"I'm just blessing the candles, Mommy."

On Saturday afternoon, after spending the morning at Goddess Fest and looking through the closing Borders store at our mall, my two friends Trisha and Arrin, my daughter, and I went to the Crones Cupboard- one of our local occult stores. Typically, I buy my chime candles there, so my wee one is use to going to the section to "help" me pick out my candles. As it happened, I wasn't in the market for anything on Saturday, and was just browsing while my friends took care of some business of their own. I walked into the candle area and was checking out a Goddess Brigit candle that they have there, when Jae came up and started man handling all the votive's on the bottom shelf. I looked at her and told her we had to leave them there, as we didn't need to buy any candles today. Then I turned around a looked over a few other items around that area. When I turned around to check on Jae, she was standing next to the candles with a votive candle cupped in her hand and was talking to it. I watched her put it down and pick up a brown one and start the process over again. I couldn't make out everything she was saying, but I was picking up phrases like "mother goddess" and "move the Earth". I asked her what she was doing, and to my astonishment, as well as that of my friends, she looked at me and said, "I'm just blessing the candles, Mommy". She then proceeded to bless one candle of every remaining color before she was ready to leave that section of the store. Even thinking about it now, several days later, I'm amazed at the ability and intuition of my almost 3 year old little girl. She is a force to reckon with, and whoever ends up with those candles are in for one hell of a magical ride!

Jaelynn's Goddess Candle

Last night, as I was tucking my daughter in and turning out the lights, she started talking about the goddess keeping her safe and warm. This is a normal conversation we have every night at bed time, and typically she rambles on in half "adult" language and half mutterings that I don't understand. Last night though, as she was talking, she looking at me and plainly said, "I want a goddess candle". I figured, ok, that's understandable, as we have several goddess candles throughout he house. So, I told her we could make one after school and nap time tomorrow (which is today). However, he next statement totally and completely caught me off guard. She said, "Candle for Gaia". Please insert my jaw dropping silence here. While we honor every goddess in our home, typically when we say our night time prayers or talk about the goddess we either call her "goddess", "mother", or we use the names of Isis, Kuan Yin, and Ostara. Gaia is not one that, in conscious memory, I can recall telling her. So, I told her that yes, Gaia would keep her safe and warm while she slept, then I dropped it and it went downstairs so she could go to sleep. This afternoon comes and I ask Jae what color she wants her candle. Without hesitation she says, "WHITE!" Totally doable. Then I ask if she wants any other colors... next, "PURPLE!" Fantastic! Before we get started, the kiddo says she has to go pee-pee, so we go and sit on the potty... While she's sitting there, she suddenly looks at me and says, "Goddess candle white, purple AND green!" Well, alrighty then. When she was done, she got to pick her own jar for the candle, as well as the order of the colors. Here is our photo documentation.. =)

Getting ready....

First Layer, White, is in!

Helping mommy stir the wax...

Pouring the Purple layer!

Smelling her candle...

Pouring the Green layer!

And the Finished (almost- minus the wick) Gaia candle!!



Teaching the ways of the Path to a Toddler...

During my child's infancy, I spent a lot of time thinking about when I would be able to start teaching my little girl how to follow an earth based path, and how I would teach her. First of all, teaching can and does begin at infancy, sometimes it's just harder to see and understand because babies lack the use of words to tell us in a voice that we easily understand. That aside though, we're now growing through our toddler years, and I'm steadily getting my daughter more involved so she can learn over time. Like most two year olds, she has the attention span of a gnat and frequently likes to turn her listening ears into the "off" position. So, having her take part in a longer ritual with a lot of speaking parts but little movement is next to impossible, and as the phrase "sit still" still translates into "jump up and down and act like a little heathen" working on breathing and meditation is also out. However, my daughter LOVES to help me in the kitchen. She has her own little apron and set of mixing spoons/whisks/spatulas to cook with. While I don't let her in there when I'm cooking on the stove (as I don't want her to accidentally set her hand on a burner) I have her come in and help me bake. While we bake, I go through the list of ingredients and we make it part of the recipe to look up those ingredients in one of my magical reference books. The two I use are Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen and The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients: A Wiccan Guide to Spellcasting . The first one gets used much more frequently in this setting, but it never hurts to have a back up reference book. =) So, doing this, she is having fun, I am baking something which I love to do, and my daughter is learning something about the path she is being raised on. It's nothing huge, but the same goes for children and adults, it takes small steps to learn big things.

Today we made Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (recipe courtesy of Duncan Hines):

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Spice Cake Mix
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup raisins

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Combine cake mix, egg whites, oats and oil in large mixing bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until blended. Stir in raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets. Remove to cooling racks; cool completely.

Oats are known for money and prosperity, while Raisins are ruled by the sun and fire and eaten to open the conscious mind.

Go bake and enjoy!

A New Beginning

Well folks, it's already the end of January, 2011. I swear I'm stuck in a time warp. Anywho...


I had a random thought today and decided to start my own pagan, witch-y blog. Yup. That's right. You will now be subjected to my thoughts on the pagan world, among many other things. Buckle your seats folks, it's going to be one heck of a ride!


Today my circle and I celebrated Imbolc together. I few days early, yes, but when most of the group is in the military, weekend get togthers seems to be our best option. So, we met up at 2 o'clock today for ritual and feasting. As always, the feasting was extravagant, with far too much food for the 15 of us that were there, with outrageous stories, good friendship and a lot of laughter. However, as seems to be a theme that is occurring more than I like, our ritual was lacking. That's not to say that it wasn't good, but it wasn't great either. The words written for it were well done, it was a shorter ritual but sweet and elegant. When I sit back and type this out, it seems that anyone who reads this could come up with a handful (if not more) reason's WHY it's like this sometimes. Spare yourself the brainstorming, because I can tell you why... Are you ready for it? Mindset. It seems that some of our members, particularly the ones that have been a part of this circle for many years now, have problems with coming into a ritual with the right mindset. Not only does it drag a ritual down, but it sets a poor example for our newer members. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for having a good time and laughing my butt off at a good story, but to me, when a ritual is being started, it's time to dawn the role of Priestess or Priest and take the work of the goddess seriously, not be goofing off in the corner because the circle has been cast and the "serious stuff" is done. Or is that just me being totally off? Our circle has amazing power when it's focused and in tune with itself, it just seems that more often that not, as of late anyway, it's not in sync and stumbling over the hem of it's own cloak.


Anyway! Enough of that!


The husband and I will be having a small ritual of our own on February 2nd. That one is bound to be fun, as I do love working magic with my man. I also have a great story to read to my little one about Brigit's Fire as we celebrate her that day. It's so fun now that she's getting older and starting to understand. We wave hello to the goddess (moon) every morning when we leave for preschool, and say hello to the god (sun) every afternoon when we come home. It really is the simple things in life.


Well, I suppose I'll sign off for now. Keep checking back and I will post the recipes from our yummy Imbolc feasting!