Magic, Magic in the air...

Please, before I start, someone tell me that they also "time warp" when doing a ritual! I have no idea how and hour and a half slipped by when I SWEAR it was only, like 30 minutes! ;)

Tonight I performed a new ritual... At the moment, I don't want to go into a full blown detail account, so I'm going to give the "in a nut shell" explanation.

Over time, I have developed some potentially hazardous relationships. At the time, they seamed normal enough, but in retrospect it was a bad road to be walking down and, once I saw that, I ended it. Tonight, I decided that I needed to cleanse myself of these relationships with more than words and thoughts, but also symbolically. I am a huge fan and lover of symbolic actions, and I believe that symbolism has the same power as thought. So, I gathered some paper, a black marker and a "token" (I only had a token from one person, not the two involved, but you go with what you got!) I wrote out the names and spoke my words of power... typically I let these come to me on the spot and often don't write out anything before hand (although I will in a case where it is something big that I have a lot of prep work for). Then I asked for the memories to always be fond but the knowledge that, unless destined otherwise, our paths will remain parted in this life. Then I took my paper and my token and tossed them into the fire (which was ROARING by this point because of the chants and dancing I had done to raise energy) and watched them burn as a reminder to myself of what it costs not only me, but those around me when I do not guard myself, my choices, and lines end up being blurred or crossed (no matter what line or who it was set by) when they shouldn't be. Lessons must always be learned in life, sometimes they just suck more than other ones.

I don't often write out my spell work, and I can't deny being a bit nervous about this post... it's that private side of me. =)

Anyway.. I'm feeling a bit tired now and I think I will go take a nice hot shower and go to bed.

Blessings.

Just a thought...

(here's to a belated Veteran's Day post!!)

I know that times are tough right now, but I would like everyone to give some serious thought to adopting a soldier this holiday season. Being a veteran and a military wife, I understand the hardship of deployment, especially when that deployment falls over the holidays. (hell, I'm gearing up to be in that same situation soon!) Even worse, think about the military members over seas that have no spouses or family to send them things and make them feel remembered and special... heart wrenching isn't it?

Last night I adopted a soldier. I haven't received the information for my soldier yet (takes 24-72 hours) but I can tell you that I have already started putting a box of things together to send off when I do. It doesn't have to be anything big, but something as simple as some snacks and a few letters can make a world of difference for someone protecting our freedoms and going without so we can sleep safely and peacefully at night.

Yes, I know things are financially tough right now... but the fact is that just being home gives us more than those deployed men and women have right now. No, I'm not trying to guilt anyone into this, I promise. =) I do believe strongly in this though, and I hope that you will at least think on it!

If you're interested in doing something like this, here is a reliable site that you can go through- AAUSS- Adopt a US Soldier

Bless to all you! If you decide to do this, I would love to hear about your plans and your soldier! Just remember, please do not post any crucial information, such as exact location, dates of departure/return, or anything else that the enemy could use against us. =) Thanks!

Night of the Full Moon- November

Tonight I held my first solitary ritual since stepping down from my role and leader for the military circle I had run for the past 2 1/2 years. I had forgotten what the solitude of self can feel like, and I must say that I enjoyed it immensely. I will forever love group rituals, but after tonight I am reminded of how important it is to practice alone as well.

Something that I did and haven't done in awhile was take the time to gaze into my scrying mirror. I have tried many forms of scrying- water, stones, fire, etc.- and in all my trials I have discovered that that one method at calls to me and works without fail is my black mirror. It was actually a gift from Stephen many Yules ago, and has been my scrying method of choice since then. Just looking at it for a moment will allow most anyone to see the "waves" within the blackness, just waiting to part so that the seeker may seek. I saw many things in my mirror tonight, some of which I asked for, others came unbidden. I was afforded the opportunity to speak with my guide as well as my totem tonight (two separate things for me personally), and was provided some insight on how to go about this new path that I am on, as, admittedly, I've been feeling a little lost. I know the power is within me, it's just been a matter of finding it and working with it now that my rituals have changed so drastically. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but I at least know what I'm trying to say!

I also made some moon water tonight- something I have neglected to do the past few months. As a dear friend and fellow priestess of mine told me on Samhain while she was acting as messenger for The Morgan, "The Darkness is your friend." Those words have stuck with me since that night (and I apologize for not blogging about it yet!), as the darkness of self is something that I've been learning to recognize and work with, as there can be no light without the darkness. Part of this, going back to the moon water, was also putting a smokey quartz into the water as I charged it with the light of the moon. While the full moon offers illumination at it's fullest, the smokey quartz, to me, represents the darkness that has come over the earth as winter settles in around us (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere). My goal for this winter, as it will just be me do to the needs of Uncle Sam, is to spend this winter in the blessed solitude of my home and of myself, in hope of finding those things within the darkness that are beneficial, so that I may expand upon them, as well as those thing which hinder, so I can learn to control then do away with them.

Now that my circle is closed, I feel Nyx calling me into a blessed sleep where I I hope to be blessed with dreams of meaning that I will remember upon waking. =)

I hope that you all had a blessed night and that you will take time this winter to embrace the darkness and use the night for a good dose of introspect. You may not always like what you find, but ignoring it will do a hell of a lot more damage that confronting it. Besides, not everything that resides within the darkness is negative.

Be Blessed.