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!

Imbloc Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Imbloc, and I've had a huge desire to do an altar. I just re-organized my makeup cabinet, because I got a train case and rolly suitcase like thing, because I'll be transporting my makeup around instead of having it in a cabinet, so now I have even more space.

It started as a simple altar, and it's making me change around everything. I'm jumping the gun when it comes to spring cleaning.

Anyway, I'll post pictures of my altar tomorrow.

2009 In Review

As they year is drawing to a close, I thought I’d do a bit of reflecting over my past year. I think 2009 wasn’t a “good year” overall, but I did have some ups as well as some far downs.

I think my biggest accomplishment and something I’m the most proud of is my starting this blog and actually keeping it going. It’s constantly evolving, just like I am. I’ve grown up so much in just disciplining myself to do this.

I think my personal writing has evolved, and I feel a lot more confident in what I’m writing. My character designs are still a bit weak, but that is something I can improve on.

This was the year I had enough confidence to talk to a guy that I liked, and though it didn’t work out, in the long run I think I learned a lot about what I like and don’t like in relationships.

I think some things I want to work on are overcoming my jealousy, because I can get extremely jealous.

My big spiritual goal for 2010 is to do a daily tarot reading.

Happy Yule!

For everyone who celebrates Yule, or other Solstice-based holidays, I want to wish you all the best holiday season, and lotsof fun and good health and all that jazz. I'm never good with this sort of thing, so I'm just gunna say it again: Happy Yule!

Sabbats and Deities-Samhain

Okay, so, yesterday because my BOS page was from the Egyptian pantheon, it's felt like I did two deities of the day in a row. So, today, I present to you...a list of deities that are commonly called on during Samhain. As Samhain is coming up, you can all use this list to help you during your rituals, should you not have one yet.
Al-Ilat-Semetic
Am-Heh-Egyptian
Anubis-Egyptian
Baba Yaga-Slavic
Bast-Egyptian
Cerridwen-Celtic
Corn Father-Native American
Coyote Brother-Native American
Epona/Rhiannon-Celtic
Fortuna-Roman
Frigg/Freya-Norse
Ghede-Voodoo
Hades-Greek
Hecate-Greek
Hel-Norse
Inanna-Summerian
Ishtar-Babylonian
Kali-Hindu
Lilith-Mesopotamian
Loki-Norse
Mari-Pre-christian France/Spain
Nefertum-Egyptian
Odin/Woden-Norse
Pluto-Roman
The Morrigan-Celtic
Zorya Vechernaya-Slavic

Wow, There has been so much about deities this week! Tomorrow is another BOS page, maybe it won't be about deities: I'm posting a DotD on Friday because I'll be groggy from surgery, so a DotD post is easy to write and post either before I go to bed Friday morning, or schedule the post for sometime that afternoon.
It might be a Deity Week! Like Shark Week, but with Gods and Goddesses.

October

The seasons are changing, the Wheel of the Year is turning, and while life is rejoicing in the last of the Harvests, we are preparing for our 'hibernation'.
Welcome to October! For many Pagans, the end of this month marks the beginning of a New Year. Samhain, All Hallows Eve, Halloween, whatever you call it - this time of mystery and spiritual connection is just around the corner.
Today's prompt is How is this season expressed/reflected in your life? Do you change your altar around, or put out new decorations around your home (feel free to show pictures!)? What kinds of harvesting are you doing in your life? What preparations are you making for the coming winter?
I would have asked specifically about Samhain rituals, but I will save that for the week of Samhain instead.
--Pagan Blog Prompts

Well, October for me always meant the coming of snow, which I hate. I do love the cooler nights, however. I love the cold, but hate the snow and ice.
My mom loves all sorts of seasonal decorating, so already we have some autumnal accents, like a maple scented candle, some mini pumpkins, and tomorrow, she wants to set up the rest of our Halloween decorations.
Halloween/Samhain is probably my favourite holiday: has been since I was little. I know understand the religious aspect of the new year, but even before I was a pagan, I would like it because I got to dress up. I’ve always been fascinated in dressing up, and being someone else. Even now, at 19, I put a lot of thought into a costume. This year I’m going as a harem girl (No, not a belly dancer. A harem girl is different and yes, more modest).
My family has “move nights” on Saturdays. For October, we’re going to watch horror flicks we all like or want to see, like The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, A Haunting in Connecticut, and even funny ones like Shawn of the Dead. So, we’re starting tomorrow, and until the end of October, we’re going to get into the “haunting” mood.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and I don’t really know what I’m going to do. I’m having my Halloween party the Saturday before, so I might just have an open invitation to anyone who wants to hang out that day with us; for cake, tarot readings, and general good natured holiday fun.
Samhain is the second New Year’s I celebrate. New Years parties never meant much to me; they all seemed so arbitrary. But, as a celebration of the end of the harvest and of the dead, I don’t mind it as much.

Mabon

Well, today was Mabon at my house. We were going to have the ceremony yesterday, but I had to get cavities filled, so we did it today instead.
For some reason, I’m not feeling incredibly spiritual today, but feeling kind of mundane.

We’ve got some cederwood burning, and I’ve got a candle by me, but that’s about it, other than the offering plates out.

I’d write more, but like I said, I really don’t feel spiritual.

Anyway, happy Mabon everyone!

Christmas

I know, it’s only September. I should tell you: my family adores Christmas. There isn’t any really religious aspect to it, we just like to give each other presents.
The only really hard thing is coming up with a list. Usually, I don’t have this problem. This year, however, everything I want is pagan in nature. My immediate family is okay with it, but I feel bad about asking my extended family for pagan items, even when I have a detailed list.

Another complaint about Christmas lists. I’ve found some really good sites for shopping. Man, are they hard to navigate.

Anyway, does anyone else have some mixed religious holiday stories to share?

Makeshift Egyptian Ceremony

Date: August 1st, 2009.
First Month of Akhet, Djehuti, Day One
Location: Howard Johnson in Leamington
Written On: July 31, 2009

So, today is the Egyptian New Year, and one of three New Year ceremonies I celebrate. Today is also the day of my cousin Melissa’s wedding. So, because of that, I’m in Leamington; a small factory town just about 45 minutes north of Windsor.
So, I can’t have a big ceremony and feast for this New Years, which kind of sucks because I was hoping my mom and I would cook up a big feast with all of our favourite foods.
But, instead, I’m in a hotel room.
So, as to not break any possible rules, I’m writing a ritual for New Years without any candles or incense. How exciting! See, I love my candles and incense, but I also don’t want to get in trouble by the hotel staff, or have angry neighbours pounding on my door for “stinking up the floor”. But, this will help me be in touch with my oils and stones.

First off, I’m going to make a list of what I’ve packed, so that if I ever get caught in this situation again, I can refer to this list.
Basics
- Sea Salt
- Mini Egyptian statues (Bast, Anubis, Thoth and Isis)
- Large ankh
Oils
- Eucalyptus
- Bergamot
- Lemongrass

Stones
- Carnelian(1)
- Amethyst
- Zebra Agate
- Lapis Lazuli
- Malachite(tower and tumbled stone)
- Rose Quartz (ball)
- Hematite (1)
- Moonstone (1)
- Citrine (1)
- Sodalite
- Apatite
- Sunstone
- Ammonite
- Clear Quartz

Let’s plan the ceremony now!
I am going to put actions in regular type, and words spoken either verbally or mentally in italics.

Before this, take a nice bath or shower, and don’t get out until you feel really clean. Imagine the water washing away all the impurities from the past year. Dress either in ritual garb, or in comfortable clothes.
We arrange a mid-size work area. Upon our altar cloth, we lay out our stones, our bottles of oil, our holy water, our ankh and our miniature statues. Hopefully, we will have Timbits as an offering and New Years “feast”. Music is optional.
I like to position myself with my back against a wall or object that is against the wall, like a bed, so that I have a complete view of the area without having to worry about my back.
I am far from my home, and my temple, but today, the first day of the first month of the new year, I still must honour the Gods. Today, the star Sothis will rise over the homeland of Egypt, signalling the flooding of the Nile, the bloodline that sustains the country.
With your little finger, pick up a bit of the salted water and place it on the statues. Also, place some on your forehead. Sprinkle a little over the Timbits as well.
Though I am far from my temple, I ask for the Gods and Goddesses to join me in this ceremony. I also invite all spirits pure of heart and soul to join me here.
Center yourself. Feel the Gods, Goddesses and spirits. Let them speak to you, and greet them.
Today is also the day of my cousin’s wedding. This is the happiest day of her life, so please make this day and every day with her new husband joyous.
For the coming year, I don’t know what to ask for, so I’m going to cover the basics: happiness, love, health, and spirituality. I want to really become the person I should be.
Put a little bit of Bergamot oil on the statues, and over your heart. Bergamot is an oil of protection, money, and prosperity; all things we want for a New Year.
Eat a Timbit, slowly.
I thank the Gods for my “feast” of Timbits, and I invite everyone present to indulge in the offering.
Stand up, and place the Timbits on a surface for the spirits to eat. Return to your little “nest”, and start dealing your tarot cards for the upcoming year. I’m going to use the Animal Companions deck, and the Wheel of the Year spread, the second variation. Before you deal the cards, place a mixture of the oils eucalyptus and lemongrass on your third eye, to aid in psychic vision.
After you’ve dealt the cards, write them down in your traditional manner. Clean up your area, and pack everything up, except the Timbits (let the spirits indulge, and have a couple more yourself! This is your New Years feast, after all). You don’t have to analyse the cards just yet, as long as you have them written down, but if you wish, you may.
Now that everything is cleaned and packed back up, find a comfy place and relax; read a book, watch TV or a movie, analyse your tarot reading, anything.
-----
Well, this is the closest thing I could do to a real New Year’s celebration. I’m out of town, and in a hotel room. It’s rather spur of the moment, and there are probably a lot of elements that either don’t belong or are missing.
Think of this as a traveling ceremony, requiring small, compact things that fit in a suitcase.