January 09! Pagan circle - Page 9

[wombatclay]

Gun- congrats on the stork and welcome to the Browncoats. I'm a huge FireFly fan and you'll find a couple other browncoat wearing, jayne hat knitting mamas on this thread as well.

Bella- happy aunting!

Leilamus- love the ink! Your friend did a great job! Is there any chance your partner could get the car to the end of the drive and then just leave it there? A lot of the seasonal access families here do that, leaving their vehicle on (just off) the road and then walking to their home. It never appealed to me since dragging the girls through the snow would be worse than staying home (some families walk a half mile each way!), but maybe it would work for you? Little ice grips for your shoes/the kiddos shoes would only be a few dollars. Good luck!

I drove close to 90 miles today... left home at 9am, got in at 4. Ugh. I want to fall over.

[RavenFriend]

Originally Posted by BellaLuna Rayne

Afternoon My Wonderful Sisters!

So far today I have:

* Started Dinner In The Crockpot
* Washed 3 Loads of Laundry, I have a 4th To Do I Think
* Made Buiscuits
* I Have 2 Loaves Of Bread Baking
* Worked Out
* Showered

I think I accomplished a bunch so far today. I burnt the last 3 biscuits. I turned off the oven just before they were done and went to do other things. Then, I turned the oven back on to preheat for the bread and discovered the biscuits when I went to put the bread into the oven. It smells slightly burnt in the house right now.

to everyone!

Bella, you ROCK!! Well done, sister, I know you have it in you to keep going, even tho it's so hard with DH being "in the sandbox", as it were... Keep it up, Hon, you're doin great.

love and light,
Raven

[RavenFriend]

Originally Posted by Mom2Ian

Hi everyone

I just saw this thread under "recent posts" and was so excited! I didn't even know that MDC had a spirituality section, nevermind a Pagan circle! I've read some of the posts but not the entire thread (yet)...all of you seem so open and friendly and wonderful :

Mind if I join you??

Welcome, my dear! This is such a lovely supportive group, I have found a home here. : I hope you do, too! Don't have long right now, trying to catch up and post replies....

Love and Light, healing to Cari's sweet Jon, I was SOOO glad to hear that he responded to your voice, it touched my heart...

~Raven

[DaughterOfKali]

Clay- Wow, that's a lot of driving! Hope you have a relaxing weekend.

Eat, Pray, Love - Has anyone read it? I'm reading it right now and I'm pleasantly surprised. There are some things that I don't like but so far, I'm mostly enjoying it. (don't give the story away if you've finished it! I've only just started reading it). I do find that some of what she says really resonates with me.

[Maiasaura]

WARNING: massive multi-quoting ahead!

and then i have to catch up with the pages i haven't read yet!

Originally Posted by Valérie.Qc

When I look at my daughter, I'm very proud she came to me and of the journey we shared! She taught me many things over the years, we learned a lot together and I guided her the best I could.
For the soup, I simply improvised a blessing. Talking about the powers of the Earth, the Air, the Water and the Fire that brought the food to us, saying that I was adding the power of Love to the mix to nourish and protect my family. I said that as I sprinkled the herbs on my soup and then used a wooden spoon to stir clockwise. :

aww, that is so sweet. i am sure i will feel that way when my ds is 18, too
love your blessings!

Originally Posted by southernmommie

so I've started explaining that Santa is mainly a christian belief.

it is? says who?

Originally Posted by saphire

Maiasauara- a chinook is a warm wind that blows in quickly and melts the snow. It warmed up from below freezing Tues night, to all our snow gone when we woke up Wed morning, it was almost 60* yesterday and is supposed to be that warm again today.

well who knew. new word for me! no wonder. they don't have those here. it's been consistenly 50ish for a month or two : except today was pleasantly 22 when we got up! : i even had to scrape frost off of the windshield and we were almost late for school!

Originally Posted by aweynsayl

oh, and if anyone is longing for a fun crafting thing, my nifty difty witchey calendar mom gave me for christmas tells me that january we're supposed to make a shrine to hestia and put a little house in it and little figures of the family and pets... so ds and i are working on a stick and thread house (i'm using my threads and bits from last year that i'd saved in my jar) and then little us with twigs and strings i guess.... anyhow, it's really fun!

oh now that's fun! what calendar? i have ordered two and neither of them have arrived yet, so i'm totally discombobulated : i can't do anything without my calendars!

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali

It all seems so....hokey. Am I alone in that thought? Wonder if it has anything to do with the how long I've been pagan.
Or maybe I'm starting to move away from paganism. Ack, can it be?!

you aren't. the muggles are moving closer to Paganism i don't know if that's a good thing or not. but the books-- i'm thinking also that it's because you know more. when i was really new, i was drawn to the "new age" section like a moth to flame. i always found something interesting. now that i've been a practicing Witch for years and years (has it been that long? ) the section doesn't hold nearly as much interest, when i even remember to look for it! and yes-- it's gotten *very* hokey.

Originally Posted by wombatclay

Welcome Mom2Ian and mama mich!

We'll probably plant wish seeds and have a meal (from my fav goddess cookbook) with lots of irish traditional foods.

yes, that, welcome new mamas!

wish seeds-- elaborate, please? mmm, colcannon...in the crock pot...colcannon soup even, mmmmm. good idea. what else will you have? or will it make you sick to think about it? poor wombat

Originally Posted by gun

Maiasaura - In my area a botana is a nacho made with chorizo, beans, onions, olives, avocado, cheese, tomatoes. We use 'soyrizo' for our homemade version and really can eat a ton! :

mmm! sounds yummy! *a* nacho, though? i have never heard of just one. here (east coast), nachos are a big platter with tortilla chips at the bottom, topped with all the things you said, plus shredded lettuce usually. and sour cream. and guacamole. is that the same thing, i wonder? where are you again? west coast?

Originally Posted by gun

Yes, Cari, it is the Witches calendar. Such pretty art. It also got me thinking, why is there such elitism on the pagan path?

probably same reason there's elitism in the hippie community. who knew. i am sometimes amazed and at the beginning was shocked and outraged by the snobbery on these boards! and locally. me, i don't hang with snobby Pagans. and they can't stand me, cause i'm so practical and efficient and not ceremonial in the least

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali

I have a weird headache. It's on the left side of my head and feels like there's so much pressure in there. Even my eye ball feels like it's bulging. I was also very grumpy today so I wonder if it's just hormonal (ovulation?)

sinus, maybe? i hope you're feeling better! but it does sound like a sinus issue to me.

Originally Posted by Leilamus

I'm in a fowl mood now too

so-- you feel like a chicken?

omg, so sorry, i could just not resist that at all. :

Originally Posted by Leilamus

Everyone says, get snow tires! which we would but that'd cost us close to $600 which we don't have right now so I think we're just stuck.

On a brighter note, I got a new tattoo this past weekend from a great friend of ours and it came out beautifully. It's a flower pentacle and I'm really happy with it. Although now i want about 100 more tattoos, this was my 2nd. I think they're sooooo addictive!

have you thought about-- listen, lots of people don't know about this. at the side of every service station, including dealerships, there is a huge pile of tires. they have to pay to get them removed, so they are happy to give them away. maybe you can scour and find snow tires that fit your car, that are in reasonable condition? you could call around. mostly they are perfectly friendly about telling you about the pile. though they won't actually go out and dig for you. but it's worth a shot. or Freecycle. i love Freecycle!

nice tat, btw! i have two more coming to me; i just don't know where (on my body) or when. and one of them i have to find the right image for.

Originally Posted by BellaLuna Rayne

My newest nephew was born at 2:46 am! My SIL went in at midnight and just texted me cause she was worried about waking me

congrats, auntie bella! what's his name, have they named him yet?

Originally Posted by gun

I have been dealing with baby diaper blowouts for most of the day. Yuck She seems to be feeling ok otherwise, but my crockpot parsnip and split pea soup did not settle for her.

oh, yuck-- i'm sorry-- i seriously thought you were going to say the soup didn't settle it for you! that sounds-- omg, that sounds (i don't even want to say it)-- like baby diaper blowout in a bowl

ok, off to finish the thread now...

[DaughterOfKali]

I'm watching Ghost Whisperer. Goodness, I love that show.

[BellaLuna Rayne]

His name is Christopher. They are apparently following the alphabet because their first, a girl, is an A name and their second, a boy, is a B name. I wanted to text her "so is the next one gonna start with a D?" Then, I thought I better not. This is baby 3 in three years, 2 born in January.

I mailed my application stuffs today. I am very excited! I went to the bookstore today intending to finally get my own copy of Spiritual Midwifery but, my Borders didn't have it. They did however have Ina May's Guide To Childbirth and I promptly snagged it as it was the last copy. They were also out of the new Merry Gentry book and I got Twilight instead.

Today I:
*Went out with BOTH parents to the Casino/Lunch at the Casino.
*Bookstore
*Cleaned my room
*Cleaned DSS' room from the bomb that was my nephew and made his bed
*Load of laundry
*Tae Bo
*Day 3 of the 100 push-up and 200 sit-ups challenge.

I think I am going to have to work on the bathroom tomorrow and read, read, read.

[saphire]

bells-congratulations all around!!

Maiasuara-I learned chinook is a local native American term.
There's so much more I want to reply to, but I'm at the gym(on my phone)-more later!

[Sage_SS]

Holey Moley! Life with a babe is a blur... he eats ALL THE TIME so I spend most of my day just sitting here, but do I accomplish anything? No. I don't call friends or surf the web... just sit here playing word warp on my iPhone (like scrabble).

My daughter came home from school today and told me she got in trouble for saying "oh my god" because it hurts gods feelings. : That makes me mad. If she would have been asked not to say it because it offends someone's beliefs, that would be something. But this just ticks me off. Ugh, and the school is giving away bibles, school bag sized bibles. I thought religion wasn't allowed to be in schools anymore?

My oldest daughter wants to go to christian church with her friend. She wants to be like everyone else and that makes me sad. I want to give her a research assignment that will give her some insight into the history of the christian church and women. Ideas?
Bookworms, I need some help. I don't know any pagan authors for kids and teens. I want to get my girls some reading that stirs their imginations and resonates with our rituals and what I talk with them about.

[~PurityLake~]

Wow, Sage, that would just make me so angry and I think my first reaction would be to talk to the teacher, the principal and maybe even the school board.

[DaughterOfKali]

Originally Posted by Sage_SS

Bookworms, I need some help. I don't know any pagan authors for kids and teens. I want to get my girls some reading that stirs their imginations and resonates with our rituals and what I talk with them about.

This doesn't help you right now but I'll be featuring a book called The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales. It doesn't come out until Spring though.
It talks about what different cultures do to honor the earth. It's definitely pagan...but marketed so that the general public is more accepting of it.

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by Sage_SS

Holey Moley! Life with a babe is a blur... he eats ALL THE TIME so I spend most of my day just sitting here, but do I accomplish anything? No. I don't call friends or surf the web... just sit here playing word warp on my iPhone (like scrabble).

My daughter came home from school today and told me she got in trouble for saying "oh my god" because it hurts gods feelings. : That makes me mad. If she would have been asked not to say it because it offends someone's beliefs, that would be something. But this just ticks me off. Ugh, and the school is giving away bibles, school bag sized bibles. I thought religion wasn't allowed to be in schools anymore?

My oldest daughter wants to go to christian church with her friend. She wants to be like everyone else and that makes me sad. I want to give her a research assignment that will give her some insight into the history of the christian church and women. Ideas?
Bookworms, I need some help. I don't know any pagan authors for kids and teens. I want to get my girls some reading that stirs their imginations and resonates with our rituals and what I talk with them about.

sage!

first, get a sling if you don't have one, so that you can feed baby and Do Stuff two-handed and then when he's big enough, a backpack works wonders! but not for nursing...sigh.

two: no, the school (if public) is not allowed to do that, and if you contact Americans United for Separation of Church and State, they will get on it for you, and you can remain anonymous if you want to. i can try to get their contact info for you, but they do have a website and you can just google, too.
3: might i suggest your family start going to the UU church? then your dd can honestly tell her friends she goes to church. and she will learn all about many religions, including Christianity and Pagan religions.

as far as "oh my god"-- i don't allow my ds to say it either. but not because it will hurt any god's feelings! i encourage him to say "oh my gosh", "oh my word", "oh my goodness", whatever-- because i think it might be offensive to someone's faith, and i'm not about that at all. i do think it's an offensive phrase. i used to say it all the time, till i had a Baptist preacher's kid for a babysitter, and i was trying to be more sensitive for her, but then realized it went a lot further than just my teenage babysitter.

sorry i can't think of any recommendations for books. i am trying not to force my religion on my kid, cause i can't think of a faster way to raise a fundie than make him go to ritual and act respectful. BUT. i do take him to fun Pagan events, and to PSG, where he is free to run around half (or fully) nekkid if he wants to, and wear a sarong, and horns, and all the other kids and adults are doing that too, so he's not a freak like he would be in mundane society. he already realizes, because of that (AND i took him to Episcopal services last year for Lent), that Paganism is a lot more fun than Christianity.

i'm thinking-- if she wants to go to church with her friend, let her go. it will be a huge conversation-starter for the two of you! maybe you can go, too. if you keep her from going, she'll be on that like white on rice and wonder what the allure (of the forbidden) is. at least if you let her go, she will see that you trust her opinion, and maybe be more open to sharing her feelings with you.
i know, i know-- my ds says he's "half Christian, half Pagan"-- i have no idea where he gets that from! but he's so contrary that i am not going to discourage it or it will push him away from Paganism for sure!

[Leilamus]

Bella - Congrats!!!

Maia - don't hide under that chair, that was funny mama!!!

Wombat - that's a great idea but we can't park at the end of our driveway because it's a Y that we share with another house and our house is an apartment building so we have three other units in here, each with two cars so my car would block the bottom of the driveway for everyone. I called around yesterday and found a place with snow tires for our car for just $70 a piece, not $170 that the first place I called quoted me. I nearly fell off my chair. So we'll probably have to wait until next pay day in two weeks to get them because rent was due this week but at least I know there's something coming. Right now our driveway and most around us are sheer ice thanks to the sleet from a few days ago so we're all stuck anyway. lol. Tis winter in Maine, what was I expecting? I have to laugh at myself really.

So now i just have to find good activities for the boys. I could spend all day inside reading and knitting but that doesn't hold the same appeal for them.

[Inanna_Mama]

DoK, I've started Eat, Pray, Love, too. But, got sidetracked and never went beyond the 2nd or 3rd chapter. You've inspired me to pick it up again.

A chinook is also a type of salmon.

Bella, congrats on the birth of your nephew!! :

Sage, my DS was the same. I have to use both hands to nurse him (still do at 2+ years). Next babe, I'll have an ample supply of books on tapes and videos on hand!! Sorry to hear about your DD's school. Very uncool.

Just found this Imbolc with kids link. I like the ideas here, too. Love this image of Brigit and the kid-safe candles. I love the internet! So many great ideas here as well!

Ok, I'll stop now. Must make a plan...

[Doula Dani]

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali

Clay- Wow, that's a lot of driving! Hope you have a relaxing weekend.

Eat, Pray, Love - Has anyone read it? I'm reading it right now and I'm pleasantly surprised. There are some things that I don't like but so far, I'm mostly enjoying it. (don't give the story away if you've finished it! I've only just started reading it). I do find that some of what she says really resonates with me.

Such a good book. I adored it.

How are you ladies? I wish I could keep up with this thread.

[Fiestabeth]

I haven't read anything on this thread so sorry if this was already posted:

Biggest full moon of the year

Happy 2009 to everyone! : Life is pretty darn good around here. Dd's new school has been absolutely amazing. The kindness and generosity that we've been shown has moved me to tears after all the drama at her old school.

I'll try to catch up later as I'm going to a clothing swap tomorrow and only have a few hours to sort through stuff.

[wombatclay]

Sage- Good to see ya! Teen authors... check the pagan resource list. I threw a TON of pagan friendly authors (names, titles, quick reviews) into that thread about a year ago (and a bunch of other mamas added their favs) and there may be something there that your girls would enjoy. Off the top of my head, a young adult pagan shelf might include books by Sheri Tepper, Ursula LeGuin, Mercedes Lackey, Robin McKinley, Patricia McKillip, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, and Terry Pratchett (especially the Tiffany Aching books).

But obviously double check everything... I generally like these authors but they all have books/themes that are going to be problematic for some readers/families/ages. Like, The Diana Tregarde books (specifically pagan mystery/thriller triology, one book set in a High School) by Lackey have drugs/violence that may be uncomfortable for some kiddos and her Valdemar books vary from "totally gentle" to "strong themes of violence, especially towards women and/or homosexuals". Bradley's "Light" books (specifically pagan and describing rituals in many varied traditions) draw characters from some traditions that use pain/suffering (either personal sacrifice or sacrifice inflicted on another) to raise power which really bother some readers. The Cooper and Alexander books may feel "too young" for some modern kiddos and they don't have rituals as such... just a pagan world view. Some LeGuin is very adult, some is very young (The first three EarthSea books are younger, the final one a good deal older for example). And so one.

Anyway, check the resource thread before I write an even longer book in this post!

Bibles in school- our schools hand out bibles... as long as the bibles are being distributed by a private group and are "offered" (not actually handed to each child) then I think it's "ok". There were a number of parent groups up in arms when the school started doing this but apparently it falls under the same rules that allow religion specific youth groups to meet on school grounds. But I don't know what the Canadian laws say. I do know that after a few non-christian groups started handing out their literature, the schools decided to ban all handouts. So that could be an option... go to the school with a big stack of pro-pagan flyers (I know CAW makes some you can just print out)!

Though the UU may be a good option... a lot of pagan families attend UU churches to provide their children with options as well as a possible "fitting in" affiliation.

Wish seeds- draw a rune or picture of something you want to manifest on a seed. Plant it. Watch your intent manifesting as the seed grows (and perhaps have a ritual meal later where you eat the final plant). There are lots of rituals that have this sort of sympathetic seed magic.

Imbolc food- we'll probably have a stew (lamb if we can afford it, beef otherwise), steamed greens, and homemade soda bread with homemade butter (dd1 loves shaking the jar though last year she gave up loooooong before butter happened). Maybe some clotted cream and sweet biscuits for dessert. I'm counting on enjoying food by then!

[BellaLuna Rayne]

Can we all light a candle for my DH. We had a very emotional conversation today, mostly because I am frightened by the changes in him emotionally and mentally. He is having a VERY hard time (that probably does not even begin to cover it) and has finally started counseling. Things are really bad for him, not the job itself but, the people in his platoon treat him like shit (again it doesn't begin to cover it) and its really wearing on him.

I am so worried and have asked him not to do anything stupid. Not that I actually think he actually will, it just felt like the right thing to say. My DH is a good man and an excellent soldier, heck I have his awards from the last year to prove it. The things these superiors are doing to him is messing with him something fierce. At this point, he says "I don't know what's going on."

We could really use the extra positivty thrown our way.

[wombatclay]

Hugs Bella... sounds like what happened to my brother. He loved the job, but the people. Totally different story. He has a deeply ethical/moral nature with a very strict personal code of conduct and it got him in sooooo much trouble within the military organization. His only salvation was he did his job really well and the sort of "next higher up" level of superiors liked the results he got. But it can be seriously hard in a combat zone when the guys backing you up really aren't. Hang in there... big zen hugs and candles burning.

Have you tried an ice spell or mirror ritual? In the first spell you put something that symbolizes the problem in (mildly) salty water and freeze it. Just leave it wrapped up in the freezer to symbolically freeze the situation. And with the mirror you again make an icon to symbolize the problem (usually a person) and then wrap the icon in foil or something "reflective" so the negativity bounces back on the sender. Maybe you could do something like this and also send a pocket charm/keyring charm to your partner? So "freeze" the negativity and also send your partner a keyring with a piece of stone that looked like ice?

[aweynsayl]

Cari~ you know i'm gonna come up with a whole long list of things for a jon healing altar....<HUGS> i'm on dh's computer right now, though, so i'm without my links.....

Inanna~ we talked about the nature weaving here or in camp this summer... it's been on my to-do-list since! (links on other computer). Thanks for the dose of ancient rome.

DOK~ Eat... is one of those books everyone always says you HAVE to read, so i've specifically avoided it....i'm ornery that way. lemme know how you like it once yo've read it all.....

Maia~ this is the calendar mom got me. i like that it has the moon phases, including moon v/c.

fiestabeth~good to see ya! thanks for the note on the moon. wasnt the last moon i dec the biggest of last year?

sagey, been thinking of ya, m'dear. we stayed at the most adorable inn o our trip and the owner was welsh. itwas fun to talk about wales. now i'm missing it even more, though....

hugs, candles, and yoda chocolate for all in need.

~~~~
so...... anyone up for a slightly more formal (read: its own thread) convo on imbolc?
i've usually just made some sort of potato and sheeps-milk cheese something and planted seeds and poured cream (ok, white wine once we moved to AZ, lol) in the garden.... but this year i'm so doing more. not sure just what, though! you all are a bit ahead of me, planning wise. we hold the winter holidays over til the 9th of jan because of a long standing family tradition, so i really only just wrapped up yule yesterday!

oh, and for those jane austen fans amongst us, just watched the new bbc S&S and it was yummy.