Day 21 // Bright Blessings on Beltane!

Say that 9 times fast! :P

Tonight, I took Fawn outside and taught her how to pick flowers ;) She was of course very interested in just the petals and would pluck them off one by one. I think the little nature spirits in my backyard would have found her sweet and innocent. The ladybugs wouldn't leave her alone, so I'm taking that as a sign of them liking her ;P She is an Earth baby, born Taurus on Earth day after all.. ;) Okay, so Earth day is a made up holiday, but still.

So I taught her how to pick them and get the whole buttercup flower! What a concept! lol! We gathered them up and placed them on the altar. Something's been chomping on them because several have perfectly cut out round holes in the petals ;P

I received my six essential oils from mountainroseherbs today and oh my goodness they smell so FREAKIN' good!!! The lemon and orange.. man. I'm a sucker for citrus. I also got my glass bottles from sunburst. 30 little amber 15ml bottles with reducers and 12 glass jars for dried herbs. I love glass bottles. Have I mentioned that before? Just looking at them make me happy! They're so freakishly cute!

Lastly, the plan for this weekend is to transplant my herbs finally to the outdoors. They've stopped growing. They're definitely not dead, they've just reached their peak for their little starter cells and the biodegradable container is breaking a part. So it looks like I'm going to buy some planks of wood and build a raised-bed for my herbs. The ground here is too tough and dry. Not to mention probably nutrient poor. So, I'll start in the raised bed and maybe by the time the roots get deep enough they'll have a good enough root system to adjust to the natural dust dirt.

.. meanwhile, I've made a recent addition to my "Dream House Must Haves" list and it includes a huge greenhouse lol.

Day 20 // Grimoire & Oils

Huzzah! My grimoire is good to go. I'm still messing with and decorating the cover but I couldn't help but show it off! If you'd like to see how I made it, here's step by step pictures of how I did it: Grimoire

Lastly, my first set of oils arrived! :) I'm so excited! I got them from www.mountainroseherbs.com. I love essential oils and I'm so thrilled to begin making my own solutions of them :) Lots of wonderful things with this full moon.

Day 19 // Full Moon Blessings to everyone!

Tonight, I am introducing my grimoire to the night under the full moon. It's been sitting out from sunset and will past sunrise! I'm so excited about it!

I also messed around with some clay for some decorations on the top. Can't wait to show that off too.. barring it doesn't suck when I'm done :P

In other news, work sucks. The big D. I'm ready to move on with this week. To keep me positive, I've started reading "The New Hermetics" by Jason Augustus Newcombe. So far not bad but we'll see. I have this sneaky feeling he's just trying to sell books, but I guess I'll find out. I need to move it to my Nook to finish it faster. I'll review it here when I'm finished.

Day 18 // The Adalaim Pantheon

Before I get to the heavy stuff, let me mention that my grimoire is nearly done. I've added studs, experimented with some air-dry/bake clay to add decor and effects.. . I'm thinking I'll place it out in the full moon tomorrow night (*here's to no rain*) among the pink flowers in my backyard and I will consider it attuned to the elements and ready for ritual introduction. It's been a lot of work but totally worth it!

Lastly, I've been deeply troubled by my pantheon (or rather lack thereof). I have meditated daily, waited for signs and dreams and have received no recognition of "whom" I should be making offerings too. In the beginning I've been saying "Lord and Lady" and to be honest, it's just not cutting it. It's impersonal and I believe names have power. While I'm not a feminist, I still began looking for my "main" Goddess to identify with. Trust me, I don't have anything against Gods. But as a mother and a wife and as a daughter.. I figured it would be easier to start there. .. .. and I've had no luck.

I started looking at cultures. I identify with the Celtic because I'm from a VERY heavy Irish background but if I believe that names have power (which I do).. I need to be able to pronounce the names.. and Gaelic.. quite frankly. ... is kicking my ass. I lose myself reading Irish folklore trying to pronounce all the names that I forget to enjoy the story. I also identify with Shinto, because I lived in Japan for a time and loved it, completely fell in love and went to Shinto shrines for festivals yearly. However, most of the Shinto belief is steeped in the idea that Japan is sacred and while I wouldn't disagree.. I can't really.. do much about it.. from Bible Belt, USA. The land here is.. well.. almost ugly (*wince*) to me and I feel like I don't belong here in this place.. therefore it's hard to connect it to the Japanese divine.

Aside from that, I'm realizing there's an undercurrent of commonality among cultures. They chose deities for similar, if not identical, concepts. Therefore, the culture matters not, because the divine is universal and all encompassing. Those people created those stories and those names for their Gods/desses because that's what made since in their language to them. *sigh*

This is what I was looking for:

• ancient or at least considered ancient by that pantheon's terms
• a name I could pronounce and moved through me like the vibration of a perfectly tuned bell when I said it
• of the elements, fire, earth, air, water...

That last bit is important. That's right.. I don't identify with the Goddess of Healing or the God of War. Can't help it. Therefore, I would rather work with personifications of the elements. So, tonight I decided I would create my own pantheon. It includes Egyptian, Greek, and Fiji/Polynesian/Hawaiian, and .. me. Yup, you read that right.. I'm making me part of the pantheon.

Okay, so I'm not going to worship me with a mirror.. I'm not vain lol. Hear me out.. I want to include Spirit and I think it would make sense that my soul, my consciousness, my flaws and my talents would best represent the spirit in my workings... because it is me... a being of the elements, of the universe.. a product of the divine energy that has created everything, feeds everything and returns from everything. Being therefore part of the divine.. makes my energy divine. Therefore the Goddess of Spirit.. would be .. .. me.

My heart feels most at peace with what I've decided tonight and that's what matters most, right? :)

Day 16 // Witchie Cabinet, Grimoires and Herbs, oh my!

Today was a day of crafts!

I've officially renamed my BoS to be a grimoire and it's coming along quite nicely. At first today, I decided I was just going to tie the pieces together. Then one thing lead to another and I was taping the sides. Next thing I knew, I had the cardboard pieces cut out and the fabric attached to it!! So all I have left is to decorate the front and to attach the pages to the hardback cover. Ta da! It's looking great and I'm taking pictures along the way, so I'll have to put them in a montage or something when I'm done.

My herbs are still coming along nicely. I'm going to have to transplant them next weekend as they are getting too big for their little cells.

Lastly, I finally got around to sewing a bag for my tarot cards. I've been addicted to my tarot, pulling a card in the morning. I've asked a couple of serious questions but have pulled just a one card spread, which isn't in depth enough. When I feel more comfortable with the meanings, I'll most likely get crazier with the spreads. If anyone has tips for how to use patterns to memorize their meanings, that would be fantastic.

OH WAIT! there's more! I bought about 30 little amber bottles and about 50$ worth of essential oils too! Can't wait for those to arrive. Hopefully in time for Beltane, but we'll see. I also got stuff to make some clay decorations for my grimoire and an altar tile.

That's not it!! I also got my wardrobe and dresser delivered yesterday! The dresser is serving as the new altar. It's approximately 100 years old and was my great-grandmother's.. AND.. an antique wardrobe that has been dated approximately 100 years old as well for my cabinet. When everything's set up, aka... altar tiles, cauldron, amber bottles and what not.. I'll shoot some pics! :)

Hope your weekends were as productive as mine was! :) Bright blessings to everyone! :P

Day 11 // BOS

So today, all 300 pages were finished drying. I separated them into 9 different sections .. hole punched them 8 times each.. and set eyelets in four of the holes. I'm done for the night.

I feel so crappy. Whatever is floating in the air is killing me. Okay, so not literally, just jeez. My throat is screaming for attention and nothing soothes it, I can barely speak and just generally feel crappy.

So while I could still have time to strings the book together, I opted not too. I still have until the full moon to set it outside and I have Fawn's birthday to get ready for. *sigh* I do have to say, the book is looking quite fabulous.

Day 10 // BoS

I had already posted so much information yesterday, that I figured to wait until today to post that I have started my BoS.

I found the 11"x17" paper at Office Depot, trimmed about 300 sheets to 11x14 and have already had it soaked in a water and herb solution. It has been drying now for 24 hours. They all would have been dry by now but I don't have enough surface space to lay the sheets out on top of. So, they're sitting in a nice dry, well-ventilated room with a fan going and some that are kinda sitting under the others are, of course, not dry yet. But I'll tell you something REALLY cool about the whole thing...

Just from me submerging each sheet into water individually, carrying it across the kitchen to dry and moving them around every so often to expose different sides has made the edges kinda crinkly and cracked, giving it a very old look. AND some of the ground herbs never washed off (even better in my book).. no BETTER YET, the herbs that didn't wash off stained the paper. So my paper is not evenly colored and has a few spots where bits of herb dried. Two bonuses out of the whole thing I wasn't expecting. Aesthetics, but still cool.

Currently about 50% of the pages are dry. Next I'll be selecting the most even sides, lining them to the best of my ability because they're quite messed up at the moment, putting eyelets through several at a time to create bunches until I have all 300 in eyelets and then tying them together! Huzzah! Once I have that complete it will be a ritual in incense for air, a ritual in fire where I singe off some bits, and then I'll bury it for a night for earth.. and then lay it out in the full moon. Ta da! Right, so they better get to drying lol.

So far, I'm in love with the result! :P

Day 9 // Herbs! +Pics

I went out and picked some buttercups from my backyard! They look adorable on my altar table. For good measure, here's a shot of my overgrown backyard that I begged L2 not to mow ;P


I promised pictures of growing herbs and here are just a few! :P



These will be a moonflower vine, not technically a herb but still growing none the less! :P

Day 8 // Herbs

I just remembered!
I wish I had a time-lapse camera!
My herbs are doing fantastic! A few haven't germinated yet and that's okay because they may have longer germination than the others. We'll wait and see and I'll try again later if those don't make it.

Either way, I had an air circulation issue that I've fixed but they're doing great! I'm watering them every other day, rotating the tray and they're sprouting up like it's nothing!

Literally, my Moonflower seeds were germinating last night and tonight they have 3" high stems with their first leaf coming out! I'm going to have to transplant them soon! Chamomile is growing like a weed, have my first signs of catnip and lavendar too! Not to mention all the others! Wee! It's great fun and oddly rewarding! :)

Day 8 // BoS & Altar

    So I finally gathered the materials to begin building my Book. But it will take probably until the full moon to get it set up, which is great. I'll be happy if I have the bulk (the paper) portion of the book completed and set out in the moonlight by then. I've got 11 days.
    My current BoS is a spiral bound notebook. Lawl. Hey, we all have to start somewhere. Ill take pictures and post them as I build it.
    Today I went to Hobby Lobby and found that candles were 50% off! Bought several tapers in several different colors for $ .50, all candle holders too. I got an incense burner I can tolerate from World Market. It's meant to be a candle holder, but I'm adapting it for burning cone incense. It's just me but I can't stand how silly stick incense looks sticking out of a hole from something. Way to phallic for my liking, but then again.. .maybe I'm just perverted. lol. So anyway, cute little incense holder over my altar. Ribbon and trim was 50% off too, so I bought some satin rope for making bags which brings me to my largest purchase! I finally got a crop-a-dile!
    I dabble in scrapbooking and a crop-a-dile is a necessity for creating holes in materials for the books as well as installing snaps and eyelets. WELL! I finally got one and I'm so excited I can use it for making bags too! Ya know, little bags to hold my tarot cards, runes, etc.
    In another store, I found this adorable little dish made in japan in the shape of a bloated fish. I'm using it to hold water on my altar.
    I also found a little ceramic square dish made in japan that I'm going to use as an offering plate. Currently, it's holding rocks L2 (my hubby) has collected and thought was cool. The poor things have been sitting on our dresser forever with no proper home. Consider it taken care of.
    Found a glass bottle to hold some gemstones.
    BEST OF ALL! I got all of Fawn's birthday shopping done as well as party decoration shopping! Over the summer, I'll be repainting her bedroom to be a fairy-land. The plan is to paint the walls purple with a mural on her largest wall of a magical forest. Then paint and decorate bird houses from craft stores into fairy houses and hang them from the roof in her room to give the decorations a more interactive feel. I'm not quite sure what to put on the actual walls yet where there isn't a mural. Ah well, it'll come to me ;) I love painting so it should be a fantastic project and I'll be sure to show lots of pictures.
    Lessee.. other than that. Busy weekend! Busy week to come! I have cookies to make tomorrow for a colleague who is returning to work after being gone for four months due to a broken hip. I have Fawn's birthday presents to wrap, day care cupcakes to make and her birthday cake for her party Saturday. Pictures to follow! :)

Day 5 // First Esbat

Today, I cleansed my modest altar and dedicated it in honor of the new moon. It was very exciting... okay for me at least.

Other than that, I have run out of youtube channels to watch and websites to visit. I hate that most pagan websites are poorly designed.

In other news, I hate that Oak cause such debilitating allergic reactions when pollinating. I love Oak so much, but Fawn gets so sick from it :( It's very frustrating. This weekend we go shopping for her 2nd birthday and I hope she's feeling good enough to visit with her grandparents.

Day 2 // Baby Steps

Today was a day of baby steps.

- I moved my treadmill out of my garage to save it from the oncoming summer heat and hopefully to encourage me to use it more often.

- I gave my first true offerings to the spirits that surround my home with a fresh pear, a fresh grapefruit and french bread. Which was easy to give out when I woke up to find my backyard covered in dew and pink evening primrose flowers. In the center on my lawn was a large grass spider web with about a million drops of water on it. I thought it all was an excellent omen to my new start.

- I cleaned out my walk-in closet to make room for a table to become my altar.

- I setup my altar though it is comprised of three things. A working candle and a candle for the Goddess and for the God. That simple. It will grow. I know it. But right now, baby steps. The new moon is in a couple days so I will most likely wait for then to cleansing and what not. The whole “sha-bang” if you will.

- I made a few pouches today for rituals on the esbats.

- Watered my little seedlings

- I tested out a couple ideas for my book of shadows. I can’t wait to begin building it and then of course for sharing how I did it. ^.^

Other than that, it was also a day of laundry and getting ready for the week ahead. Fawn has been sneezing all day, surely a sign that the local oak have pollinated. If the weather could decide what it wanted it to do, it may move it out of the air, but alas today felt like a day in the northwest. Muggy, misty, humid and cool. I loved it.

Day 1 // New Beginnings

Even though I’ve been rekindling my love for my beliefs for several weeks, I’m counting today as day one.

My make-shift book of shadows still remains as a spiral notebook with random ramblings, lists of ideas, lists of needs, lists of wants, and more lists. Did I mention I’m a list maker? It’s because I like to plan. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty good on my feet in the heat of the moment when it matters, but I love having a plan. And a list. or two. or five.

Whatever.

I was out today with L2 (hubby for 5.5 years) and Fawn (our 23month old daughter). I finally managed to get a working candle and a matching set of candles for the Goddess and God, as well as 2 glass plates to put them on. I’m recycling a very wicked-looking vase I was given a while back, but never used, to hold my working candle. The first steps to a real altar. It will be modest to say the least, but every altar has to start somewhere and it most definitely doesn’t matter how elaborate it is as long as the intention is there. As well as, hubby and I went a bit overboard on the tax money and spent it all redoing our downstairs (floors, dining room set, new living room suite, etc). So I’ll be in a better position to get supplies in a few weeks. But all in due time.

My plan tomorrow is to start reorganizing our large walk-in closet to make room for a table to be my altar. I’m super excited about claiming some space. And no worries, my husband isn’t shoving me in the closet. lol. We have a free third bedroom, I could claim but the idea of friends and family coming to stay and as I am not public about my religious choice, and don’t plan on being any time soon, taking down everything I will eventually have up seems a bit daunting. Therefore, I’ll just start in the large closet and be able to keep it away from others all the time.

The real treat? I just learned this weekend that a very old-fashioned wardrobe my mother had been using for 28 years is now mine. She bought it at an estate sale for 48$ when she was pregnant with me with the intention of giving it to me one day. It’s taking up space in her house and with my new path I realized what an ideal craft cabinet it would make. I’ll take pictures when we’ve moved it in. It’s believed to be over 100 years old.

I titled Day 1 as new beginnings because, well the obvious for starting my path, but not only buying the very first pieces to my altar BUT with beginning my craft as well. I bought herb seeds and have planted them today in a large germination tray. There’s about 13 different types and I have already made plans for where they will be transplanted too in September. I love herbs. I love the idea of growing and caring for them. I love the idea of drying them out and using them in incense and tinctures. If I could purr, I’d be doing it right now ;P

Quite a successful Day 1. I admit.
Aside from the magick already occurring in my life. I fell in love with herbs as a part of religious practice and have been pouring over youtube videos, websites and encyclopedias thinking how wonderful it would be to have my own garden and that I would have to make one, one day and low and behold, a friend had found some extra biodegradable germination trays and offered me one with six sets of herb seeds to get started. They hadn’t known I had been looking into growing herbs. ..
Then there’s the case of the soon-to-be witchie cabinet coming my way. With all the right compartments, to be used as such presents itself right when I decide to claim some space.

The Goddess is alive and magick is afoot, I believe ;) Be positive, be love and you will find love in everything.