Happy Imbloc!

Today I got up early (for me) and set up my altar. I went shopping and I came home to an AWESOME post by Pagan Culture (aka one of my favorite blogs). I was picked to be Touched by Pagan Culture. The post is here. Read it!


Technical Note: I've noticed my followers widget isn't working. I'm working on it, so keep checking back.

ANYWAY! Onto the fun stuff.

So, this is my altar. Yes, it’s also my desk, which is why there is a lamp. I don’t have much ritual space. In fact, I have the floor and this desk. I would have everything on the floor, but because of my cat, it was better on my desk. As you can see, there are four place settings, I’ll explain them. And yes! Those are Hello Kitty glasses. They are all I had. I got some plain, basic glasses today for ritual use for offerings, along with plain plates.
The altar cloth is a silk scarf with a Western Native (so...British Columbia) image on it. I believe it’s an eagle. I picked it because...I have no idea. My Mayan Square one was too small, so this was my second choice.

This is Quetzalcoatl’s place. He’s my patron God, so I thought it would be nice to put him first. I love them all equally, of course. Anyway, his candle, the red one, felt right, and the blue holder is due to the fact Quetzy’s colour association is traditionally blue. The egg (and stone chunk you can’t really see) are made of malachite, the same colour as Quetzy appeared to me in my dream/vision. He’s got tequila and 70% dark chocolate (which he adores).

This is my welcoming plate to Cama Zotz. Yes, that is a giant Beanie Baby. It was all I could get last minute. His candle is dark purple and fig scented. It smelt dark and forest-y, so I thought of the rainforest. He was the one that asked for this altar, funnily enough. He’s got tequila and 70% dark chocolate.

Moving right along, this is my Egyptian place setting. The three candles are for Thoth, Ptah and Bastet. The stones, which you can’t see, are ones from the bases of each of my four statues, Sobek, Thoth, Anubis and Isis. They have a glass of tequila, and a plate with both milk chocolate Hershey Kisses and some 70% dark chocolate.

My final place setting is for my little flower faerie, Leiko. She is like the traffic controller to my room. She’s small, but she can be deadly if she wants to be. Anyway, the purple agate slab is hers, along with all the purple stones I have, beside the purple candle. Did I mention she liked purple? Anyway, the glass is filled with a pink lemonade cooler called Vex. It’s sweet, and almost like cream soda. She likes sweet things. She has Hershey Kisses. We got her those for Samhain one year, and she loved them. She said they were just the right size.

Presents!
In my shopping adventure, we went to The Weather, and they had a sale! 30% off! It was awesome. So, let me show you what I got. I got some plain clear quartz (not shown).

This is a Smokey quartz ball. Total impulse buy. I did not need it, but damn I wanted it. It’s so pretty, photo’s can’t do it justice.

Obsidian heart for Quetzy. One of Quetzy’s sacred stones is obsidian. I can be a bit of a purist when it comes to which deities have which stones. I follow my intuition at times, like with the malachite, but sometimes I just go with what the book says.

These next three things are for Cama Zotz. He got a slab of obsidian, because he is a God of the night, the underworld, and all manner of darkness. Obsidian is black. See! Connection! The heart is hematite. I was looking through my stones and he wanted a piece of hematite I had. I was like “okay, you can’t have this piece because it’s totally not suited for you, but I’m going out today to get you some.” The hematite I had was okay, but not perfect, and I wanted it to be perfect.
But, the best thing for him was the rose quartz skull I found. See, this is what binds Cama Zotz and me together. The rose quartz is me, my personal stone, and the skull is his, the personification of what he is (being the God of the Underworld and whatnot).


Long post was long, thanks for reading it all!

Quetzalcoatl Bust and Oils!

My mom gave me some awesome Pagan stuff for Yule.
This is an Ostara Sabbat basket. It has everything for a small Ostara ritual. It comes with incense and two charcoal blocks to light them, a candle that looks like Vicks Vapo-rub, Ostara oil, a rose quartz and citrine in a pretty bag, a mini-broom and a scroll that gives a breif history of the holiday. The moon-cloth is really nice too, and it came in a basket so I can use it too!
This is a dark sunstone crystal ball. I have a small chunk of this, as does my friend Kristine. We call them our drag queen stones.
These are some more oils my mom got me. The mini ones were on sale! I have Oregano, Grapefruit, Myrtle, Eucalptus, Angelica Root and Chamoile.

Yes! This is a Quetzalcoatl bust! Just like the one's on the temples and at Disney!
SMOOCHIES!

Side note: There was a bit of a kafuffle involving Quetzalcoatl and mistaken identity this week. Big thanks to my cousin Ash and Hex for letting me vent and helping me figure it all out.

Necronomicon Tarot

We went to Chapters today, and they had TWO shelves of Tarot decks. It was awesome. Though a lot of them I either had or didn't want, they did have one deck that caught my eye.
Necronomicon Tarot
Yes, this is an H. P. Lovecraft tarot deck. Now, I've never personally read any of H. P. Lovecraft's books, but I'm asking for them for Christmas, but I absolutly adore the Cthulhu mythos.

If anyone knows about Chick Tracts--little Evangelical cartoons about the "dangers" of Catholics, homosexuality and of course Pagans--there is a parody of these made with Cthulhu:

http://rubbersuitstudios.com/ptcct.htm
http://www.fredvanlente.com/cthulhutract/pages/index.html

Phew! That Was Exhausting!

I just reorganized my ritual stuff, to include all the new stuff I bought. Pier One Imports had a sale, so I stocked up on cheap candle holders and candles. Wow, it was a lot of work. I only worked for about two hours, and I’m exhausted!
I hate reorganizing.

Anyway, I want to give a HUGE thank you to one of my bffs, Lola. She got me this awesome talisman of Brigit. It’s so awesome and beautiful; this picture does not do it justice.

This plate was a gift for Quetzalcoatl, which I got from the Mexico pavilion in Disneyworld. He has to share it, but he seems to be pretty good with that.

These are some of the new stones I mentioned before, from left to right: Scolecite massage wand, Malachite egg and heart, mookite, angelite, and agate.

These are all my new candles. The neon colours are from Michael’s Halloween section ($2.99 for the small pillars!) and the others are from the Pier One sale.

Okay, so, this was my closet before-hand. Do you see how messy that is? I could never really get to some things, and things would tumble out on me, particularly my bags.





And here it is done!

Stone Haul!

Today I went to our local stone store called The Weather. I know, weird name for a stone store. Anyway, this place is amazing for stones. They range from $200+ for larger pieces, to $.50 for clear quartz. This place is really affordable, which I like. Some online stores, and our ONE other local “new age” store, is expensive for stones The Weather has for dirt cheap.
So, what was my haul? LET ME SHOW YOU IT!
(Please note, I don’t actually have pictures...so there is no actual showing...I’m sorry.)

Purple Agate slice
Malachite egg
Malachite heart
Scolecite massage wand
Angelite
Three pieces of clear quarts
Four pieces of rose quartz
Moonstone
Mookite
Amethyst

It was a good haul, but there was some other thinks I think I will pick up some other time. I was lucky about getting the purple agate...apparently they are rare, and sell out a lot quicker than the blue and green. They have a huge selection of malachite, which both Quetzalcoatl and Thoth like. Also, they had chunks of mookite, which is rare: I’ve only ever seen it in wands. Anyway, my mookite looks like a kidney bean, complete with the little white bit!

It was a good day, and a good haul.

Altar, Part Two

Another Pagan Blog Prompt!

What does your altar look like?
What kinds of items do you include, and why?
What does each item symbolize, or what purpose does it serve?

I got this print of the Aztec god Tonatiuh at the Mexican pavilion in Walt Disney World. I got it framed, so I could keep it out.
Beside this is a postcard size print of Quetzalcoatl, a deity who I’ve recently become very attached to.
Though I’m not Aztec in tradition, I found the prints too pretty to pass up, and they were inexpensive and easy to pack...as they were flat. I’m actually really happy I got the Quetzalcoatl print especially, considering he has recently made contact with me. You can read about that in my dream journal.

Okay, next is my stone collection and my deity candles.

My deity candles are my candles that I have dedicated to certain gods. I burn these the most.
The tall green and black striped one is my Thoth candle, the red one is Quetzalcoatl’s, the blue is Ptah and the white is Bast.
I don’t really know why I keep these out, I just kind of started doing it, and I found I liked the arrangement.

These are my miscellaneous stones.
Back row, right to left: Peacock ore, moonstone, dark sunstone, jade
Middle row: Hematite, Smokey quartz, clear quartz
Front row: Howlite, green apatite, snowflake obsidian

These are my two carved wands: Smokey quartz and mookite

My large-ish stones
Back row: Lapis Lazuli, petrified wood
Front row: Sodalite, zebra agate

This is my ammonite

Possibly my pride and joy: my rather large obsidian crystal ball.

My rose quartz, which is “my” stone.

These are the stones of Leiko, my little flower faerie. She likes purple. The stone in the front left hand side is amethyst, and the other three are just dyed that I found in Disney.

Finally, this is a piece of malachite I purchased for Quetzalcoatl. This is the same colour and pattern the god had when he revealed himself to me.

I keep all my stones together on my altar because I play with them when I’m working, and I like having them nearby. I really like using stones every day, so having them nearby and being able to touch them, they will really absorb my own energy so that when the day comes when I really have to use them, I don’t have to really worry about having to recharge my stones.

Well, that’s my altar. It’s a little strange, like me, but it changes almost daily, even just by brushing along the stones.

Altar

Another Pagan Blog Prompt!

What does your altar look like?
What kinds of items do you include, and why?
What does each item symbolize, or what purpose does it serve?

Well, let me show you some pictures!

This is my desk. Yes, it is a desk. From Ikea, which is my favourite store EVER. This desk is, I believe, ALVE desk. In the drawers, we’ve got random junk, my train-case, safety pins, and all sorts of electronic cords.
I do most of my work on this desk. When I’m practising makeup, or watching TV before bed, or working on my USBoS, I sit here.

Over here is my little faerie corner. I bought these for my mom one year for mother’s day, but when we moved, I hijacked them. They don’t balance very well, so they are more often than not laying down. I have a rather close connection to the faeries, or rather...faeries have a close connection to me. I keep them here, and I’m not really sure why...
I mean, they are really cute.

Okay, this is my jewellery spot. I keep all the jewellery that I usually wear here. This is my Isis jewellery box. In here I keep some important papers, and some more of my dressier jewellery like my blue topaz necklace I got for my 16th birthday, and my garnet necklace I got for Christmas one year. Just sitting there, in front, are my 5 rings: a plain black one on my thumb, a tear-drop amethyst and diamond on my index, an ankh on my middle, a pentacle on my third, and a replica of the One Ring from Lord of the Rings on my pinkie. I’m on the hunt for a new pinkie ring. There is also my good ankh necklace (in the box), my plastic Hieroglyph of Ra on a chain, my Egyptian charm necklace with an ankh and the Eye of Horus, my two watches, one has Eeyore on it, and that weird silver thing? That’s a spoon that was made into a bracelet.
I keep all my jewellery on my altar so that it not only has a “spot” where I am sure not to lose them, but also so that there can be an energy exchange. I wear most of these things every day, so at the end of the day when I take them off, my energy can permeate my altar, and my altar’s energy can recharge my jewellery.

Next is collection of Egyptian statues. I have four at the moment, but when I get more, things will be moved around.
First up is Anubis; on his base I keep tiger’s eye, citrine and hematite, because I didn’t have any of the stones that are usually associated with Anubis. Also, I keep a mini plastic statue of Anubis on his base.

Second is Isis. On her base, I keep three pieces of carnelian, which is called the “Blood of Isis”, and a piece of moonstone. Also, she has a miniature plastic version of herself.

Third is my statue of Thoth, who is one of my patron deities. He looks better from the side! Anyway, on his base I keep a malachite obelisk and a piece of uncut and unpolished emerald. He also has a miniature plastic statue of himself.

My fourth and final statue is of Sobek. I love his headdress! On his base are also tiger’s eye, citrine and hematite, because I didn’t have any of the stones that are usually associated with Sobek. On his base, as well, is a miniature plastic statue of Bast, because the tube I got the other plastic statues in didn’t have Sobek.

Here are all four together

Stay tuned for Part Two, coming up right ahead of this post!

Tarot Collection

So, guess what came today?!

My two new tarot decks!

See, I collect tarot decks, and I am happy to add these two new decks to the collection.

The first of these decks is the Mayan Tarot

This deck is rather simple, at least for the minors. They are plain images, representing the basics of the suit. The colours are bold, and the images are very angular. This sort of thing you would expect from Mayan art. For me, at least, I equate Mayan art to sharp corners and britht primary colours. So, in that regard, this deck delivers.

The second deck is the UFO deck. Okay, so we're all clear, I am SO afraid of aliens, it's not even funny. But, when I saw this deck for the first time I knew I had to have it. I was very drawn to it.

The artwork itself is amazing. The artist used colours that I personally love, and beautiful flowing shapes. It's a stark contrast from my Mayan deck!

Ironically, I'm not too afraid of this deck. Which is good. Part of the reason I got the deck was to help me overcome my fear of aliens. And, I do think it will help:D

EDIT: The UFO deck is really good. I tested it out today on a simple yes/no question. I love this deck<3