October 28th, 2012

Welcome to the month of the Reed! Although some modern Pagans refer to this as the Elm month, the Celts used this time to celebrate their native water reeds. "Reed" is the general term for tall, grass-like plants that inhabit wet places. All species belong in the order Poales. Reed beds are found in waterlogged places such as floodplains and estuaries. Beds with more than 20 cm of surface water during the summer are called Reed swamps, whereas those with water at or below surface level are known as Reed fens. Because the plants grow poorly in acidic soil, succession often takes over in places like bogs, replacing the reeds with a hardier plant.
In mythology, a number of stories relate to the Reed. One Greek legend tells us that the forest god Pan was pursuing a beautiful young nymph. He chased her to a river, where she transformed into the first Reeds. The wind blew, and Pan was so struck by the beautiful noise the wind in the Reeds made that he took some, bound them together, and formed the first Reed, or Pan, pipes. The infamous Pied Piper is also said to have played on Reed pipes; he first led a plague of rats out of town, and then the town's children to punish the townsfolk for not properly thanking him.
Reeds can be used to make besoms, which are then employed in ritual to brush away negative energy.  The same besom can be hung in the house to continue repelling negativity. One can take a cue from the above myths and construct or purchase a set of Reed pipes, to be used in ritual (Samhain, anyone?). This time period is also one for divination, especially scrying, and seances. Spirit and energy work is appropriate at this time. In ancient times, Reeds may have been soaked in fat as a cheap alternative to candles.
From what I have seen online and elsewhere, although Reeds are not usually poisonous, they don't make very good eats, either.

October 21st, 2012

Well, it has certainly been an interesting weekend! Yesterday, having had beautiful weather, my family and our neighbors from across the street drove an hour to Royal Oak Apple Orchard. We picked probably a bushel of apples total, and, because they're essentially organic, they're delicious.

We also got some apple cider and apple cider doughnuts, which were equally delicious. My mom noticed that the farm was having a sale on gourds, squash, and pumpkins - fill a wheelbarrow with anything marked with a yellow flag for only $20. Seeing as we usually pay more than that to get B-grade pumpkins, we lept at the chance to get a gazzilion really awesome ones.

 

I feel like perhaps we overdid it a little... Still, it'll be great for Samhain! I just have to find a spectacular pattern to carve now.

Today, we had a little "incident" with the electricity. As we were eating lunch, my brother and I noticed a weird sound coming from the furnace. Somewhat alarmed, my dad turned off the power and called our electrician, who was kind enough to come check things out even on a Sunday. Apparently, the main power fuse fried itself and was actually melting the fuse box; if we hadn't switched off the electricity, the whole house could've caught fire! Thank Goddess that didn't happen. Unfortunately, we did have to get a whole new fuse box, but the other one wasn't up to code anyway. Things turned out okay, and we even got the power back tonight.

October 16th, 2012

I was at the library last night, shelving books, when I came across a piece entitled Earth Mother, by Ellen Jackson. Intrigued, I took it with me to read on my break. I thought it was really sweet, and enjoyed the emotive illustrations. It's a great book for young children, and parents will like it too, with its message that we all have a place in the world, and that all living things are special and important. Here is Amazon.com's summary:

"The circle of life turns in unexpected ways. Earth Mother awakes with the dawn. As she walks the land, swims the seas, and climbs the mountains, nurturing all of creation, she comes across Man, Frog, and Mosquito. They each give her thanks for nature’s bounty, yet can’t help but give her advice about making their lives better. Everybody’s got an opinion, it seems, and Earth Mother is amused when it becomes clear that the circle of life is not without a healthy dose of cosmic humor."

October 6th, 2012

Good morning, everyone! I feel like I should still be sleeping, but I have to go and help build the set for my school's fall play, so I'm awake. It's a beautiful morning, but it's cold. The weather has been fluctuating wildly the last couple of days - first in the 80s, then the 40s. I guess we know for sure that we're into Autumn! One of my family's annual traditions is to go to Pumpkin Fest, an event that our town puts on. In past years, they have had pumpkin-pie-eating contests, a race for the grade-schoolers, pumpkin decorating contests, and more. Unfortunately, some of those events have since been canceled, but it still makes for a fun day. I'm hoping mom will let me get some gourds like last year. If so, I'll dry them. One can never have too many dried gourds! They make excellent altar decorations, and most of them will turn into natural rattles as they dry. You can keep them pretty much until the end of time, provided they don't rot before they dry completely. I find that smaller gourds dry out better, so if you plan on creating your own such gourd shakers or decorations, choose vegetation about (or a little smaller than) the size of your hand. Also check to be sure that there are no soft spots, or places where mold is already growing. Pumpkins are great decorations too (although they don't dry out very well; not even the mini ones), and they present all sorts of options: painting, carving, stacking, etc. One can also just leave them plain, if a more natural look is desired. Personally, I love to carve the pumpkins, and spend quite some time looking for innovative patterns that won't be ridiculously difficult to manage. Mine tend to be more secular, as I don't think my parents want a pentacle pumpkin sitting on the porch, but magickal sigils and symbolism can be used as desired. Here's my pumpkin from a few years ago, a design that I still enjoy:

October 5th, 2012

The teachers have some all-day meeting, so my brothers and I have no school today. It was nice to sleep in for a change, let me tell you. I had a most interesting dream, however. Several times in the past, I've had dreams where an aspect of the Goddess came to deliver a message to me. Last night, I feel the same thing happened.
I dreamed I was standing in some sort of ancient cathedral, with parts of the floor submerged in a black lake. I was speaking with a woman; she was tall, blonde, and dressed in white. She also had a visible aura, so that she seemed to glow with white light. She offered help, and transformed her persona into a great being somewhat resembling a giant kraken. She proclaimed herself the primordial Goddess of Water and showed me how I have been allowing circumstances in my life to drown me, figuratively speaking. I then did some research today and found that the goddess-aspect who visited me was most likely Tiamat, who is, word for word, a primordial water and creation Goddess. She also appears as a giant kraken/dragon/merperson. And it's true; between school, homework, play rehearsal, and work, I've been finding myself more and more overwhelmed lately. I'll have to keep the Goddess' advice in mind next time things get too stressful!

Picture from here.

September 30th, 2012

Today is the beginning of the Ivy Celtic Tree Month (in spite of the fact that Ivy isn't actually a tree). The Celts called this month Gort.

The word "Ivy" encompasses 15 species belonging to the genus Hedera, native to Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia. The plants have been introduced to North America as well, though some varieties are considered invasive. On ground level, Ivies are creepers, not exceeding more than 20 cm in height, but once they find a surface to climb, can grow to well over 30 feet tall. Such surfaces include rocks, trees, homes, and other structures where the vines can get a grip on the surface. Young vines are tender and flexible, allowing them to wrap around new material, but as the vines mature, they become woody and firm, much like a small tree trunk. The berries produced are typically bitter and are dark purple or black. Ivy is frequently pollinated by bees and small birds.
Ivy was a plant sacred to the Roman god Bacchus, god of wine and pleasure. According to legend, Baccus' son died, and out of pity, Gaia transformed the boy's body into the Ivy plant. In Egyptian lore, Ivy was connected with the Sun God, Osiris. A Cornish legend recounts the love of the knight Tristan and his betrothed, Iseult. As is typical in most such stories, Tristan was slain in battle, and out of mourning, Iseult died as well. A vengeful king, who had desired Iseult, ordered their graves to be placed far apart, but an Ivy plant grew from each grave. The two plants met, and twined around each other.
Magickally appropriate for Samhain, Ivy is related to rebirth and resurrection. Additionally, one can take a cue from the third myth and use Ivy in matters of the heart and strengthening positive relationships. The plant can be used to create a magickal barrier around your person, shutting out negative influences and energies. It is useful in cooperation, protection, and healing, and ensures fertility. Some folklore recommends boiling Ivy twigs in butter and using as a salve to reduce sunburn; only try this if you can say without a shadow of a doubt that the plant you are using is not Poison Ivy.
Although many birds and other forms of wildlife consume Ivy berries, both the plant and fruit are poisonous to humans, and should not be consumed. The berries aren't deadly, but consumption of them can have unpleasant side effects; luckily, they don't taste good, anyway, so we aren't missing anything.

September 29th, 2012

As we approach Samhain, one of my favorite sabbats, I do about a zillion crafts, doing everything from altar decoration to the more secular "spookifying" the house and front yard. I ran across a post by a fellow Pagan blogger the other day, and her Pagan version of a Mexican Dio de los Muertos skull inspired me to make my own. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and thought I'd share:

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Dio de los Muertos, or the "Day of the Dead" is one of many celebrations similar to the Celtic Samhain. Like All Saint's Day, Day of the Dead's origins have been traced back to Samhain, as well as to an ancient Aztec festival honoring the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The Aztecs, however, celebrated the entire month rather than a single day. Dio de los Muertos is a time of remembering family that has passed, and is celebrated with festivals, parades, and prayers at the graves of loved ones. Ancestor shrines are constructed, and gifts of food and drink are left at grave sites as gifts to the deceased. Flowers may also be offered, especially a Mexican variety of marigold, as well as toys for deceased children, and pillows and blankets, so that the spirits have a place to rest. Skulls are a popular symbol of the day, with candy sugar skulls being made and intricately decorated up to a year in advance. The decorative skull I made is a non-edible version of one of these.
To make your own decorative skull, you will require the supplies highlighted in yellow. The craft itself can take anywhere from an hour to several hours, depending on how intricately you wish to decorate, but be aware that the skull may have to dry overnight before it can be decorated.

• Begin with a piece of aluminum foil that is at least two feet long (the more you use, the bigger your skull). 
• Crumple the foil into a general skull shape - a lot of detail is not required here, but try and create a defined nose and indentations for eye sockets. Everything else can be very loosely defined at this point.
• Tear paper into thin strips. You can use newsprint, computer paper, etc., but I found that paper towel works well for this application.
• Dip the paper towel into a mixture of water and liquid glue. You may want to do this in a disposable bowl, to ease cleanup.
• Wrap the wet paper towel around the foil skull. Continue adding strips until the entire foil shape is covered by two or three layers, at least. At this point, really shape the eyes and the back of the head. You can add a lot of detail to the mouth if you wish, though I kept it simply defined and just added detail with paint.
• Allow the skull to dry completely. Depending on how much paper towel  and watery glue you used, this could take as long as eight or nine hours.
• Paint the skull a base of white. It will look something like this:

• Once the white is dry, use paint to add meaningful symbols. Flowers are a traditional way to decorate the skulls, so if a certain flower holds meaning for you, you may wish to add it. Other possibilities include a pentacle, an Egyptian eye, ankh, patronus animals, etc. Any symbol can be used, provided it has meaning to you. However, if you don't find that an image resonates with you, don't feel obligated to use it.
• For the eyes, glue on paper or silk flowers. If desired, use black paint to define eyes in the flowers' center.

Mine came out like this:

The purple circle in the middle of the ankh is also representative of the O in the )O( symbol.

Here you can see one of the ) in the )O( symbol, as well as a gold spiral for the God, and an owl and fish for air and water, respectively.

On the back of the skull I painted a pentacle with a lotus flower beneath it.

And on the final side, I painted a silver spiral for the Goddess, a bison for earth, and a phoenix for fire (the phoenix was the idea of my friend, Steph). You can also see the final ( to complete the lunar trinity.

September 23rd, 2012

Happy belated Mabon, one and all! It has started again - the insane business that keeps me off my blog. In the last couple weeks, I have been working at the library Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I have had to do all my homework, of course, and I've had practice and setbuilding for the fall play. Thus, I am only now getting around to posting things from some time ago. To begin with, the woodchuck I mentioned a few posts back has been periodically visiting, and I got a picture of him sitting in the grass:

 A few days later, I was waiting for the bus, and noticed the fog rolling over the middle school's football field. I was struck by its appearance, and thought I'd share:

In addition to our woodchuck friend, we were visited by a hummingbird, which pleased me greatly. After stopping for a drink at our zinnias, it hovered in front of our window for several minutes, allowing us to get some pictures:

And then today, I decided to set up my Samhain altar, which ended up as follows:

September 15th, 2012

It's a beautiful Saturday! I had set-build for the fall play until noon, but after that I got outside for a while and re-colored the deck for my dad. I also saw that woodchuck again; he's been poking into our gardens recently, eating our plants. Anyone have suggestions for keeping woodchucks out of a garden?

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Mabon, of course, is next Saturday, and to get in the Sabbat mood I'm still looking for interesting activities to do. Here are some that I've come across on the vast expanse of the world-wide-web:

• If you follow a Druidic tradition, consider cutting willow wands at this time.
• Apples can be left on grave sites and/or burial cairns as a token of honor and blessing.
• Take a walk in the forest to gather dried seed pods and other organic materials for decoration.
• If you grew fruits or vegetables over the summer, pick a piece of high-quality produce and return it to the land with prayers of Thanksgiving.
• In a meditation, offer thanks to each direction - North for finances, the home, and health, East for gifts of knowledge, South for a career and hobbies, West for relationships, and Spirit for spiritual insight.
• Plan a feast using the produce of the season - squash, apples, corn, bread, and cider. 
• For a protective charm, string Hazelnuts on a red thread and empower.
• Make a wreath out of grapevine, wrap with gold ribbon to bring in the God's energy, and add any desired herbs and seasonal flowers.
• Visit an apple orchard, pick grapes, or harvest pumpkins.
• Make rattles out of dried gourds.

Don't forget the "mundane" stuff, either - just because a tradition doesn't take place in a circle doesn't mean that it doesn't have its own magick.

• Fix up anything in the house that needs to be mended before winter.
• Take a look at family scrapbooks and pictures, and remember loved ones, both living and passed.
• Fill up your bird-feeder, and put some of that dried corn out for the wildlife.
• Consider what you can do to reduce your ecological footprint. Can you use less water or electricity? Recycle more?

September 10th, 2012

I saw this earlier and it made me smile.

Hazelnut and I went to Styx & Stonez, a local metaphysical store, on Saturday. She got two new CDs, a piece of quartz, Scott Cunningham's Wicca, and a dozen small taper candles. She also got me a black taper, since I didn't have any. It's a beautiful store with practically one-stop-shopping for most typical metaphysical supplies. 

I've also been working my way through Teen Psychic, by Julie Tallard Johnson. It's full of great information, with personal and traditional stories from around the world. The book has sections on chakras, the Rainbow Body, spiritual empowerment, psychic protection, and psychic visions, among other things. It's great for anyone looking to develop their intuition, teen or not.