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

Amaryllis

My brother gave me an Amaryllis bulb for X-mas, and I'll be growing it over the coming months. The word "Amaryllis" comes from Greek mythology. Legend has it that Amaryllis, a nymph, was in love with Alteo, a shepherd who loved only flowers. So, every night for 30 days, Amaryllis stood outside his home and pierced her chest with a golden arrow. On the 30th day, Amaryllis died, and Alteo opened the door to find a beautiful crimson flower that had grown from her blood. Amaryllis' magickal uses are primarily for determination, innocence, pride, and beauty. However, a note: if you intend to use Amaryllis in any kind of a ritual, do not burn or ingest the plant, as it is poisonous!

January 8th, 2012

Today has been a day of tidying. It is tradition, of course, to intensely spring clean before Imbolc, but this was really more of a rudimentary fixing up of my bedroom. Over the last week, things had gotten strewn all over creation, and my Yule tree was still up. Much as I love my tree, Yule is well and passed, and 'tis time to think of the future. I took my tree down and got my reading chair back in place, before having to find homes for everything I acquired over the holiday season. I can say now that I'm very pleased with the result. If you can recall that whole Feng Shui business I wrote about a few months ago, then you'll know just how much moving some furniture around can change the feel of a room. I definitely feel much calmer, almost languid, and I can be pretty darn sure that I'll sleep well tonight! :) I'll leave you with a last thought: my brother and I each received some flowers to grow, and I found a sweet little garden blessing on the 'net just now. If you have or will have a garden, even if it's just a pot of herbs or flowers, give it a go! Plants need love too.

"Lovely yarrow is known as the wise woman's herb,
Elements four, gather round at the sound of my words.
Bless this garden with growth, health, and bounty, I pray,
Bringing wisdom, magic, and joy, day after day."

Self-Cleansing

Sometimes before you can even start thinking about cleansing the home, you have to cleanse yourself, and crystals can help. As far as I'm concerned, you can use just about any crystal or stone you want, but then, I'm no expert on gem magick. However, amethyst is a classic cleansing stone, as is clear/smoky quartz, and jet. Simply take the crystal of choice and hold it to the Third Eye, right between your eyebrows. Imagine all the negativity in your body flowing out through your Third Eye and going into the stone. Afterwards, hold your stone in a stream of running water to send that negativity out of the stone and back to the earth to be recycled into positive energy. If you aren't lucky enough to have a personal or nearby river, stream, etc., you could simply use the sink to cleanse your stone(s). Salt is another great personal cleanser, among other things. Use it in the bath, or dissolve in a cup of water. Use said water to anoint yourself while saying a personal blessing.

January 7th, 2012

Sometimes, life is good, and sometimes life sucks. That's just how it is. Life moves in cycles of happiness and sadness, but that doesn't mean that when the tough parts come along that you can't do anything about them. In honor of a dear friend and sister, here are some ideas for reducing negativity in the home.

• Give the whole place (or your room, if the whole house isn't feasible) a good cleaning. Just getting all that junk off the floor can immediately lift the spirits of everyone in the house, as general dirty and messiness attracts negative energy like flies to honey.
  
• If you're allowed, take any of pine, cedar, or juniper and burn them, getting the smoke to enter every room. If you're like me, and can't burn things, mix salt and water, and use some of the above plant(s) to sprinkle the salt water.
• Get one of those ice trays, or even a few cups or small bowls if you don't have the trays, fill it/them with water, and place in the freezer. Visualize all the negativity being frozen like the water. Once frozen, collect the ice and dispose of it off your property (don't worry: putting the ice on your neighbor's lawn won't transfer the negative energy to them).
  
• Make a mini pouch and fill it with cleansing herbs such as cloves. Then waft it throughout the house. When I used this method, I used fabric with a snowflake on it to further "freeze" the negativity, but one could also use white, as it is commonly associated with purification.
• Go classic: waft a sage smudge stick through the house.
• Say the following: "Water protects the embryo, ancestor love of long ago. Tides and rivers dance and flow, enchant this place, let magic grow. Revive! Bring change! I make it so." Optional: Carve the zodiac symbol of Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio on a candle, and put in in a dish with an inch or so of water in it. Light, and say the incantation.
• To get rid of "bad vibes" after being in or near an argument, light a stick of incense and take a shower. Afterwards, pass the incense around you three times. Then, as soon as possible, get all the clothes you were wearing at the time washed to further get rid of the negativity.
  
• If you are in a situation where you feel you may need protection, find a smooth dark-colored stone. Sit outside, and sprinkle a small salt circle around where you are sitting. Hold the stone and envision rings of protection circle the stone like the planet of protection, Saturn. Then, when you need protection, hold the stone, and, if it helps, re-visualize.
  
  

January 6th, 2012

It never ceases to amaze me how much school fills up my schedule. I practically live in that building. This week we had Monday off for New Year's, but Tuesday and Wednesday were stressful, long, and generally upsetting. Then, Wednesday night, the reason for this occurred to me. Over winder break, I got a bit lazy, as one often does, and forgot to do my devotion and meditations. Remember how I mentioned them a while back? Here, have a link. Anyway, that night, I got back into my usual routine, and I tell you, the results were spectacular. Today and yesterday were actually fun, and I got just about all my stressful work accomplished. My sleeping quality also improved (I didn't wake up four hours before my alarm went off, for example), and my dreams, which I hadn't had in a while, returned. If you don't meditate or do devotions, I suggest you give it a whirl for a week or two, and see what you think. You may be shocked by the results.

January 2nd, 2012

Hazelnut came to visit last night, much to my great delight, and was able to stay over, so we were up quite late jamming to music and playing Wii, among other things. We also escaped from my brothers for a time, to do some more Pagan activities.


Aunt C gave me this robe, but because it doesn't fit me well, I never wore it. However, it fits Hazelnut beautifully, so I gave it to her.


Aunt C also gave me this one, which I do wear for Sabbats, although I'm often too lazy to put it on for Esbat.


This morning we made corn dollies for Imbolc. We used some raffia-type material however, not actual corn husks. I got a huge bag of the stuff for free from school. They were going to get rid of it, as it's a fire hazard, so I took it for them.


My Goddess dolly. Hazelnut suggested that I braid her hair, so I did, and I love how it came out.


And my God dolly. His arms came out a bit thick for his body, but I'm pleased with it nonetheless.

Holidays and Hikes

Mom downloaded the pictures she took finally, so here are some highlights of the last week of 2011.


Just because I'm Pagan doesn't mean that I don't participate in my family's traditions, and presents on X-mas morning are no exception. I mean, hey, I can mentally call them belated Yule gifts, right? :D


The Ada Hayden park where my family and I went on a walk. See the geese sitting out on the ice?


Here we all (or at least, all the hikers) are! From the left: Dad, Uncle Nathan, Leah, Ben (the short one in front), Grandpa Rick (the taller one in back), Nick, myself, and Aunt C. Mom took the picture.


A mini snowball fight. It would have been larger, but as you can see, we've had next-to-no snow.

Snow Goddess

Found this picture while looking for a New Year's one. Loved it too much to pass up!

January 1st, 2012

Happy New Year, everyone! Or, in Japanese: Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! I was up late last night at a New Year's party (silly me, I was thinking today was New Year's Eve!), and I didn't sleep too well, so I'm quite tired today, but I'm warm in my pyjamas, and it's raining outside, so I'm pretty comfortable. Today being the first of the month, and indeed, the first of the year, I should like to share a most intriguing piece of folklore. It is said that if on the first of the month you say "Rabbit" three times, you will have luck in the rest of the month. So, all together now! 1... 2... 3...

Rabbit, rabbit rabbit!

Happy New Year, everyone, and may the Goddess bless you in the days to come.

*Picture from Google. Edited slightly to read "2012", rather than "2010".