Thinking of today...

There are a few things I am thinking of today THIS is one of them. As a woman who has deployed to a combat zone, I think it is long past time that we admit we've already been in combat for years! Especially in the recent conflicts. I just wonder how many more men are going to come up to me and comment on the headline about how inappropriate it is to have women in combat? Maybe they would bugger off if they knew they were insulting me to my face? Well, it doesn't matter, the pentagon is doing it and a bunch of old fat men aren't going to stop it!

Here is the other thing that I am thinking about.

This video and monologue made me cry when I saw it over at Thalassa's Blog. The things that are being leveled at women, the struggles we still have when it comes to being treated the same as a man doing the same thing are not OK. The way media and congress people are trying to make us feel about the ways in which we use our bodys and how we look and who we are, are NOT OK! A woman should have the right to enjoy her body, in a spiritual (or not) way if she wants. What is demonized for women is considered normal and expected for men. I want to be able to hold the same job as a man, and I want to be paid the same for it. That is one reason that the women in the military made me so happy.

I know these things don't feel pagan-y, or spiritual to some people, but they matter so much to me. They matter like not being forced to be someone elses religion matters to me. These things matter to me like my right to marry matters to me, and like my friend's rights matter to me. America wants to be the land of the free, so let's make freedom ring, let it ring without us having to say it, let our actions speak for themselves! I want to continue to be free, and the day I cannot be while living in this country, will be a sad day indeed.

A Blessing

After the final candle is lit, I fall down to my knees. Eyes closed, back and forth, swaying to the sound of the chant. Gripped by the sensation of falling, I am steel and the chant continues. I reach the bottom, there is no ground to rise up and meet me, but I am standing, just the same. A soft glow starts at the edge of vision and grows into many small soft lights, like candles along a path. The soft lights float above the floor as if alive and unattached to any space, floating above the gentle mist. I am walking, almost upon the mist, though it feels like soft grass, in my toes. The lights lead me through a thicker mist that twists and forms into a black and dark forest, but between the lights is safety, and I am confident that here nothing can escape, nothing can touch me, unless I permiss it. The lights are beginning to get excited, they move and twist, they separate as though they need room to convulse, and dance, as unattached lights should. I feel a rhythm or a drum start to beat, from deep within my root, deeper than there seems space for. So my feet move, and I raise my arms, and ecstatic dance that I have never learned but always known. Even the dark misty trees sway and convulse to the new rhythm. I am not alone in my wild exuberance either, there are others here entranced by this strange music as well. There is one here, especially graceful as well, her exceptional elegance eclipsed only by her fierce strength.  The dance now centers around her, it is suddenly wilder, and more erratic, but no one misses a step, no one is felled by the movements. As we all move inexorably towards the dances climax, the dark mist enters the circle surrounding us all, and seems to permeate us weaving itself within the dance, creating  a barrier sealing us in. Closer, closer, until we all seem to be ready to collide, but even our fingertips never seem to touch.

She stops suddenly, looking straight at me, her gaze locked upon my own eyes, and abruptly all those dancing with me are me, merged into one, whole again. “Child, you asked for protection, for a blessing, and now you have it.” Her voice is melodic but strong, though it is shouted and whispered and sung all at once. “I have multiplied your spirit, and lent you my shield, I give you my sword as well, just know when to leave it sheathed. Go now and know that you are protected, know that you are mine.” With an otherworldly grace, a hand rises to my shoulder, and a heat radiates off of her and through my body, filling me. Then suddenly she is turning around and away, walking, fading, back into the mist, and it is my turn to continue back down the path I came from. Now the lights are what I am walking upon, almost carrying me back to where I belong. Back, back to the place where once I was falling, now lifting . Slowly I know I am rocking, chanting, though so softly now. My eyes open to the candle now burned down to a bit of a nub.




(I had titled this post differently, but determined that its former title was just too goofy for me, so I shall not bend over backwards to make the weeks letter go first!)

Half baked

So today I am going to bring up a particularly enjoyable topic, (for me at least,) Spells!

ZOMG! She has cheated on the Pagan Blog Project already!

Well I haven’t, specifically, I am referring to spells in Baking, Yes baking! Spell craft and baking absolutely go hand in hand!

I am completely serious. Baking with intent is one of my very favorite ways to do any kind of spell work. It is a lovely and loving ritual, and fits in with all sorts of different spells. What better way to protect and bless your friends, self and loved ones than from the inside out? Anything seasonal can become a spell, (or out of season, seasonal will likely be cheaper and easier though.)

If I am just doing a regular spell, with candles and an altar and such, I tend to use things which are already readily available in my pantry, so for me the transition is fairly seamless. I build energy when I stir something by hand, (machines work too, I just don’t have room for the big ones.) I concentrate on intent while I measure and pour.  This is wonderful for festivals and celebrations too. It is my very favorite form of ritual, and my husband likes it too! This is something you can get children involved in, and it’s almost traditional for everyone. My grandmother taught me and my mother how to bake, and it always mattered that you bake with love, an idea that goes hand in hand with spell work, intent! If you do traditional rituals, and you use food, cakes and ale, or bread, having blessed food is always a bonus.

I always bake a calming and health spell before a particularly hectic or trying week, if I know it is coming, and after a trying week the action can be quite cathartic and help even relieve stress in the actions, in addition to the magickal benefits.

Again!

So when I started posting under the Pagan Blog Project, I probably should have noticed a few things; First, that I started a week late. Second, apparently, I am posting on the wrong day.

Today’s post will be an attempt not only to catch up, (on totally the wrong day!) but, to expound on my previous topic, because I feel like I did not do it the justice it deserved, or even really make it my own. In that respect, here we have it!

Ancestors, Again!

So ancestor veneration is important on many paths and not just pagan ones, and just starting out, I had decided that it was something that I was supposed to do, so I did it. The problem with that is that I had no memory of ancestors, (I have known all of my grandparents, but at the time, they were all alive.) Great grandparents were little more than names, and very few pictures. My family did not keep a lot of pictures about, and especially few of those who had passed. I was starting from blank space, I had no place to look for meaning. I had a mirror, a glass of water, and a candle, and that was it, the whole ritual was meaningless to me. I had no connection to it. So I stopped. That worked out just fine too. As I moved away from the path I had started on, I realized that the idea of ancestors did mean something to me but not in a traditional “these people were related to me” sense. My own ancestors did not mean very much, but there have always been people here, where I live, taking care of themselves and their families, people who may have walked paths similar to my own, that they have had to cut for themselves. Why couldn’t these people be my ancestors? So they are!

I am not alone, I may not walk a physical path with others, but in spiritual workings, I have guidance. If I walk the underworld, there are those who walk beside me, I may not know so much who they were, but I know who they are for me. Since then I have had a set of grandparents die, and they occasionally walk with me, they were mostly Christian in their own time, but this has apparently not stopped my paternal grandmother from being with me at times. Even solitaries need not practice alone, there are always those who came before you, and there always will be, your ancestors will be to you who they are, and no one should be able to say otherwise!

There, now I feel better.

Ancestor veneration

This will be the first article in an alphabet series, I am totally new to blogging, so I am borrowing this Idea from a post by blogger Thalassa regarding the Pagan Blog Project, (seen below.)

Ancestors

Ancestor worship and reverence is a big part of many cultures, peoples, and faiths. Many paths include it and many people find it a good way to stay in touch with the world around them and themselves even. Ancestors don’t have to be worshipped like gods, but being respectful never hurts, having the blessings and protections of the parts of your family who came before you is never a bad thing.

Respecting your ancestors can bring you help in many forms, but it should not be thought of as a tit for tat sort of situation. Don’t think of them as a means to an end, or a tool to be used, it is disrespectful and defeats the purpose of honoring them. Just keep them good tempered and in your thoughts and when a time comes that you do need something, they may be more inclined to offer assistance.

Honoring your ancestors can take many forms, some people make offerings and keep altars, some people honor them in what they do, they say prayers, research their family backgrounds, memorize all the people who have passed on.  It all depends on what speaks to you. Even non-pagans have some form of ancestor veneration. In Hispanic Catholicism, they light candles and leave glasses of water out for passed loved ones, with pictures of the deceased and various saints to look out for them. Families who can afford it have big stone monuments built for loved ones, (grave stones) and most grave sites are marked in some way. Even scattering the ashes of the deceased is a sign of respect for loved ones.

Ancestors can be anyone who has gone before you, they all now have some knowledge that you do not possess, (even if it is just “what comes after?”) Anyone who was not respected in life is going to be harder to establish a connection with after death, even if just for protection of your family. Also those who were not good people in life are not necessarily going to change that in death, but some do.

I personally have very few people in my ancestry I can actively remember, anyone I did not know personally was not often talked about, and in the early days of my immediate family there was some turmoil that separated me from the paternal part of my family permanently. This does not stop me from making connections, or giving family the respect that they deserve. I don’t have photos of my own, just memories and things that remind me of those who came before. These things occupy a wall near the table my actual altar resides, and they surround a tiny mirror, as it is said in many cultures that they reside on the other side of the mirror.  (This is usually the case, but I am currently packing up to move, so everything is shuffled about. Pictures will be posted at a later date.)

Thalassa’s post-  http://nuannaarpoq.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/pagan-blog-project-from-the-arche/

Introduction, we all need introducing, right?

So I’ve never tried this whole Blog writing thing, but always sort of wanted to, I just never had much of anything to say. I think I have plenty to say now though,  I think I do, I may not…

Long story short I am a Pagan, I have been for a number of years now. I believe in a non-Abrahamic version of god, I am very happy with my beliefs they evolve, but hey, doesn’t everything?  In addition to being a pagan I am what is generally referred to as a kitchen witch.

 I am a witch, have we gotten over that yet? Cool, let’s move on.

 I do not have any fancy initiations, I don’t reconstruct or recreate anything, (save a good recipe!) and I am not part of a big fancy coven, or a high something of anything. I am just me practicing my craft at home, for the most part by myself. I use my kitchen and kitchen tools in my practice, and things tend to be fairly simple. I don’t really care what color candle I am using for what, I don’t call corners and I don’t cast circles, and the charge of the goddess is a nice thing I’ve read in a book, but it isn’t mine. I’m not a particularly good tree hugger either, I like nature, just not on me. I am also not a vegetarian, sorry I like meat, and meat is part of the natural order, and…. I don’t care if it seems wrong, I like meat, and I shall likely continue eating it into the foreseeable future…

I do a lot of things at home, I make salves, and things as I can. I like natural herbal remedies, when they work.  I like to be able to make things myself, too many things are too expensive, and are way cheaper, and easier than shopping and buying them! These things will likely feature greatly in my writings, and I may share some recipes and things here.

I guess some proper basics are in order too, I am a loving wife, newly married, with no children just yet, I have 2 cats, and I currently reside in a little tiny apartment in a college town in Delaware. The living arrangement is likely to change, but this is pretty much us right now! I like to cook and craft what I can, and I have a bit of a propensity for video games, but I love learning, and I love being with my family.