Earth Day 2011

Image via Wikipedia

It is really upsetting to know that many people out in the world don't care about taking care of the place we call home in this Universe. It is all about the instant gratification of the here and now without considering consequences of their actions. Like a pebble in the stream we can do good or cause bad no matter how small that ripple, it does matter. One day out of the year we ask people stop to think about that and consider what they can do to preserve our home and because of that many of us are considered dirty idiotic hippies. It's sad....

It truly breaks my heart. 

Some things I found online today in reflection of Earth Day:

Adagio Teas is allowing people to pick from 3 locations to plant tea and virtually take care of it. After it matures (around 3 years) you will be able to reap the harvest and have it sent to you. Go to this link:http://www.adagio.com/trees/plant.html

It is also National Park week and you can get free admission to these parks. So go out and enjoy some of Mother Earth. Go here for more info: http://www.nps.gov/npweek/

If you bring in 5 plastic bags to recycle at The Disney Store they will give you a Disney reusable bag. Check out the link: http://blog.disneystore.com/blog/2011/04/track-my-tee.html

Home Depot will be hosting free workshops including one for kids on making a planter. Check out their website: http://ext.homedepot.com/community/blog/join-us-for-free-earth-day-weekend-workshops/

Lowe's is giving away 1 million trees 4.23.11, so get there early! Check out their website: http://www.lowes.com/cd_Earth+Day_817240224_?cm_mmc=search_google-_-Brand%20Modified-_-Earth%20Day%20Million%20Tree%20Giveaway-_-lowes%20earth%20day

Last thing I have for you is from Starbucks. If you bring in your own travel mug you can get a free coffee today. Check out their Facebook for info: http://www.facebook.com/Starbucks?sk=app_205414519482950

I personally will be celebrating Earth Day tomorrow by attending EMPPA's Earth Day Healing Web Ritual

in Coe Park in Bangor, ME. We are encouraging others to do the ritual no matter where they are in the world at the same time to send out healing energy to the Earth.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Inward Journey

Image via WikipediaA lot has changed for me the past year. I help start a non-profit and I got a job and became the bread winner of my family. This has caused a lot of inner conflict for me as I find myself unable to find a new balance yet. I am looking forward to the Winter months not just for the beautiful landscapes the snow provides but for the purpose of looking inward to find my new peace.

I recently asked, "Why is it so hard to pursue happiness?"

I think the best answer that I received was "because happiness changes"

As with everything in life!

I look around and see the last of the leaves falling to the ground and feel the chill in the air. While, I don't look forward to the commercialism of the holiday to come that I always succumb to due to respect for my husband...

I do find some little joys that do come with this season.

So while I look inward to find my new path I will be sure to remember my hot cups of tea, snuggles in bed and comforting smells of spiced baked goods.

Life Happens

A lot of things have happened since I last posted here. One of the biggest things being the success of Eastern Maine Pagan Pride Association as a non-profit. We finally have a website which I put together. You can see it here:

http://www.emppa.org

Our calendar project is completed and has a wonderful response. We are now planning our first Annual Pagan Music Festival which will be held July 17, 2010 at the Unity College in Unity, Maine. We have some wonderful performers that will be there. Lorelei with her harp, Women with Wings, Kelliana and bellydancing from Joie Grandbois. Brian Flaherty from the Headrush Show on WERU radio will be there to not only perform but be our MC.

Also, my family recently attended the Annual Beltane on the beach at Popham. We had a blast! It was my first experience at a Maine beach. Very different from the beaches down in Florida. I even went clothes and all for a dip in the icy water.

And now with the success of our fledgling non-profit and our first Pagan Pride Day event creeping up closer....

I and a group of friends have decided to get together to create that same success in our personal lives. It is our hope to eventually live on a big piece of land as much off the grid as we can. I am very excited about this. One major thing however is I'll need my internet. I can't live without that! :)

Blogging for Brigid

Image by ToobyDoo via Flickr

So, I was over at the blog, The Gods Are Bored and came across Brigid Poetry Blogging. "What is this?", I wondered. So I followed the trail back to Anne Hill's Blog o' Gnosis which kicks off the 5th Annual Brigid Poetry Festival. I couldn't pass this up and what better way to welcome Imbolc!

So, in honor of Imbolc and the Goddess Brigid(most associated with the sabbat) I will post a poem I wrote for Imbolc in 2003.

Beautiful white bride
of the countryside
Your sweet perfume
Doth fill a room
Flowers do bloom
In honor of you and your groom
And we dance again
Dance again

You turn to me
Say, "You must follow to see."
I take your hand
Together we greet the land
"This is where the magic grows,
here is the seed you must sow."
And we dance again
Dance again

Lord and Lady gave blessing
And I did of their asking
In the newborn light
We said farewell to night
So the wheel turned again
And the Lady did call me friend
And we dance again
Dance again

A new year, a new song

Many years ago I started a tradition with my best friend. We would get together on New Years or closest we could and do a small ritual. The main ingredient for this little ritual was a song. We would both pick out a song for the new year. Something that was inspirational to us and projected what we wanted for that new year. This year I am without that friend. However, I have acquired a new partner in crime and we plan to get together soon to do the same. The problem is I can't find a song! This could perhaps be because I am not sure what I want for this New Year or the fact that I just can't find a song to inspire me. So, despite the New Year here already I will still search on for that song.

Anything special you like to do as a New Year's tradition/ritual?

Return of the Distant Goddess

In the Kemetic Orthodox tradition this day celebrates the Return of the Distant Goddess. This refers to Hethert (Hathor) who in the form of Sekhmet has traveled south in Her bloodthirsty rage. There are variations on the tale but in summary She is calmed and convinced to come back home. She is the Eye of Ra and therefore associated with the Sun.
You can read one of the stories at a fellow Shemsu's website: here









In modern times we can equate this with Yule in that the Sun is returning. In that we should make merry!

I hope everyone has a Blessed day no matter how you celebrate it. As for me I will be celebrating tomorrow evening.

Yule Season

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the traditional cinnamon ornaments?
Well, someone I know makes them with only applesauce and cinnamon so she can burn them as incense when she is done with them. I thought that was pretty awesome! So, I decided to try a variation of that using an actual Yule incense blend. I mixed equal parts of the incense blend with the applesauce. It seemed too moist so I added some flour to thicken it up. I then used a cup to cut out circles and my pentacle cookie press. I used a straw to poke a hole at the top and stuck them in a 250 degree oven for about an hour and a half. I used red and green ribbon to make loops for them. They came out excellent!

Yesterday my family played hooky and had a family day together. We went to the grocery store and picked up egg nog, cookies, and fixin's for Make-your-own-pizzas. I cranked up the Xmas tunes and we decorated our Yule tree.


Start







Finish





Despite it not being officially Winter until the 21st we are already in the midst of Winter here in Maine. I woke up to a temperature of 1 degree this morning. It is very icy everywhere which I don't much like. I can't wait for the next snow storm here. I enjoy the snow much more than the ice.

Here is a picture from our last snow storm here:





A winter wonderland!

On the EMPPD front we have been having lots of fun and a lot of success in our endeavors!
We completed our first photo shoot for our Naughty Pagan Calendar. There were many beautiful (and hilarious!) shots taken and we are looking forward to our next shoot in January.

As far as Yule in my house we will be spending time with our adopted family here on the 22nd and I hope to make a big batch of Wassail.

Blessed Yule!

Naughty Pagan Calendar and Snow!

Em Hotep!

Recently, I have volunteered my time to both Cherry Hill Seminary as a slave to the Academic Dean and Eastern Maine Pagan Pride Day as a co-coordinator. I have been absolutely thrilled about these opportunities.

Most recent development with EMPPD is that we have decided to make Yule Crafts and a Naughty Pagan Calendar as fundraisers. We will be soon setting up the crafts for sale on our Facebook page and our first photo shoot for the calendar is scheduled for this Saturday. We also are finally able to send off our paperwork to the State of Maine to have our non-profit status. It has been such fun meeting new people in the community and the ball once started rolling just took off!

Here in Maine we got our real first snow yesterday! So I had to take a trip to the thrift store and get myself a new coat and shoe liners for hubby's snow boots. I'm not sure if I am entirely ready for Winter yet but I am certainly enjoying the beauty of the snow everywhere.

Today I will be dragging out Yule decorations and trying to get in the spirit of the season. Although I totally hate the commercialism of these days upon us.

Ankh, Udja, Seneb!

For a good cause

There is an awesome online Pagan Seminary school called Cherry Hill Seminary. Some of you might be familiar with it and for those who are not please check out the site. They are in the process of trying to become an accredited school.

Recently, it was brought to my attention that someone on Facebook has asked for donations for this school as a birthday present.
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/birthdays/227027
What an awesome idea! And kudos to her!

Giving Thanks: Take 2

So Thanksgiving is upon us, which means the madness of the holiday season is upon us.
I won't go into the humbug of that.

In my home Mabon and Thanksgiving are pretty similar. Eat too much and pass out.
Although instead of Mabon bread I will be making Maple Nut bread (a recipe passed around in my family and much treasured). I'll have snacks out such as dill pickles, sweet pickles, black and green olives, and baby carrots with dip.
On the menu:

Stuffed Turkey wrapped in bacon
Garlic mashed potatoes
Sweet buttery corn
Cranberry Sauce
Mashed Turnips
Wine
Apple Cider
Pecan Pie

In other news:
I rearranged my bedroom. It included moving my Kemetic Shrine and dusting it. There was much rejoicing, "Yay!"
I also was reminded through a Karma Card reading to put faith back into prayer. I am thankful for that. Prayer has always been a powerful tool for me and lately I have abandoned it. I took this reminder pretty seriously and immediately refocused to include it in my life again. Already, I feel the effects of it.


Many blessings to everyone on Thanksgiving!

Ankh, Udja, Seneb!

Fill in the blank

So,
it's been awhile. I know...

Our Witches Ball was a success and we raised enough money to file with the state of Maine as a non-profit. (Huzzah!)
We will soon be having our next interested party meeting on Nov. 15th and discussing what to do from here.

Lately I have noticed a strong need to organize things before Winter hits. This is a cycle I am not use to but not unappreciative. However, with my focus on the mundane things I have been disconnected spiritually. Something that I think happens to all of us. So, I decided to pull out my tarot cards and Karma cards last night to see what they had to tell me. I should expect it by now as it always happens...but they actually told me what I pretty much already knew. Ha! What few things that seem cryptic to me never make sense until the event actually passes.

I absolutely love my tarot deck. It was a gift to me from a best friend back when we were young teens. I have since found out that it is no longer in print and going for a lot of money. That just blows my mind. Although I would never depart with my beloved deck. The Karma cards were a bridal shower gift and are really nifty.
It is split up into three small decks; Planets, Signs, and Houses.
You can ask either an Action question (such as "what should I do?") or an outcome question (such as "What will happen if...?") and draw one card from each deck. If it is an action question you will out the red side up to read and if it is outcome then the blue side up to read. Now this is the really cool part because the 3 cards form 3different sentences that apply to Spiritual, Mental and Physical.
If you get a chance to check them out, please do!

Now off, to have a visit with a friend and have some yummy Smoothies.

Blessed Be!

Welcome Mrs. B's Followers!

This blog was just created not that long ago but I hope is enjoyable to all.
I am a stay at home mother of 3 and happily married. I lived in Florida all my life and just recently (almost a year ago) made sudden life change and moved with my family to gorgeous Maine.
So, enjoy what I have so far. :)

Hope everyone's Samhain is blessed!

And don't forget your Ancestors!

Lugh and Balor - A Tale for Samhain

Due to the recent request of author Micheal Sean McGuinness I have removed the story of Lugh. I'm sorry that I am unable to share it any longer even when credit was given.

EMPPD Witches Ball

In case you haven't heard there is a Witches Ball in town! Co-coordinated by yours truly.

So come on down and boogie into the night Witches style!

Location:
17 Island Ave.
Orono, ME


This will be a family friendly event with Costume contests, candy making contest, Ancestor Shrine, Divination, Music, and Bonfire!

This is a FREE event! (But donations are gratefully accepted!)

Candy making contest:
Jars will be set out for each entry. To vote you place money in the jar. The winner is the jar with the most money. The total amount of money from votes will then be split between winner and EMPPD.

Costume contest: There will be 2 categories, one for adults and one for children. There will be rune chocolates for sale. The sales from the chocolates will be split between the winners and EMPPD.

Potluck will begin around 5pm and we will have some chairs provided but we ask you to bring one if you have it.
Also we will allow a minimal amount of alcohol to the event and a volunteer will be providing a Taxi service to those that need rides for the price of monetary donations. Car seats are available also.

Please feel free to pass on this information to ANYONE who wishes to support the cause.

"What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be."

Samhain/Halloween is coming up fast. This is time when the veil thins, we commune with our ancestors, and contemplate the year ahead.
One of the great things I enjoy as being pagan is that I open myself up to messages or lessons in the strangest places or things. It amuses me. My husband recently won a horror movie quiz in which he received the most recent issue of Girls and Corpses. It is a magazine of (you guessed) girls and corpses! However, amongst their blatant tries of offending they actually had an interesting article that I thought was highly appropriate for Samhain and thought my fellow pagans would also appreciate.
There was an article on a place in Italy known as Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini or Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins. Underneath the church is a crypt but what makes this crypt unique is the way the remains are displayed. All the bones have been used to artfully decorate the crypt.
The crypt is known as the Capuchin Crypt and contains 6 different rooms each with their own title.
1. Crypt of the Resurrection
2. The Mass Chapel
3. Crypt of the Skulls
4. Crypt of the Pelvises
5. Crypt of the Leg Bones and Thigh Bones
6. Crypt of the Three Skeletons

Some pictures of the Crypt:
















After reading about this crypt I found that this was just one Ossuary and others existed. I think it is amazing the art created from the skeletal remains.

There is also the Sedlec Ossuary which is Czech.













There is also the Portugese Capela dos Ossos or Chapel of Bones which has a poem by Padre António da Ascenção that I like.

Where are you going in such a hurry traveler?
Pause … do not advance your travel;
You have no greater concern,
Than this one: that on which you focus your sight.


Recall how many have passed from this world,
Reflect on your similar end,
There is good reason to reflect
If only all did the same.


Ponder, you so influenced by fate,
Among all the many concerns of the world,
So little do you reflect on death;


If by chance you glance at this place,
Stop … for the sake of your journey,
The more you pause, the further on your journey you will be.


So, this Samhain don't forget your ancestors and all the ones who have passed before us and think of an artful way to celebrate them.

Blessed Be!

A Victorian Halloween

Many years ago my mom had a Victorian calendar. When it came to October it had this great page with vintage postcards and decorations for Halloween. I loved it so much that I ripped it out and kept it ever since. One of the things I loved about it was the little divinations and text on it. So, I wanted to share them. :)

On Halloween the witches resort
To test lovers hearts in a glass retort
If they turn Black she knows what to do
Should it stay Red your lover is true
Throw ink down her well, to break the charm
And your lover is safe for it will shield him from harm.


On Halloween look in the glass,
Your future husband's face will pass.


Pick a pumpkin
and on it's back
you'll find your future
bright or black


With a goose wish-bone and four
Pumpkin seeds, marked with letters love
On Halloween place over door on the sill above
And he Who first passes from under, your
Future husband is to be-if he don't blunder.

There is another one on the page about lighting both ends of a candle but unfortunately part of the text is cut off.

Enjoy!

Eastern Maine Pagan Pride Day

Okay, I promised to elaborate a bit more on a few things.

I figured I would start with the project I and a friend are coordinating together.
I am very excited to help put together the First Annual Eastern Maine Pagan Pride Day. This has been fun, I'm meeting new people, and is a labor of love.
For a few years now there has been a PPD event in Southern Maine. Since I have moved here I noticed there seems to be a large population of pagans here but not much networking or coming together. My friend and I were chatting one day and discussing this and decided to take the plunge to try and bring the pagans for this area together and increase the awareness of the community.
We had our first Interested Party where we had a hand full of people show up to discuss ideas and what we all wanted from this event. As soon as the meeting was over word spread like fire among other pagans within the community. There seems to be a great amount of enthusiasm and this just tickles me.
We have created a page on Facebook:
Eastern Maine Pagan Pride Day
We also have a Yahoo! group:
EMPPD

If you don't know what Pagan Pride Day is visit the website:
Pagan Pride Project
You might even decide to bring this to your area!

Our first fundraising event will be a Witches Ball on Oct. 30th. This will include bonfire, music and contests!

Please, if you support this cause and wish to help in any way contact me
asetmoonglow@gmail.com
Let me know how you wish to contribute!

Quick stop in...

I have been recently consumed with other things in life and have not been able to put aside some time to write a thoughtful blog.
However, there are things I intend to share on here as soon as I can.

1. Last Full Moon: I have a picture!

2. Pagan Pride Day: I'm Co-coordinator for next year's First annual Pagan Pride Day for my area.

3. Excting news for myself regarding an offer to volunteer to a good cause. WooT!

So hang on a bit and I'll get a chance to elaborate a bit more.

Blessed Be!

Mrs. B's 2nd day of Halloween

Yes, expect a blog like this for every day this month. Afterall, what pagan can resist these kind of goodies! :)

There are 3 giveaways today over at Mrs. B's, allow me to showcase them.

Over at Custom Zombie!
they are offering up one of their digital Zombie prints.






A personal blogger over at
Encanto da Lua is offering up a crystal ball, incense and a censer.






And from Jeanne of The Candy Corn Chronicles
there are 3 little paper mache candy cups.






Good Luck and Blessed Be!

The Fall is creepin'

Yesterday I ventured out to the store and decided to bring my camera with me. I wanted to capture the Fall creepin' in. It was a chilly and dreary day yesterday and there was a stillness in the day. I could hear the heartbeat of the Earth, of this place.
I thought to myself, what a big difference it has been experiencing a full cycle of seasons. There is a whole rhythm to life here that I never imagined. I find my body and mind has easily adjusted to this rhythm but it is still so new and strange to me. There is a beauty to it.
I thought for sure my body and energy was more aligned with this cycle rather than the the cycle I lived in down in Florida.
I see the Gods beauty everywhere here...














Ankh, Udja, Seneb! (Life, Prosperity, Health)