Category Archives: Life as a Witch

Little Projects

Posted on by
6

In the off times when I’m not schlepping furniture, sorting boxes, cringing at toxic chemicals, ranting over the mess that was going away, posting things for sale on Craig’s List (Thank Goddess for Craigs’ List), I’m trying to work on little projects that give me pleasure.  Things that I can do from my armchair, things that don’t need too much space, things that don’t need too much thought.

I realized as I was uploading the photos from my new camera (woohoo!), a Nikon Coolpix, that all the backgrounds on my photos are either the quilt on my bed or the rug in front of it.  I have no place for a light box or to stage stuff.  10′ x 10′ is just not much space to live and work in.  I am so very grateful to my mother for seeing this as an opportunity to treat the basement rooms as an apartment.  It’s certainly large enough for one.  One could easily add a small stove, fridge, and sink and rent it out but for now, no kitchenette.  I can hardly wait.  It looks like I’ll be here at least 2 more years, possibly three.  Since the fire made us do so much work and since my bro was coming to help and since it is completely throwing my father into all kinds of confusion, it seemed like the best time to just do it all.

Teaser photo

Continue reading →

Not all the bigots are Christians

Posted on by
7

I particpated in this comment thread on Facebook this morning. I’m certain there is more to come.  But I have to say that in my opinion there are some pagans and witches out there who do far more harm to our cause than anyone who says they are against us.  Gah, the ignorant bullshit that is being spouted out there.  The harmful things we say to each other in the name of our path.  *rant*

Susan: According to my cousin Jane in DC, it’s quite a scene down at Superior Court right now, with same sex couples in line for marriage licenses, Fred Phelps’ wingnuts shouting that god hates fags, and dc clergy united for marriage equality singing hymns to drown them out. Wish i was there to see!

Thomas: Well, you know the Christian God is showing love when His people are yelling hate speeches like “GOD HATES FAGS!” Thankfully, I am not Christian…..

Cynthia: The Christian God isnt’ like that at all. It’s the folks who call themselves Christian but hang with the old angry punishing Yaweh who think those things.

The Christian God is about love.

‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

For what it’s worth, I’m a witch who loves Jesus. Woo!

Thomas: You’re a Witch who loves Jesus? Are you serious? If you’re a Witch and believe in the tenants of Witchcraft and/or Wicca, you do not believe in a Jesus. Jesus is a Christian concept. And conversely, Christians certainly don’t believe in a God/Goddess concept. Even moreover, Christianity and Jesus certainly don’t believe in magick- “magick” is achieved through prayer and other methods in Christianity.

I am absolutely floored to learn of this and even more so, I’m scared for the people whose lives you touch on a daily basis…..

Cynthia: Wow. Nice flame attack. Many loved ones, thank you very much. I love you too. 🙂 I wasn’t aware that you wrote the rules of Witchcraft and had the right to tell me how to be a witch. Mea culpa, maxima mea culpa. You’ve done more harm in your comment than I’ve seen in a long time. Closed minded bigotry is not something I’m very interested in. Mother Mary is decidedly a Goddess with her son (although not her consort) Jesus.

Totally serious. I beg your pardon but I am a British trad initiated witch who believes that some of the tenets Jesus preached have some merits. I think Buddha had some vastly important thoughts as well as many of the Hindi pantheon and others around the globe. Yemaya, Isis, Diana, Cernunnos…. So far, in over 20+ years of study I’ve found nothing that says that the two are mutually exclusive, witch and christian. So the only deity I can’t find interesting is Jesus? That is off limits and makes me a fraud and a pariah? Dangerous? Oh, wait, Satan is off limits too. And for me, that last is true. But the rest of the Gods of the world? As witch I can choose to work with any of them I like. It doesn’t make me dangerous OR stupid OR something other than a witch. It makes me a witch who is brave enough to follow her heart and who keeps an open mind as she looks for as many spiritual truths as she can find.

I also am more interested in the Gnostic Christianity which is most likely akin to the original Christianity than the hateful mish-mosh that we see on the media. Jesus is just another hanged god. Another deity as valid as any other deity such as:

  • Hindu (Krishna)
  • Egyptian (Osiris)
  • Babylonian (Tammuz)
  • Norse (Baldr) (updated edit:  I see I should have kept my original answer, which was Odin but I took the word of another on the internet instead of trusting my own judgement. )
  • Roman-ish (Mithras)
  • Slavic (Veles)

There are witches that consider themselves Asatru, or Native American shamanic. American witchcraft and paganality uses spiritually valid precepts from many different world paths, that is what makes us unique. I’m not throwing out a prophet who said that Love is the answer simply because you say so. You are no authority sir. I’ve been trained by some of the best and they say that doing research and thinking for myself is one of the BEST qualities of any witch. Not spewing hateful tripe at total strangers based on one sentence.

BTW thinking Jesus is a cool dude does NOT equal saying that I am Christian. I never said that. I said I love Jesus. I love a lot of other Gods too. And they love me right back.

Paul: See, and thats why I swore of the whole god/godess thing – leads to an your’e a what, that’s unpossible??? Or the I am a Blah Blah Blahist, intiatated by or a member of such and such a circle/church. bullshit arguments..I’m me and I think like I do, and you ain’t gonna change me. Do something to someone or something,that you shouldn’t and you won’t have to worry about “God/Goddess Wrath”….I’ll mess you up all by myself.

Cynthia: Ha! Well there it is in a nutshell. harm none or pay the consequences… A spiritual truth around the world.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with discussion about our beliefs and why we believe them. He stated I wasn’t a witch, I gave my credentials.  Perfectly valid and not bullshit.  I think we need more discussion myself instead of knee jerk you’re wrong because I say so.

Transitions

Posted on by
4

My brother flew out this morning.  He did very well for the time he was here.  What we had to do was extremely stressful for all involved and with only one small dust up I’m proud of them all.  I wore my High Priest’s emerald necklace to keep me in cool love for the duration and it helped immensely.  We have built up a momentum that I hope to keep going through the spring.

The basement rec room, small bedroom, and bath are officially going to be mine.  Before March is over.  O joy, rapturous, delicious heaven.  O space, oh pleasant, private space of my own away from the frantic edge of CNN, away from the 6am beeping of the microwave, into my own little retreat. O bliss.  O Gracious Goddess and Great God, grateful thanks for your genius, bounty, and timing. Next time it would be nice not to have change brought about by a house fire but I must admit the results are glorious to me.  Can you say incense?  I haven’t been able to burn incense for a year now.  Privacy to practice my circle building skills.  Privacy for ritual.  This witch, this artist, is just over the moon happy about all this.

Continue reading →

Don’t Have To Live Like A Refugee

Posted on by
1

I’ve applied for unemployment.  There is no doubt that I’ll qualify technically as you can collect if you are fired if it isn’t because you did something illegal or were insubordinant.  As long as it was simply that it was a bad fit or you didn’t have the right skills, you qualify. I certainly don’t possess the skills to deal with people who suffer from Borderine Personality Disorder.  (This makes is sound much more benign than it really is.)  The question is what I was doing 5 quarters  ago.  5 quarters ago I was not working but 6 quarters ago I was.  And making webmaster salary too.  They asked me to account for 2 years, all the way back to Jan 2008.  It’s entirely possible that I might get to claim unemployment on webmaster wages.  I might have to go before a panel to do it but I bet this can work out.

Goddess of Abundance, please bring me generous unemployment until the right job with the right people, the right skills, the right pay, the right benefits, the right vacation, the right location, the right hours, comes along.

SMIB

Flying on a Broom – epiphany

Posted on by
2

I was re-reading my Flying on a Broom post (it feels so good to relive that night, what can I say) and something occurred to me.  I mentioned in it three women and a dog.  And “Maiden Mother Crone” popped into my head.  We had a Maiden and we had a Mother but was I a Crone yet?

This week is special.  My entire womanly life my periods have been regular with one exception.  That one exception was the pregnancy with my son.  I have always been regular like clockwork with or without the pill.  Having had my tubes tied in 1992 I’ve been able to note that I really am regular as a Swiss clock.

Three years ago, I started peri-menopause.  Hot flashes especially and from January through March I’d havea  period every 10-14 days then back to normal.  Last year I simply began having periods every three weeks.  It’s one of the reasons I got my iron levels tested last week to make sure my exhaustion wasn’t related to anemia.  Thankfully my numbers are fine.  But still. A period every three weeks for over a year. Ghastly.  The hot flashes had ceased and that was good.  I don’t mind the being hot nearly as much as I do the fact that when I have a hot flash my brain disappears for about 5-10 minutes. Seriously can not think.

Until this month.  It’s been 5 weeks.  *5 WEEKS*  Oh thank you Lady!  It’s about time. And this week? The hot flashes are back in spades. As I said, I don’t mind them, I just notice them and fan myself a lot.  I know 5 weeks is not menopause.  But I have to say that I was dismayed that I was one whose cycles sped up instead of slowed down. It made me sad and impatient. It appears I am finally on the great slow down. WOOHOO!

I’m not really interested in menopause. I’m far more interested in menoSTOP.  While I’ll have to watch my skin and keep hydrated and make sure my lady parts are happy I can deal.  But no more horrible Oxycodone requiring cramps, no more hormone migraines, jeez, no more fuss and muss.

SO MOTE IT BE!!!!!

And there is it was, plain as day right in front of me.  I am the Crone. We were truly the triumvirate on that dark Saturn night.  The experience was so amazing I would venture to say that it was an initiation of sorts.  I’ve had a few but this is the first one that was between me and the Gods alone that I recognized as such right away.  I get to consider myself a sexy, juicy, CRONE.  And this? Makes me just so frikking happy on so many levels I am fit to burst.