunder god Hinum, so they began to send canoes of food over the falls in offering to him. When that failed to stop the sickness, the chief's daughter, Lelawala, was to be sent over instead. As she fell over the edge of the waterfall, however, the sons of Hinum caught her, and wished to marry her. Lelawala agreed, on the condition that she be allowed to tell her people how to save themselves from the sickness. The youngest son told her that it was not Hinum's anger killing her people, but rather, a great water snake that was poisoning the water, and then eating those who had died. Lelawala was then allowed to appear to her people as a spirit, and tell them of the terrible snake. The villagers hunted it down and killed it before it could do the people any more harm. The river swept away the body, and Hinum turned the snake's remains into the Horseshoe Falls segment of Niagara. Henceforth, Lelawala has reigned in the cave behind the falls as the Maid of the Mist.

I am not yet sure, but I think that we are to hike to the cave behind the falls, and if so, I should like to pay homage to Lelawala, who, after her marriage to the youngest of Hinum's sons, became a goddess of the Ongiara tribe. She is said to wear a white doeskin robe, with a wreath of flowers in her hair.