Webs of Woven Words, Threads, Stitches and Enchantments

Saturday, November 26, 2011

This and That

So... I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. Mine was nice. We went to my husband's cousin's club - an incredible spread - turkey, ham, salmon in a cider glaze and probably the best prime rib I've ever had. There were all the traditional trimmings - stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, real cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and other side dishes I didn't/couldn't try.

The really phenomenal part of the meal was dessert. OK, for some this is always the best part; for me it just depends if there are mashed potatoes. If there are mashed potatoes, well that's the best part. But I'm getting away from the dessert - two rooms of desserts. Yes, really.

A good third of the various desserts were chocolate - chocolate covered everything - pretzels, fruits of all kinds - grapes - I couldn't eat those for some reason. I only took one because I thought it was a truffle. Why chocolate covered grapes seem so weird to me I cannot tell you. There were also kiwi slices, pineapple, strawberries and, believe it or not, carrots. The carrots were dipped, as were the fruits, half in chocolate. No, I didn't have any chocolate covered carrots or fruits. If I'm going to overdose on sugar it won't include slices of fruit.

There were cakes, pies, cookies, candy, custards... on and on - enough to overdose on in the most spectacular fashion. The coffee was especially good and finished off the meal nicely. I showed off photos of  my little, cutest baby on the planet, grand nephew over that great coffee. He's six months old and is standing already, yelling for his dada. His father's response to the post on FaceBook was "Oh sh*t." The older adults of my family - me included - are laughing madly!



There was one big problem on Thanksgiving; my husbands cousin, the host of our dinner, did not or actually could not attend - he has kidney stones and was passing one as we feasted. Really. His wife was with us and kept tabs on him via cell phone. He has many more stones. My husband went through this a month ago. A kidney stone gives men a taste of giving birth, or so I am told, never having experienced either - and by the blessings of the goddesses, never will. We spent the remainder of the evening with my husband's aunt, 89 and sharp as the proverbial tack - seriously, she's quite brilliant and we love spending time with her.

My mother went north this year to be with her youngest sister as my uncle, her husband, died on the 14th. I can remember being a very little girl when he and my aunt were dating and my sister and I both wanted to marry him. We were only 4 and 5 years old, I think. He was quite wonderful to us, but in our teens, teased us unmercifully. I married a man very much like him in that respect. They became good friends. My uncle was a great fan of Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons, so I've always loved them too. Very strange, my aunt and uncle became engaged in December, 1963. Many years later, Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons recorded "December, 1963, Oh What A Night" - now that is pretty interesting. We're very sad and miss him. I hope he and my dad are having a heck of a time together.

Into the shop Friday morning - the first time in almost thirty years that I've worked the day after Thanksgiving. Quite a day, as was today. Even in the magickal world, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday are important days. People certainly bought gifts for others, but we still sold a lot of ritual and magickal-type goods, the usual. I went to the grocery store early Friday morning to buy mineral water, but otherwise I didn't want to be near shopping centers, malls, etc. other than my own little place.

I only performed a short ritual for the Dark of the Moon and left offerings at the hedge, nothing very elaborate. While dedicated to Hekate, I am hearing the call of Neolithic goddesses once again and researching and experiencing some different ritual. I am also experimenting with some different magick. Someone from a cyber-group I belong to called Hekate the flavor of the month because so many people seem to be drawn to Her. She does seem to be making Herself known to many, but I think that expression, flavor of the month, is rather disrespectful. Neither here nor there for me, but I do feel She is steering me in other directions. I will just have to see.

Sunday I will begin getting the Toadstool into order for the winter holidays. There are some new magickal powders that need making, spell kits for Solstice gifts, winter pot pourri to mix up and other holiday tasks, including the Christmas pudding - an apricot delight with a couple of pounds of butter in it. This pudding of all puddings will sit in the fridge, being doused in rum every Sunday, until Christmas Eve. On that night, with one more good dousing, we set it alight and then pour on the potent hard sauce and enjoy. Sensitive individuals have been known to get drunk on that pudding! Pair that pudding with my Sleigh-Ride Punch - hot and also full of rum, well... that's what brought on the screaming with laughter and playing with those funny little ball and basket things until three AM last Christmas!

The winners of my give-away should have their packages sometime during the week. I am preparing for my Divine Feminine Discussion and Meditation group at the shop on Tuesday. So... there we are, up to date and ready to move along. What a ramble!!! And no rum was involved, I swear!

Re: River of Stones, here's another:

Rose quartz - weighing and pricing for the shop - what a life!
Cotton candy pink crystal, rainbows peeking from within, here and there,
the energy of love vibrates all around me.

copyright 2011, E A Kaufman

Blessings nine!



Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving Blessings!


The year has turned its circle,
The Seasons come and go.
The harvest all is gathered in,
The chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their golden grain,
So open wide the doorway,
Thanksgiving comes again!

(author unknown)


Thanksgiving blessings to all!
Hail Demeter, I thank Her for all the bounty She brings!
May your day be filled with love, gratitude and abundance.
Eat, drink and nap joyfully!

Blessings nine!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Small Stones

I have, in the past, participated in the Small Stones project. For the month of January 2012, they are having a challenge to write one small stone a day, A River of Stones. What are small stones you may ask? According to Fiona and Kasper, the originators of this idea, they are very short pieces of writing, prose, poetry, what have you, that capture a precise moment, setting off a burst of emotion in you. You can read more here: http://www.writingourwayhome.com/p/river-jan-12.html

Of course, I jot these down every now and then, and when I saw this first thing this morning, it inspired a lovely memory from last week, evoking just such a burst of emotion perfect for one of these stones.

Tiny, beautiful ballerina, she finds a silk leaf on the shop floor, hidden in
a corner. Picking it up, she dances, tippy toes barely touching the floor,
tapping the leaf onto all the crystals.
"What are you doing?" we ask.
"I'm putting magic into my leaf," she answers.
Magic stones, magic little bit of a girl.

copyright 2011 E A Kaufman 



Blessings nine!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Hail Hekate! And... Giveaway Winners

(Be sure to turn off my playlist at bottom of page)

On this, Hekate's sacred night,
May She hear our voices as we say
Hail Great Hekate!


And now for the give-away! Thanks to all who entered. It was interesting to read which goddess has called to each of you. I was not really surprised to see Hekate's name so many times. And now on to the winners three! I wrote all the name on little bits of paper, placed them in one of my many cauldrons, sprinkled with some herbs and stirred well. My darling other half then reached in and chose a paper three times and here are the winners:

1. Allyson
2. Bianca
3. Linda

OK girls, send me your contact info so I can mail your goodies! Congrats and again, thanks to all of you for reading my blog!

Blessings nine!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Give-Away Reminder


Just a reminder that I will have the drawing for my giveaway tomorrow, November 16, Hekate's Night, just before midnight, so you still have today and tomorrow to throw your hat into the ring.

If you haven't posted a comment to the Give-Away post yet and would like to, please go here:
http://witchofstitches.blogspot.com/2011/11/give-away-finally.html

Post a comment and tell me which Goddess has had the most impact on your life.

Blessings nine!


Friday, November 11, 2011

Thank You!



To all the servicemen and women, past, present and future:

Thank you! 

And for those in the midst of danger now and giving so much for all of us:

May the Lady bless and watch over you!

Blessings nine!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

New Anthology


My poem, Persephone's Ascent, will be included in the soon to be released anthology, Queen of the Sacred Way, A Devotional Anthology in Honor of Persephone. This will be the third anthology/devotional from Bibliotheca Alexandrina that I have been published in -

UnBound, A Devotional Anthology for Artemis

Bearing Torches, A Devotional Anthology for Hekate

and now:
 Queen of the Sacred Way, A Devotional Anthology in Honor of Persephone

These are all available at Amazon.com. I am not sure of the release date of the Persephone devotional, but the editor's blog has more info:

http://melittabenu.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/queen-of-the-sacred-way-table-of-contents/

I am honored to be included and hope you will consider supporting this small publisher by purchasing anthologies for holiday gifts. A list of current titles can be found here:

http://neosalexandria.org/bibliotheca-alexandrina/current-titles/

For forthcoming titles:

http://neosalexandria.org/bibliotheca-alexandrina/forthcoming-titles/

And now, I am off with a large cup of tea and Vicki Lane's newest Elizabeth Goodweather saga, Under The Skin (A Full Circle Farm Mystery - there are five others which I highly recommend)! Is there anything so cozy as tea, mystery, murder and mayhem? A delightful evening!

Blessings nine!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Give-Away... Finally!

OK, so finally I've got my give-away together! I want to say thanks to everyone of you for reading my blog and would love for everyone to have something, but this is what we'll start with. Beginning today, leave a comment for THIS post and tell me which goddess has had the most impact on your life. Also, you must be a follower of my blog. Feel free to post a link on your own blog and that will get you another chance to win - just comment with the link to your blog post - the actual post, not just the link to your blog. There will be three winners; the drawing on Hekate's Night, November 16th.

So, what are the goods?

Winner #1: Crystal Journey's Positive Energy Small Pillar candle, Dragon's Blood Incense, Om Nag Champa Incense (this is a bit more elegant than the traditional Nag Champa) - both of these very delicious, a citrine-chip bracelet, an amethyst druzy, Teavana's Tranquil Dreams Tea and a copy of my book, Enchanted.

Winner #2: Crystal Journey's Joy Small Pillar candle, Om Nag Champa Incense, a fluorite-chip bracelet and a package of Teavana Rooibos Chai Tea.

 Winner #3: Crystal Journey's Money Votive candle, Om Nag Champa Incense, a sodalite star and a package of Teavana Zingiber Ginger Coconut rooibos tea - this tea is really yummy.

So have at it and...

Blessings nine!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Pomona's Magick



Today is the Feast of Pomona, a Roman goddess of fruit trees, especially apples, and abundant fruitfulness. She was considered to be a guardian of people, homes, gardens and orchards. Her name is from the Latin "pomum" - apple.

Of course apples have long been a symbol of many goddesses and their worship. It is appropriate at this time of year that we honor Pomona and the magick of apples, therefore I offer the following magickal suggestions.

Take apples, peel a few strips only of the apple skin, remove core and split in half reserving the strips of peel and core.  Place in a baking pan, flat side up, add a bit of butter, sprinkle with cinnamon, cloves and/or a little maple syrup. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes or until soft.  While cooking and eating, ask a blessing from Pomona for good health, protection and abundance. Be sure to save a slice to be presented as offering.

Take the reserved peel and wrap it around a sprig of thyme or oregano, perhaps even both, and a cinnamon stick. Using a knitting needle or awl, gently pierce the rolled peel in three places and stick cloves into each hole. Bake in a warm oven of 250 degrees for an hour or so to dry the peel and herb. Once dried, the peel can be added to an autumn pot pourri, used as offerings or in charms. Keep nearby when performing any divinatory or oracle workings.

Apples - sacred to many goddesses and a symbol of women's magick; enhances loving energies, love magick, wisdom and protection.
Thyme - cleanses and disperses stagnant energies while attracting new and positive energies. Also assists in opening the third eye.
Cinnamon - enhances magick, aids magickal focus and connecting to other realms.
Cloves - purifies, repels negativity and hostility, elevtes spiritual vibrations.
Oregano - brings joy, protective, good for wards.
Maple syrup - a sweetener - sweeteners sweeten people and situations; maple's magick brings protective, sheltering energy, as well as encourages good health, longevity and balance.

Don't forget to bury an apple or two outside your home, offerings for both Pomona and your ancestors.

copyright 2010 E A Kaufman - from the forthcoming, A Book of Artes & Charms.


Blessings nine!