Witchy Wordless Wednesday

Blessings Nine!

Positive & Negative Thinking

Stay in a positive frame of mind; think only positive thoughts; don't say or think negative thoughts; if you think a negative thought, immediately restate it in the positive. Have you heard any of these? A lot of this is from the Law of Attraction mentality. There's nothing wrong with that, but... does it really serve us as much as most think? Or is it just another way of pushing down or repressing what we don't want to deal with?

In my capacity as a spiritual advisor and teacher, I advise staying positive all the time, or at least as much as one can. Yes, I am aware how hard that can be, I have my own demons to wrestle. I do feel that wallowing in the negative is unhealthy, but after reading what I am about to share, it has made me think that contemplation and acknowledgement of the negative may be more useful and healthier.

I just began reading Tarot and the Chakras, Opening New Dimensions to Healers by Miriam Jacobs, so although I can't really review the book, the following paragraph gave me much food for thought:

"The power of positive thinking has its merits, but how can thinking only be positive? It is better to realize that no situation, no matter how difficult or complicated, lasts forever. And it is very important to realize that any charged emotion associated with difficulties, past or present, can be released. Negative thoughts tend to accumulate and stagnate the flow of air. It is like a stuffy room or strong winds. They can affect our emotions, and our physical body as well. In order to change negative thoughts, it is important to be aware of what the thoughts are connected to and find a way to accept them before attempting to do anything about them.  There is great value in differentiating among your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. This is best done by simply being present, rather than by judging or over-thinking. In energetic terms, that suggests a state of stillness and peaceful acceptance. After acceptance, change can happen. The charge of counterproductive thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations can be released, transformed, and healed."

Well, that is a lot different than just restating the issue in the positive. Exploration of the why, where "it" comes from are really important for full healing. But... there are some things we may never be able to figure out the whys and wherefores of - past life issues, other issues no amount of exploration can find. That's OK, as long as we don't bury it by putting on a happy face and pretending all is well in our life when it isn't. Acknowledgement is key, I think, not just stating those affirmations.

I'm a great one for over-thinking, so maybe I'm over-thinking this issue. It sure does strike a chord for me, though. I still don't advocate wallowing in one's misery - we've already experienced whatever trauma has led to these feelings, but we're still here, we're still OK... for the most part.

Thoughts? I love to know what others feel, think about this. Not sure I clearly articulated how this made me think, but it has my brain going!

Blessings dam and deep.

And A Lovely Day Was Had By All...

My Solstice shrine 2013

Christmas Eve and Christmas day... quiet, just the two of us at Toadstool Condo, a lovely holiday. We ate lasagna for dinner and it was SO good, followed by some sweets and eggnog. We took a portion of the lasagna to a friend who isn't feeling well and that was the only time we left the apartment. Just lazed around and enjoyed the day.

I had a private little ritual for Mother Night on Christmas Eve, lighting candles and making offerings of incense, shortbread, and spiced wine. I recited invocations and prayers to various mother goddesses. It was a lovely little ritual.

Some goodies, including a bunch of Krampus stuff and a beautiful quartz crystal, from friends. Looking forward to browsing through the Krampus collection. 

More goodies, including a new teapot for my collection! My favorite perfume from my consort, which I wore for the first time on our very first date; I've been wearing it ever since.

Also from my DH, a lovely little citrine heart and a natural citrine pendant, which matches a pair of earrings I have. I don't think one can have too much citrine, it is such a positive energy crystal. All citrine that has that lovely golden yellow color is heated after mining, but the natural citrine is not, it is left as it comes out of Mama Earth. It is not golden, but has a very intense energy.

We shall indulge in the left over lasagna for a couple of days along with the other goodies. It is also time to consider goals for 2014 - no resolutions, just some ideas for improvement of... whatever that may be, and plans for the apprentices and Divine Feminine group as well as my personal workings.

I hope your Christmas was grand!

Blessings dark and deep!

Pride & Prejudice Documentary

Here is a most informative radio documentary about Jane Austen and her novel, Pride and Prejudice, this year celebrating the 200th anniversary of its publication. A great deal of interesting information with lovely music and clips from various productions pepper the documentary. Something I learned and I didn't realize, there is a Pride and Prejudice opera!!! Jane and opera, I am beside myself that two great loves are combined. This will be a must listen to, at least, if I cannot find a DVD or live performance.

And why am I posting this here, a witchy, goddess blog? Well... in my opinion, Jane was definitely a sorceress, weaving words into magick. Perhaps you agree?




Blessings nine!

Happy Birthday Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Happy Birthday, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Born August 30th 1797

At the tender age of 19, Mary wrote Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. I am told the 1818 version is the one to read as opposed to the "sanitized" 1831 version. This was a time when women generally used "By A Lady" instead of their real names when publishing. Mary went on to write other novels, short stories, biographies, and travel books.

Born in 1797, she is the daughter of the early feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, author of AVindication of the Rights of Women, who died from complications of Mary's birth. Mary eloped with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1814, and married him in 1816, after his wife committed suicide. They had four children, three of whom died in infancy. After Shelley's death, she went on, in 1830, to edit a collection of his poems, among her other writings. She began a biography of her famous husband, but died in 1851, of a brain tumor, before finishing it. 

I wonder if she had any idea how famous Frankenstein would become.

Blessings nine! 

What I've Been Up To

So... I have been quite busy with all sorts of Goddess festivals. There have been quite a few that I have been inclined to celebrate; I was really called to keeping holy these sacred days. It has been spiritually fulfilling to be so steeped in my practice as priestess. As witch, I have been kept busy as resident witch at the shop, advising and assisting folks in need, doing some readings, brewing potions and making herb blends. I do not foresee any change with that - business is brisk and I am happy as a clam.

On February 12th I celebrated the Festival of Diana as Protectress of Wildlife. I recited hymns to Her, made offerings at the hedge and lake. I also made sure my ducks had some special little cakes, the squirrels, seeds and nuts, the birds received a special seed mix and Sterling B had some lovely tuna with just a bit of tomato sauce which he loves - he was rescued from behind a Pizza Hut at about 2 months and was terribly malnourished. However, that was 14 years ago and he is healthy and still loves tomato sauce.

February 13th was my version of the Parentalia, Honoring the Ancestors. I dusted all the photos on the Ancestor Wall, placing sprigs of rosemary and some little miniature roses. I sat and remembered many good times and stories I had been told. I made a libation of my special brew which includes Strega Liqueur as well as an offering of cake and fruit.

The Festival of Ovens was celebrated on the 17th. In preparation for this, I had cleaned my oven - thank goodness it is self-cleaning! All I had to do was wipe it out after it cooled. The stove was scrubbed from bottom to top, smudged, crystals that sit on the back, cleansed, and all was consecrated. I then baked a lovely olive oil cake, keeping some for us, some for the ducks and an offering to my Goddesses.

Ariadne was honored on the 24th. I spun a bit of thread with my drop spindle - not perfect by any means, in fact, rather bumpy and uneven, but I thought it was lovely nonetheless. This was draped on the hedge after being snipped in smallish lengths, as an offering. I worked on stitching a labyrinth design as well.

February 25th is the Time of Old Women, which I believe comes to us from Morocco. It is a time to honor our elder women for their beauty, age and wisdom. I spoke with some relatives (living) then gathered all the photos of the women in my family and DH's, and also Z Budapest, Marion Green, Patricia Crowther and a few others, to create an altar. I did some divination, calling on those who have passed, requesting a sign of some sort that they were watching over me. I was granted that favor. Libation and offerings at the hedge, as usual.

Sunday, the 26th, I honored Hygeiea, Goddess of Health. Her statue resides in my kitchen behind the sink. She was bathed, anointed with lavender and rose oils and Her "home" scrubbed and made tidy. Offerings of barley and herbs - nettles, dandelion greens, fresh oregano and rosemary were placed in a dish on Her altar.


On the 28th, I took a little ride out to the Everglades and left an offering for the Nymphs and Spirits of the Land there - the Nymphs of the Wetlands. Herbs, barley and a few flowers were the offerings I made.

March 1st was my day for purification for my oracle work. A special bath and anointing of oils was followed by my special oracle tea and then the working.

The Full Moon on the 8th is my next celebration and then a little quiet until mid-month when, once again, there will be a Goddess to honor and celebrate every few days. How lovely!

In the mundane world, my mother's second back surgery, this past Thursday, seems to have been a success. After many months of terrible pain, she woke up pain free. Two of my aunts are visiting, along with my nephew, so she is well cared for and I will see her very soon. Such a relief!

I have also begun music lessons again, am stitching and weaving like a mad woman, and creating everyday. Oh... reading too. Just finished a wonderful book by Alice Hoffman, The Dovekeepers, based on the story of Masada, with an interesting cast of magical women. The reviews by Hoffman's fans are not good - too long, too boring, too much mysticism. Ignore them! I didn't want the book to end, it captivated me. I recommend it for those who can understand and absorb the magic.

And now, into the arms of the Sleeping Lady, Mother of Dreams. May our rest be peaceful and renewing, and may we be blessed with sweet dreams as She, the Mother of All Things, watches over us.

Blessings nines!

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!

New Jane Eyre Film!

The new Jane Eyre film opens today! I can't wait to see it. I've been watching clips and reading reviews, opinions, etc. - it looks wonderful to me. Of course my favorite Rochester is Ciaran Hinds. He replaced Timothy Dalton, from the  1980s Masterpiece Theatre version, in my affections - OK, well, not replaced, Dalton was a fabulous Rochester, but Hinds, well, there is just something more Rochester about him! Of course I liked the Masterpiece 2006 version too - Toby Stephens was very good, although he seemed too young and handsome to be Rochester and Ruth Wilson was an excellent Jane - a very favorite Jane. Still, Ciaran Hinds is my all time favorite Rochester - a perfect Rochester if ever there is one. As you can see, I'm much more concerned with Rochester than Jane, LOL!

Enjoy the clip - don't forget to turn off my play list at the bottom of the blog!

Also watch  more clips here:  http://www.focusfeatures.com/jane_eyre/videos/

Blessing! nine!

Another Reading Challenge!

http://stilettostorytime.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/welcome-to-the-classics-challenge-2011/

I am, once again, beside myself!!!! I know, that happens a great deal, but that's who I am! I have discovered another reading challenge - The Classics Challenge 2011! I will actually be able to incorporate my Gaskell Challenge into this since Gaskell's books meet the criteria and others are doing so according to the creator of the challenge. It began in January so I am a little behind. All other fiction will go by the wayside, I fear, because I would love to obtain at least the Master's Degree level in this challenge - well, we shall see. I really want the Ph.D, but with stitching and other crafts, brewing potions and casting spells as well as general and mundane life concerns,  forty might be pushing it a bit. However much I would like, I can't read all day, everyday! 

These are the levels of the challenge:

Student: Read any 5 classic books

Bachelor's Degree: Read any 10 classic books

Master's Degree: Read any 20 classic books

Ph.D: Read any 40 classic books

So, what will I read? I haven't a complete list, but here's what I'm starting with:

Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell (currently reading)

Wives & Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell

Middlemarch - George Elliot

The Old Curiosity Shop - Charles Dickens

The Aeneid - Virgil

The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins

Evelina - Fanny Burney (currently reading)

Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton

The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton

Jane Eyre  - Charlotte Bronte

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Lysistrata - Aristophanes

Thesmophoriazusae - Aristophanes

And yes, some of these will be rereads, but they are so enjoyable and it has been a while for most. Any suggestions? Just reply to this post! I will likely add one or two more novels by Jane Austen as I tend to reread them every year or two. If you are interested in participating, just click on the link under the picture at the beginning of this post.

Blessings nine!

Rough Week!

Whoa! What a week I have had!!! Woke up Monday morning to a note that a friend's mom had passed after a struggle with cancer. I posted a small tribute to her previously. The next email was from another friend who had moved to Texas. She had, we thought, successfully battled breast cancer a few years ago. She was in the hospital and had been told that there was cancer in her liver, lungs and bones. I immediately sent out a call to all the Reiki practitioners, healers and witches to send healing and energy. Latest note, she is home and the prognosis, with chemo, etc. looks good. X! Monday evening Mike received a call; his mother's cousin, whom he had seen the week before, had passed away! He was quite elderly, but still getting around and seemed to be well. Good grief, I think I've had enough.

I have suffered from anxiety since childhood and these sorts of events - normal life, I know - always knock me down. Luckily for me, being the big girl I am, I bounce pretty easily! Still, it has been a difficult week and thanks to close friends, my darling Mike (the man has the patience of a saint!) and Reiki, meditation, etc., I'm  hanging in there. Still, I'm feeling a bit like I want to run away to some magical place where I don't have to deal with my feelings. Oh ho, you say - me too! Not a good idea. But... life goes on, anxiety passes. After all, I'm a mermaid - I ride that wave and get along.

In other news, happier news, I have been keeping busy - stitching, reading, cooking, working at the crystal shop. Those crystals certainly take care of me! The energy of the shop is soothing, peaceful, healing. And, of course, there is my friend and boss, Sandy, and co-worker, Lucky, who can talk one through anything. Thank goodness for friends and a great husband. 

A couple of weeks ago Mike and I drove upstate to visit a friend who was visiting her boyfriend - they are both 81 and had dated in high school, but married others, lost them and found each other again! We had a great visit and they took us to a strawberry farm where I bought a mess of berries - strawberry time in Florida - and made some jam.

Now, for me, jam making has become a sort of Zen-like meditative experience, I love doing it and it leaves me with this wonderful feeling. I mean, just looking at the beautifully colored jars - ahhhh!  And, of course, the results are always good, but this batch - DELICIOUS! I'm not sure there will be any left for Christmas gifts!

Stitching bits:

One of the Small Fancies from Practical Blackwork, Acorns, along with Quaker Samplings III by Ellen Chester. I've also been stitching on, but no photo, Witch and Salem Remembered by The Primitive Needle among other bits. 


I  participated in the River of Stones project during January. I sent in five stones and one was accepted and posted to the Handful of Stones blog on February 8th. One of the five not accepted, actually my favorite, was about stitching:

Silver needle, threads soft, bright

My hand dances gently this way then that

Jewels appear on ivory linen

A task of infinite pleasure

copyright E A Kaufman 2011

Read and reading some books, as usual: Recommended by one of the Austen blogs I follow, Syrie James' Nocturne, which was good but not as good as her other two books, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen and Dracula, My Love, which I recently read. I very much enjoyed India Black by Carol Karr, a mystery about a Victorian madam (yes, that kind of madam!) blackmailed into assisting Her Majesty's government in retrieving some important diplomatic documents from the French. Mystery writer Vicki Lane (a very favorite author) describes the novel as... "a kind of Fanny Hill meets Nancy Drew - through a world Dickens would have known." I agree and am hoping to read more adventures of India and her handsome spy sidekick. 

I also discovered, at my local library, The Coffeehouse Mysteries by Cleo Coyle. Holiday Grind was a light and enjoyable mystery. I'm going to read the others in this series. Cleo is the pen name for Alice Kimberly and her husband. Alice writes the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, which are fun to read - if murder and mayhem can be fun and Alice achieves that!

So, right now I am embroiled in the antics of caterers Bernie & Libby Simmons as they try to solve the murder of Anabel Cobert in A Catered Birthday Party by Isis Crawford. This is another series I will be reading. Both of these series include lots of recipes, and I'm talking really good recipes, just like the Hannah Swenson Mysteries - recently read Cream Puff Murder and was as fascinated by the recipes as the story! For chocoholics, the Chocoholic Mysteries by JoAnna Carl, packed with chocolate trivia as well as a good mystery - most recent read, the Chocolate Pirate Plot. This mystery reading goes on while working on my Elizabeth Gaskell challenge.

All of this reading, cooking and stitching was squeezed in with the usual potion brewing, spell casting, tarot reading and ritual work of a witch. As you can read, I've been busy and all that busyness makes dealing with the other stuff a bit easier. The pleasures of needle and thread, books, cooking and home... 

Blessings nine!  

Merry, Merry!!!

 

So merry, merry, happy Christmas - actually it is now the day after! Last night was our annual Christmas Eve open house and we had a wonderful time, as usual. Good friends gathering to celebrate and just be together - it's the best! And... we ate!!! Antipasto - ham, mortedalla, salami, pepperoni, chicken, provolone, spinach dip, black olive and garlic dip with crackers & veggies sticks, lasagna, pumpkin tiramisu, rum cake, pizzelles, mulled cider, wine, coffee. We ate, laughed, drank, laughed, talked and laughed again, all night.


I also made eggnog from scratch - oooooh! Good stuff when homemade. Simmered eggs, milk and a small amount of sugar to about 165 degrees, then added a mixture of more milk and cream as well as a touch of vanilla extract and freshly grated nutmeg. Since it didn't make enough for the whole gang, I fed it to my friend who just had gastric bypass surgery a month ago - nutritious with all those eggs and milk. The rest I selfishly kept for Mike and myself!!! It is not difficult to make, a little time consuming and well worth it. I found the recipe at one of the Jane Austen blogs I follow.


No one could locate the pickle ornament on the tree so I had to show them where it was. They all tried, I'll give them that, but no one found it. I gave them little goodies as prizes anyway.


Mike and I ate yule log after midnight, then looked in our stockings to find those little toys that you play catch with, a little basket with a popper in it to shoot a small plastic ball across the room or up in the air and catch it in the basket again. We played catch, laughing and making more noise than we should have until three AM!!! He still woke me by seven, asking if it was Christmas yet and we then proceeded to open gifts.
He gave me a wonderful set of apothecary jars for my herbs and potions, two needlework books, Connecticut Needlework, Women, Art & Family, 1740-1840 by Susan Schoelwer and Jane Bostocke, The Rest of the Story by Eileen Bennett,  along with a few other goodies. He got new boxers, soft and flannel, some cologne, DVDs, a very nice copy of Gulliver's Travels, among a few other things. A good haul of fun stuff considering we really have everything we need most in life, but... it wouldn't be Christmas without a few little presents to unwrap.


Today was a quiet day, reading my new needlework books - which I have to make mention about and Mike watching movies - including A Christmas Story, one of our favorites. I knew I was getting those books because I ordered them myself. Mike asked me what I would like and I mentioned them,  so we went on line together and ordered them from The Scarlet Letter (www.scarlet_letter.com) on the 21st - nothing like waiting until the last minute. Well... the books arrived on Christmas Eve!!!!!! I couldn't believe it and, of course, sent off a little note of thanks to Marsha. I had to wait until today to look at them though, but that was alright, I was so busy yesterday. This evening I have been stitching one of the little motifs from the Bostocke sampler; Eileen includes a little chart in the back of her book. I also have some other charts from the sampler that I found on line. That sampler is the first and, I believe, oldest signed and dated piece ever found. Lots of blackwork, which I love, as well as a section of motifs.


Last night, I also celebrated all the Mother Goddesses, but especially Asherah, who seems to be making Herself known to me lately, tapping me on the shoulder and sending me information from various places. We will see where that leads. Tonight, I found some information about Her in a place I have looked many times before, but never noticed these particular bits.


So, here it is, the witching hour and I have a little fire in the fireplace, candles glowing, the scent of bayberry and evergreen in the air. Tomorrow the temperature will only rise to about the mid 60s - I know, it's probably much colder where you are, but this is South Florida!!! Tomorrow night 32-36 degrees . A good thing I have flannel nighties, quilts and afghans to cover us! (Too many exclamation points??? I can't help it, I'm still in a state of excitement!)


Well, we have friends joining us tomorrow night to finish the holiday leftovers, so more fun. I hope your past couple of days were as delightful as mine. Here's to many joyful moments for you and yours!


Blessings nine!

Favorite Magickal Stones for Winter

Citrine geode from Nature's Emporium in Coral Springs, Fl.

We've turned back the clocks and Hallows Eve has passed, here now we welcome the winter of the year. November begins a time of introspection, journeying within and remembering. While all the preparations for the holidays begin, it is important to take time for one's self, not only to rest and restore on a physical level, but especially on spiritual and emotional levels. The energies of this season, Winter, help us journey down deep into ourselves to remember and find answers.

When journeying, I like to either hold stones in my hands or enclose myself in a stone grid. Pocket or palm sized stones work very well for this. Stones can be held in the hands while sitting in a comfortable, cozy chair or lying down in soothing surroundings. Placing stones in a circle, at four points (head, feet, right hand and left) or even in a triangular pattern  (head, side of left foot and side of right foot) around you, works very well for making an energetic boundary that focuses energies, intention and also protects. There are many ways to surround yourself with stones, use your imagination.

As a certified crystal healer and Reiki Master, I use various crystals and stones in my healing practice. While there are many stones to choose from, I have found, over the years, that many people are drawn to a select few. It is not necessary to have every stone. Even a stone from one's yard or garden, from a place in nature, can have powerful energies. Listen to hear the spirit of the stone. 

Here is a bit of information about three favorite stones I like to use for my personal healing work. 

The first is quartz crystal, either points or smooth polished pocket stones. The points are great for directing energy, but the polished stones, especially when used in a circle or four points grid, make a gently swirling, encompassing energy vortex. Crystal quartz is an energy amplifier and willingly programable, but it is also a stone of memory, helping us to "remember" on a spiritual level. In meditation it can enhance one's journeying experience by bringing back to us details and information long forgotten from other lives, dreams and spiritual encounters. One can also gaze into the crystal for divination.

Citrine can assist in opening the third eye and clearing heavy, burdensome energies, making it a perfect helper stone for journeying work. It works to open the way to clearly seeing and accepting information in a positive light, as a mother energy gently guiding. The beautiful citrine is also a stone of manifestation, helping us bring thoughts and desires to fruition. It surrounds one with a golden, healing, positive energy. Magickally, it is a stone for prosperity, all that golden energy, drawing good things, drawing abundance. It is also extremely protective.

Selenite is another stone helper that assists in opening the third eye. It also opens the crown and soul chakras as well, making it a good companion for journey and meditative work. Selenite is perfect for reinforcing energy grids, an amazing stone to be surrounded by. It can assist in clearing the blockages that keep us from "remembering" and moving forward with the information received from spiritual realms. It enhances our inner vision allowing us access to past lives and assisting during divination. I keep pieces of selenite with each of my divination tools.  Placing two selenite points at one's front door re-enforces protective energies in the home. Gridding with selenite forms a profoundly powerful circle when practicing the artes of the witch or healer. 

These are just three of the many stones that can assist one, on all levels and in many ways. Each stone has a spirit within, just as we do, as plants, animals, all beings do. Does this sound too new agey? Perhaps, but, as I have found, it is very true. Those plants, stones, animals, they are waiting for us to make contact and connection.

Amethyst from Nature's Emporium in Coral Springs, Fl.

Blessings nine!

Back Home At the Toadstool

Well, I am finally back home at Toadstool Condo after almost a month away. My mother is having terrible back problems and will be having surgery on the 23rd. She was barely able to move until a new pain management specialist gave her new meds and injections that have seemed to help. Of course, she won't be turning cart wheels anytime soon, but then she wasn't  before either! However, she did have a rather active life which has come to a screeching halt. My aunt has taken over her care to give me a break. The old man and I haven't ever been away from each other for more than a few days so we're happy and cozy once again. Gods, I did miss him and the Schmoodle terribly! We'll head back up to my mom's next week to be there for the surgery, staying a few days - Wendy Rule and Hecate's Wheel just happen to  be in concert there the day after her surgery - talk about luck!

And speaking of that concert, it will take place at a wonderful witch shop in Dunedin, Enchanted Earth. The owner, Kim, a most delightful witch, recently acquired a cauldron-load of used metaphysical books. I acquired about... I am almost, but not quite embarrassed to say, approximately fifty-five books! More about those as I wade through them, but one that I did read already, King of the Witches, a biography of Alex Sanders was pretty interesting even if much of it may be BS!

I attended a beautiful healing circle at the shop with Alania, a healer and angel messenger reader. Interesting and darling gal. We had some great discussions and I look forward to seeing her again. The circle was beautiful, ringed with chunks of rose quartz and pots of pink and white flowers. I helped by giving Reiki to about twenty five women. I happened, by chance, to be wearing pink and white that day. Some of the women told me I looked like an angel across the circle. Well, it's back to the black for me!!!!!!!! I'm about as angelic as Medusa - alright well maybe not Medusa, but angelic??? Me??? Please!

I celebrated Hekate's Night last evening with Raven, a wonder ritual. I will post a photo of the altar soon. Right now, the Toadstool requires dusting and tidying. I think I'll leave the cobwebs in the corners, they are a delightful addition to my Victorian Witch decor!

Blessings nine! 

Books Read in 2010 - So Far! Hekate's Deipnon

What was it, a week or two ago I spoke about listing the books I've read so far in 2010? So, here it is, the good, the bad and the ugly - fluff as well as the good stuff.

I am not a snob where reading is concerned. Sometimes one just needs light reading, especially when one is working one's way through more intellectual reading. I'll be listing everything to make it to one hundred books read in a year - although honestly, I don't think I will have any problem accomplishing this! Just looking at the stack next to my comfy chair - and that stack doesn't include novels - I'm well on the way.

Now, you may think that all this reading cuts into my stitching time. It doesn't, I give each whatever time I can and no stress about it. I read many blogs where people are apologizing for not writing more often, not stitching much, etc. etc. - by the gods, give yourselves a break! There is something really wrong with our society when people feel they must apologize for not writing enough on blogs. Relax already! Enjoy life. Write, read, stitch, play, nap, cook or DON'T - whatever - as much as makes you happy and do it for yourself!

Now for my books. This is no hardship or stressful undertaking for me - I LOVE to read. There's nothing like settling into a book, novel or otherwise. Off I go into another world for a while - how delightful. I recommend it highly.

1. The Ghost & The Haunted Mansion - Alice Kimberly

2. Blood Sins - Kay Hooper

3. Crewel Yule - Monica Ferris

4. Fear No Evil - Allison Brennan

5. Execution Dock - Anne Perry

6. Homo Necans, The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual & Myth - Walter Burkert

7. Nightwalker - Heather Graham

8. Mansfield Park & Mummies - Jane Austen & Vera Nazarian

9. Jane Bites Back - Michael Thomas Ford

10. Mountain Talk - Peggy Poe Stern

I am currently reading three books - one of which is a novel - the other two a bit heavier. I will not list any book until finished.

Also on tonight's agenda - Hekate's Deipnon. I celebrate this just before the new moon, making a libation and leaving offerings at the hedge circle after invocations, prayers and some candle work. Tonight it is damp and very windy, full of the Land's energy. As I sit here writing, the wind is whistling and whooshing outside. A perfect night for a bit of magic!

Blessings nine!

100 Books

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do my reading habits stack up?An X marks each book I've read over many years.


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - x
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien -x
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte -x
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - x
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - x
6 The Bible -x
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - x
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell -x
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman- x
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens x

Sub-total: 10

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott - x
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy X
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller - x
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare-x
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier - x
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien -x
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger - x
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot-x

Sub-total: 8

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald X
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens X
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy x
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams-
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh x
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck -x
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll x
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame x

Sub-total: 8

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy X
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens x
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis - x
34 Emma-Jane Austen- x
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen- X
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis -x
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossein
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne - x

Sub-total: 7

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell - x
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown x
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins x
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery x
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy x
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood x
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding x
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

Sub-total: 7

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert- x
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen- x
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens - x
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - x
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Sub-total: 4

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck x
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov - x
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt-
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas x
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy-
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding x
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville x

Sub-total: 5

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens x
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker- x
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett - x
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce- x
76 The Inferno – Dante-x
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackery x

Sub-total: 6

80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens- x
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert x
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White - x
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- x
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

Sub-total: 4

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad-
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery - x
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas x
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare - x
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl -
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo x

Sub-total: 4

Total: 63

Well, there you are! So much for the BBC! However, this inspires me to keep a list of everything I read this year. I've been busy stitching through January so it was not as busy reading as usual and... no text books from school. I'll post my January list tomorrow.

Blessings nine!

More Jane Austen

Well, I'm at it again! Reading novels, that is, with a Jane Austen theme. This time, Mansfield Park and Mummies. This one has mummies, as the title informs, as well as werewolves, vampires and curses! One would think Jane might be rolling in her grave... or not!!! No, in the next book on my fiction pile is Jane Bites Back - Jane is actually undead and living (I guess one would say living) in modern upstate New York - yes, Jane is a vampire! And would you believe a third JA book awaits me? Emma and the Werewolves.

I am, gentle reader, beside myself!

Blessings none!