The End of an Era

As a military veteran, and now a military wife, I have spent the better part of my adult life watching the ways of the military and standing proud and strong as I witness those that I care for be stripped of all the rights that the typical American civilian holds dear. I've lost my free speech, given up my family time in order to meet the demands of the military, and for a time, even gave up my religious freedom while we struggled to make the pagan path a recognized faith that was not treated unfairly or mocked by superiors. While I am proud of my service, and the service I continue to give by my husbands side, there are many things about the military that shame me and keep me praying for better.

Well, now I happily sit here and type that I am PROUD of what the government has done TODAY. Today marks the first time in which the motto and way of life bearing the brand "Don't ask, don't tell" has be repealed. My fellow service members and friends, many of whom have struggled to not lose themselves to the demands of the military, are now free to at least exercise one right that has been freely granted to the "average joe"... the right to be homosexual in the military AND have it acknowledged. I'm sure that there will be protests by military and civilian alike, but guess what guys, these people have been among us the whole time... they do their job, and adhere to the standards set by the government just like the rest of us! The only difference is now you KNOW they're gay/lesbian instead of just "having a feeling" about them. HA! Score one for the underdogs. =)

Congratulations to all the service members out there, regardless of current status (retired, active duty, veteran, etc.) on FINALLY being able to be true to your sexual preference! I applaud you and wish I could raise a glass with all of you to toast this historical day!

Mabon Recipe!

Most sabbats are accompanied by food... it just so happens that Mabon is, to me, an extra special food day! This is a recipe I got off of allrecipes.com many years ago, and it is really fantastic for Mabon (I think). In taking part of a blog hop with The Pagan Mom Blog, I figured I would post this fabulous main dish!

Check back for more recipes soon...

Cranberry Glazed Pork Loin Roast!

Ingredients

• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1 cup apple jelly
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 4 cubes chicken bouillon, crushed
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 (4 pound) boneless pork loin roast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• (I pretty much eyeball all the "extras" like garlic, mustard and all that jazz!)

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Combine the cranberry sauce, apple jelly, mustard, crushed bouillon, horseradish, garlic powder, and thyme in a saucepan; bring to a boil.
3. Line a large baking pan with foil. Place pork loin in pan, fat side up. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Use a pastry brush and a small spoon to completely coat the pork with sauce.
4. Cook until the pork is no longer pink in the center, about 45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with remaining sauce. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). 

Life is like a box of chocolates...

...and biting into one to decided if you like it or not is perfectly acceptable.

 Hopefully my attempt to "make a funny" at least made you smile. =)

Seriously though. How many times has someone said to you, "Well THAT'S not how you do it," or "You CAN'T do it that way." Well, let me tell you something... you can do whatever you damn well please. Now, that's not to say I will approve of your condone actions that violate certain moral laws/ethics, but it's the honest truth... all you have to do is pick up that chocolate, take a bite, and decide whether or not you like it. Sometimes you may spit right out and wonder what the hell you were thinking, other times you may give it a few nibbles, and decide to reserve judgement until a later point. Oh, and lets not forget those time were you try it, love it, and do it all over again. (Yes ladies, you know what I'm talking about!)

What I'm getting at is that who you are and how your walk your spiritual path is entirely up to you. What works for me, may not work for you, but we can still learn from each other and grow on our paths by expanding knowledge and understanding of the self and others. Really, you can never learn too much... for myself, if a day goes by that I don't learn something new, I will consider the day a sad one indeed (good thing I usually learn something new everyday!).

What do you like to do when you're prepping for a ritual or spell work? What's your niche? We know tools aren't a necessity, but often function as an extension of self... do you have a favorite? Something that you always find yourself using or doing?

Me? I love incense. Really. It doesn't matter if I'm meditating, in ritual, dream walking or just doing my night time ritual of thanks. I always have incense. I have two main altars in the house... the big one, which is in my room, and a smaller one in the living room. There is a good stock of incense for both that has to be regularly replenished. And I love candles. Mmmmm... especially ones I've made myself. I have other objects which are sacred to me (like my wand- which was the very first tool I owned/made and came to me from the bowels of the sea), and while they have a place of honor on my altar(s), still, I most frequently use the incense...

The Art of Dream Time

YES! I finally remembered one of the topics I've been wanting to write on... DREAM WALKING!

Dream walking is something that I've been working on (off and on) for the past couple of years. I had a great dream last week which triggered another onslaught of study and work, and so far, I seem to have made great progress. There are certain people that I have always been able to dream walk to... people that I have a really good connection with. There are others that are hit and miss, more often than not due to different sleeping times. =)

However, my dreams are not what I'm here to type on, but more of how those dreams are achieved. Without a doubt, sometimes it is totally random and unexpected, but other times it is a thought out plan, consciously made before heading to bed. I have found that one of the best methods for me starts with playing the dream in my head before I sleep. That is, the dream I want to take someone into. For instance, if I wanted to take my husband into a dream, before falling asleep I would create the entire dream. The location, the color of the sky, time of day, clothing, etc. would be know to me. From there, its a matter of meditating on that dream and letting my body drift into sleep while doing that. Once that happens, it's pretty much like the mind says "Ok, here we are! Let's go find Stephen and have some dreaming fun!". Granted, there are times when that doesn't always work, and also times were I won't remember the dream, but the recipient will (which is super annoying). Something that is also helpful is keeping a notebook and pen by the bed. I have discovered that I tend to wake up after dream walking, and if I don't write my dream down in the time, I will often loose some of the finer details and be left with hazy remnants when I wake up for the day later.

So what works for you? I'm a sucker for incense and some soft music. I even have play lists designed to cater to certain types of dreams. If I'm going into my "dream scape" (which is by a river a nearly lived on in high school) I will play music that reminds me of running water, so on and so forth. If you have never tried dream walking or seem to not be too good at it, I would highly recommend reading Psychic Dreamwalking: Explorations at the Edge of Self by Michelle Belanger. It is an excellent resource!

Well, speaking of dreams, it is time for me to go get ready for bed and see about making some new dreams!

A new blogger!

I would like to ask you all to go check out this new blog:
http://irishrogue13.blogspot.com/

My little sister is new to her path and has started her own blog. As I remember well from when I just started mine, I know she would be thrilled to have some visitors and your kind remarks that you're all always so good with!

Thank you everyone! Brightest Blessings!

It's been one of those weeks...

So, I've started and stopped several posts for my blog this week. It turned into a busy week to one of those utterly stupid weeks that makes you wonder home humanity has managed not to die off yet due to their own stupidity. Really, my faith in man kind has wavered a lot this week.

On a whim, I decided to see what today's Tarot had in store... and I came up with Justice. How fitting!

One hand holds a feather (symbolic of Ma'at and the weighing of the heart), the other holds scales, to show that her judgement will be fair. Justice wears no blindfold - nothing will be hidden from her.
Justice can be cold and implacable, but is scrupulously fair. It is a reminder that there are consequences to all of our actions, and that physical concerns must be balanced by spiritual growth. It can also mean a judgement in your favor, and that a turbulent time is coming to an end.

I don't know how this fits in with everyone elses life at the present moment, but for anyone that has read my blog for a bit, you know that my time with the circle I currently lead is coming to an end next month. The majority of the issues I have dealt with this week have stemmed from circle and this card is reminding me that my turbulent time is quickly coming to an end, and that I must remain fair and consistent until then (as much as I REALLY don't want to sometimes).

Anywho.. this is my little blurb for now. I'm sure there are a million thing I could right about, but all are presently escaping my mind.

Today = Terrible Three's

Well, today is my beautiful, sweet little girls third birthday... and I want to lock her in her room, put on some head phones and take a three hour bath while downing a bottle or two of wine. I swear, over the past week, it's like a switch has flipped and we've gone from having our "moments" to having constant meltdowns, tantrums, and back talking. I mean... HOLY SHIT. Stupid terrible three's.

Great Goddess, bestow upon me your strength and compassion so I do not go postal on my child for pointless and consistent temper tantrums and non-listening ears...

I can see I'll be talking to Kuan Yin and Isis a lot about parenting and how to keep what few shards of sanity I have left. =)

Happy Birthday Jaelynn!