Outside the Box

So today my very dear friend Linda from Moonstruck is going to be doing a Pagan's Tonight talk radio interview. She posted about it today on her FB feed. I'm so happy for her! I can't wait to hear it. If you'd like to tune in, it starts at 10:15 pm.

After checking out Pagan's Tonight I nosed around Blog Talk Radio and found someone doing online readings. So I figured, why not. I was a bit skeptical because everything the reader was saying was full of sunny flowers and roses type messages. We all know life just isn't all positive. But when she got to me she definitely wasn't positive. lol. Well serves me right huh.

My question was of course about our financial and living arrangement. She basically said look out of the box, that she didn't think I'd make any progress until August - September (God I hope not that long!) and that she thought I'd find something in sales.

I'd be horrible at sales! I'm not the salesman type. I'm really not that good of a people person and for that kind of job you have to have a certain kind of charisma I just don't possess.

So not really sure how to take her reading. But I'm hoping she is just very off.

I've been trying to think outside the box this whole time. First with my Gypsy living idea, then trying to get Dh to go back to school, etc etc.. Nothing I suggest or say or do seems to work.

You know what I'd really like to do, travel! All my life I've only ever been a handful of places. I've felt so sheltered my entire life. I'd love that chance to see more of the world.

I don't often talk about my father. He was an ass that left us when I was just 3 yrs old. But he was a truck driver. I remember wondering where he was often when I was a child. I knew he traveled the country. I also tried to get DH to go to a truck driving school here, but he won't do it either. He says he thinks the driving would hurt his back. And I know driving often hurts him so that's nothing knew to me. I often have to drive for him when his back or neck is sore. He has degenerative disk disease, pinched nerves, etc... Sitting for long periods is painful for him. I want to say, get off your ass and do it anyway. But I know that's unfair. After all I couldn't do a job when I was required to walk all day. (I have Plantar Fisciitis Inflammation).

I just want to be taken care of and not feel like I have to be the one to solve all our problems.

Sorry for the ramble today. I don't always mean to get so negative. But this is where I am in my life.

The Good, Bad, and the Pagan Theives

Today I want to talk a little bit about the darker side of Pagan groups. Most people who seek out Pagan gatherings are good honest people who genuinely want to learn and participate in Pagan social events. My friend Lynn who owns Inanna's Spiritual Center is a hard working woman with a Pagan shop. She's also clergy so her store doubles as a temple.

Lately Lynn has been having some issues with theft. This disappoints me and every honest person who attends the center.  Years ago I attended Beltane with the Circle of the Blue Moon. My dear friend Linda is the owner and High Priestess of that group. When she partnered with another coven to do Beltane all was not a happy gathering. Part of the other group started to steal items, including medication stored in my truck that was for my husband. Being the hot blooded man he is, my husband made a speech and formed it as a spell. It's been years ago and nothing was written down, so I can't share the spells exact wording. But in essence it went something like this.

"If you are here for spiritual reasons, you are welcomed with open arms and you are my brother and sister. If you are here for other reasons, you are my enemy, LEAVE."

Most of the other coven left. Quite telling for that coven's dynamic.

So I am in essence going to do the same thing here.

If your intentions are spiritual and you come to Inanna's Spiritual Center to learn and grow as a person, welcome. You are my sister or brother. If you come to Inanna's Spiritual Center for negative reasons, you are my Enemy. Leave Now. If you feel you have made a mistake, we are not without forgiveness. Just bring the items back and apologize. If you attend Inanna's Spiritual Center with intent to take items or harm others, you will feel the urge to leave. You are our enemy and no longer welcome. 

To the thieves, I say this directly to you.

Lynn knows who the thieves are, though there is no hard evidence we can approach you with at this time. Should you be caught, you will be persecuted to the fullest of the law.

So Mote It Be

9. Share a Pagan/Wiccan story about Halloween/Samhain.

Hmm. A Story about Halloween or Samhain. Well I could recite mythological stories about Samhain, but chances are you've heard them before or can easily look them up on other various sites. So I'll save that for another time. My story is more personal.

Many years ago at another Samhain festival with The Circle of the Blue Moon the group was doing a small reenactment. At the time I just thought it a sad story about young witches who chose to kill themselves rather than be killed or convert to Christianity. That is until the reenactment sparked a vision and I saw myself walking into the sea. The vision brought me to tears, and it makes sense why I am so fearful of deep water, and why I refuse to eat any fish! I can taste the dirty water I choked on in a past life.  I knew from that day on that the High Priestess had shared that life with me, which is why she chose to do the reenactment. It was the most powerful vision I have ever had. But I needed to see it to spark more interest in learning about Wicca and following my path.

Lisa Thiel- Samhain Song

The Witch's Sabbat

This is apart of 31 Days of Samhain

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1. What is a memorable experience during Samhain?

My most memorable experience during Samhain was about 11 years ago. At the time Dh and I had only been married for a few years and we didn't have children yet. Though I'd birth my oldest a year later. We joined up with The Circle of the Blue Moon, which is the coven of our friend High Priestess Linda Tipton. She also runs the metaphysical store called Moonstruck located in Louisville KY. The Samhain celebration wasn't really what was memorable. Though what was is that DH and I did a fertility rite that night and conceived a few months later.

All of us was in the primitive camping area in Shelbyville, KY. That year was very cold for late October in Kentucky. In hindsight, it wasn't smart to go camping with it that cold. There were several drum circles with huge bon fires. Everyone gathered around them and for the most part stayed warm. However as we got closer to the morning hours I tried to go to sleep in our tent. However the ground made our air bed feel like a block of ice even with two comforters.

Lance and I sat by the bon fire for awhile trying to stay warm, but eventually in the early morning hours we gave up the fight and left the campground in hopes of finding a hotel. It took awhile, but eventually we found one.
After returning from that weekend we were asked by co-workers what we had done that weekend. We told them and for years after we were teased about the crazy couple who camps in late October. Needless to say we didn't do that again! We did visit just for the day to celebrate. But no camping in late October for us again!

This post is part of my 31 Days of Samhain

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A favourite pagan holiday that you celebrate.

Hands down it is Samhain (Oct 31-Nov 1) that is my favorite Pagan holiday. It is the last of the Harvest celebrations and one I'm always looking forward to. It is a time to mark the death of the God and the coming rebirth. Samhain is a time to honor our ancestors. They say this time is the thinnest between the veil of this world and the next. Divination is often done at this time to see what the winter might bring and commune with lost loved ones.

Some of my favorite past experiences at Samhain have been a re birthing ritual. Until I moved, we joined up with Linda Tipton and her coven Circle of the Blue Moon to do a Samhain celebration. We were made to walk along a path lit by tea light candles alone. This walk was very spiritual for everyone. In the end of the path was Ms Linda doing one reading for each person. You could ask one question of her. At the end you were "reborn" to the new year. I loved doing this. And I think it really marked a changing point in my spiritual life. I'll keep what I asked to myself. ;)

But we've had our fun times too. I remember several members drinking a little too much homemade mead. My husband played the designated friend and made sure no one fell into fire pits. He picked up quite a few people passed out in the bushes!

One year, it was so cold at Samhain (We always camped out) that we had to leave. It really isn't smart to camp out at the end of October. That year it was bitter cold. We got to a point where Lance and I could no longer feel our feet even while standing next to the open fire. So we left, found a hotel and came back the next day. I got pregnant that spring, so we never did another camping in October; especially with the baby around. We did visit for the days however. When we returned to work we were laughing at ourselves and quite a few people heard the story. To this day there is a UPS worker who reminds us of camping in October when he sees us.

Samhain is just a great time to celebrate family, the death and rebirth of life, and the changing of the seasons. Its a favorite of many Wiccans and its not hard to see why. We dance, we laugh, we sing and praise the Lord and Lady. And we remember those who have left us this year.

Blessings, Love, and Light

Prompt: Solitary Longing

Prompt: Solitary longing...

This week's prompt comes from reader suggestions, and I think it is something we should all think about....

If you are a Solitary, do you ever long for a mentor, coven or friend to learn with, learn from, or practice with? If so, what keeps you from seeking to join with others?

I am solitary but I do have mentors of a sort. First and foremost I have my very best friend in the whole wide world - my husband. He has taught me a lot not just about Wicca but magick in general. There are also others who have influenced me such as Linda Tipton who is the High Priestess of the Circle of the Blue Moon located in Louisville Kentucky. She also owns a pagan store called Moonstruck.  We would join her coven during sabbots from time to time. Or we would just hang out at her store for some Pagan fellowship.

Now that we have moved to Ohio we are looking for other pagans to join up with. I've found Innana's Spiritual Center. While its new, they do have an amazing womens group. The people coming for meetings is ever growing and we really enjoy getting together and chatting.

The reason I like to be solitary is because honestly I am anti-social. Both my husband and I have been hurt in our life by other people so we are not very trusting. We find socialization at a distance is better for us.