You’ve got a friend:: in me
Immigration:: foreign
Waitress:: restaurant
Snickers:: candy, chocolate
Recognize:: know
Concept:: idea
Birthday:: fun
Told you so:: sarcasm
Unlikely:: not bound to happen
Extension:: more time, longer

Unconscious Mutterings

I performed the full moon ritual on Feb. 25, in the early morning hours. I donned my purple velvet “witch” dress, with my ritual pentacle around my neck.
I set up my alter as follows:

• alter pentacle was in the center
• salt was at the North end (for Earth)
• incense (rose) was at the East end (for Air)
• red candle was at the South end (for Fire)
• water was at the West end (for Water)
• ivory candle on the left side to represent the Goddess
• wand and bell on the right side

I lit the candles and set the incense smoking and followed Cunningham’s opening of the circle, described below, in my tool consecration entry. I then followed an outlined full moon ritual I found online.
Once the circle was cast, I sat and meditated on the purpose of the ritual … which was to honor the Goddess (no magick was involved this time). I then stood up and said:

My Lady of the Moon, who is called Diana,
Artemis, Levanah, Isis and by any other names,
I come to you to bring you my love and my devotion.
May you grant me the joy of your presence.

Then I mentally divided the circle into four quadrants by visualizing a line of silvery moonlight from the Southeast to the Northwest, and from the Northeast to the Southwest. I went to the East, taking the incense with me and kneeling, said:

Sweet Goddess, the gentle breeze is the touch of your loving hand,
the wind of storm a reminder of your strength.
The sound of the trees in the wind is your voice,
and the fragrance of the flowers borne on the wind is your gift of
beauty.

I then visualized the quadrant filling with moonlight.
Next I replaced the incense on the alter and took the red candle to the South. Again visualizing the quadrant filling with moonlight, I said:

Most loved Lady, the light of the candle
is a guide along our path leading to you;
its warmth the reassurance of your presence and your love.
The light of the sun is the knowledge you impart to us,
driving out ignorance and those things which can survive only in
darkness.

At the West with the water:

Lovely one, the quiet pool is the serenity of your being.
The vast sea where life began on this planet is the
vast sea of your being whence all life came;
its waves are the ebb and flow of the universe you rule.

At the North with the salt:

Goddess of all, the fertility of the earth is a sign of your fertility,
whence all life rose.
The solidity and permanence are still of it are still less than yours.
The earth’s fertility feeds our bodies, and your fertility feeds our souls.

I then went to the center of the circle, which was now filled with moonlight. I sat down and felt the moonlight all around. This is the Goddess. Breathing slowly, I visualized the moonlight not only surrounding me, but entering me … becoming one with the Goddess. I sat like this for a little while, then began to slowly come back to myself. I visualized the moonlight leaving me, flowing out of my body.
I stood up and moved again to the East. As I spoke, I pictured the moonlight leaving each quadrant, flowing back to its source. I did this at each quadrant, until all light has returned to the moon.
At the East:

My Lady, guide my thoughts.
Let them lead always closer to you.

At the South:

Gracious Goddess, guide my actions.
Let them always help and never harm others or myself.

At the West:

Lovely One, guide my emotions.
Let them be healing and touched always by you.
At the North:
blockquote>Sweet Goddess, let me mind always be fertile and strong,
that I may grow always toward you.

I returned to the East and said:

Queen of Heaven, I thank you for your presence,
both now and always.
My love and devotion are yours.
Blessed be!
All spirits who have joined me tonight may depart, with my love.
Return to your proper places.

I ended the rite by ringing the bell and I closed the circle as per Cunningham and the consecration ritual.

This was my first full moon ritual, and though I didn’t really stumble through it, I didn’t feel all I would have liked to. Next time, the kitchen light will be off and I will do it by candlelight alone. The light was kind of distracting.

Decided to change the layout from the winter set I had to a more spring-like set. Found the above picture in my files and thought it’d be great for spring. It is drawn by Abranda Sisson, a wonderful fantasy artist. You can visit her site here: http://www.muddvision.com/.

I performed the consecration of tools ritual in the early morning hours of Feb. 23rd. I ordered (via online) and received some alter tools and wanted to consecrate them prior to the Full Moon ritual I wanted to perform the next night.

I set up my alter as per the diagram in Scott Cunningham’s book, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, and cast the circle as he has written, ommitting the “Circle of Stones” part and just saying “circle”.
I lit the candles (Goddess, God, and red) and set the incense smoking (sandlewood). I lifted the athame I was previously using and touched it’s blade to the water, saying:

I consecrate and cleanse this water
that it may be purified and fit to
dwell within the sacred circle.
In the name of the Mother Goddess and the Father God
I consecrate this water.

I visualized the athame cleansing the water from all negativity.
I then touched the salt with the athame, saying:

I bless this salt that it may be fit
to dwell within the sacred circle.
In the name of the Mother Goddess and the Father God,
I bless this salt.

I then faced North with my athame held at waist level and drew a circle around my alter as I walked clockwise around it, all the while visualizing a bluish energy emanating from it. As I walked I said:

Here is the boundry of the circle.
Naught but love shall enter in,
Naught but love shall emerge from within.
Charge this by your powers, Old Ones!

Once I reached North again, I took the salt from the alter and walked with it clockwise around the circle, sprinkling it along the circle. Next, I carried the incense around the circle, then the red candle, then sprinkled the water … the four symbols of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water … purifying the circle.
I then faced North again and held the athame up, visualized a greenish mist and said:

O Spirit of the North,
Ancient One of the Earth,
I call You to attend this circle.
Charge this by Your powers, Old Ones!

I faced East, visualized a yellowish mist and said:

O Spirit of the East,
Ancient One of Air,
I call You to attend this circle.
Charge this by Your powers, Old Ones!

I faced South, visulized a crimson mist and said:

O Spirit of the South,
Ancient One of Fire,
I call You to attend this circle.
Charge this by Your powers, Old Ones!

I faced West, visualized a bluish mist and said:

O Spirit of the West,
Ancient One of Water,
I call You to attend this circle.
Charge this by Your powers, Old Ones!

This circle is complete. Now the consecrate ritual.
I consecrated the alter pentacle first, by touching it with the point of my athame and saying:

I consecrate you, O pentacle,
to cleanse and purify you to serve me within the circle.
In the names of the Mother Goddess and Father God,
you are consecrated.

I then sent energy into the tool, cleansing it of all negativity and past associations. I sprinkled it with salt, passed it through the incense smoke, through the candle flame, and sprinkled it with water. Then I held the pentacle up to the sky and said:

I charge you by the Old Ones:
By the omnipotent Goddess and God:
By the virtues of the Sun, Moon and Stars:
By the powers of Earth, Air, Fire and Water
that I shall obtain all that I desire through you.
Charge this by your power, Old Ones!

I then used the pentacle to consecrate all other tools (new athame - which I then used for the rest of the ritual, wand, new chalice, scrying bowl, bell, cauldron) by placing them on it and reciting and doing the above consecration rites.

Once the rite was ended, I faced North, held up the athame and said:

Farewell, Spirit of the North.
I give thanks for your presence here.
Go in power.

I recited the same for East, South, and West … replacing the element in each and facing that direction. I then stood facing North for a few moments.
I then took the blade of the athame at waist level and pierced the circle. Moving clockwise, I visualized the energy from the circle being sucked back into the athame. Once I reached North, the circle was no more and the ritual was done.

Got back from a weekend get-a-way yesterday afternoon. We had a great time!
On Friday, hubby and I dropped the boys off at my parents then went down to San Francisco. We got there about 4 in the afternoon and checked in to the hotel. After checking in, we parked the car in a parking garage and headed down to the wharf. We were only about 5 blocks away, so walking was nothing. We were about 10 blocks down from Pier 39, and we walked that as well. Friday night we hung out around the Pier, weaving in and out of the various shops. When it started to rain pretty heavily, we took refuge in the Aquarium. Saw all sorts of sea life from around the SF area and even got to touch a ray, a leopard shark, and some starfish! Of course, we couldn’t leave without getting a souvenir for the boys, so we picked up a toy leopard shark for Kael and a book about sharks for Gavyn.
Around 10 we started heading back to the hotel. Once back there, we decided to have dessert at the little restaurant off of the hotel. Yummy!

Saturday was the day we had ordered tickets for Alcatraz. So we got up kinda early and headed back down to Pier 39. Once there, we had plenty of time, so we had some breakfast and walked around a bit. When the time came, we got our tickets and boarded the Bay Flyer, the ferry that was gonna take us to Alcatraz. I love riding on boats, so we stood outside at the front of the ferry. Very windy and cold, but fun!
We got off on Alcatraz island about 20 minutes later … this being my first time there. We made our way to the top of the hill, where the cell block building was at, snapping pictures the whole way. Then we took an audio tour around the cell block. It was really neat to learn about the prisoners and stuff and to walk inside the cells. We walked inside the solitary confinement cells and that was kinda creepy … just imagining being in complete darkness like the prisoners were.
About 2 hours later we caught the next ferry off the island, the Bay Monarch. Again, we stood outside up front, even though it was raining pretty good now. It was fun!
After Alcatraz, we walked around the Pier some more, and also walked around Fisherman’s Wharf and the old Ghirardelli factory. We went on a couple older ships … one a cargo ship from the 1800’s and the other a steamship ferry … and had fun exploring them. It was raining most of the time, so we were pretty wet when we decide to head back to the hotel. Well, hubby was anyway. I had an umbrella. But he bought a nice jacket so he stayed dry on the walk back. By this time my feet hurt really bad because of my choice of footwear. I brought my sandals … which are really comfy … and my boots … which are waterproof, but not comfy at all to walk around the whole day in. Of course, I wore my boots that day, so my feet were sore to the point of hardly being able to walk. But we eventually made it back to the hotel. We sat around and rested for a bit, then around 9, got hungry. So we set off to explore the Embarcadero Center (a huge 4-block shopping mall) since our hotel was right next to it and there were restaurants there. Decided to eat at Chevy’s … mmmm, Mexican!
After our late dinner we headed back to the hotel and, after switching through the channels numerous times and realizing nothing was on, we ordered a movie … The Grudge. Pretty freaky movie! Needless to say, I went to bed with some creepy images dancing around my brain.

And now Sunday. After a quick breakfast at McD’s, we headed on up to Chinatown. We just happened to be there the weekend they were celebrating the Chinese New Year. The streets were closed off, there was a bazaar/market type setting and there were parades of dancers going through the streets. It was awesome! We went into a few different shops and I found a gift for my sis-in-law, whose birthday was on Monday. (I also found a few things I wouldn’t mind having, but we had to watch how much we spent.) After the hustle and bustle of Chinatown, we hopped on a cable car and road down to our hotel … or near it anyway. Then we decided to get the car and go for a drive to the beach. We went to Fort Funston, an old military fort on the cliffs above the beach. Walked around on the trails and looked at all the old barracks and buildings.
Once it started to rain again, we got back in the car and headed up the road a bit further. Decided we didn’t want to go that way and turned around. We then saw a sign that read Zoo. So we followed the signs and there was the SF Zoo! I didn’t know there was a zoo that close to the ocean! It was literally right across the street! So we went in and walked around. A lot of the animals weren’t out because of the rain, but we did see quite a few. Zebras, giraffes, chimpanzees, lemurs, other monkeys, birds (my sun conure! well, not mine … but the same as mine), penguins, lions, tigers, bears, otters, an elephant, hippos, rhinos, and others. It was fun seeing all the animals. We left around 4:30 and headed back toward the hotel. We parked the car and walked around, looking for a restaurant. After not finding what we were looking for and wandering aimlessly (hubby thought he had seen a Denny’s, but apparently not) we went back to the hotel and ate at their restaurant/pub. It was good. Then we went back up to the room and watched tv for a bit. Since we had an early dinner, we started to get hungry around 11. Well, the restaurants were all closed by then, so we decided to walk down to the 7-11, about 4 blocks away and get some snack/junk food. Walked back, pigged out, watched more tv, then went to bed.

Monday rolled around and it was time to get ready to go. We got the stuff packed and checked out of the hotel. The weekend was fun, now it was time to get back to reality. We started heading back home, with one stop for breakfast. We got back into town around 2. Went out to my parents, got the boys, who weren’t ready to go home … although grandma was ready for them to … lol!
Once we were home, it became appearent that the boys did miss us. And the animals did too … they were all happy to see us … the birds squawked and preened, and the bunny ran around when we let them out of their cages.

So that was our weekend jaunt to San Francisco. Would be nice if we could do it more often … and even take the boys on a trip. We had a lot if fun!

You are the Hestia archetype. Hestia was the
goddess of the hearth. She is a patient and
steady woman who finds comfort in solitude and
exudes a sense of intactness and wholeness.

What Goddess Archetype Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hestia was not the only goddess of the hearth. In the Tracy’s home country of Ireland, Brighid was the Goddess of Fire. Splash.net reports that Brighid’s name means “bright.” She is “the triple Goddess of Fire in Celtic folklore.” She represented the “fires of inspiration, smithcraft, poetry, healing and divination.” Brighid is portrayed with a flame above her head, a symbol of connection to the “Universal Energy System.” In Brighid’s case, we see the conflation of a goddess from so-called “pagan” mythology with that of the Christian church. In the fifth century, there lived a Brighid, “daughter of a druid, a goldsmith and healer.” Brighid “was born in Fochart in 450 A.D, and lived until 525 A.D.” (according to www.geocities.com) This Bridhid became St. Brigid in the Roman Catholic church. In the city of Kildare in Ireland, still today, “nineteen priestesses/nuns guard her sacred fire.” The invocation to Brighid reads:

Hail Brighid, Goddess of Fire and Frost
I bid you welcome at this time
And call for the blessings of your inspiration.
Guide the tools of smiths, pens of poets and the hands of healers
That their gifts heal the body as well as the soul.
Let me seek the seed of life that is within me
And see the reflection of your eternal flame
So mote it be!

Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth

How do you feel about the term “fluffy pagan?” What is your definition?
It doesn’t bother me. Well, actually, it did at first … I thought defining newbies in that way was a littl unfair. Then I happened upon a web site that completly changed my mind and made me realize that it isn’t newbies who are dubbed this (in my eyes, anyway), but those who think they’re Pagan, and haven’t got a clue. This site is so horrible, with all the “facts” wrong … and this girl? woman? just goes on and on. She seems completly oblivious to the fact that she has been mislead and is misleading others, despite the many guest book postings telling her what’s what. To me, that’s what “fluffy” is. Thinking you know it all (and flaunting it!) but not really knowing anything … and not taking the time to learn. Some people call newbies “fluffy”, but everyone starts out new at some point. It’s those who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk who are the true “fluffs”.

What do you feel are some of the “wrong” reasons that people tend to learn towards the pagan faith? (sex, drugs etc)
I believe for a lot of the teenagers it’s rebellion against their parents. Most of us rebelled at that age. You want to do anything that will push the wrong buttons. I’m not saying all teens lean toward Paganism because of rebellion. There are certainly those who are genuinly interested. But you can usually tell the difference. Those who use it for rebelling are outright and blunt about it … purposely trying to get their parents angry. Those who have a genuine interest usually keep low profiles and study when they can, but don’t outwardly push their parents.
I also believe that because of the bad rap Paganism/Witchcraft still have, that those who are un-informed and think it is all about sex and drugs tend to lean more towards it and Satanism. They hear “dancing nude (or skyclad) in the moonlight” and are more than likely not thinking about honoring the Gods.

What annoys you the most about some of todays self-defined pagans?
This is a tough one, since I’m rather new to the path of Paganism myself … the studying part, anyway. I’d have to say that right now, the thing that annoys me the most are the “fluffies” and those who think they know everything. No one knows everything and no one ever will, with the exception of the Gods. And the “fluffies” just need to get serious about the path they follow.

Witches Weekly

1) Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day with your significant other?
Yes

2) What is the best Valentine’s Day gift you have ever received?
Cards, flowers, and balloons are the only things I ever remember getting on Valentine’s. But they were all sweet, so I can’t choose a favorite.

3) Describe your best Valentine date.
That would have to be last year, when we went to San Francisco for Valentine’s weekend. Going again this year, but not til next weekend.

4) Did you pass out Valentines to your classmates as a child?
Yes That was always fun. And now my son (3rd grade) does it as well.

5) What is your favorite Valentine décor? (hearts, cupids, etcetera)
I’d have to be cliché and say hearts.

Sunday Brunch

the weekend after Valentine’s Day. It’s not like I don’t like Valentine’s Day … I do. I’m one of those hopeless romantics, always daydreaming about the perfect this or that. The reality of it is … my daydreams are so much more than real life. Oh hubby remembers V-day, but we don’t really do anything or get anything for each other any more. And being the romantic I am in my little fantasy world, it kind of bums me out.
Well, last year’s V-day was awesome. We planned a trip to San Francisco and stayed two days … kid free, just hubby and I! Valentine’s Day fell on a weekend, so it worked out perfectly.

Guess what … we’re doing the same thing this year, only staying an extra day. Three days of relaxation and fun without our two munchkins! Ahhh! Not that I won’t miss the boys … I will. But to be away from the screaming and fighting for a few days will be so nice.

Why the weekend after Valentine’s? Well, the main reason is because our oldest boy has no school Friday the 18th through Tuesday the 22nd. Makes for the perfect time to get away for the weekend without having to take him out of school. And the lesser reason? We figure it won’t be so crowded. Yes, the bay area is always full of tourists, but maybe just a little bit less when it’s not a romantic holiday.

So, we got the hotel room booked and the tickets to Alcatraz ordered (I’ve never been there). Now it’s just sit back and wait til Friday.

Ok, I want my sweet, innocent little 2 1/2 year old back!! ‘K’, my little monster, as he is now dubbed, is on a mission … one of destruction and mayhem.

Lately, I’d say the past month or so, he has a big fascination with dumping out his milk and/or juice from his sippy cups. I had stopped using the spill proof plugs a long time ago and he drinks from them fine … and I’ve never had a problem with him dumping them … until now. That’s all he seems to want drinks for now, so he can pour them out all over the rug. But do you think he pours his water out?? Noooooo, of course not! Only the stuff that’s harder to clean up and could potentially stain! So, the spill proof plugs are back in all the cups. I’m not even taking a chance with the water. Problem solved.

Ok, so because I stay up so late … which I really gotta stop doing … I tend to snooze on the couch after getting my other boy off to school. I gotta stop doing that, too! About a week ago, I got up from the couch to find my little monster snoozing in the hallway. No big deal … until hubby points out the huge mess in front of the heater! That little boy, sleeping so soundly in the hall with his blankie, had taken every last egg out of the fridge and decided to make his own breakfast right there on the floor!! Had had broken all but four eggs (which were quite warm now, sitting in front of the heater) all over the rug, his art table, and his brother’s bike. What a mess!! So I go get the paper towels to start cleaning up. Guess what … he had used every last one of those to try to clean up his mess! Hubby and I had to laugh about that. No wonder there was egg shell tracked from the heater to the garbage! So, although all our eggs were gone and it was a pain to get half-dried egg out of the carpet, I couldn’t really be mad at him.

Ok, now skip ahead to yesterday. Again, I was snoozing on the couch. ‘K’ kept climbing on me and talking to me and stuff, so I was pretty sure he wasn’t getting into anything. Wrong! When I got up, everything looked in order and again, he was snoozing on the floor. I didn’t think anything of it, since he had been all over me almost the whole time I was laying down. Almost is the key word here. I got busy on the computer, then talking to my sis-in-law who had called, then cleaning the living room and kitchen. Opened the window to let in some fresh air and went into my bedroom to do the same thing. I stopped dead in my tracks as soon as I opened the door, my mouth hanging open. The little monster had gotten into the file cabinet and had papers strewn everywhere! Every last paper I had in the top drawer (it only has two drawers) was scattered throughout the bedroom. Thanks goodness he didn’t tear apart the bottom drawer as well! It took me a few hours to sort through it all and get it organized. Needless to say, I was a bit more upset with him this time. But, I did manage to throw out a lot of old stuff we didn’t need anymore, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise. This apartment does need to be thourouly gone through and cleaned, as there’s so much clutter … although having my 2 1/2 year old instigate it for me is not the way I’d like it done … lol!
I rummaged through my pantry and found a spare doorknob thing (you put them on doorknobs to keep kids out of certain rooms … forgot what they’re called) that my sis-in-law had given to me a long time ago. It now resides on my bedroom doorknob.

Now the big question, what’s he gonna get into next???