Thursday Thirteen

13 things that are good right now

I've had a lot of time to dwell on negative things lately so I think it's time to point out some of the positive.

1. My Children - Although I may not have P here at home with me as much as I want he is still here some of the time. Those boys push me harder to be a better person so that Mommy can be someone they can look up to.

2. My Hubby - My greenman. OMG does he put up with a lot of shit from me...lol But he does and he loves me and even if we argue there is no question about that fact. No matter what he's there to pick me up when I fall.

3. Sadie, My BFF Like you said distance doesn't define a relationship. I'm positive we were sisters in another life. We click we mesh, I know no matter what you will be honest with me even if I don't want to hear it at the moment. You smack me when i need it the most.

4. My Home - My boys and I have a roof over our heads. We have a place to sleep, we have a home. For the first time since I moved out of my parent's place...I have a home...not just a house...but a real home. One filled with love and not fear and regret.

5. My Friends - The honest and true ones that are there no matter what and tell you you are being an idiot when you are.

6. My Family - I don't think I would have survived those few years during the divorce without them.

7. My In-laws - Same as above they have helped keep me sane here while my family tried to help from a distance.

8. Tara - I've mentioned her before. She one of the strongest witches I have ever met. She is a mentor, a teacher and a friend. She makes me want to learn more and be a better witch.

9. What hearing I have left - Yes I know it sounds odd, but right now I still can hear so I need to be thankful for what I can hear as opposed to wallowing in what I can't. (Some days are harder then others)

10. The Goddess and The God and the gifts they give us every day. You can feel them on the breeze or see them in the trees. You may not see them at all....but they are there.

11. My Life - Yes it's had ups and downs....but life is always going to be a roller coaster...but right now I still get to ride that roller coaster...

12. The wonderful ladies I read on my Bloglist. You guys give me something to look forward to every day to read. You let us in on your lives and I'm greatful for that.

13. A shower - Yes I know it seems like a silly thing to be thankful for. but tonight I got to take an actualy shower. Not the "in and out" because you have to be somewhere. The kids were in bed and I got to take my time and relax. (hey sometimes it's the lil things)

Wordless Wednesday

Protection

Tools of the Trade - Your Surroundings

Yes I know it' sounds weird but where you are can effect your ritual, spell or gathering just like anything else. If it's loud and you can't concentrate then it could be very hard to meditate. Try and make sure that where you are fits in with what it is you are trying to accomplish. Trying to do a past life regression while the kids are running around just won't work. You probably won't ever get to that meditative state that you need. So think about where you are before you start your work :)

Manic Monday

Not a whole lot to report today. I spent a good portion of my day on the phone with various people and agencies for various things. And I was working on the layout for a new blog I am going to be writing on. I will link it here when it is up an ready to go, right now it's still in the designing stage. But will shed some more light on this post Once I post the link if you wish to read great...if not I need it to keep myself sane.

Weekly Winners 03/30 - 04/05/08

For the week of 03/30-04/05/08
Weekly Winners is the brainchild of the wonderfully Sarcastic Mom, Lotus

Not a lot of picture taking this week. All three (obviously the same cake :) )Are from a cake I made yesterday for my MILs Red Hat Meeting. It was their Queen's Birthday and another woman was going from a pink hat to a Red hat.

(And yes my house is 30 years old. MIL was the original owner and now hubby and I live here. That is an original Harvest gold stove...we have the diswasher to match)

An Open Letter from a Witch:

This was posted on a group I belong to. It is a little long but I think it's worth the read :)

An Open Letter from a Witch:

I am a witch. I do not worship Satan; I am not interested in Satan. Satan was invented by the Christians. Satanism is a form of Christianity. I am not a Christian. I don't go to church on Sunday. Jesus is NOT my savior. He was simply a holy man who lived 2,000 years ago. I am not afraid of going to Hell because I don't believe in Hell any more than I believe in Satan. I believe in reincarnation; that I will come back to this world or another and live out another life. I am not evil. Telling people I am a "good witch" or asking me if I am a good witch implies that there are evil witches. There are evil people in the world and there are people who chose to work with the forces of nature in a way that harms others; those people are NOT witches. The central law of being a witch is: "if it harms none, do as you will." Please don't ask me about sacrificing cats or desecrating churches. I love my cats! And I don't go into churches or synagogues unless a friend from that religion invites me to some special occasion. And if I DO enter a church, I am not struck by lightning. If a Christian or a Jew or a Buddhist came to a pagan ritual, our gods would not strike them dead either. Isn't that something to think about? Wearing a pentacle is no different than wearing a cross, crucifix, or Star of David. If you want me to take off the symbol of MY religion (and Wicca is a religion, protected by the same First Amendment rights as other religions) because it's offensive, you need to make everyone of every religion do that. The five points of the star signify the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire &; Water, and the fifth point is Spirit; encircled by the World. How that can offend anyone boggles my little pagan mind. An image of a tortured, dying man is more offensive, yet thousands of people openly wear crucifixes every day. Please don't ask me if I'm in a "coven" in that half-horrified, half-fascinated tone of voice. If I want to talk about my coven, I will bring it up. If I am a solitary practitioner, I have no coven to discuss. In any case, our rituals have candles, food, drink, poetry, dancing...yes, there is a knife but it only cuts the air, not anyone's flesh. I don't drink blood. I am not some kind of vampire. I wear black because it keeps negativity away and to tell the truth...it looks better on me than pink, orange and purple polka dots! If you want to ask me something related to MY religion, ask me when the next full moon is. Or the next blue moon Or what a blue moon IS! Ask me about herbs. Crystals, Healing, Even ask me to make you a love potion. I don't cast spells on other people and I won't cast a spell on you to make you prettier, thinner, more desirable. I won't cast a spell on your quarry to make him/her love you. Trust me, you don't want that, you don't want the Karma that involves and neither do I! That's a form of manipulation, taking away someone's power, infringing on their free will. Not nice at all. I also won't cast a binding spell to make someone STOP doing something to you. Spell work is about co-creation. A witch works with universal energy, with the Gods, to tilt the engine of probability somewhat. Need money? Don't try to ensorcel your boss to give you a raise. Simply ask the universe to increase the flow of abundance in your direction. That infringes on NO ONE's free will. Giving me a book about the Burning Times is like giving a book on The Holocaust to a Jewish person. It's not funny and is rude! Yes, I do go to Salem, but not because any of those poor executed people were witches(the jury is still out on some of them), but because there's cool pagan shops there. If there were cool pagan shops in a town called East Cowflop, I'd go there as well! Don't try to make me ashamed of who I worship and what I am. Please don't try to convert me or "save" me. Don't throw holy water on me. Don't leave little pamphlets on my desk or windshield. I don't need to be saved. Witches are proud of the fact that we don't recruit people to become witches. We simply ARE and those around us see how we think, how we act and our inner peace and only when someone says "how do I become a witch?" do we take them into the fold with us. I will NEVER leave a religious tract with anyone. I don't have one, unless you count this letter. I am not asking you to convert. I am only asking you to please understand.

If you don't want to understand, well then just leave me alone

~Author unknown~

Thursday Thirteen

Well I've been pondering and decided to put up a list of my favorite Witches in TV or movies. Now these are in no particular order. And yes there are Disney Witchs on this list. I have 2 kids and Disney is a staple in this house. I'm watching these shows with them and they are pretty cute. It was hard to get it down to 13 but here they are:

1. The Craft


2. Practical Magic


3. The Harry Potter Series


4. Bewitched


6. The Witches of Eastwick


7. The Wizards of Waverly Place


8. Hocus Pocus


9. The Wizard of Oz


10. Sabrina the Teenage Witch



11. Giles, Tara and Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer




12. The Twitches Series



13. The Halloweentown Series